Somewhere among the dust & cobwebs of the sinister Benevent Mansion lies the legendary Benevent treasure. But a terrible death has been prophesied for whoever uncovers it. When Candida Sayle is invited to visit her elderly maiden aunts she dismisses such gloomy thoughts. But as Candida begins to discover the familys dark secrets she puts herself in grave danger. Thankfully Miss Silver has investigative skills of her own. ...

The Bengal Cat is a gentle domesticated animal that makes a fine house pet. Heavily illustrated with vivid color photos & instructive line art Barronas Complete Pet Owneras Manuals" show & inform pet owners regarding proper care of dogs cats birds fish reptiles amphibians small caged animalsavirtually every creature that is kept as a pet. The books give advice on purchasing & otherwise acquiring a pet feeding it nutritiously keeping it in good health & where applicable grooming & training it. Each book in this large series is individually written by a specialist & though the information is authoritative the text is clear & straightforward easy for every pet owner to underst&." ...

Bengali an official language of Bangladesh & India is the seventh most-spoken language in the world with nearly 230 million total speakers. Travellers who like to venture off the beaten path are sure to find adventure & lush natural beauty in Bangladesh. The country is home to a World Heritage Site mangrove forest Bengal tigers tropical rain forests & relics of ancient Buddhist civilisations. This bilingual dictionary & phrasebook contains all the essential language that a traveller to Bangladesh or West Bengal needs to communicate. The dictionary offers instant access to key words while the phrasebook covers topics including introductions travel accommodations & sight-seeing. A concise grammar section provides an overview of the language. This is the only Bengali phrasebook available. It features 4 000 dictionary entries. Simple phonetics included for all Bengali words. It is perfect for travellers businesspeople & foreign aid workers. ...

Published to mark the beginning of the Britten centenary year in 2013 Paul Kildea's Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Century" is the definitive biography of Britain's greatest modern composer. In the eyes of many Benjamin Britten was our finest composer since Purcell (a figure who often inspired him) three hundred years earlier. He broke decisively with the romantic nationalist school of figures such as Parry Elgar & Vaughan Williams & recreated English music in a fresh modern European form. With " Peter Grimes" (1945) " Billy Budd" (1951) & " The Turn of the Screw" (1954) he arguably composed the last operas
- from any composer in any country
- which have entered both the popular consciousness & the musical canon. He did all this while carrying two disadvantages to worldly success
- his passionately held pacifism which made him suspect to the authorities during & immediately after the Second World War
- & his homosexuality specifically his forty-year relationship with Peter Pears for whom many of his greatest operatic roles & vocal works were created. The atmosphere & personalities of Aldeburgh in his native Suffolk also form another wonderful dimension to the book. Kildea shows clearly how Britten made this creative community notably with the foundation of the Aldeburgh Festival & the building of Snape Maltings but also how costly the determination that this required was. Above all this book helps us understand the relationship of Britten's music to his life & takes us as far into his creative process as we are ever likely to go. Kildea reads dozens of Britten's works with enormous intelligence & sensitivity in a way which those without formal musical training can underst&. It is one of the most moving & enjoyable biographies of a creative artist of any kind to have appeared for years. Paul Kildea is a writer & conductor who has performed many of the Britten works he writes about in opera houses & concert halls from Sydney to Hamburg. His previous books include " Selling Britten" (2002) & (as editor) " Britten on Music" (2003). He was Head of Music at the Aldeburgh Festival between 1999 & 2002 & subsequently Artistic Director of the Wigmore Hall in London."



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Benjamin Britten was the greatest English composer of the twentieth century & one of the outstanding musicians of his age. Born in Lowestoft Suffolk in 1913 Britten was the youngest child of a dentist father & amateur musician mother. After studying at the Royal College of Music he became a vital part of London's creative & intellectual life during the 1930s collaborating with W. H. Auden & meeting his lifelong partner the tenor Peter Pears. At the outbreak of the Second World War Britten & Pears were already in America earning a precarious living as freelance musicians before re-crossing the Atlantic by ship in the perilous days of 1942. But the east coast of England was where Britten as he himself said belonged: this was where he returned to write his most famous opera Peter Grimes &
- with Pears & Eric Crozier
- to found the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948. In the years that followed his worldwide reputation grew steadily helped by a busy schedule of international tours & for many crowned by the extraordinary success of his War Requiem. Meanwhile his festival went from strength to strength its progress symbolised by the opening of Snape Maltings Concert Hall in 1967. Britten was a mass of paradoxes: a solitary introspective thinker who came to ebullient life in the company of young people for whom he composed some of his most memorable works; a man of the political left who was on the friendliest terms with members of the royal family; a composer inspired by some of the twentieth century's deepest preoccupations who combined innovation with a profound understanding of musical tradition. Devoted to his friends proteges & fellow musicians he was above all someone who lived for music. Neil Powell's book is the landmark biography for Britten's centenary year: a subtle & moving portrait of a brilliant complex & ultimately loveable man.

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Benjamin Howard Baker
- Sportsman Supreme is the first time that this incredible all-round British sportsman has been immortalised
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Find out what its like to be a famous poet author & performer in this autobiography by Benjamin Zephaniah. Learn what it was like growing up in a house of seven children meeting Nelson Mandela & how he sets about writing poetry all told through his own voice & accompanied by artwork from Kate Greenaway winning illustrator Victor Ambrus. / Diamond/ Band 17 books offer more complex underlying themes to give opportunities for children to understand causes & points of view. / An autobiography / A timeline on pages 54 & 55 presents the key events in Benjamin Zephaniahs life chronologically allowing plenty of recapping & further discussion. / Curriculum Links: Citizenship: Living in a diverse world ...

The Benn Diaries" embracing the years 1940-1990 are already established as a uniquely authoritative fascinating & readable record of political life. The selected highlights that form this single volume edition include the most notable events arguments & personal reflections throughout Benns long & remarkable career. The narrative starts with Benn as a schoolboy & takes the reader through his youthful wartime experiences as a trainee pilot his nervous excitement as a new MP during Atlees premiership & the tribulations of Labour in the 1950s with the Conservatives in firm control. It ends with the Tories again in power but on the eve of Margaret Thatchers fall while Tony Benn is on a mission to Baghdad before the impending Gulf War. Over a span of 50 years the public & private turmoil in British & world politics is recorded as Benn himself moves from wartime service to become the baby of the House Cabinet Minister & finally the Commons most senior Labour Minister." ...

When Andrew Strauss's team seized the world title in the summer of 2011 they finally recovered what had been lost at the Adelaide Oval in 1959. This tale of England's preceding triumph & loss is recounted through the memoirs of many of the star players when England had last been top of the world. Bent Arms & Dodgy Wickets tells the story of English cricket's slow recovery from the Second World War of its brief time of triumph & of its undignified fall from grace
- a tale of fluctuating fortunes reflected upon by great names including Hutton Compton & Trueman Lindwall & Miller Mc Glew & Weekes. The title refers to the sporting controversies of the time
- suspect bowling actions & poor pitches
- as Britain declined as an imperial power & English cricket was hampered by class snobbery anachronistic fixations & an uncompetitive domestic game.


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Here is the complete history of Bentley one of Britains most distinguished marques from its creation in 1921 through its renaissance under VW ownership motorsport highlights including the 2003 victory at Le Mans & up to the present with the introduction of the Flying Spur saloon Azure Continental GTC Brooklands Coupe & several limited editions
- plus the substantial Arnage facelift. Turbocharged Bentley saloons coupes & convertibles are among the fastest & most desirable cars in the world.
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