There was a smell in the air of tar & rope & rusted chain a smell of tidal water. Down harbour around the point was the open sea. Here was the freedom I desired long sought-for not yet known. Freedom to write to walk to wander freedom to climb hills to pull a boat to be alone.. .I for this & this for me. Daphne du Maurier lived in Cornwall for most of her life. Its rugged coastline wild terrain & tumultuous weather inspired her imagination & many of her works are set there including Rebecca Jamaica Inn & Frenchmans Creek. In Vanishing Cornwall she celebrates the land she loved exploring its legends its history & its people eloquently making a powerful plea for Cornwalls preservation. ...

Vanishing Ireland is a unique collection of portrait interviews looking at the dying ways & traditions of Irish life & taking us back to an Ireland virtually unrecognisable to todays post-boom generation. Illustrated with over a hundred evocative & stunning photographs we meet the people & customs that shaped the cultural identity of the Irish nation. Through their own words & memories sixty-four men & women transport us back to a time when people lived off the land & the sea when music & storytelling were essential parts of life when a person was defined by their trade. Divided into five parts
- Children of the Field Children of the Music Children of the Horse Children of the Trade & Children of the Water
- Vanishing Ireland brings together the stories of those who lived through Irelands formative years. We hear of children harassed by the Black & Tans of ceilis in kitchens & the rigours of working in the fields of the wonder of electricity & the devastation of emigration. From coalminers to saddlers farmers to fishermen along with horse dealers publicans housemaids & musicians
- these remarkably poignant interviews & photographs in their simplicity & honesty will make you laugh & cry but above all will provide a valuable chronicle that connects twenty-first century Ireland to a rapidly disappearing world.


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London is & always has been a vortex of perpetual change. The 7 million people that live in the city today are presented with a volume of commercial technological & cultural choice that dwarfs any other period in its history. As each new high street brand & high-tech building appears on the urban landscape it becomes increasingly difficult to recall what once came before. This sense of loss is exacerbated by the sheer pace of life that creates an almost 'tunnel vision' effect in its citizens & visitors. This book offers an opportunity to remove those blinkers & enjoy a quirky & evocative look at a bygone city. Using atmospheric photography gleaned from the extensive Mirrorpix archives it chronicles the changing topography of London as well as charting the social evolution of the city through its industries sub-cultures fashions & momentous occasions. ...

1976: friends Marcus & Ruth go missing in Afghanistan during an overland bus trip to Kathmandu. A generation later Ruths niece Amber haunted by the disintegration of her family determines to get at the truth of their disappearance. Was it murder as her father suspected or a suicide pact as the police believed? Tracking down the trips bus driver Cassidy Amber starts to piece together a lost world
- the mystical vibrant hippy trail to India
- & colourful characters like Juliet who imagined herself the reincarnation of an Edwardian traveller. As the mystery surrounding her aunt & the charismatic Marcus unfolds Amber begins a journey of discovery of her own that will lead her not only into the dark secrets of the past & lost love but face to face with a tragedy much closer to home. Bonus content: * Interview with the author about her own overland adventure as an 18 year old that inspired the story * Discussion notes for reading groups

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Its every parents worst nightmare... Stephanie Harker is travelling through the security gates at OHare airport on her way to an idyllic holiday. Five-year-old Jimmy goes through the metal detector ahead of her. But then in panic & disbelief Stephanie watches as a uniformed agent leads her boy away
- & shes stuck the other side of Security hysterical with worry. The authorities unaware of Jimmys existence just see a woman behaving erratically; Stephanie is brutally wrestled to the ground & blasted with a taser gun to restrain her. & by the time she can tell them what has happened Jimmy is long gone. But as Stephanie tells her story to the FBI it becomes clear that everything is not as it seems with this seeminglynormal family. What is Jimmys background? Why would someone want to abduct him? & with time running out how can Stephanie get him back? A breathtakingly rich & gripping psychological thriller The Vanishing Point is Val Mc Dermids most accomplished standalone novel to date a work of haunting brilliance.
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Stephanie Harker is travelling through security at O' Hare airport with five-year-old Jimmy. But in a moment everything changes. In disbelief Stephanie watches as a uniformed agent leads her boy away
- & she's stuck the other side of the gates hysterical with worry. The authorities unaware of Jimmy's existence just see a woman behaving erratically; Stephanie is wrestled to the ground & blasted with a taser gun. By the time she can tell them what has happened Jimmy is long gone. But as Stephanie tells her story to the FBI it becomes clear that everything is not as it seems. There are many potential suspects for this abduction. With time rapidly running out how can Stephanie get him back? A breathtakingly rich & gripping psychological thriller The Vanishing Point is Val Mc Dermid's most accomplished standalone novel to date a work of haunting brilliance.
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Why is the Brazilian rainforest vanishing so fast? & why is it essential not only to the people & animals within it but to the whole world? This story seen through the eyes of a child called Remaema describes how the Yanomami tribe are battling against potential developers. Can a solution be found that will protect the forest & allow the tribe to continue living as they always have done while benefiting from limited development? Richard Platts dramatic approach & Rupert van Wyks masterly illustrations accompanied by an information spread offer an exciting perspective on a controversial & topical subject. ...

Following on from Lucy Lord's brilliant debut novel Revelry comes Vanity. Oozing with sex wild partying & scandal join Bella & best friend Poppy as they continue to navigate the world of being young fun & (almost) carefree. Glamorous Poppy seems to have it all & after a long tough year she is damn well going to enjoy it. But as Poppy's career in New York goes from strength to strength her husband Damian's takes a nosedive & she begins to wonder if love really can survive anything. In London Poppy's best friend Bella is basking in that new-couple glow with her boyfriend Andy. But not everything is as perfect as it seems & Bella can't help but be a little jealous of her best friend's Big Apple adventures. Meanwhile their arch-nemesis shallow but beautiful Ben is in Hollywood to make his name on the silver screen & annoyingly is doing rather well at it! From St Tropez to New York LA to the impossibly chic Paris; join Bella Poppy & their friends as they face the reality of friendships pushed to the limits & embark on a road trip that they'll never forget... ...

Thackeray's upper-class Regency world is a noisy & jostling commercial fairground predominantly driven by acquisitive greed & soulless materialism in which the narrator himself plays a brilliantly versatile role as a serio-comic observer. Although subtitled A Novel without a Hero Vanity Fair follows the fortunes of two contrasting but inter-linked lives: through the retiring Amelia Sedley & the brilliant Becky Sharp Thackeray examines the position of women in an intensely exploitative male world. ...

Becky Sharp is a poor orphan when she first makes friends with the lovely Amelia Sedley at Miss Pinkertons Academy for Young Ladies. She may not have the natural advantages of her companion but she more than makes up for it with her wit charm deviousness & determination to make a success of herself whatever the cost. Vanity Fair" is the story of Beckys spectacular rise & fall as she gambles manipulates & seduces her way through high society & the Napoleonic wars." ...