In 1982 for the princely sum of GBP2 000 a year the seventeen-year-old Richard Anderson became an apprentice at Huntsmans the most venerable of Savile Row tailors. Nineteen years later he opened his own eponymous business on the world-famous ' Golden Mile' where he h&-cuts exquisite suits for a global clientele. In Bespoke he does for the world of tailoring what Kitchen Confidential did for the world of haute cuisine. With him we learn the consummate craftsmanship & pefectionism that goes into a h&-made suit & the years of sweat & graft it takes to learn it. Training in the art of making trousers & coats that could cost as much as GBP10 000 was a gruelling game but Richard persisted to become the youngest head cutter in Huntsman's 150-year-old history. We meet the extraordinary cast of characters who peopled Huntsmans from the boardroom to the backroom -- the debonair Colin Hammick the grumpy eccentric Brian Hall & Dick Lakey the heroically overworked 'leg man'. Not to mention the no less colourful clients who ranged from politicians & peers of the realm to music icons & Hollywood movie stars. Frequently funny & told with great candour Bespoke is a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes on Savile Row. You'll never look at a suit in the same light again. ...

May 1915. While thousands of Britons fight in the trenches a severely depleted police force remains behind to keep the Home Front safe. In London the sinking of the Lusitania sparks an unprecedented wave of anti-German riots & arson attacks across the city. Among the victims is the immigrant tailor Jacob Stein found dead in his burnt-out shop. Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion & Sergeant Joe Keedy must take on this case of cover-ups & contradictions & track down Jacobs killer
- a hunt which carries them from the crime-ridden streets of wartime London to the chaos of the front line. But is the murder simply the result of a tragic excess of wartime hysteria or perhaps a more premeditated crime?
...

Bess of Hardwick was one of the most remarkable women of the Tudor era. Gently-born in reduced circumstances she was married at 15 wedded at 16 & still a virgin. At 19 she married a man more than twice her age Sir William Cavendish a senior auditor in King Henry VIIIs Court of Augmentations. Responsible for seizing church properties for the crown during the Dissolution Cavendish enriched himself in the process. During the reign of King Edward VI Cavendish was the Treasurer to the boy king & sisters & he & Bess moved in the highest levels of society. They had a London home & built Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. After Cavendishs death her third husband was poisoned by his brother. Bess 4th marriage to the patrician George 6th Earl of Shrewsbury Earl Marshall of England made Bess one of the most important women at court. Her shrewd business acumen was a byword & she was said to have a masculine understanding in that age when women had little education & few legal rights. The Earls death made her arguably the wealthiest & therefore
- next to the Queen
- the most powerful woman in the country.

...

Beautiful young exuberant the amazing life of Elizabeth Blount Henry VIIIs mistress & mother to his first son who came tantalizingly close to succeeding him as King Henry IX. The earliest known & longest lasting mistress of Henry VIII Bessie Blount was the kings first love. More beautiful than Anne Boleyn or any of Henrys other wives or concubines Bessies beauty & other charms ensured that she turned heads winning a place at court as one of Catherine of Aragons ladies. Within months she was partnering the king in dancing & she rose to be the woman with the most influence over Henry much to Catherine of Aragons despair. The affair lasted five years (longer than most of Henrys marriages) & in 1519 she bore Henry VIII a son Henry Fitzroy. As a mark of his importance Cardinal Wolsey was appointed his guardian & godfather. Supplanted soon after by Mary Boleyn Bessies importance rests on the vital proof it gave Henry VIII that he could father a healthy son & through Henry Fitzroy Bessie remained a prominent figure at court. In the country at large for proving that the king was capable of fathering a son Bessie prompted the saying Blessee Bessie Blount & her position of mother of such an important child made her an object of interest to many of her contemporaries. Sidelined by historians until now Bessie & the son she had by the king are one of the great what ifs of English history. If Jane Seymour had not produced a male heir & Bessies son had not died young aged 17 in all likelihood Henry Fitzroy could have followed his father as King Henry IX & Bessie propelled to the status of mother of the king. ...

Michael Adams shares a flat with three other men in their late twenties. Days are spent lying in bed playing computer games & occasionally doing a bit of work. & then when he feels like it he crosses the river & goes back to his unsuspecting wife & children. For Michael is living a double life
- he escapes from the exhausting misery of babies by telling his wife he has to work through the night or travel up north. & while she is valiantly coping on her own he is just a few miles away in a secret flat doing all the things that most men with small children can only dream about. He thinks he can have it all until is deception is inevitably exposed... The Best a Man Can Get" is written with the hilarious eye for detail that sent John OFarrells first book " Things Can Only Get Better" to the top of the bestseller lists. It is a darkly comic confessional that is at once compelling revealing & very very funny."
...

Across the globe there are scores of beautiful & unusual works of art that are largely unseen or fail to receive the critical acclaim they deserve. The Best Art You've Never Seen" is your essential companion to this hidden world of artistic treasures. Travelling from Peru to Papua New Guinea " The Best Art You've Never Seen" restores to view 101 wonderful treasures
- uncovering neglected artistic wonders from off-beat corners of the world to store rooms in the world's great museums. Written by art expert & former museum director Julian Spalding " The Best Art You've Never Seen" takes you into a world of beautiful & arresting artefacts & reveals their amazing stories. It unveils a surprising & unfamiliar alternative canon of works to offer a fresh & controversial take on the world of art."
...

New design & format for this excellent bumper size baby name guide. The new edition is updated to include popular new names such as Britney Lourdes Harley. Trying to find a name for your new baby? If so The Best Baby Name Book will give you plenty of ideas for newborn boys & girls. As well as the names themselves the book provides the origins & history of each name so the reader can discover the background & meaning & choose the perfect name. Names in the book include all of the well-known & popular names as well as: * Names from different cultures
- including Celtic Ancient Greek & Roman Hebrew Arabic Norse Native American & Gypsy. * Historical names
- Kings & Queens Saints. * Literary names. * Names in different languages
- Middle & Old English German. * Names made famous by stars of music film & TV. Also included are baby horoscopes so parents to be can read about their babys star sign & predicted personality traits. Ideal names to suit each star sign are suggested. This edition is updated with the new names which have become popular since publication of the previous edition
- Britney Brooklyn Kylie
- to name a few.




...

Choosing a name for your baby has never been easier with this ultimate baby-naming guide. With all the information on the latest naming trends this comprehensive & easy-to-use guide is full of inspirational names. Including:
- A-Z directories of over 8 000 names & their meanings
- Over 100 inspirational lists
- Naming trends for 2013
- Tips for choosing the perfect name for your baby. Including modern names & variants plus classics that have stood the test of time this naming guide has everything you need for finding the perfect name for your new arrival.



...

A collection of Richard Scarrys best loved stories gathered together in the perfect bedtime storybook. Now in picture book format. Join Huck & Lowly on their adventures around Busytown then drift off to sleep for adventures of your own! This fun book contains a collection of some of Richard Scarrys best loved stories perfect for bedtime reading & is packed with Richard Scarrys wonderful original artwork. ...

Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover -- or more accurately by its title. This new series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor's brief is wide ranging covering anthologies collections magazines newspapers & web sites looking for the best of the bunch to reprint all in one volume. Neither genre nor Granta shall be overlooked in the search for the very best new short fiction. The first book of the series

Includes:: stories published in 2010 by the following authors: David Rose Hilary Mantel Lee Rourke Leone Ross Claire Massey Christopher Burns Adam Marek SJ Butler Heather Leach Alan Beard Kirsty Logan Philip Langeskov Bernie Mc Gill John Burnside Robert Edric Michele Roberts Dai Vaughan Alison Moore & Salley Vickers.

...