John Betjeman was by far the most popular poet of the twentieth century. His collected poems sold over two million copies. Television audiences loved his quirky evocations of landscape & architecture. As Poet Laureate he became a national icon but behind the public man were doubts & demons. For much of his fifty year marriage to Penelope Chetwode the daughter of a Field Marshal Betjeman had a relationship with Elizabeth Cavendish the daughter of the Duke of Devonshire & Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret. Betjeman a devout Anglican was tormented by guilt about the storms this emotional triangle caused. This book is the first to use fully the vast archive of personal material relating to Betjemans private life including literally hundreds of letters written by his wife about their life together & apart. It is a celebration of a much-loved poet a brave campaigner for architecture at risk & a highly popular public performer. ...

For more than half a century Betjemans writings have awakened readers to the intimacy of English places
- from the smell of gaslight
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Cape Colony is proving a tiresome assignment for Captain Kydd's daring commander-in-chief Commodore Popham. Rumours that South America's Spanish colonies are in a ferment of popular unrest & of a treasure hoard of silver spur him to assemble a makeshift invasion fleet & launch a bold attack on the capital of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate Buenos Aires. Navigating the treacherous bars & mud flats of the river the British invasion force lands & wins a battle against improbable odds taking the capital & the silver. But nothing is as simple as it seems in this region of the world: the uprising that will see the end of Spanish rule never arrives & the locals begin to see dark conspiracies behind the invader's actions. Soon the tiny British force finds itself surrounded by an ever more hostile population. The city begins to revolt against its liberators. Now Kydd's men must face fierce resistance & the betrayal of their closest allies. Can they save themselves & their prize? ...

In this final volume Lucy is asked to continue her work on behalf of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth I. & her romance with Tomas the queens fool seems to be flourishing
- or it is until Mistress Juliette the new lady-in-waiting arrives & Tomas pays her far too much attention for Lucys liking. But then Lucy realises that Juliette is telling lies & is not what she appears to be. Lucy fears for the safety of the queen as there are always supporters of Mary Queen of Scots who are willing to risk all. How will Lucy convince Tomas of her fears when he just teases her & tells her that she is simply jealous? Desperate times call for desperate measures A thrilling & romantic historical novel that will give all teenage readers an accurate sense of the Elizabethan period.
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The Betrayal" is the sequel to Helen Dunmores hugely successful historical novel " The Siege" set in Stalins Russia. Leningrad 1952. Andrei a young hospital doctor & Anna a nursery school teacher are forging a life together in the post-war post-siege wreckage. But their happiness is precarious like that of millions of Russians who must avoid the claws of Stalins merciless Ministry for State security. So when Andrei is asked to treat the seriously ill child of a senior secret police officer he & Anna are fearful. Trapped in an impossible maybe unwinnable game can they avoid the whispers & watchful eyes of those who will say or do anything to save themselves? " The Betrayal" is a powerful & touching novel of ordinary people in the grip of a terrible & sinister regime & a moving portrait of a love that will not be extinguished. " Beautifully crafted gripping moving enlightening. Sure to be one of the best historical novels of the year". (" Time Out"). " Scrupulous pitch-perfect. With heart-pounding force Dunmore builds up a double narrative of suspense". (" Sunday Times"). " Magnificent brave tender.. .with a unique gift for immersing the reader in the taste smell & fear of a story". (" Independent on Sunday"). Novelist & poet Helen Dunmore has achieved great critical acclaim since publishing her first adult novel the Mc Kitterick Prize winning " Zennor in Darkness". Her novels " Counting the Stars" " Your Blue-Eyed Boy" " With Your Crooked Heart" " Burning Bright" " House of Orphans" " Mourning Ruby" "A Spell of Winter" & " Talking to the Dead" & her collection of short stories " Love of Fat Men" are all published by Penguin. Helen also writes for children her titles include " The Deep" & " Ingo"." ...

Part of a collection of Harold Pinters works this is a comedy of sexual manners in which Pinter captures the psyches sly manoeuvres for self-respect with sardonic forgiveness. Written in 1978 by the author of The Caretaker" " The Lover" " The Homecoming" & " The Birthday Party"." ...

Ariel & Preston are happily married & Ariel is determined to keep it that way. Preston is recovering from a stroke but if he begins to piece together memories of the seventy-two hours prior to his stroke then he will realize Ariel's hidden secret. Also privy to Ariel's exploits Preston's secretary Michele has set her sights on a position of power. But when Preston's memories start to resurface will he be able to forgive & forget? Can Ariel ignore her deepest yearnings for the sake of her marriage? & though bound to secrecy will Michele honour her pact with Ariel or stop at nothing to get what she wants? ...

Tallie Jones is a Hollywood legend. An ambitious & passionate film director her award-winning productions achieve the rare combination of critical & commercial success. But she has little interest in the glitz & glamour of Los Angeles instead focusing intently on her work & family. She has close loving relationships with her daughter her elderly father & Hunter Lloyd
- her co-producer & partner of four years. Completing her trusted circle is Brigitte Parker
- Tallie's best friend & devoted personal assistant. They've been friends since film school & Brigitte's polished glamour & highly organized style provides a perfect balance to Tallie's casual appearance & down-to-earth approach to life. However as Tallie is in the midst of directing her most ambitious film to date small disturbances start to ripple through her faultlessly ordered world. An audit reveals worrying discrepancies in her financial records which have always been maintained by her trusted accountant Victor Carson. Receipts hint at activities of which she has no knowledge. Someone close to Tallie has been steadily helping themselves to enormous amounts of her money. Her once safe world of trusted associates is suddenly shaken to its very core
- & Tallie is in shock trying to figure out who has betrayed her among those she trusts & holds dear...


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Betrayal is a new departure & a bold one... Pinter has found a way of making memory active & dramatic giving an audience the experience of the minds accelerating momentum as it pieces together the past with a combination of curiosity & regret. He shows man betrayed not only by man but by time
- a recurring theme which has found its proper scenic correlative... Pinter captures the psyches sly manoeuvres for self-respect with a sardonic forgiveness.. .a master craftsman honouring his talent by setting it new difficult tasks". (New Society). " There is hardly a line into which desire pain alarm sorrow rage or some kind of blend of feelings has not been compressed like volatile gas in a cylinder less stable than it looks... Pinters narrative method takes "whats next?" out of the spectators & replaces it with the rather deeper "how?" & "why?" Why did love pass? How did these people cope with the lies the evasions the sudden dangers panic & the contradictory feelings behind their own deftly engineered masks? The plays subject is not sex not even adultery but the politics of betrayal & the damage it inflicts on all involved." (The Times). First staged at the National Theatre in 1978 Betrayal was revived at the Almeida Theatre London in 1991. Twenty years after its first showing it returned to the National in 1998."
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Cape Colony is proving a tiresome assignment for Captain Kydd's daring commander-in-chief Commodore Popham. Rumours that South America's Spanish colonies are in a ferment of popular unrest & of a treasure hoard of silver spur him to assemble a makeshift invasion fleet & launch a bold attack on the capital of the Viceroyalty of the River Plate Buenos Aires. Navigating the treacherous bars & mud flats of the river the British invasion force lands & wins a battle against improbable odds taking the capital & the silver. But nothing is as simple as it seems in this region of the world: the uprising that will see the end of Spanish rule never arrives & the locals begin to see dark conspiracies behind the invader's actions. Soon the tiny British force finds itself surrounded by an ever more hostile population. The city begins to revolt against its liberators. Now Kydd's men must face fierce resistance & the betrayal of their closest allies. Can they save themselves & their prize? ...