Two names reigned supreme in London's underworld in the sixties
- Ronnie & Reggie Kray; & it wasn't until 1969 that the twins went
...

Poirot sets himself a challenge before he retires – to solve 12 cases which correspond with the labours of his classical Greek

...

The Labyrinth is filled with beautiful portraits of mighty creatures from the world of myths & legends, just waiting to be brought

...

A cross between ' The Memory-Keeper's Daughter' & ' The Sixth Sense', this mesmerising first novel takes the reader into a world of secrets, confused identities, lies & half-truths, culminating in an extraordinary twist. Would knowing the future be a gift or a burden? Or even a curse!? The Whitney women of Salem, Massachusetts are renowned for reading the future in the patterns of lace. But the future doesn't always bring good news -- as Towner Whitney knows all too well. When she was just fifteen her gift sent her whole world crashing to pieces. She predicted -- & then witnessed
- something so horrific that she vowed never to read lace again, & fled her home & family for good. Salem is a place of ghosts for Towner, & she swore she would never return. Yet family is a powerful tie. So it is that fifteen years later, Towner finds herself back in Salem. Her beloved Great Aunt Eva has suddenly disappeared -- & when you've lived a life like Eva's, that could mean real trouble. But Salem is wreathed in sickly shadows & whispered half-memories. It's fast becoming clear that the ghosts of Towner's fractured past have not been brought fully into the light. & with them comes the threat of terrifying new disaster. A literary page-turner with depth, narrative power & a story that novels like ' The Thirteenth Tale' can only dream of, ' The Lace Reader' is a bewitching & tightly plotted read.
...

Magic, madam, is like wine &, if you are not used to it, it will make you drunk Faerie is never as far away as you think. Sometimes you find you have crossed an invisible line & must cope, as best you can, with petulant princesses, vengeful owls, ladies who pass their time embroidering terrible fates, or with endless paths in deep dark woods & houses that never appear the same way twice. The heroines & heroes bedevilled by such problems in these fairytales include a conceited Regency clergyman, an eighteenth-century Jewish doctor & Mary Queen of Scots, as well as two characters from Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Strange himself & the Raven King. ...

Romantic comedy starring Henry Fonda as Charles Pike, the heir to the Pike Ale empire. Following a year spent looking for rare snakes, Charles is heading for New York aboard the S.S. Southern Queen. But with everyone on board the ship aware of his inherit ...

Life as a sailor must be so exciting!

But as Maid of Honour to Queen Elizabeth, I would never be allowed to try out my

...

Read by Tracy-Ann Oberman. Descended from Melusina, the river goddess, Jacquetta has always had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she meets his prisoner, Joan of Arc, & sees her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft. Married to the Duke of Bedford, English Regent of France, Jacquetta is introduced by him to a mysterious world of learning & alchemy. Her only friend in the great household is the Duke's squire, Richard Woodville, who is at her side when the Duke's death leaves her a wealthy young widow. The two become lovers & marry in secret, returning to England to serve at the court of the young King Henry VI, where Jacquetta becomes a close & loyal friend to his new queen. The Woodvilles soon achieve a place at the very heart of the Lancaster court, though Jacquetta can sense the growing threat from the people of England & the danger of royal rivals in the House of York. Jacquetta fights for her King, her Queen, & for her daughter Elizabeth Woodville, a young woman for whom Jacquetta can sense an extraordinary & unexpected future: a change of fortune, the throne of Engl&, & the white rose of York. ...

Alison Read, orphaned when she was two years old, had for some years lived & worked with Paul Aylmer, her appointed guardian. Paul, an experienced antique dealer whose business thrived in the south-coast town of Sealock, had come to rely on Alison, who had quickly learned the trade. But when he had asked her to value the contents of Beacon Ride, a chain of events was set off that led to the exposure of a secret he had for years managed to conceal. As a result, Alison's relationship with Paul came under threat & she knew that only by confronting the situation head-on would her ambitions be realised. Part-mystery, part-love story, & with its fascinating glimpses of the world of antiques in the 1960s, The Lady on my Left displays yet another facet of Catherine Cookson's remarkable talent. ...

Classic thriller from Alfred Hitchcock, made shortly before he moved to America. When the elderly Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) goes missing on a train bound for Engl&, her friend Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) sets out to find her. However, Iris's attempts are immediately frustrated by her fellow passengers, who question whether Miss Froy ever even existed. Only music scholar Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave) is prepared to believe Iris, & together they set about getting to the bottom of the mystery. ...