For two centuries Jacob Marlowe has wandered the world enslaved by his lunatic appetites & tormented by the memory of his first & most monstrous crime. Now the last of his kind he knows he cant go on. But as Jake counts down to suicide a violent murder & an extraordinary meeting plunge him straight back into the desperate pursuit of life. ...

This is a brilliant new interpretation of one of the most dramatic periods of British history. The Wars of the Roses" didn't end at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. Despite the death of Richard III & Henry VII's victory it continued underground into the following century with plots pretenders & subterfuge by the ousted white rose faction. In a brand new interpretation of this turning point in history well known historian Desmond Seward reviews the story of the Tudors' seizure of the throne & shows that for many years they were far from secure. He challenges the way we look at the reigns of Henry VII & Henry VIII explaining why there were so many Yorkist pretenders & conspiracies & why the new dynasty had such difficulty establishing itself. King Richard's nephews the Earl of Warwick & the little known de la Pole brothers all had the support of dangerous enemies overseas while England was split when the lowly Perkin Warbeck skilfully impersonated one of the princes in the tower in order to claim the right to the throne. Warwick's surviving sister Margaret also became the desperate focus of hopes that the White Rose would be reborn. The book also offers a new perspective on why Henry VIII constantly threatened by treachery real or imagined & desperate to secure his power with a male heir became a tyrant. Praise for Desmond Seward's "A Brief History of the War of the Roses": " It is hard to imagine a historian more in command of his subject... The result is history as compelling as any novel". (" Independent"). " This is a splendidly & vividly written book." (" Evening Standard"). A Brief History of the Hundred Years Wars: "A well-written narrative beautifully illustrated & which takes into account most recent scholarship. It is also a good read." (Richard Cobb " New Statesman")." ...

Three bears' incredible journey. ' Hunter creates a richly sensuous world filled with cruelty beauty tenderness savagery & just enough underlying legendary background to add mystery.' Kirkus Reviews After countless trials & an epic struggle for survival the bears have reached the fabled last great wilderness.. . Prey is abundant & people are scarce. Can the bears finally live in peace? Though the ice pulls Kallik & the trees call to Lusa it is Toklo who strikes out on his own trying to exist in isolation as a fully-grown grizzly. But when Ujurak's life is threatened the bears just come together once more to save their friend. ...

A frosty December night in Stockholm. A thousand guests attend the prestigious Nobel Prizewinners' dinner. The evening is one of prestige & glamour. Until wo shots are fired on the dance floor. Crime reporter Annika Bengtzon is there covering the event for the Evening Post". As the police realize she caught a glimpse of the suspect she is far more interested in getting back to the newsroom. But as more brutal murders follow Annika finds herself in the middle of something far larger than she had anticipated. No longer just a reporter but also a vulnerable key witness she begins to close up the gaps linking these crimes just as the suspect starts closing the net on Annika herself." ...

Geralt is a witcher a man whose magic powers enhanced by long training & a mysterious elixir have made him a brilliant fighter & a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters & vile fiends that ravage the land & attack the innocent. He roams the country seeking assignments but gradually comes to realise that while some of his quarry are unremittingly vile vicious grotesques others are the victims of sin evil or simple naivety. One reviewer said: This book is a sheer delight. It is beautifully written full of vitality & endlessly inventive: its format with half a dozen episodes & intervening rest periods for both the hero & the reader allows for a huge range of characters scenarios & action. Its thought-provoking without being in the least dogmatic witty without descending to farce & packed with swordfights without being derivative. The dialogue sparkles; characters morph almost imperceptibly from semi-cliche to completely original; nothing is as it first seems. Sapkowski succeeds in seamlessly welding familiar ideas unique settings & delicious twists of originality: his Beauty wants to rip the throat out of a sensitive Beast; his Snow White seeks vengeance on all & sundry his elves are embittered & vindictive. Its easily one of the best things Ive read in ages. ...

Michael Morpurgo has created a sweeping & dramatic story in the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie. This spellbinding tale is complemented perfectly by Michael Foreman's illustrations. Robbie Mc Leod & a wolf cub both orphaned venture far from their birthplace a land of rebellious fighters & vicious redcoats. There is little constancy in Robbie's adventurous life save for the companionship of his wolf. But when at last Robbie finds a place where he can peacefully make his home he knows in his heart that the wolf must find his own natural home too... ...

Alan Maund lived in Worcestershire all his life & had an enthusiasm for steam. He travelled extensively in Britain & built up a large railway photographic archive from the late 1950s onwards. This book is made up entirely of Alan's collection of photographs from across the Midlands. It will appeal to railway enthusiasts modellers & those with an interest in local history. Alan started using colour film in 1959 & colour slides make up the majority of the photographs. Many enthusiasts in this era had a policy of filming steam only & ignoring the new diesel interlopers but not Alan; they do make appearances even including some early electric classes. A particular passion of Alan's was small industrial steam locomotives & he restored a Kerr Stuart ' Wren' class 0-4-0 to working order between 1959 & 1961. So in addition to larger British Railways locomotives their smaller relations are also seen across the Midlands. Alan passed on in 1982 & his widow Wendy gave Alan's collection of railway photographs to film-maker & author Michael Clemens whose late father was a friend of Alan's. Alan's collection lives on today at film shows around the country & now in this book. ...

These 70 fabulous recipes can all be on the table in less than 30 minutes some in as little as 10 minutes. They are the perfect solution when you're tired after a day's work but want to make a delicious & nourishing meal for your family. There are recipes for chicken beef lamb pork seafood & vegetables plus a few fast desserts. ...

Although the Spitfire is undoubtedly best known for its exploits against the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain its later war service with Fighter Command on all fronts against the Axis alliance was equally as important. This volume features the exploits of pilots who turned the tide against the Luftwaffe on the Western European & Mediterranean fronts as well as the Japanese in the Far East flying Spitfire Mk VIs VIIs VIIIs IXs XIIs & XIVs. Names like Johnnie Johnson Neville Duke & Donald Kingaby plus a myriad of lesser known British Polish Canadian American Australian Czech Free French New Zealand & Norwegian pilots & their aircraft are all covered in this book. ...

This book focuses on a crucial but hitherto neglected part of Raphaels oeuvre: the work he & his pupils executed in Rome during the seven years from 1513 to the artists death in 1520. Nearly ninety works including paintings such as Saint Cecile" & " Portrait of Baldassere Castiglione" as well as many significant drawings illustrate the ways in which Raphael employed an astonishing range of technical devices many of which were highly novel & enjoyed considerable subsequent influence: Raphaels workshop methods eventually became a model for the great artistic enterprises of the seventeenth century notably those of Rubens Bernini & Pietro da Cortona. The book also clarifies & focuses on the work of his two most important pupils Gianfrancesco Penni & Giulio Romano. The text surveys Raphaels late paintings in chronological order explores his range of styles & investigates the role of his workshop in the design & production of his pictures. The essayists words & the sublime works of art that accompany them will provide a deeper knowledge of one of the masters with Leonardo & Michelangelo of High Renaissance art." ...