A lovely book.. .wise at heart & filled with colourful characters". (Joanne Harris author of Chocolat). Salley Vickers the top ten bestselling author of Miss Garnet's Angel & Dancing Backwards returns with The Cleaner of Chartres a perfect book club book for readers who loved Joanne Harris' Chocolat. There is something special about the ancient cathedral of Chartres with its mismatched spires astonishing stained glass & strange labyrinth. & there is something special too about Agnes Morel the mysterious woman who is to be found cleaning it each morning. No one quite knows where she came from
- not the diffident Abbe Paul who discovered her one morning twenty years ago sleeping in the north porch; nor lonely Professor Jones whose chaotic existence she helps to organise; nor Philippe Nevers whose neurotic sister & newborn child she cares for; nor even the irreverent young restorer Alain Fleury who works alongside her each day & whose attention she catches with her tawny eyes her colourful clothes & elusive manner. & yet everyone she encounters would surely agree that she is subtly transforming their lives even if they couldn't quite say how. But with a chance meeting in the cathedral one day the spectre of Agnes' past returns provoking malicious rumours from the prejudiced Madame Beck & her gossipy companion Madame Picot. As the hearsay grows uglier Agnes is forced to confront her history & the mystery of her origins finally unfolds. The Cleaner of Chartres is a compelling story of darkness & light; of traumatic loss & second chances. Told with a sparkling wit & captivating charm but infused throughout with deeper truths it speaks of the power of love & mercy to transform the tragedies of the past. " Subtle & utterly joyous.. .a contemporary moral & psychological drama every bit as absorbing as Miss Garnet's Angel". (Sunday Times). "A magical & at times sinister story about love loss secrets & forgiveness.. .with Chocolat-type charm". (Scotland on Sunday). " If you're looking for a book to take you by surprise Salley Vickers' latest is the perfect choice". (Psychologies). Salley Vickers is the author of the word-of-mouth top 10 bestseller Miss Garnet's Angel & several other bestselling novels including Mr Golightly's Holiday The Other Side of You & Dancing Backwards as well as a collection of short stories Aphrodite's Hat. She has worked as a cleaner a dancer a university teacher of literature & a psychoanalyst & is an Impac award winning novelist. She is currently a RLF fellow at Newnham College Cambridge & she divides her time between Cambridge & London."
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You watched the TV programme & you bought the book but is your house still a bit dull round the edges? It is time to get Kim & Aggie round to do the spring cleaning
- their ultimate Cleaning Bible" is the only helping hand you need for all tasks of a domestic nature. Every tip & trick from their combined cleaning experience of about half a century is included & they always use natural products where possible so even your conscience will be clean. Make a space next to Delia & Jamie & welcome Kim & Aggie to your domestic bookshelf!"
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Dale Pinnock the UKs first Medicinal Chef explains how what we eat can affect our skin. He shows how we can all help increase the appearance & overall radiance of our skin simply by eating the right foods. Discover how easy it is to choose & prepare dishes that are not only tasty but also enhance skin healing & combat the effects of ageing. This title: reveals the vital vitamins & magic minerals in our food which can maintain skin health; offers help for all common skin conditions from acne & eczema to psoriasis;

Includes:: mouthwatering recipes for breakfasts soups starters main dishes desserts snacks & drinks.

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Alone
- though he was just married
- & on foot Nicholas Crane embarked on an extraordinary adventure: a seventeen-month journey

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Clearing clutter can radically transform your life. Drawing on her wealth of experience as a feng shui space clearing & clutter clearing consultant Karen Kingston explains how clutter is stuck energy that has far-reaching physical mental emotional & spiritual effects. This book will motivate you to clutter-clear as never before once you realise just how much your junk has been holding you back! Learn:
- Why people keep clutter
- How clutter causes stagnation in every area of your life
- Why clearing clutter is essential for effective feng shui
- How to clear clutter quickly & effectively
- Karen Kingston's top ten clutter clearing tips




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For all those people who say they aren't cat people but deep down know they are. Helen Brown wasn't a cat person but her nine-year-old son Sam was. So when Sam heard someone mention that her cat had just had a litter he pleaded to go & see them. Helen was powerless to resist & the deal was done
- to be delivered when the kitten was big enough to leave her mother. Just a week later Sam was killed in a road accident. Not long after this a little black kitten was delivered to the family's doorstep. Totally numbed by Sam's death Helen had completely forgotten about the new arrival which belonged in another universe when Sam was still alive. Helen was ready to send her back but Sam's younger brother Rob identified with the kitten who'd also lost her brothers. Stroking her it was the first time Helen had seen him smile since Sam's death. There was no choice the kitten
- dubbed Cleo
- had to stay Cleo's immense character slowly taught the family to laugh again giving them hope of getting back to normal. She went on to become the high priestess of Helen's household
- vetoing her new men terrifying visiting dogs & playing an integral role in their lives to become both a guardian & friend.



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Children will master the alphabet while following Cleos adventures as the curious cat explores her world. Blackstones simple rhyming text & Mockfords rich illustrations will engage & enthral younger readers. This book

Features: questions in text that encourage reader/child interaction; & tightly linked illustrations & text that allows for easy follow-along. It combines with Cleos Counting Book" & Cleos " Colour Book" for a fantastic gift set!"

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Few personalities from classical antiquity are more famous-yet more poorly understood-than Cleopatra VII queen of Egypt. In this major biography Duane Roller reveals that Cleopatra was in fact a learned & visionary leader whose overarching goal was always the preservation of her dynasty & kingdom. Roller's authoritative account is the first to be based solely on primary materials from the Greco-Roman period: literary sources Egyptian documents (Cleopatra's own writings) & representations in art & coinage produced while she was alive. His compelling portrait of the queen illuminates her prowess as a royal administrator who managed a large & diverse kingdom extending from Asia Minor to the interior of Egypt as a naval commander who led her own fleet in battle & as a scholar & supporter of the arts. Even her love affairs with Julius Caesar & Marcus Antonius-the source of her reputation as a supreme seductress who drove men to their doom-were carefully crafted state policies: she chose these partners to insure the procreation of successors who would be worthy of her distinguished dynasty. That Cleopatra ultimately lost to her Roman opponents Roller contends in no way diminishes her abilities. Roller tells his tale smoothly & accessibly... The resulting portrait is that of a complex many-sided figure a potent Hellenistic ruler who could move the tillers of power as skillfully as any man & one far & nobly removed from the 'constructed icon' of popular imagination." -The New York Times Book Review "A rich account of late Ptolemaic culture." -The New Yorker " Offers a superb panorama of the society & culture of late Ptolemaic Egypt with vivid sketches of the (remarkably vigorous) intellectual life of Cleopatra's Alexandria & the structural instabilities of the late Ptolemaic state." -Times Literary Supplement " Besides providing a compelling story & breathing fresh air into a heretofore two-dimensional caricature from history Roller's ' Cleopatra' provides an interesting commentary on the attitudes still prevalent towards women who rule." -Christian Science Monitor" ...

At the dawn of the Roman Empire when tyranny ruled a daughter of Egypt & a son of Rome found each other... Selenes parents are gone her country has been taken from her & she has been brought to the city of Rome in chains with only her twin brother Alexander to remind her of home & all she once had. Paraded as captives & brought to live among the ruling family Selene & her brother attend lessons learning how to be Roman & where allegiances lie. Devoting herself to her artistic skill & training as an architect she tries to make herself useful in hope of staying alive & being allowed to return to Egypt. But before long she is distracted by the young & handsome heir to the empire. But all is not well in the city & when the elusive Red Eagle starts calling for the end of slavery causing riots & murder & the Roman army goes to war Selene & Alexander the children of Mark Antony Romes lost son & greatest rival find their lives in grave danger. ...

Intimidated by her father the rector of Knype Hill Dorothy performs her submissive roles of dutiful daughter & bullied housekeeper. Her thoughts are taken up with the costumes she is making for the church school play by the hopelessness of preaching to the poor & by debts she cannot pay in 1930s Depression Engl&. Suddenly her routine shatters & Dorothy finds herself down & out in London. She is wearing silk stockings has money in her pocket & cannot remember her name. Orwell leads us through a landscape of unemployment poverty & hunger where Dorothys faith is challenged by a social reality that changes her life. ...