Life in the South of France isn't full of the charming peace that you might imagine. In St Denis a summit in a local chateau is threatened by Basque separatists animal rights campaigners are causing havoc & it's about to get worse. A local archaeological team unearths a well-preserved skeleton. Yet it's a lot more recent than they'd hoped
- boasting a Swatch & a bullet-hole. Meanwhile an influx of visitors makes Saint Denis unusually crowded & the key to the body appears to lie with one of these outsiders. Bruno must think fast & keep his wits about him in order to work out how these events are connected. Especially if the answer lies a little closer to home.
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Catherine Alliott bestselling author of A Rural Affair" & " One Day in May" this text asks the question
- how many
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Peopled with characters like Great Aunt Rachel built like a Churchill tank & with a personality to match these are the stories of a childhood of the hard years of the Depression & then the departure of the islands young men to fight in the Second World War. Together they bring alive the warmth & closeness of a unique Hebridean community. ...

It's 1347 & fifteen-year-old Will an orphan boy lives at Crowfield Abbey. Sent into the forest to gather wood he rescues instead a creature from a trap
- a hob who shares with Will a terrible secret. Somewhere in the forest behind the abbey where he lives is a grave. & buried deep in the snow is an angel. But how can an angel die? What has it to do with the monks of the Abbey? When two hooded strangers arrive at Crowfield asking questions about the angel's grave. Will is drawn into a world of dangerous Old Magic. The Crowfield Feather" was short-listed for the " Times" Chidren's Fiction Competition in 2008. This is a stunning debut novel & the first of a two part series."
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It is March 1348. Evil lurks in Crowfield Abbey & the building is starting to collapse. Fay creatures have fled the surrounding forest in terror. Repairs begin & William is given the job of lifting floor tiles in a haunted side chapel. There he finds a box from an earlier pagan time containing a small wooden bowl covered with strange warnings & symbols. The bowl is cursed & a hideous demon is unleashed that will wreak unspeakable havoc within the Abbey's walls. Can Will & his friends summon help in time or is it the end of Crowfield forever? The second book in the Crowfield series. ...

From one of our finest historians comes an outstanding exploration of the British monarchy from the retreat of the Romans up until the modern day. This compendium volume of two earlier books is fully revised & updated. The monarchy is one of Britain's most revered institutions -- but also one of its most tumultuous. In Crown & Country David Starkey charts its rollercoaster history from earliest times to the present; from the courtly love of the Middle Ages through the turbulent reign of the Tudors to the chaos of the Civil War. Starkey brings this tempestuous story up to date in this complete history guiding us through the Abdication Crisis to the dissolution of the marriage of Prince Charles & Lady Diana Spencer. He draws upon rank & romance in light of the wedding of Kate Middleton & Prince William & brings to life a cast of colourful characters & some riveting stories. Crown & Country is both a brilliant overview of the monarchy & a vividly iconoclastic portrait of British culture politics & nationhood. ...

The penultimate volume of the mighty Riftwar Cycle War rages in Midkemia but behind the chaos there is disquieting evidence of dark forces at work. Jim Dasher's usually infallible intelligence network has been cleverly dismantled; nowhere is safe. He feels that the world is coming apart at the seams & is helpless to protect his nation. Quiet palace coups are underway in Roldem & Rillanon; & King Gregory of the Isles has yet to produce an heir. In each kingdom a single petty noble has risen from obscurity to threaten the throne. Lord Hal of Crydee & his great friend Ty Hawkins champion swordsman of the Masters' Court are entrusted with the task of smuggling Princess Stephane & her lady-in-waiting the lovely but mysterious Lady Gabriella out of Roldem to a place of greater safety. But is there any safe haven to be found? Meanwhile Hal's younger brothers Martin & Brendan are attempting to hold the strategic city of Ylith against an onslaught of Keshian Dog Soldiers & a mysterious force from beneath the sea. The Kingdom might lose Crydee & recover; but if Ylith falls all is lost. An unknown player appears to orchestrating these conflicts. Can Pug & the Conclave of Shadows track down this source before Midkemia is destroyed? ...

The penultimate volume of the mighty Riftwar Cycle War rages in Midkemia but behind the chaos there is disquieting evidence of dark forces at work. Jim Dashers usually infallible intelligence network has been cleverly dismantled; nowhere is safe. He feels that the world is coming apart at the seams & is helpless to protect his nation. Quiet palace coups are underway in Roldem & Rillanon; & King Gregory of the Isles has yet to produce an heir. In each kingdom a single petty noble has risen from obscurity to threaten the throne. Lord Hal of Crydee & his great friend Ty Hawkins champion swordsman of the Masters Court are entrusted with the task of smuggling Princess Stephane & her lady-in-waiting the lovely but mysterious Lady Gabriella out of Roldem to a place of greater safety. But is there any safe haven to be found? Meanwhile Hals younger brothers Martin & Brendan are attempting to hold the strategic city of Ylith against an onslaught of Keshian Dog Soldiers & a mysterious force from beneath the sea. The Kingdom might lose Crydee & recover; but if Ylith falls all is lost. An unknown player appears to orchestrating these conflicts. Can Pug & the Conclave of Shadows track down this source before Midkemia is destroyed? ...

This sumptuous book captures the magnificence of a collection of symbolic objects steeped in English history like no other: the Crown Jewels. From the 12th-century spoon used for the anointing at the coronation to the platinum crown created for Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in 1937 their story is that of the English monarchy itself. Published in association with the Royal Collection & Historic Royal Palaces the book features dazzling new photography including many detailed shots & two gatefold pages allowing individual pieces gems & carefully selected groups of objects to be viewed as never before. Based on original research & written by an expert in English court history the book tells the story of the development of the collection from the medieval period onwards. Anyone with either a professional or a personal interest in jewelry or English history will find The Crown Jewels a delight. ...

Rhianna Pendragon has now claimed two of the four magical Lights that have the power to return her father King Arthur's soul to his body. Her next quest is for the Crown of Dreams which is hidden deep in Dragonl&. The wearer of the Crown can claim the Pendragon throne & Rhianna knows she has to find it before Mordred King Arthur's murderer & her own cousin. But Mordred lures Rhianna to the dragon's cave where he has found the Crown tricks her into giving him Excalibur & leaves her imprisoned while he rides on Camelot. But there is a jewel missing from the Crown that prevents him from claiming Arthur's throne
- a jewel that Arthur entrusted to Queen Guinevere who gave it to Rhianna not knowing its true origins. Rhianna & her knights must wage an epic war against Mordred & his dark forces to win the Crown of Dreams & keep the quest for the Lights alive.
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