It is 1940 & bombs fall nightly on London. In the thick of the chaos is young American radio reporter Frankie Bard. She huddles close to terrified strangers in underground shelters & later broadcasts stories about survivors in rubble-strewn streets. But for her listeners the war is far from home. Listening to Frankie are Iris James a Cape Cod postmistress & Emma Fitch a doctors wife. Iris hears the winds stirring & knows that soon the letters she delivers will bear messages of hope or tragedy. Emma is desperate for news of London where her husband is working
- she counts the days until his return. But one night in London the fates of all three women entwine when Frankie finds a letter
- a letter she vows to deliver... See Judys Review See Richards Review See Sarah Blake talk about her book Reading Group Questions Read our exclusive Q&A with Sarah Blake Write a Review for The Postmistress Judys Review Novels about the Second World War have a tendency to leave me cold: Sarah Blakes The Postmistress proved to be a glorious shining exception; a mesmerising story of bravery passion & diabolical evil. The story opens in 1940 & simultaneously traces the lives of three American women: Iris postmistress of a small town at the tip of Cape Cod; Emma the local doctors new wife & Frankie a glamorous radio reporter broadcasting bulletins to the US from London now being heavily bombed nightly in the Nazi blitzkrieg. As postmistress almost everything affecting the lives of the people back in Franklin passes through Iriss hands. She takes her responsibilities so seriously that now aged 40 she remains unmarried & a virgin. But she is gradually drawn to an older man Harry who runs the town garage. Their gentle tender romance unfolds against the heart-stopping backdrop of Frankies nightly live dispatches into their cosy homes describing the hellish scenes in London. Emma & her husband Will listen to them too appalled at Frankies vivid portraits of suffering & death. Eventually the doctor decides he must go to London & do what he can to help. A devastated Emma cannot stop him. Meanwhile Frankie is agitating to be sent to Nazi-occupied Europe
- America is still neutral & its journalists can travel there
- because she is convinced Hitler has moved beyond herding Jews into ghettos & has embarked on a covert policy of genocide. Her subsequent interviews with Jewish families fleeing the pogrom are among the most moving passages I can remember reading. Richards Review



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A serial killer is on the loose in Richmond Virginia. Three women have died brutalised & strangled in their own bedroom. There is no pattern: the killer appears to strike at random
- but always early on Saturday mornings. So when Dr Kay Scarpetta chief medical officer is awakened at 2.33 am she knows the news is bad: there is a fourth victim. & she fears now for those that will follow unless she can dig up new forensic evidence to aid the police. But not everyone is pleased to see a woman in this powerful job. Someone may even want to ruin her career & reputation.. .
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Postnatal" is the fourth title in the " Midwifery Essentials" series & explores contemporary postnatal care for women & their families exploring the role of the midwife as a member of the multi-professional team. This book thoroughly prepares the reader to provide safe evidence-based woman-centred postnatal care for mothers & their babies. It

Includes:: the postnatal examination of the woman & the baby check; care of the baby in the immediate postnatal period; the features of the normal neonate; the newborn clinical examination; hospital postnatal care & caesarean section; the role of the community midwife & emotional wellbeing; postnatal fertility control; & issues involved in supporting the woman to feed her baby."

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Kate OHare is more interested in discussing the merits of Darwins The Origin of Species" than the latest fashion in gowns. Kate admits to making a few mistakes along the way
- mistakes that may have catastrophic consequences for her & pose grave risks for her friends. But in her very difference lies her charm especially for young Darcy Gardiner. The original Austen characters
- Darcy Elizabeth Bingley & Jan
- provide the framework of commentary on new characters & unfolding events set against a backdrop of the social issues of the time & the next generation proves as lively & complex as Darcy & Elizabeths own."


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The instructions were simple but the results were extraordinary. You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be a regret fear betrayal desire confession or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything
- as long as it is true & you have never shared it with anyone before. Be brief. Be legible. Be creative. It all began with an idea Frank Warren had for a community art project. He handed out postcards asking people to write down a secret & post it to him anonymously. The response was overwhelming. In under a year Frank had over 10 000 cards which he posted on the website. The confessions were thought-provoking funny & weird touching on every aspect of human experience & revealing much about the state of modern life & catapulting Post Secret to the status of global phenomenon. Superbly illustrated throughout this book is a great conversation piece fascinating to flick through & almost unputdownable once you have.
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Europe in 1945 was prostrate. Much of the continent was devastated by war mass slaughter bombing & chaos. Large areas of Eastern Europe were falling under Soviet control exchanging one despotism for another. Today the Soviet Union is no more & the democracies of the European Union reach as far as the borders of Russia itself. Postwar tells the rich & complex story of how we got from there to here. Running right up to the Iraq war & the election of Benedict XVI Postwar makes sense of Europe's recent history & identity of what Europe is & has been. It is nothing less than a masterpiece. It is shortlisted for the Pulitzer & Samuel Johnson Prizes. It is the winner of the Arthur Ross Book Award. ...

After devastating air raids during the Second World War Lowestoft has undergone major redevelopment. In his long-awaited new book Ian Robb reflects the changes & events that took place in the town between 1945 & 2000. The demolition of picturesque back streets in the 1960s & the construction of a controversial new spine road in the 1970s are included while the changing industrial landscape of the 1980s & 1990s is also illustrated. Ian Robbs extensive archive features many aspects of historic Lowestoft. These fine postwar images will capture the imagination of anyone who knows the town & are sure to bring back many memories. ...

Posy may be one of the cheekiest most inquisitive kittens around but that doesnt stop her being the most lovable one too! Follow the delightful Posy kitten as she bounces & pounces through her adventure-filled day. This beautifully illustrated picture book by an award-winning author & illustrator team is bound to be adored by cat lovers of all ages everywhere! Illustrated by Catherine Rayner winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal. ...

Rosemary Penfolds A FIELD FULL OF BUTTERFLIES was a beautiful & evocative memoir of her life growing up in the fields of the English countryside. A moving testament to a forgotten world & a rapidly disappearing & often misunderstood people Rosemary won the hearts of the nation with her story. In this her second book Rosemary returns to the idyllic countryside to continue her compelling story. Written in the same elegant narrative that has made Rosemary a much loved & admired storyteller she paints a vivid & touching portrait of a way of life that no longer exists. It is a heartwarming tale of a fast-changing world which captures the hopes & struggles loves & losses traditions & prejudices of a Romany community. ...

The history of ceramic art is ingrained in the history of mankind. Clay is one of the very first materials invented by man. An essential part of our lives it has been moulded thrown glazed decorated & fired for over 30 000 years in order to preserve & transport food & water. & it was on the surface of these early jugs vases dishes plates beakers & amphorae that man placed some of his first decorative markings. In more recent times clay has been used not just by artisans & potters but also by artists designers & architects. The Pot Book is the first publication to document the extraordinary range & variety of ceramic vessels of all periods from a delicate bowl made by an unnamed artisan in China in the third millennium bc or a jug made in eighteenth-century Dresden to a plate made by Picasso in 1952 a spade form made by Hans Coper or the vases of Grayson Perry today. Each entry is sequenced in alphabetical order by the name of the artist/potter the school or style creating a grand tour through the very finest examples of the artform. ...