Rich. Beautiful. Damned. Sumptuously evoking the Golden Age of Hollywood a time when money is built on greed & love can be a trick of the light Daisy Waugh's stunning new novel is a compelling portrait of love fame & survival. It is the blistering summer of 1929 & Hollywood's glamorous set appear to have it all. Everybody everywhere is living the Hollywood dream including the elegant & charming high-society couple actor & actress Maximilian & Eleanor Beecham. But beneath the sophistication & glamour their insecure & unhappy marriage is on the brink of divorce & their finances are teetering on a knife's edge after a series of failed films. When the creditors come in to take possession of the house it seems all is lost & they have nowhere to turn but into the arms of their waiting lovers. But when they receive an invitation to one of the legendary weekend house parties at Hearst Castle
- which they know will be filled every Hollywood big-shot around
- they cannot resist one last shot of making it in the film industry. With gossip glamour scandal & decadence the party is the epitome of the Golden Era but for Maximilian & Eleanor the time has come to make a decision that will change their future. Will they sacrifice everything for fame & fortune or can Eleanor & Maximilian learn to love each other again?

...

Famous for pork pies & Stilton cheese the other side of Melton Mowbray is also revealed in this fascinating collection of more than 200 photographs
- a playground for royalty & the aristocracy. Here amongst the finest foxhunting country in the land the future King Edward VIII met Mrs Wallis Simpson & Count Zborowski the creator of Chitty Bang Bang grew up. This selection contains archive images of a working market town its stately lodges Queen Victoria & Prince Albert with the Belvoir Hunt
- & the day the Marquis of Waterford & his fellow huntsman quite literally painted the town red. The institutions events & people of the town
- the Christmas Cheer Committee of 1911 W.G. Grace turning out for the home team in 1872 notorious local rogue Guss Wortley
- are all captured in this an essential tribute to the towns heritage. With the majority of these images dating from the Second World War Melton Mowbray" offers the reader a unique glimpse of an era that is fast becoming the nostalgic memory of the few."



...

Famous for pork pies & Stilton cheese & its magnificent cathedrallike parish church the wider & older history & heritage of Melton Mowbray is illustrated in this book. The lost medieval stone crosses the towns connections with the little Saxon & Danish villages clustered along the valley of the River Wreake & Meltons ancient markets that date from before Domesday but are still thriving today in the bustling streets of the old town are all recorded here. Set in the heart of the finest foxhunting landscape in England Melton Mowbray was made prosperous by the hunting aristocracy who wined & dined their guests including royalty & the infamous Marquis of Waterford who quite literally painted the town red whilst on a drunken night out in 1837. Melton Mowbray Through Time offers the reader a unique glimpse of an era that is fast becoming the nostalgic memory of the few. ...

Many of us think of our dogs not as pets but as full-fledged members of our families. If you own a dog or are thinking about getting one
- A Member of the Family is the ultimate resource for integrating your canine companion into your household. What should you do if you need to leave him alone at home while everyones at work? How can you make sure your children & dog get along well? How do events in the human family
- like birth marriage or divorce
- affect the family dog? All of these questions & many more are answered by bestselling author Cesar Millan in this new book. In his frank simple & calm manner Millan acts as your personal expert as you build a fulfilling satisfying relationship with your dog.


...

With delicacy of perception & memory humour & pathos Carson Mc Cullers spreads before us the three phases of a weekend crisis in the life of a motherless twelve-year-old girl. Within the span of a few hours the irresistible hoydenish Frankie passionately plays out her fantasies at her elder brother's wedding. Through a perilous skylight we look into the mind of a child torn between her yearning to belong & the urge to run away. ...

Unforgettably astounding & a joy to read Memento Mori is considered by many to be the greatest novel by the wizardly Dame Muriel Spark. In late 1950s London something uncanny besets a group of elderly friends: an insinuating voice on the telephone informs each Remember you must die." Their geriatric feathers are soon thoroughly ruffled by these seemingly supernatural phone calls & in the resulting flurry many old secrets are dusted off. Beneath the once decorous surface of their lives unsavories like blackmail & adultery are now to be glimpsed. As spooky as it is witty poignant & wickedly hilarious Memento Mori may ostensibly concern death but it is a book which leaves one relishing life all the more." ...

In this terrifying novel from the phenomenally successful Anne Rice the illustrious vampire Lestat makes a Faustian pact with Devil. Satan has come to New Orleans with an enticing proposition. Under the name Memnoch this lord of darkness takes Lestat on a tour through the boundaries of space & time offering an alternative & personalised account of the Bible exploring the events which shaped our world. Their journey comes to an apocalyptic conclusion in hell from which Lestat returns frail & broken. The experience has shattered his perceptions of the known Universe but can you ever trust the Devil? ...

He lived in the shadow of kings. One trusted him with his empire; the other feared his every move. Memnon of Rhodes (375-333 BC) walked in the footsteps of giants. As a soldier sailor statesman & general he was in the words of Diodorus of Sicily outstanding in courage & strategic grasp." A contemporary of Demosthenes & Aristotle Memnon rose from humble origins to command the whole of western Asia in a time of strife & slaughter. To his own people he was a traitor to his rivals a mercenary. But to the King of Kings his majesty Darius III of Persia Memnon was the one man capable of defending Asia Minor from the rising power of the barbaric Macedonians. In a war pitting Greek against Greek Memnon proved his quality beyond measure. His enemies fought for glory & gold; Memnon fought for something more: for loyalty for honour & for duty. He fought for the love of Barsine a woman of remarkable beauty & grace but most of all he fought for the promise of peace. Through the deathbed recollections of a mysterious woman the life of Memnon unfolds with brilliant clarity. It is a record of his triumphs & tragedies his loves & losses & of the determination that drove him to stand against the most renowned figure of the ancient world
- an ambitious & brilliant young conqueror called Alexander the Great."
...

David Waddington Baron Waddington was a Conservative MP from 1968 to 1990 before becoming a life peer. For over twenty years he was a government Chief Whip then served in the Cabinet as Home Secretary from 1989 to 1990 & Leader of the House of Lords from 1990 to 1992. A junior minister under Margaret Thatcher he was Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Department of Employment Minister of State at the Home Office & Chief Whip from 1987 until his elevation to Cabinet level becoming Home Secretary in 1989. In 1990 he was created a life peer as Baron Waddington of Read in the County of Lancashire. He served as Lord Privy Seal & Leader of the House of Lords until 1992. He served as Governor of Bermuda 1992
- 1997. This book contains the fascinating reflections of a man who spent his career at the heart of power.
...

This heart-warming account of veterinary life traces Ivor Smiths early days as a student at university through to setting up his own practice in the Cotswolds recounting a memorable 40 years in the profession. Following in the Herriot tradition of veterinary humour Ivors memories of life as a vet in a very mixed practice include hilarious incidents colourful local characters & engaging patients. From calving cows in the middle of cold Spring nights handling ferocious gerbils & operating on lame greyhounds to setting up home in a mouse-infested farmhouse winning over farmers & estate managers alike & even finding a new-born baby on his doorstep Ivor shares his respect for animals & joy of the beautiful Cotswold countryside in this entertaining & absorbing read. Memories of a Cotswold Vet" is a highly readable & light-hearted account of country life which is sure to appeal to animal lovers & all who know the Cotswolds." ...