Jan Constantine has written this book as an inspirational guide to hand embroidery with the aim of reviving the ancient craft which has generally lain dormant since the 1950s when television arrived. This book guides the reader through the various stitches & methods of sewing simple & useful items for the home which can be treasured & kept for the next generation. As an antidote to the throwaway lifestyle of today Heirloom Embroidery is testament to the way our grandparents lived appreciating preserving & passing down the wonderful h&-worked textiles stitched by family members. Most of the stitches are very simple & with some practice the results should be beautiful. Hand embroidery can become very addictive but as it is very transportable the work can be done practically anywhere. Heirloom Embroidery contains unique designs for all levels from the beginner to the established seamstress. The range of stitches
Includes:: running stitch satin stitch padded satin stitch French knots buttonhole stitch stem stitch chain stitch & many more. Constantine provides full step-by-step instruction on all the above stiches as well as techniques for a vast array of gift ideas soft furnishings & home accessories.
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The dramatic new Ravenscar novel from the international bestselling author of Woman of Substance. As the First World War draws to a close all seems golden for young Edward Deravenel charismatic head of the family empire & master of Ravenscar. Yet beneath the surface lies discord. Elizabeth Deravenel his beautiful wife is jealous & her lies & gossip damage the family name. Worse still is Edwards brother George. His reckless behaviour & treachery lead to blackmail & betrayal. The fortunes of the house of Deravenel begin to suffer. It is up to Edwards daughter Bess & her son Harry to secure the Ravenscar inheritance -- whatever it takes! Ravenscar: A House. A Legacy. A Dynasty. ...

She remembered how it felt to lose Salma first to the wiles of the Butterfly-kinden girl then to hear the news of his death abandoned & alone in the midst of the enemy. She remembered how it felt to see her father hacked to death before her eyes. But of her murder of Achaeos of the bite of her blade into his unsuspecting flesh the wound that had sapped him & ruined him until he died she remembered nothing felt nothing. In such a vacuum how could she possibly atone? Tynisa is running but she cannot escape the demons of her own mind. Amidst the fragmenting provinces of the Dragonfly Commonweal her past will at last catch up with her. Her father's ghost is hunting her down. At the same time the Wasp Empress Seda is on the move her eyes on the city of Khanaphes the fallen jewel of the ancient world. Whilst her soldiers seek only conquest she sees herself as the heir to all the old powers of history & has her eyes on a far greater prize. ...

The Prophet Muhammad taught the word of God to the Arabs. Within a generation of his death his followers
- as vivid a cast of heroic
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On 22 February 2006 GBP53 million was stolen from a cash warehouse belonging to the Securitas company in Tonbridge Kent. In terms of value the robbery puts previous British capers such as the Great Train Robbery in the shade. This was a crime notable for its audacity carried out by an unlikely crew of players that included a used car salesman two Albanian casual workers & a roofer. Five men were convicted at the Old Bailey in January 2008 which attracted nationwide media coverage. A sixth man Paul Allen was sentenced in October 2009 for his part. Having become close to the Tonbridge gang & the police during three years of research Sounes relates a classic crime caper in irresistible almost forensic detail. After the robbery comes the exciting sometimes comical story of the getaway. Money is found & arrests are made but key characters slip out of the country & millions of pounds are still missing. HEIST is the definitive account of these compelling events is wildly entertaining & a must for all fans of well-written true crime. Since the book has been written Darren Aronofsky (director of The Wrestler) has announced he will direct a British-made film about the robbery. ...

How far do you go to rescue your child? Paul van Niekirk a successful white South African is held up at gun-point when driving his new BMW. Hes dragged out & his abductor drives off in his car. Its an everyday car jacking. Except his nine-month old daughter is in the back seat. As a pacifist Paul is reluctant to carry a gun but he descends into the heart of darkness of his country determined to find his child. He uncovers a criminal gang involved in people trafficking & discovers in himself a capacity for violence. When the trail goes cold he is on the verge of losing everything but finds redemption in the most unlikely circumstances. Moving from the enclaves of Johannesburgs northern suburbs to the throbbing heart of Sowetos informal settlements Paul is forced to confront the changing political & social landscape of the new South Africa questioning his own values as his perfect life crumbles around him. ...

Helen Dillon is revered worldwide as one of the most skilled & perceptive gardeners of our time. In this book she encapsulates in her inimitably witty & accessible style her deep love of plants assured sense of design & a lifetime of gardening know-how. Here is illumination for every gardener
- from the beginner wondering why nothing will grow in the garden of the new house to the sophisticate aiming at exquisitely subtle effects. Thoughtful ideas on garden style are underpinned by practical advice on looking after plants & careful instructions on the basics of digging planting & propagating. Helen Dillon teaches us all how to garden & garden well.
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Helen Keller lived in darkness & silence but she dazzled the world with her accomplishments. Her powerful story lives on in this remarkable biography by Emma Carlson Berne. Find out about: the illness that destroyed young Helens sight & hearing; her explosive first meeting with her teacher Annie Sullivan; her struggle to become the first blind/deaf student ever awarded a degree from prestigious Radcliffe College; & the romance that almost led to marriage & her life as writer lecturer & world traveller. ...

As soon as men began to write they made Helen of Troy their subject; for close on three thousand years she has been both the embodiment of absolute female beauty & a reminder of the terrible power that beauty can wield. Because of her double marriage to the Greek King Menelaus & the Trojan Prince Paris Helen was held responsible for an enduring enmity between East & West. For millennia she has been viewed as an exquisite agent of extermination. But who was she? Helen exists in many guises: a matriarch from the Age of Heroes who ruled over one of the most fertile areas of the Mycenaean world; Helen of Sparta the focus of a cult which conflated Helen the heroine with a pre-Greek fertility goddess; the home-wrecker of the Iliad; the bitch-whore of Greek tragedy; & the pin-up of Romantic artists. Focusing on the real Helen
- a flesh-&-blood aristocrat from the Greek Bronze Age
- acclaimed historian Bettany Hughes reconstructs the context of life for this elusive pre-historic princess. Through the eyes of a young Mycenaean woman Hughes examines the physical historical & cultural traces that Helen has left on locations in Greece North Africa & Asia Minor. Vivid & compelling this remarkable book brilliantly unpacks the facts & myths surrounding one of the most enigmatic & notorious figures of all time.

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She understood women. She understood beauty. & she started a revolution. Helena Rubinstein was born into a poor Polish family at the end of the nineteenth century; by the time of her death in 1965 she had built a cosmetics empire that spanned the world. When Rubinstein opened her first salon in Melbourne her scientific approach to beauty was an instant sensation. Women just couldn't get enough of her innovative advice on skincare & her beauty products were constantly sold out. Having conquered Australia Rubinstein went on to open salons in Europe & America at a time when women were barely seen in business let alone running their own multinational companies. For this visionary entrepreneur lived & breathed her work & nobody
- lover husband or child
- was allowed to get in the way of business success. Helena Rubinstein was a total original & her legacy can still be seen today in the methods used to market & manufacture cosmetics. This is her amazing life story.

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