The battle of Talavera in 1809 was one of the major battles of the Peninsular War & Arthur Wellesleys first victory in Spain itself following which he was created Viscount Wellington of Talavera & Wellington. Although Welleselys forces were outnumbered & a sizeable contingent of the Spanish ran away he had chosen a superb defensive position & was able to beat off successive French attacks though at a heavy cost in terms of casualties. Although the French had withdrawn leaving Wellesley the master of the field his high casualties & approaching French reinforcements led to Wellesley withdrawing to Portugal. His foray into Spain had an enormous effect on Spanish morale as they realized they were not alone in the struggle. British redcoats had had got to within 70km of Madraid & they would return in future years. ...

This is the story of a silly little duck who more than anything wants to hatch her own eggs. The thing is she isnt very good at being a duck
- she cant sit still on her eggs she really cant fly very well & she doesnt realise shes supposed to run away from foxes. Meet Jemima Puddle-duck the silliest luckiest duck of all. An irresistible picture book about Beatrix Potters famous duck with lots of laughs & surprises for young children to enjoy.
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It's been 110 years since Frederick Warne published Beatrix Potter's very first book The Tale of Peter Rabbit" & in celebration we are delighted to be publishing special editions of her entire body of work. Unlike the traditional little white books these editions have delightful colourful covers & specially designed endpapers. & to make them extra special we have included a publisher's note to tell you all about the history of how each book came to be. Peter Rabbit's cousin Benjamin Bunny has been a very popular character since this book's first publication in 1904. In this tale we hear all about his adventures with Peter in Mr. Mc Gregor's vegetable garden & what happens to them when they meet a cat! Even more frightening is what happens to the two pesky bunnies when Old Mr. Benjamin Bunny finds out what they have been up to! " The Tale of Benjamin Bunny" is number four in Beatrix Potter's series of 23 little books." ...

Welcome to the story of Despereaux an unforgettable literary hero for our time from the pen of award-winning writer Kate Di Camillo. The Tale of Despereaux takes the reader back to the timeless genre of fairytales but with a fantastic modern twist & a wryly witty authorial voice. The Tale of Despereaux is the story of a tiny fragile-looking mouse with a huge heart. Its a fairytale of heroes & villains; of a beautiful princess who inspires love & courage in the unlikely hero; of a rat called Roscuro who lives in a dark bleak dungeon & longs for the light & of a servant-girl whose one wish is to be a princess. These characters? lives become inextricably entwined in this classic new story for all ages. ...

Written in the eleventh century this exquisite portrait of courtly life in medieval Japan is widely celebrated as the worlds first novel
- & is certainly one of its finest. Genji the Shining Prince son of an emperor is a passionate character whose tempestuous nature family circumstances love affairs alliances & shifting political fortunes form the core of this magnificent epic. Royall Tylers superb translation is detailed poetic & true to the Japanese original while allowing the English reader to appreciate its timeless beauty. In this deftly abridged edition Tyler focuses on the early chapters which vividly evoke Genji as a young man & leave him at his first moment of triumph.
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Ginger & Pickles (a terrier & a ginger cat) kept a very popular shop. Their customers loved to buy their provisions there but they were less keen to pay for them & ran up a great deal of credit making poor Ginger & Pickles lives very difficult indeed. The Tale of Ginger & Pickles" is number 18 in " Beatrix Potter's" series of 23 little books the titles of which are as follows: " The Tale of Peter Rabbit"; " The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin"; " The Tailor of Gloucester"; " The Tale of Benjamin Bunny"; " The Tale of Two Bad Mice"; " The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle"; " The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher"; " The Tale of Tom Kitten"; " The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck"; " The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies"; " The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse"; " The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes"; " The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse"; " The Tale of Mr. Tod"; " The Tale of Pigling Bland"; " The Tale of Samuel Whiskers"; " The Tale of The Pie & the Patty-Pan"; " The Tale of Ginger & Pickles"; " The Tale of Little Pig Robinson"; " The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit"; " The Story of Miss Moppet"; " Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes"; & " Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes"." ...

Poor Jemima. All she wants to do is lay her eggs in peace & be allowed to hatch them herself. At last she flies off & finds the perfect place. Little does the silly duck realise that the charming gentleman who has lent her his woodshed is busily planning a delicious meal of...roast duck! Jemima was a real duck belonging to Beatrix Potter who lived at her farm Hill Top. The story also features Beatrixs own sheepdog Kep who thankfully manages to save Jemima from a nasty fate! The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck" is number nine in Beatrix Potters series of 23 little books the titles of which are as follows: " The Tale of Peter Rabbit"; " The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin"; " The Tailor of Gloucester"; " The Tale of Benjamin Bunny"; " The Tale of Two Bad Mice"; " The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle"; " The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher"; " The Tale of Tom Kitten"; " The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck"; " The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies"; " The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse"; " The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes"; " The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse"; " The Tale of Mr. Tod"; " The Tale of Pigling Bland"; " The Tale of Samuel Whiskers"; " The Tale of The Pie & the Patty-Pan"; " The Tale of Ginger & Pickles"; " The Tale of Little Pig Robinson"; " The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit"; " The Story of Miss Moppet"; " Appley Dapplys Nursery Rhymes"; & " Cecily Parsleys Nursery Rhymes"." ...

Do you ever feel that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence? Well so did Johnny Town-Mouse & Timmy Willie. One was a town mouse & one was a country mouse & when they end up in each others worlds they soon discover that they were much happier where they started! The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse" is number 13 in Beatrix Potters series of 23 little books the titles of which are as follows: " The Tale of Peter Rabbit"; " The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin"; " The Tailor of Gloucester"; " The Tale of Benjamin Bunny"; " The Tale of Two Bad Mice"; " The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle"; " The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher"; " The Tale of Tom Kitten"; " The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck"; " The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies"; " The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse"; " The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes"; " The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse"; " The Tale of Mr. Tod"; " The Tale of Pigling Bland"; " The Tale of Samuel Whiskers"; " The Tale of The Pie & the Patty-Pan"; " The Tale of Ginger & Pickles"; " The Tale of Little Pig Robinson"; " The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit"; " The Story of Miss Moppet"; " Appley Dapplys Nursery Rhymes"; & " Cecily Parsleys Nursery Rhymes"." ...

The setting of Little Pig Robinson" is based on various English seaside towns where she spent holidays when she was young. It tells the charming story of an adventurous pig who sets off on an incredible voyage aboard the ' Pound of Candles'. " The Tale of Little Pig Robinson" is number nineteen in " Beatrix Potter's" series of twenty-three little books the titles of which are as follows: " The Tale of Peter Rabbit"; " The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin"; " The Tailor of Gloucester"; " The Tale of Benjamin Bunny"; " The Tale of Two Bad Mice"; " The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle"; " The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher"; " The Tale of Tom Kitten"; " The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck"; " The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies"; " The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse"; " The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes"; " The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse"; " The Tale of Mr. Tod"; " The Tale of Pigling Bland"; " The Tale of Samuel Whiskers"; " The Tale of The Pie & the Patty-Pan"; " The Tale of Ginger & Pickles"; " The Tale of Little Pig Robinson"; " The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit"; " The Story of Miss Moppet"; " Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes"; & " Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes"." ...

Its been 110 years since Frederick Warne published Beatrix Potters very first book The Tale of Peter Rabbit" & in celebration we are delighted to be publishing special editions of her entire body of work. Unlike the traditional little white books these editions have delightful colourful covers & specially designed endpapers. & to make them extra special we have included a publishers note to tell you all about the history of how each book came to be. " The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher" endures as one of Beatrix Potters most popular & well-loved tales. It tells of an optimistic & slightly accident-prone frog who sets off on a fishing expedition across the pond only to find himself bitten on the toe by a water-beetle fighting with a stickleback & eventually nearly eaten by a trout! " The Tale of Jeremy Fisher" is number seven in Beatrix Potters series of 23 little books." ...