Universally recognisable, the umbrella & its older, prettier sister the parasol have made their mark. Politics, religion, war & fashion have all been influenced by this modest contraption. With a beautiful collection of images, The Umbrella Unfurled follows its hero to Ancient Egypt, where at first it was for the Pharaoh's use only. References & physical representations of it are found throughout the Old World, often bearing great symbolic & ceremonial weight. Yet despite its more practical reputation in the West, it still holds cultural significance. As the ultimate accoutrement to the fashionable Edwardian lady; as part of the rank-&-file uniform of the City gentleman; it even made it onto the battlefield, though against the better judgement of the Duke of Wellington. & it has been wielded with more sinister intent as the weapon of choice by the KGB in seeking to dispatch dissidents abroad. Decorative, useful, symbolic & even deadly, the umbrella has a story older & more elaborate that one might think, all related in a highly entertaining gift book that could only have been written by an Englishman. ...

Pull up a chair for the true story of the Umbrian Thursday night supper club. Every week on a Thursday evening, a group of four Italian rural women gather in a derelict stone house in the hills above Italy`s Orvieto. There
- along with their friend, Marlena
- they cook together, sit down to a beautiful supper, drink their beloved local wines, & talk. Here, surrounded by candle light, good food & friendship, Miranda, Ninucia, Paolina & Gilda tell their life stories of loves lost & found, of ageing & abandonment, of mafia grudges & family feuds, & of cherished ingredients & recipes whose secrets have been passed down through the generations. Around this table, these five friends share their food & all that life has offered them
- the good & the bad. For fans of all things Italian, & the thousands of readers who loved Deborah Rodriquez`s The Kabul Beauty School; Elizabeth Gilbert`s Eat, Pray, Love & Deborah Moggach`s Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.


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” If you loved Under the Tuscan Sun, you`ll love this.” (Red Magazine). Pull up a chair for the true story of the Umbrian Thursday night supper club. Every week on a Thursday evening, a group of four Italian rural women gather in a derelict stone house in the hills above Italy`s Orvieto. There
- along with their friend, Marlena
- they cook together, sit down to a beautiful supper, drink their beloved local wines, & talk. Here, surrounded by candle light, good food & friendship, Miranda, Ninucia, Paolina & Gilda tell their life stories of loves lost & found, of ageing & abandonment, of mafia grudges & family feuds, & of cherished ingredients & recipes whose secrets have been passed down through the generations. Around this table, these five friends share their food & all that life has offered them
- the good & the bad. For fans of all things Italian, & the thousands of readers who loved Deborah Rodriquez`s The Kabul Beauty School; Elizabeth Gilbert`s Eat, Pray, Love & Deborah Moggach`s Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.


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Winner of the Destinations Show Illustrated Travel Book of the Year 2016. Critically acclaimed author Malachy Tallack returns in the autumn of 2016 with The Un-Discovered Islands, an exploration of some of the world`s strangest places. Gathered in the book are two dozen islands once believed to be real but no longer on the map. These are the products of imagination, deception & simple human error. They are phantoms & fakes: an archipelago of ex-isles & forgotten lands. From the well-known story of Atlantis to more obscure tales from around the globe; from ancient history right up to the present day. This is an atlas of legend & wonder, of places discovered & then un-discovered. Malachy`s words will be accompanied in the book by glorious full-colour illustrations by Katie Scott, who has previously worked with the New York Times, Kew Gardens & the BBC. She is the illustrator of the beautiful Animalium & the forthcoming Botanicum. ...

` The most popular English poet since Larkin.` Sunday Times After more than a decade & following his celebrated adventures in drama, translation, travel writing & prose poetry, Simon Armitage`s eleventh collection of poems heralds a return to his trademark contemporary lyricism. The pieces in this multi-textured & moving volume are set against a backdrop of economic recession & social division, where mass media, the mass market & globalisation have made alienation a commonplace experience & where the solitary imagination drifts & conjures. The Unaccompanied documents a world on the brink, a world of unreliable seasons & unstable coordinates, where Odysseus stalks the aisles of cut-price supermarkets in search of direction, where the star of Bethlehem rises over industrial Yorkshire, & where alarm bells for ailing communities go unheeded or unheard. Looking for certainty the mind gravitates to recollections of upbringing & family, only to encounter more unrecoverable worlds, shaped as ever through Armitage`s gifts for clarity & detail as well as his characteristic dead-pan wit. Insightful, relevant & empathetic, these poems confirm The Unaccompanied as a bold new statement of intent by one of our most respected & recognised living poets. `A writer who has had a game-changing influence on his contemporaries.` Guardian` Armitage is that rare beast: a poet whose work is ambitious, accomplished & complex as well as popular.` Sunday Telegraph` The best poet of his generation.` Craig Raine, Observer ...

Unbelievably delicious plant-based food. Unadulterated. Uncooked. The Unbakery is a treasure trove of more than 150 ideas for raw plant-based food so yummy you won`t miss that it`s not cooked. From Mexican Tacos with Chimichurri & Salsa to a heavenly
- & yes, good for you!
- Blueberry Cheesecake, here are inspirational recipes for incorporating more fresh fruit & vegetables into your diet. All recipes are free from gluten, dairy & cane sugar; all are achievable, unfussy & seriously delicious. Get back to nature & enjoy beautiful plant-based food, uncooked. Megan May is the chef/owner of award-winning Auckland cafes Little Bird Organics & The Unbakery.

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Sex, Lies, & Rocky Roads... Life is simple for Champa. He has a good job as a chauffeur in his hometown of Lhasa, & if his Chinese boss Plum is a little domineering, well, he can understand that
- she`s a serious art-collector after all. & he does get to drive her huge Toyota. When he starts to sleep with his boss as well as drive her around, life becomes a whole lot more complicated. But not in a bad way. Suddenly Champa`s sex life is beyond his wildest dreams. But then Plum brings home a Tara statue
- a statue that shines with exquisite feminine beauty
- & suddenly life is not simple at all, as Champa finds himself on the long road to Beijing in search of its inspiration... The Unbearable Dreamworld of Champa The Driver is a rollicking road novel brim-ful of sensuality & danger. Underlying the optimism & humour of its hero is a darker picture of racism & rough justice in modern Beijing.


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To the casual observer, the great enlightened city of Edinburgh, home of no-nonsense philosophers & cream teas, might appear immune to the rollercoaster of strong emotions. But at 44 Scotland Street, as Matthew & Elspeth embark on the risky enterprise of married love, the raffish portrait painter Angus Lordie has a premonition of disaster. & soon enough Irene Pollock is shocked to learn that her small son Bertie harbours a highly unsuitable ambition; the gloriously vain Bruce discovers a wrinkle & confronts rejection; & Angus finds himself facing the grave consequences of unbridled bliss, not to mention a large Glaswegian gangster bearing gifts.. . ...

We love Pig (we can`t help it), but Pig loves Farmer, & he can`t help it either. After all, Farmer gives Pig yummy slops & special back scratches, & calls him Sausage & seems to love him more, the fatter he gets. Just as well Pig doesn`t speak any Farmer. But Duck does (Duck`s clever like that), & he`s determined his best friend should know the truth. This is tough for Pig. But Pig won`t just sit there & weep (though we may do, on his behalf), because there`s help from an unexpected quarter: the Evil Chickens have a plan... ...

` Oh Norman, ` said the Queen, `the prime minister doesn`t seem to have read any Hardy. Perhaps you could find him one of our old paperbacks on his way out.` Had the dogs not taken exception to the strange van parked in the royal grounds, the Queen might never have learnt of the Westminster travelling library`s weekly visits to the palace. But finding herself at its steps, she goes up to apologise for all the yapping & ends up taking out a novel by Ivy Compton-Burnett, last borrowed in 1989. Duff read though it proves to be, upbringing demands she finish it &, so as not to appear rude, she withdraws another. This second, more fortunate choice of book awakens in Her Majesty a passion for reading so great that her public duties begin to suffer. & so, as she devours work by everyone from Hardy to Brookner to Proust to Samuel Beckett, her equerries conspire to bring the Queen`s literary odyssey to a close. Subversive & highly enjoyable, The Uncommon Reader offers the perfect argument for reading, written by one of its great champions, Alan Bennett. ...