Alessandra is not quite fifteen when her prosperous merchant father brings a young painter back with him from Holland to adorn the walls of the new family chapel. She is fascinated by his talents & envious of his abilities & opportunities to paint to the glory of God. Soon her love of art & her lively independence are luring her into closer involvement with all sorts of taboo areas of life. On excursions into the streets of night-time Florence she observes a terrible evil stalking the city & witnesses the rise of the fiery young priest Savanarola who has set out to rid the city of vice richness even art itself. Alessandra must make crucial decisions about the shape of her adult life as Florence itself must choose between the old ways of the luxury-loving Medicis & the asceticism of Savanorola. & through it all there is the painter whose love will change everything. ...

On the basis of over 25 years' clinical experience & psychological research Linda Blair reveals how your birth order position as well as the spacing between you & your siblings & the sex of your siblings impact your childhood your adult life & your relationships. Packed with new research & written in a lively personal style Birth Order will inform & intrigue. By reading this unique book you will quickly understand yourself your family & your partner better. It will also shed light on the dynamics of your other relationships explain why you may repeat patterns within relationships & suggest helpful strategies for dealing with other people. Chapters cover birth order & what being the eldest middle or youngest child reveals about you the effect of large or small age gaps between you & your siblings family size the sex of your siblings parental attitudes to each child being an only child being a twin the impact of step-siblings & much more. ...

The most anticipated part of pregnancy is giving birth; yet most pregnancy books devote only a chapter or two to this miraculous event & the physical discomfort that accompanies it. Uniquely Birth Skills" concentrates solely on helping you & your partner manage the pain of childbirth
- from the first contraction throughout the labour to the actual birth itself. Written by leading obstetric physiotherapist Juju Sundin with Sarah Murdoch providing a mothers point of view this wonderful book tells you exactly how your body works in labour & clearly explains how you can use movement breathing vocalisation visualisation & many other easy-to-follow techniques to alleviate pain. Juju & Sarahs sound advice makes " Birth Skills" an invaluable guide for all expectant parents."
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This new title in the popular Look & Say" series is designed to introduce very young children to birthday words. Five colourful scenes show how people can celebrate birthdays. Crammed with real-life objects this book provides a fantastic way for children to recognise & talk about their own experiences giving hours of entertainment. Illustrated with Jo Litchfields handmade models each page features a robust tab enabling children to locate their favourite scenes quickly & easily." ...

Fiona Cairns turns her attention to birthdays adding a touch of bling to her trademark pretty style. Every day of the year is someone's birthday the chance to celebrate with close friends or family or maybe an excuse for a larger bash. A birthday cake is the centrepiece ablaze with candles cut with a secret wish & shared to create precious memories. Many families have a treasured recipe baked for every birthday. Perhaps you'll find a new family favourite in these pages. Whether you are one or 100 a Goth or a gardener there is the perfect cake for you here. The Birthday Cake Book has 52 new recipes & 61 cake decorations including 16 cupcakes. Every recipe is delicious. Try the sensational masala chai cake with ginger fudge frosting or a sophisticated pistachio Grand Marnier & olive oil creation. Many require no sugarcraft skills at all. Fiona also gives five spectacular themed parties from Vampires with an eye-popping crystal skull cake to Vintage Tea Party with a super-realistic crocodile handbag cake. So bring a special gift to a birthday party & get baking! ...

Perfect for reading together or for children who are just starting to read alone. Filled with gorgeous illustrations. Willow Valley is a very special place. Nestled in a hidden valley trees of all shapes & sizes grew on the rolling green hills & pretty flowers dance in the meadows. Only the animals who live there know their way in & out but they hardly ever want to lave because theyre having too much fun! Riley the mouse Starla the badger & Horatio the hedgehog are the best of friends. Its Rileys birthday & they cant wait for his party! What will his present be ...

Tony Freeman rescued Mersiha when she was fighting for her life in war-torn Yugoslavia. Now she is his adopted daughter the perfect all-American girl & the past is another country. Or so it seems. But Mersiha has been trained to kill. & when she discovers that Freeman's company is subject to a sinister takeover bid she decides to help. Whatever the risks. The consequences of her actions are lethal for Mersiha has unearthed a conspiracy of terrifying proportions.. . ...

With just two exceptions these 88 poems in the form of a narrative are addressed to Sylvia Plath the American poet to whom Ted Hughes was married. They were written over a period of more than 25 years the first a few years after her suicide in 1963. Intimate & candid they cover the whole period of their relationship from the first meeting to the aftermath of Plath's death but are largely concerned with the psychological drama that led to the writing of her finest poems & to her death. ...

Its late spring of 1990 & a love affair is flourishing: between Ivor Tesham a thirty-three year old rising star of Margaret Thatchers Conservative government & Hebe Furnal a stunning North London housewife stuck in a dull marriage. What excitement Hebe lacks at home however is amply compensated for by the well-bred & intensely attractive Tesham
- an ardent womanizer & ambitious politican. On the eve of her twenty-eighth birthday Tesham decides to give Hebe a present to remember: something far more memorable than say the costly string of pearls hes already lavished upon her. Involving a fashionable new practice known as adventure sex a man arranges for his unsuspecting but otherwise willing girlfriend to be snatched from the street bound & gagged & delivered to him at a mutually agreed venue.. . Set amidst an age of IRA bombings the first Gulf War & sleazy politics The Birthday Present" is the gripping story of a fall from grace & of a man who carries within him all the hypocrisy greed & self-obsession of a troubled era."
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Alfie cant wait to turn seven like his friend Tim but something strange is happening. When on his birthday under the light of the full moon he sprouts fur grows fangs & develops a wolfish appetite its clear hes doing more than turning seven
- hes turning into a WEREWOLF! But its not all bad
- now Alfies great at gym has the guts to stand up to the school bully & is invited to parties. Maybe being a werewolf isnt so bad after all?

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