This is a writer's journal of his friendships, encounters & observations during the 1950s & 60s, describing the relationships with Cork author Frank O' Connor, Patrick Kavanagh, Charles Cape & the remarkable Margaret Radford
- baglady & acquaintanc
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The Battle of Britain was a critical period in the history of World War II when, thanks to the heroics of the RAF & their Spitfire & Hurricane aircraft, Britain managed to withstand the Luftwaffe onslaught & avoid the invasion that would have followed. Drawing on new interviews with surviving pilots & other military staff, this book commemorates their bravery & skill, & vividly conveys their extraordinary experiences of aerial combat. ...

Brendan Hughes was a legend in the Republican movement: an 'operator', gun-runner & mastermind of some of the most savage IRA violence of the Troubles. He was also a friend & close ally of Gerry Adams. David Ervine was the most substantial political figure to emerge from the world of Loyalist paramilitaries & he helped steer the UVF towards ceasefires & peace. In a dramatic break with the unwritten laws of the paramilitary code of honour, these two leading figures from opposing sides in Northern Ireland spoke frankly about their turbulent, violent lives to American researchers from Boston College. With their deaths, their stories can now be told. ...

Ed Moloney's "A Secret History of the IRA" is the best-informed account yet written of the IRA's evolution from ruthless guerrilla army into governmental party, ruling Northern Ireland alongside its most intransigent former enemies. But reconciliation between political figures who until very recently wished each other dead or in jail has not been accompanied by very much truth-telling about the past. Men who have been to the White House & hob-nobbed with Tony Blair deny that they ever fired a shot in anger, or caused a bomb to be planted. Now, in a truly ground-breaking piece of historical evidence-gathering initiated by Boston College, two former paramilitary leaders
- one republican, one loyalist
- speak with unprecedented frankness about their role in some of the most appalling violence of the Troubles. Their openness results in a book of shocking & irresistible testimony, their voices set in the context of a narrative by Ed Moloney of their lives & of the society they grew up in.

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It is 1865 & Eppie, a young widow with a child to bring up, can't believe her luck when she gets the position of housekeeper to wealthy widower Alexander Geddes. He & his teenage son, Duncan, are a dream to work for, but daughter Lydia is moody, spoiled & temperamental
- & convinced that Eppie has designs on Alexander. But Eppie is no gold-digger & Alexander Geddes has intentions that are purely honourable. Intentions that begin to lean in the direction of Lydia's governess
- Eppie's sister Marion. Yet although the attraction is mutual, its development is slow. For there are other tensions not only in the household but also in the community. Refusing to train as a physician, Duncan is set on following his heart's desire, to side with his stepmother's kin & pursue his dreams of quarrying the precious local marble. Eppie, now almost a member of the family, feels partly responsible for the rift between father & son. She feels even more responsible when Duncan returns home with a stranger who has a mysterious past.. .

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A fascinating collection of first-hand accounts of life in the time of Jane Austen (1775-1817), showing how social standing & etiquette were prime considerations of the period. This book reveals the stark contrast that existed in every aspect of domestic & public life, including the gulfs between rich & poor, 'upstairs' & 'downstairs', & the lives of men & women. The 'voices' come from Jane Austen's novels, letters, biographies, memoirs & newspapers, including previously unpublished material held by The Jane Austen Society, British Library, Hampshire Record Office & Kent County Archives. ...

Laura, newly married & ever conscious she may be living in the shadow of her husband Alec's first wife, decides to take a holiday with his family in Cornwall. Through the long hot summer days she is slowly charmed by the beautiful old house & the people she learns to know & love. In time her uneasy spirit is soothed by the sparkling, brilliant sea, & her restless heart finally calmed. But is this new-found tranquillity too good to be true? For with the arrival of an anonymous letter, one accusing her of having an affair, Laura's world is thrown into turmoil... ...

Louis Simpson is one of America's most distinguished poets, the winner of many literary awards including a Pulitzer Prize. Voices in the Distance is the first selection of his poetry to be published in Britain for over 25 years. His earlier books were published in the UK by Oxford University Press & Secker & Warburg. ...

Delve into the remarkable story of the legendary bouncing-bomb attack on Nazi Germany's dams.

In 17 May 1943, the German

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In the 50 years between 1530 & 1580, England moved from being a lavishly Catholic country to a Protestant nation. Exploring Morebath, a remote & tiny sheep-farming village on the edge of Exmoor, this work offers a window into a rural world in crisis as the Reformation progressed. ...