First a symphony & then a song.. . Mozart can never stop composing. It's as if his life depends on it. But this deeply angers his employer the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg who will not tolerate the slightest disobedience. So the rebellious young musician decides to get away from the court of his oppressive patron once & for all by moving to Vienna where he will finally meet the love of his life Constance Weber. Meanwhile Thamos Count of Thebes & Mozart's ever-faithful Egyptian companion accompanies him to the city. One of the last members of a spiritual brotherhood keeping alive the secrets of the pharaohs his mission is to find & protect the ' Great Magician' foretold by Osiris a genius whose works will save humanity. Convinced that he has found the one in young Mozart there is no time to lose in instructing his young protege in the Masonic rites inspired by the Egyptian Great Mysteries. But in doing so Thamos & Mozart find themselves in great danger. For the governing powers will not tolerate what they take to be the first steps towards revolution.. . ...

Son of My Father" explores the changing relationship between father son & their beloved football club
- Derby County. Along
...

This is the second title in this number one bestselling spin-off series from Percy Jackson creator Rick Riordan. This crazy messed up world of gods & monsters is Percy Jacksons reality which pretty much sucks for him. Percy Jackson son of Poseidon God of the Sea has woken from a very deep sleep & come face to face with two snake-haired ladies who refuse to die. But theyre the least of his problems. Because Percy finds himself at a camp for half-bloods which doesnt ring any bells for him. Theres just one name he remembers from his past: Annabeth. Only one thing is certain
- Percys questing days arent over. He & fellow demigods Frank & Hazel must face the most important quest of all: the Prophecy of Seven. If they fail its not just their camp at risk. Percys old life the gods & the entire world might be destroyed...
...

We sat & stared balefully at the walnut buffet. A rich customer had complained it was making strange noises in the night. It was around midnight & we strained our ears to hear hardly daring to breathe. & there it was a kind of crunch crunch crunching sound. John's life as a travelling brocanteur (antiques dealer) in rural France is decidedly less colourful as his unscrupulous yet affable partner in crime Serge Bastarde marries & decamps to Martinique. But like a bad penny Serge returns his personal life in tatters. What follows is a madcap adventure which sees John being coerced into striking deals with the Romanian 'mafia' re-roofing a huge Basque house & getting trapped in a skip in the dead of night while Serge rides an emotional roller coaster. Serge may be as faux as some of his antiques but with John's help he eventually strikes gold in this laugh-out-loud romp. ...

Longlisted for the Booker Prize Deeply humane & acutely truthful Peter Kemp Sunday Times After the upheavals of the Second World War the Richardson family -- Sam Ellen & their young son Joe -- settle back to working-class life in the Cumbrian town of Wigton. Yet for them as for so many life will never be the same again. As the old order begins to be challenged & new vistas open Sam & Ellen forge their future together with differing needs & desires
- & conflicting expectations of Joe who grows up with his own demons to confront. It is as if these were the novels he was always waiting to write... He catches brilliantly the volatility of emotions -- how happiness can curdle anger flare guilt build into terrror. Nicci Gerrard Observer A novel about being alive the kind of slice-of-life novel that everyone feels they have inside them but few could write Brandon Robshaw Independent on Sunday This sequel to The Soldiers Return -- widely acclaimed as Melvyn Braggs best novel -- is every bit as convincing & enjoyable.. . This seems likely to become not only an outstandingly good series but one of the finest & most authentic records of the changes in English society life & manners since the Second World War Allan Massie Scotsman Shot through with blazing integrity & authenticity Val Hennessy Daily Mail
...

In the sixth century Celtic Christian monks are thought to have made dangerous & difficult journeys from the west coast of Scotland to seek solitude in Icel&. This evocative pared-down sequence of poems
- the imaginary fragments of a lost manuscript
- tells their remarkable little known story of faith courage & determination. A Song among the Stones was first commissioned by BBC Radio 3s The Verb.

...

Lovers are torn apart in World War Two & a mother & daughter separated by guilt & shame in a stunning new novel from the author ...

It is 1964 & Maya Angelou is on her way back home leaving behind her beloved
- & now seriously teenage
- son Guy to finish university

...

On 7 July 2005 Julie Nicholsons life was changed forever. Her daughter Jenny was killed on her way to work in the London bombings shaking Julies beliefs. With heartbreaking honesty & integrity Julie tells her story of love tragedy & heartache for the first time. Jenny Nicolson was travelling to work when a bomb exploded at Edgware Road Tube station. Her mother Reverend Julie Nicholson struggled to comprehend the tragedy her sorrow & longing for her daughter turning to rage & anger. Finding herself unable to articulate the three parts of the Eucharist: peace reconciliation & forgiveness because she felt so far from those herself Julie made the difficult decision to resign her role as priest-in-charge of St Aidan with St George Church Bristol unable to reconcile her feelings with her position. She continued working with the church in a youth arts project. ...

When Ellen Carr abandons grey dreary London to become housekeeper at an experimental school in Austria she finds her destiny. Swept into an idyllic world of mountains music eccentric teachers & wayward children Ellen brings order & joy to all around her. But it's the handsome mysterious gardener Marek who intrigues her -- Marek who has a dangerous secret. As Hitler's troops spread across Europe Ellen has promises to keep even if they mean she must sacrifice her future happiness.. . An unforgettable love story from the award-winning author of Journey to the River Sea & The Star of Kazan. ...