Photographer costume designer avid diarist
- Cecil Beaton was also a romantic royalist whose glittering photographs of Queen Elizabeth
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Elizabeth II has lived through the Abdication the Blitz & World War Two the sex & spy scandals of the swinging sixties the Cold War & the nuclear threat & the Fall of the Berlin Wall. She has known 11 US Presidents including JFK & Ronald Reagan & other world leaders like President Mandela & Pope John XXII. Her Prime Ministers have ranged from Winston Churchill & Margaret Thatcher to David Cameron the last only ten years older than her grandson. Her own family experiences a mixture of happiness & crisis weddings & divorces & in the case of Diana violent death have been lived in the glare of tabloid headlines. More than 2 billion people watched the wedding of her grandson Prince William to Catherine Middleton in 2010 shortly before she made the first State Visit to Ireland by a British monarch for 100 years. Our world has changed more in her lifetime than in any of her predecessors: the Queen has remained a calm presence at the centre earning the respect of monarchists & republicans. How has she done it? ...

The year 2012 marks the 60th Anniversary of Queen Elizabeths ascension to the British throne making her the second longest reigning monarch in British history! To commemorate this special occasion weve created an elegant mini ceramic plate with gilded edge royal insignia inscription & images of Her Majesty on her special day 60 years ago & today. The accompanying easel stand plus 48 page booklet make it the perfect keepsake. ...

Written by the ITN Royal Correspondent Tim Ewart this beautifully illustrated book looks at the life & reign of Queen Elizabeth II as she marks her Diamond Jubilee only the second of Britains monarchs to reach this anniversary of their accession to the throne. Unique in containing some 15 replica documents many of which are from the Royal Archives this fascinating book looks at how the Queens reign has seen some of the most remarkable events in the history of the 20th & 21st centuries while also maintaining traditions that link the United Kingdom of today with a history that stretches back over more than a thousand years. From royal tours to state visits & from day-to-day engagements to notable family events & grand occasions such as the Trooping of the Colour Queen Elizabeth: The Archives" is a delightful celebration of this rare historical occasion." ...

Written with complete access to the Queen Mother's personal letters & diaries William Shawcross' riveting biography is the truly definitive account of this remarkable woman whose life spanned the twentieth century. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon the youngest daughter of the Earl of Strathmore was born on 4 August 1900. Drawing on her private correspondence & other unpublished material from the Royal Archives William Shawcross vividly reveals the witty girl who endeared herself to soldiers convalescing at Glamis in the First World War; the assured young Duchess of York; the Queen at last feeling able to look the East End in the face at the height of the Blitz; the Queen Mother representing the nation at home & abroad throughout her long widowhood. ' This splendid biography captures something of the warm glow that she brought to every event & encounter. It also reveals a deeper & more interesting character forged by good sense love of country duty humour & an instinct for what is right. This is a wonderful book authoritative frank & entertaining'
- Daily Telegraph"."
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Things are looking up for Lizzie Nichols. She loves her career & the love of her life Jean-Luc has proposed. Lifes become a dizzying whirl of wedding gown fittings as Lizzie prepares for her dream wedding in the south of France. But the dream soon becomes a nightmare as the best man with whom Lizzie might once accidentally have slept
- no really just slept
- announces his lack of support for the couple; Lizzies Midwestern family cant understand why she doesnt want to have her wedding in the family backyard; & her future French in-laws seem to be luring the groom away from medical school & into investment banking. Is Lizzie really ready to embrace her new role as wife & mistress of Chateau Mirac? Or is she destined to spend the rest of her life as a New York City spinster in a two-room walk-up with no one for company but the cat from down the street?

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Former marshal-turned-rebel Jim Raynor has broken away from the power-crazed Emperor Arcturus Mengsk. Enraged over Mengsks betrayal of the powerful telepath Sarah Kerrigan to the ravenous Zerg Raynor has lost all faith in his fellow humanity. Yet in the aftermath of Mengsks treachery Raynor is plagued by strange visions of Char -- a deadly volcanic world haunted by horrifying alien creatures. As the nightmares grow in intensity Raynor begins to suspect that they may not be figments of his imagination -- but a desperate form of telepathic contact. Convinced that the woman he loves is still alive Raynor launches a hasty mission to rescue Kerrigan from Char. But deep beneath the planets smoldering surface Raynor finds a strange chrysalis...and is forced to watch in horror as a terrible all-too-familiar entity rises from it. Before him stands a creature of depthless malice & vengeance... Sarah Kerrigan: the Zerg Queen of Blades. ...

Join the craft revolution with Queen of Crafts; The Modern Girls Guide to Knitting Sewing Quilting Baking Preserving & Kitchen Gardening" a gloriously illustrated handbook by Jazz Domino Holly. Feeling the itch to stitch & the urge to preserve? Well then get your craft on with crafter-about-town Jazz Domino Holly. As the daughter of rock-royalty & founder of the Shoreditch Sisters Womens Institute Jazz is the perfect guide. Have fun & impress your friends & family with your crafting skills as you learn how to: unravel the mystery of knits & purls & whip up a Girlie Bow Headband; fix your stitches & sew a string of Heart-Felt Bunting; feel the heat in the kitchen & bake a batch of Queen of Crafts Jam Tarts; preserve tradition & fill your empty jars with delicious Oh My Darling Clementine Marmalade; get green-fingered & plant a Herbal Tea Garden; become your own beauty expert & mix up a pot of Get Lippy Lip Balm. Jazz will show you how to make all these things & many many more. Youll be hosting the perfect tea party organising a bake-off & setting up your own knitting circle in no time (and having a lot of fun along the way). Jazz Domino Holly daughter of the late Joe Strummer is founder of the Shoreditch Sisters Womens Institute who since their formation in 2007 have been credited as the forerunners of the WIs recent revival. She writes a monthly craft column for " Company" magazine. " Queen of Crafts" is her first book." ...

Alice Shoemaker habitually goes to great lengths to avoid telling the truth about herself & her past. After agreeing to help out a friend by shopping & cleaning for the unknown man staying at Cuckoo House she soon becomes suspicious that her strange & obnoxiously rude client has something to hide... Clayton Miller's life is a mess. His career as one of the country's best comedy script writers has stalled & his long-term girlfriend has left him for his ex best friend & ex writing partner. Just when he thinks his life couldn't get any worse he commits a spectacularly public fall from grace & with the press hounding him his agent banishes him to the middle of nowhere until the dust has settled. & there he meets Alice... When Alice & Clayton discover the truth about each other they form an unlikely friendship
- until Alice discovers Clayton has betrayed her in the worst possible way.
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A sumptuous wedding feast two advantageous marriages & a blessing from the golden king When silk merchant John Lambert marries off his two beautiful daughters their fortunes are set to change forever. Elder daughter Jane starts a notorious liaison with Edward IV while her sister Isabel as the new silkweaver to the court becomes privy to its most intimate secrets. Could they hold the keys to power in this time of uncertainty? Vanora Bennett brings to life a time of passions & politics a time of turmoil & tension a world in flux & a country up for grabs. ...