Marion Sharpe & her mother seem an unlikely duo to be found on the wrong side of the law. Quiet & ordinary they have led a peaceful & unremarkable life at their country home The Franchise. Unremarkable that is until the police turn up with a demure young woman on their doorstep. Not only does Betty Kane accuse them of kidnap & abuse she can back up her claim with a detailed description of the attic room in which she was kept right down to the crack in its round window. But there's something about Betty Kane's story that doesn't quite add up. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is stumped. & it takes Robert Blair local solicitor turned amateur detective to solve the mystery that lies at the heart of The Franchise Affair... ...

Generalissimo Francisco Franco the Caudillo of Spain from the Nationalists brutal Fascist-sponsored victory over the Republican government in the Spanish Civil War until his quiet death in 1975 is the subject of this book. The biography presents a mass of new & unknown material about its subject the fruits of research in the archives of six countries & a plethora of interviews with key figures. Paul Preston is the author of The Triumph of Democracy in Spain" & " The Spanish Civil War 1936-9"." ...

Francos Friends tells the little-known true story of how MI6 orchestrated the coup that brought General Franco to power in Spain in 1936 leading to the Spanish civil war & 40 years of right-wing dictatorship. It has long been known that a British plane took Franco from the Canaries to Morocco at the start of his coup. What is not known is the importance of his role & the extent of the involvement of the British intelligence services. Francos Friends discloses a list of British secret agents who helped engineer Francos coup that reads like a whos who of British intelligence (including James Bond creator Ian Fleming). The book shows that MI6 continued working in Spain through to the Second World War putting together behind-the-scenes deals & ensuring that the UKs interests were maintained. Crucially MI6 even financed bribes paid to the Spanish generals by the British naval attache in Madrid to keep Spain neutral thus reaping the benefits for Britain in 1939-45. Based on previously unknown material from the National Archives Imperial War Museum the British Library & private archives this is one of the great previously untold stories of the Second World War revealing how Britain made a dubious but difficult moral choice that would have repercussions on the outcome of the Second World War. ...

In 1870 Bismarck ordered the Prussian Army to invade France inciting one of the most dramatic conflicts in European history. It transformed not only the states-system of the Continent but the whole climate of European moral & political thought. The overwhelming triumph of German military might evoking general admiration & imitation introduced an era of power politics which was to reach its disastrous climax in 1914. First published in 1961 & now with a new introduction The Franco-Prussian War is acknowledged as the definitive history of one of the most dramatic & decisive conflicts in the history of Europe. ...

This work covers the Franco-Prussian War which broke out in 1870 when Bismarck engineered a war with the French Second Empire of Napoleon III. This was part of his wider political strategy of uniting Prussia with the Southern German Confederation & excluding Austria. The war was an overwhelming Prussian victory & the king was proclaimed Emperor of the new united Germany. The Second Empire collapsed & Napoleon III fled in exile to Britain. In the clearing up operation against the French Third Republic Germany gained the eastern French provinces of Alsace & Lorraine areas that were to provide a bone of contention for years to come. ...

This is a new biography of the Founder of the Legion of Mary one of the Catholic Churchs most effective charitable agencies in the world today. In the Legion of Mary Duff built an organisation that depended on each member playing his or her part rather than on any individual leader. Describing responsibility as the biggest tonic on earth he believed in sharing responsibility & warned against thinking that others cannot do things as well as we can ourselves. The Legion of Mary is an organisation of lay Catholics dedicated to every form of social service & Catholic action for the welfare of the Church & of society. Duffs vision of a lay movement was revolutionary in its time & as recounted in this book explains why he faced so much opposition from Church authorities especially in Irel&. But Duff who is on the path towards canonisation exemplified the Catholic tradition of charitable work at its best
- that you do not preach by lecturing but by works of mercy compassion & unselfish altruism. This is an inspiring tale.
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Frank Lloyd Wright was the greatest American architect of the 20th century. During a long life he designed many of the most striking & iconic buildings in the USA
- structures such as Fallingwater a house poised above a waterfall in rural Pennsylvania the Unity Temple the USAs first all-concrete public building & New Yorks amazing spiral-shaped Guggenheim Museum. One of the most remarkable innovators in the history of architecture Wright produced some of the most revolutionary buildings
- breathtaking prairie houses the Johnson Wax company headquarters with its Pyrex glazing & stunning mushroom columns his own canvas-roofed desert home & office. Wright was a technological innovator too pioneering inventions such as double-glazing sound-absorbing office furniture & prefabricated office partitions. But Wright did not pursue the new for its own sake. All his work is underpinned by a belief system: that buildings should be at one with their environment that their form should grow from the needs of the client & that site floor plan structural materials & the use of the building should be in harmony. Wright called this set of ideas organic architecture & both the philosophy & the buildings it produced are as inspiring now as they were when Wright was alive & working. This book showcases fifty of Wrights most important projects. It covers buildings throughout his whole career from the house he built for himself in Oak Park Illinois in 1889 to the landmark structures of his final years like the Beth Sholom Synagogue & the Guggenheim Museum. The projects include a handful of influential buildings that are no longer standing such as the masterly Larkin Company Building & the Imperial Hotel Tokyo as a tribute to designs that still fascinate architects & others who follow the work of this inspiring American master. Brief opening & closing chapters outline the architects life & describe his wide influence which with his emphasis on architecture & environment is as relevant as ever today.

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A dandy a crooner & an actor talented & scandalous as close to the Kennedys as to the underworld barons Frank Sinatra fascinates. Coming from a small town in New Jersey the bad boy married Ava Gardner & conquered Hollywood starring in over 60 films & winning an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1953 for his role in From Here to Eternity. Its thanks to music however that his talent gained worldwide recognition. Nicknamed The Voice by the international press Sinatra imposed his unique style & sold over 150 million albums in his 62-year career. Sinatra can be seen as a monumental artist. His life is summed up in one of his first hits: Nothing but the Best; he was always associated with the best composers best musicians & best arrangers. In his personal life it was also the best vintage wine the most beautiful women & all the extravagant luxury that accompanies a superstar (and some would say a bad boys) life. Frank Sinatra Life in Pictures recalls this exceptional journey through a captivating biography & rare & intimate photographs. ...

Gay Talese is the father of American New Journalism who transformed traditional reportage with his vivid scene-setting sharp observation & rich storytelling. His 1966 piece for Esquire" one of the most celebrated magazine articles ever published describes a morose Frank Sinatra silently nursing a glass of bourbon struck down with a cold & unable to sing like Picasso without paint Ferrari without fuel
- only worse. The other writings in this selection include a description of a meeting between two legends Fidel Castro & Muhammad Ali; a brilliantly witty dissection of the offices of Vogue magazine; an account of travelling to Ireland with hellraiser Peter OToole; & a profile of fading baseball star Joe Di Maggio which turns into a moving immaculately-crafted meditation on celebrity."
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Frank Skinner is undoubtedly of one of the funniest & most successful comedians appearing on British screens. Born Chris Collins in 1957 he grew up in the West Midlands where he inherited his fathers passion for football a West Bromich Albion supporter along with a liking for alcohol. Expelled from school at 16 Frank held various jobs later going on to gain an MA in English Literature. Nurturing a serious drink problem from the age of fourteen Frank eventually turned to Catholicism in 1987 & hasnt had a drink since. He performed his first stand up gig in December 1987. His first television appearance in 1988 met with fits of laughter from the audience & 131 complaints including one from cabinet minister Edwina Currie. He met fellow comedian David Baddiel in 1990 & the two went on to share a flat throughout the early 90s & to create the hit TV series Fantasy Football League. Winner of the prestigious Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Skinners is a unique mixture of laddish & philosophical humour which has won him the prime time ITV show
- The Frank Skinner Show. Here for the first time Frank candidly tells us of the highs & lows of his fascinating life & career.
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