In this new book the follow-up to his bestselling River Cottage Cookbook Hugh writes about the year on his Dorset smallholding. He recalls month by month the highs & lows of past years & anticipates the 12 months ahead
- what'll be in season when & when'll be the best months to crack on with such tasks as chick rearing & sheep shearing haymaking & hedge laying. But for all its outdoorsy information the real focus of THE RIVER COTTAGE YEAR is indoors
- at Hugh's kitchen table. With over 100 brand new recipes this is above all a cookery book & for once a genuinely seasonal one celebrating local seasonal produce at its very best
- chestnuts in January artichokes in March rhubarb in April asparagus in May strawberries in June blackcurrants in July tomatoes in August plums in September apples in October pumpkins in November & parsnips in December... Full of his hard-earned smallholder's wisdom seasoned with his infectious good humour THE RIVER COTTAGE YEAR is Hugh's rallying cry for us to reclaim the seasons.


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The River Derwent in Cumbria is one of the fastest rivers in Europe. It is also one of the most beautiful & it flows through fantastic & varied countryside from its source in the heart of the Lake District. The name Derwent translates as 'oak river' and/or 'river of oaks'; it is an ancient name. There is evidence of occupation & industry along the river from the Iron Age onwards & industry still uses its power & speed as a water source. A fine & famous salmon river the River Derwent was sometimes called 'the river of saints & sinners' as it was used by smugglers as well as clerics. Beginning at the river mouth we follow the river through the port of Workington through the lavish countryside of Cumbria to its source amidst the dramatic mountainous splendour of Borrowdale. Along the way H. C. Ivison brings to light tales & stories of fascinating events landmarks & people. River Derwent: From Sea to Source is essential reading for anyone who knows this river well & also for those who are visiting the River Derwent for the first time. ...

For twelve-year-old Mary Ann Clark life has always been tough. The pretty daughter of a wife-beating drunk it is no surprise that she has grown up afraid of her own shadow. That is until ' Battling Bessie Ruddick' takes the young girl under her wing & into the heart of her bustling family. Growing into an attractive young woman Mary Ann yearns to be loved & when her affection for Bessie's son Dan is finally returned & she becomes a skipper's wife. But the arduous life aboard ship is clearly not for her & only the arrival of a daughter Lizzie seems to hold the marriage together. Yet tragically the family is torn apart when Mary Ann is seduced by the promise of a happier life. Although bewildered by her mother's disappearance it is now up to Lizzie to help her father. For she unlike Mary Ann has inherited Dan's love of the river. But then disturbingly her life starts to follow the same pattern as her mother's.. . ...

Ancient Egypt is the land of the Pharaohs a kingdom built on gold as well as a legend shattered by greed. Now the Valley of the Kings lies ravaged by war drained of its lifeblood as weak men inherit the cherished crown. In the city of Thebes at the Festival of Osiris loyal subjects of the Pharaoh gather to pay homage to their leader. But Taita
- a wise & formidably gifted eunuch slave sees him only as a symbol of a kingdom's fading glory. Beside Taita stand his proteges Lostris daughter of Lord Intef beautiful beyond her fourteen years; & Tanus proud young army officer who has vowed to avenge the death
- at Intef's hand
- of his father & seize Lostris as his prize. Together they share a dream
- to restore the majesty of the Pharaoh of Pharaohs on the glittering banks of the Nile.



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Would you reveal a secret that might solve a murder but would ruin your life? Ginnie Holmes has found something she never intended to find
- an overwhelming passion for a man she should not be with. & they have found somewhere to meet
- an abandoned boathouse hidden on the riverbank of the Thames. Then in a single terrifying event the lovers secret becomes a deadly catastrophe. A woman is found murdered at the rivers edge just near the river house. & Ginnie finds herself in the path of extraordinary danger not only facing the exposure & grief that she has feared but endangering herself & everyone she loves.

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The first kiss occurred in a dimly-lit hallway on the upper floor of Elwin Hastingss grand house. Louisa never saw it coming.. . Of course Anthony Stalbridge couldnt possibly have had romantic intentions. The kiss was an act of desperation meant to distract the armed guard about to catch the pair in a place they did not belong. After all Louisa Bryce is no mans idea of an alluring female in her dull maroon gown & gold-rimmed spectacles. The only thing the two interlopers have in common is a passionate interest in the private affairs of Mr. Hastings
- a prominent member of Victorian Society whom they both suspect of hiding terrible secrets. Each has a reason for the quest. Anthonys fiancee was said to have thrown herself into the Thames
- but Anthony has his own suspicions. Louisa
- whose own identity is shrouded in layers of mystery
- is convinced Hastings has a connection to a notorious brothel. But bringing Hastings to justice will be more perilous than either anticipates
- & their hasty partnership will be more heated than either expects.




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Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her & not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up & beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. & shes never known any others of her kind. Until now. As Mercy comes to terms with this new information an evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River. Something deadly is coming facts are thin on the ground & Mercy feels ill at ease. However her fathers people may know more. To have any hope of surviving Mercy & her mate the Alpha werewolf Adam will need all the resources the shifters can offer. Or death will be the least of their worries. ...

Over ten feet long it weighs in at nearly a quarter of a ton. Covering its back are armoured plates made from bone. Five hundred stiletto-sharp teeth line its long crocodilian jaws. It's a prehistoric beast of staggering proportions; a fearsome creature from the time of the dinosaurs. But the Alligator Gar an air-breathing survivor from the Cretaceous period is still with us today patrolling inland rivers hunting in murky waters shared by human communities. & for Jeremy Wade described as the 'greatest angling explorer of his generation' the Gar & other outlandish freshwater predators have been an obsession for all his adult life. With names like Arapaima Snakehead Goonch Goliath Tigerfish & Electric Eel many of them have acquired an almost mythical status. In a quest that has taken him from the Amazon to the Congo & from North America to the mountains of India Wade has pursued the truth about these little known often misunderstood animals. Along the way he's survived a plane crash malaria & a fish-inflicted blow to the chest that according to a later scan caused permanent scarring to his heart. In RIVER MONSTERS Wade delivers a sometimes jaw-dropping blend of adventure natural history legend & detective work. It reads like a hunt for the Loch Ness Monster. But it's all true. These are fisherman's tales like you've never heard before. The stories of the ones that didn't get away.. . ...

A river cruise through ancient desert lands becomes a mysterious adventure when Bill disappears! While Philip Dinah Lucy-Ann & Jack are desperately searching for Bill they become trapped beneath a forgotten temple where no one has set foot for 7 000 years. What dangers lurk within & will they ever escape? ...

From the bestselling author of Times Legacy & Lady of Hay comes a thrilling new novel River of Destiny an epic story that spans Anglo Saxon Britain Victorian Suffolk & the present day. An Anglo Saxon burial ground that must not be disturbed. A Victorian tragedy of forbidden love. & an ancient curse whose power grows ever stronger... On the banks of the River Deben lies a set of barns dating back to the Anglo Saxons & within their walls secrets have laid buried for centuries. Zoe & Ken have just moved into one of the barns ready to start a new life away from the hustle & bustle of the city. To the outside world they seem like an ordinary couple but underneath they are growing ever more distant by the day. & the strange presence Zoe feels within their home & the shapes she sees through the cloying mists on the river are getting harder to ignore. Whilst farmers are ploughing the land surrounding them human bones are found & when the police arrive it becomes clear that the remains are much older than first suspected... Are they linked to a Victorian tragedy the locals whisper about? & what should they make of the grassy mound which has remained untouched across many centuries but has now been disturbed with seemingly devastating consequences? ...