The Calder valley west of Halifax was the last ditch of Elmet the last British Celtic kingdom to fall to the Angles. For centuries it was considered a more or less uninhabitable wilderness a notorious refuge for criminals a hide-out for refugees. Then in the early 1800s it became the cradle for the Industrial Revolution in textiles & the upper Calder became the hardest-worked river in England. Throughout my lifetime since 1930 I have watched the mills of the region & their attendant chapels die. Within the last fifteen years the end has come. They are now virtually dead & the population of the valley & the hillsides so rooted for so long is changing rapidly". (Ted Hughes Preface to " Remains of Elmet" (1979). Ted Hughes remarkable pennine sequence celebrates the area where he spent his early childhood. It mixes social political religious & historical matter
- a tapestry rich in the personal & poetic investment of a landscape that both creates & is inured to its people whose moors Are a stage for the performance of heaven. Any audience is incidental. " Remains of Elmet" is one of Hughes most personal & enduring achievements."
...

A stunning novel of female friendship forbidden love & evolution from the bestselling author of Girl with a Pearl Earring. ...

Eliza is ousted by her new stepmother from her family & finally makes her way to London
- only to be thrown straight into prison
...

In this inspiring look at the lives of women in the Bible bestselling author Elizabeth George reveals refreshing models of faith for today. Stories about Eve Deborah Sarah Ruth Mary & other women from Scripture offer testimonies of changed lives & reflections on the remarkable strengths God cultivates in women who love Him
- Jocebed is an example of a remarkable mother Deborahs life is an illustration of wisdom Ruth & Naomi model pure devotion & Hannah demonstrates sacrifice. Conveying the assurance of Gods love The Remarkable Women of the Bible" provides nourishment from a womans point of view & connects todays woman with the source of fulfillment that sustained her sisters in Bible times
- a relationship with God. It is adapted from " Women Who Loved God"."

...

Two families one terrible secret & a painting to die for.. . Glastonbury an art restorer has been brutally murdered & the newly discovered Rembrandt he was working on has disappeared. For spy turned art restorer Gabriel Allon it has been six months since his final showdown with the murderous Russian oligarch & arms dealer Ivan Kharkov. He has severed his ties with the Office with only one thing in mind: recovery. But this unspeakable act of violence once again draws Allon into a world of danger he thought he had left behind forever. Allon is persuaded to use his unique skills to trace the painting & those responsible for the crimes. As he investigates he discovers there are terrible secrets connected to the painting & terrible men behind them. Before he is done he will have undertaken a journey through some of the twentieth centurys darkest history
- & come face to face with some of the same darkness within himself.
...

Lesley Pearses Remember Me" is her most recent historical novel. She made a mistake & now shell never see home again... Mary a Cornish mariners daughter makes the biggest mistake of her short life when she steals a silk hat. Convicted & sentenced to be transported to Australia she endures horrific conditions aboard ship before landing in a brutal & barbaric country. It will take all her courage just to survive. But Mary is also determined to make something of herself in this rugged mans world. & she dreams that one day she will find a way of crossing the cruel seas that lie between her & home... Based on a true story " Remember Me" brings Mary Broad vividly to life in this moving story of a woman triumphing against overwhelming odds. Lesley Pearse is the author of the bestsellers " Never Look Back" & " Gypsy". Remember Me" is a historical novel based on the true story of transported convict Mary Bryant (nee Broad). Fans of Susan Lewis will be instant fans of Lesley Pearse. Praise for Lesley Pearse: " With characters it is impossible not to care about.. .this is storytelling at its very best". (" Daily Mail"). " Lose yourself in this epic saga". (" Bella"). " An emotional & moving epic you wont forget in a hurry". (" Womans Weekly"). With her gripping & moving storylines best-selling author Lesley Pearse has captured the imaginations of millions in the UK & abroad. Her other titles " The Promise" "A Lesser Evil" " Till We Meet Again" " Secrets" " Charlie" Father Unknown" " Gypsy" " Trust Me" " Faith" " Never Look Back" " Remember Me" & " Hope" are also available as Penguin paperbacks. Lesley lives near Bristol & has three daughters & two grandchildren." ...

Shari just stepped onto the balcony for some fresh air she didnt mean to fall. Whilst her friends assume it was suicide she knows otherwise & now her restless spirit must find the real killer by any means possible. Shell need the help of those she left behind & the only way to reach them now is via the ouija board but someone or something else seems to want to communicate with her friends too with horrifying intent. Shari is forced down the one pathway left open to her...to enter their dreams. ...

A savagely satirical tale of marital revenge. Madeleine wants revenge; Madeleine wants to be remembered: Madeleine wants love. Who doesnt? Madeleine is ex-wife & chief persecutor of Jarvis the architect. Why not? She hates him. Hilary is their daughter growing fatter & lumpier every day under Madeleines triumphant care & witness to the wrongs her mother suffered. For Jarvis has a clean new life with a clean new wife Lily & a nice new baby Jonathan. The furniture is polished & there is orange juice for breakfast. Jarvis is content or thinks he is fending off Madeleines forays as best he can. Jarvis has a part-time secretary too
- Margot now the doctors wife unremembered from the days of her youth. Margot unacknowledged wife & mother accepting tending nurturing his children & her own complaisant in her lot. Then Madeleine hurling out her dark reproaches from the other side of violent death uncovers new familial links in the disruption she creates.
...

1907. William Moon's heart swells with pride at the achievements of his daughter Maddy. When at eleven she won the talent contest held by the Pierrots on Scarborough beach William knew it wouldn't be long before she asked to join their touring company. Now that day has come; his talented young daughter has grown into a fine young woman
- beautiful & with a voice so pure it would make angels weep. & William isn't the only man to notice
- As Maddy journeys around the north of England with Morgan's Melody Makers she makes new friends everywhere she goes. Now seventeen she is eager to take her first steps along the road to love. But as she is to discover the course of true love never did run smooth & her heart is taken on a bumpy ride as she experiences the highs & lows the rapture & the heartache of falling in love for the first time. Will her dreams of romance & happy ever after come true?

...

' Melvyn Bragg has added another formidable chapter to one of the most distinguished literary series of recent times' David Robson Sunday Telegraph It was not love at first sight. It proved to be not much of a conversation... Nothing should have come of it. A passionate but ultimately tragic love affair starts when two students
- one French one English
- meet at university at the beginning of the sixties. From its tentative early stages the relationship develops into a life-changing one whose profound impact continues to reverberate forty years later. ' Daring & brave... With great skill & stunning insight Bragg doesn't just tell a very tragic tale he explores what it really means to love & be loved...eclipses anything Bragg has written before' Henry Sutton Daily Mirror 'A powerful novel that communicates difficult emotional truths. Yet its dark themes are balanced by the vivid portrait it paints of 1960s London' Frank Egerton The Times ' Utterly absorbing. Melvyn Bragg is worth a host of more fashionable writers. He never shows off but tells us how it is' Allan Massie Scotsman 'A terrific book' John Harding Daily Mail

...