After the romantic encounter in the Loire Valley bathroom at the end of An Englishman a la Campagne, Michael Sadler dumps the University of Swindon & returns to France intent on winning the heart of Lou Charpin, his belle francaise. Easier said than done. How do you love a la francaise? Are they better at it than us? Sadler watches the late-night movie
- an erotic encounter between a luscious cleaning lady & a Parisian dermatologist
- & takes copious notes. After the Latin lover is it now the moment for the rosbif Romeo? In An Englishman Amoureux, the third Installment of Sadler’s warm & wonderful memoirs of life in France, all is revealed. ‘ Michael Sadler is a fine example of that rare breed of Englishman, someone who can be very funny about living in France’- Michael Palin.

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From the outbreak of war in September 1939 all the way to the smouldering ruins of Berlin in 1945, via Palestine, Tobruk, El Alamein, D-Day, Nijmegen & the crossing of the Rhine, An Englishman at War is a unique first-person account of the Second World War. The Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, Stanley Christopher`s regiment, went to war as amateurs, equipped with courage but very little else, & ended up one of the most experienced, highly trained & most valued armoured units in the British Army. Their journey through the war, learning through mistakes & tragedy as well as from a determined desire to improve, can, in many ways, be seen to reflect the experience of the British Army as a whole. From Alamein onwards, the Sherwood Rangers were in the vanguard of almost every action in which they took part, & over the course of the conflict, they amassed an astonishing thirty battle honours. Christopherson himself was to rise from a junior subaltern to become the commanding officer of the regiment soon after the D-Day landings. He took part in all thirty battle honours, & collected a Distinguished Service Order, two Military Crosses & an American Silver Star, as well as being Mentioned in Despatches four times. His is an extraordinary story. ...

Murder, cocaine, street mugging, bombs & aggressive Amazonian Indians combined with exotic beach resorts & colourful characters make David Wood's book on Colombia an interesting & adventurous look at the most dangerous & alluring country in Latin America. David portrays the capital Bogota as a mixture of colourful street people merging with a vibrant culture. The author's travels in Colombia bring him into contact with many different characters & he outlines the problems experienced in a city characterized by the great contrast of wealth & poverty & the influence of the cocaine business. From detailed personal accounts of incidents such as street muggings, a bomb explosion in central Bogota & the blowing up of an aircraft by the drug cartels which results in the death of his business partner, David draws us into the heart of this compelling country. The author gives clear descriptions of life in places like the Sierra Nevada Mountains where he climbs to the lost city of the Tairona Indians & experiences the culture of the Indian tribes. He also considers the history & culture of cities like Cartagena with its colonial heritage. The book portrays Colombia as a land of great contrasts, beauty & vibrancy contrasted with excessive violence, poverty & crime. The result is a shocking & intimate reflection of life in Colombia today. ...

Anthony Whitelands, an English art historian, is invited to Madrid to value the collection of a Spanish duke. At a welcome ...

In 2008 Jason Bell undertook a photo assignment for American Vogue in ` Tea & Sympathy`, an English tea room in the heart of Manhattan. In conversation with the owner, Nicky Perry, he was astonished to discover that over 120, 000 British men & women lived in New York City. As an Englishman, himself living in New York, Jason was inspired by this & decided to investigate further. His latest book An Englishman in New York is the result. The book documents a wide cross-section of English people living in the City. It features cops, taxi drivers, construction workers, divers, helicopter pilots, chefs, burlesque dancers, UN ambassadors & even dog walkers. Jason was also struck by the significant influence that many Brits exercise on New York`s cultural agenda, which led to him to include amongst his subjects: writer, Zo A” Heller; director, Stephen Daldry; artists, Cecily Brown & Bill Jacklin; Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas P Campbell; historian, Simon Schama; actor, Kate Winslet; & the musician, Sting. The book offers an extraordinary insight into the British sub-culture which forms an intrinsic part of everyday life in New York City. As Bell says, ”I went for a walk in Central Park with Sting, for a cup of tea on Kate Winslet`s roof terrace, sat on Zo A” Heller`s stoop & watched Stephen Daldry cycle down 8th Avenue. I was given a private tour of both the Metropolitan Museum & Barneys` shop windows. & amidst all the questions about why people had come here & what they had left behind, I learnt a little bit more about what it means to be English, what it means to be a New Yorker, & where the two intersect.” ...

The Parisien now wants to be a paysan, but it`s easier said than done.. . How do you plant leeks in cement-hard French soil, impress Gallic neighbours with your non-existent gardening credentials & survive a seven-hour celebratory communion lunch (followed by dinner)? What skills are required to cope with suicidal French mice (souricide?), resist the advances of an attractive but desperate lady cheese-maker during an English lesson, buy wine from Mr Grump the grower, & -- last but not least -- stoop so low as to snap up the plastic trophy in the annual garden competition? AN ENGLISHMAN A LA CAMPAGNE is a wonderfully warm & witty follow-up to the author`s account of his first year living in Paris. Now broadening his affectionate embrace to include the myriad facets of the French countryside, Sadler makes you laugh, makes you think, & makes you love the place.. .even Donges, which won first prize in his competition for the grottiest village in France. ...

Even as a toddler, Martin Gurdon was obsessed with cars. Before he could read or write he could distinguish a vehicle passing in the street from the purr of its engine. His first car-not strictly legally-was as a fifteen-year-old, parked round the corner from his boarding school, & driven up to London when bunking off. At one time or another he has owned or driven most of the truly dreadful, but often bizarrely loved cars that were produced by British Leyland Corporation, the conglomeration that cemented the death of the indigenous British car industry. Amongst them a succession of Morris Marinas, often kept running by cannibalized wrecks found in junk yards. But he always hankered after that thing of beauty his father once owned, a 1950s Bristol 401. Perhaps only naturally, his ambition was always to become a motoring journalist, despite it seeming questionable anyone would be insane enough to offer him a job. He`s never actually owned a Reliant Robin, but he has almost been killed by one... ...

Some cases aren`t as cold as you`d think Kurt Wallander`s life looks like it has taken a turn for the better when his offer on a new house is accepted, only for him to uncover something unexpected in the garden
- the skeleton of a middle-aged woman. As police officers comb the property, Wallander attempts to get his new life back on course by finding the woman`s killer with the aid of his daughter, Linda. But when another discovery is made in the garden, Wallander is forced to delve further back into the area`s past. A treat for fans & new readers alike, this is a never before published Kurt Wallander novella.
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Some cases aren`t as cold as you`d think Kurt Wallander`s life looks like it has taken a turn for the better when his offer on a new house is accepted, only for him to uncover something unexpected in the garden
- the skeleton of a middle-aged woman. As police officers comb the property, Wallander attempts to get his new life back on course by finding the woman`s killer with the aid of his daughter, Linda. But when another discovery is made in the garden, Wallander is forced to delve further back into the area`s past. A treat for fans & new readers alike, this is a never before published Kurt Wallander novella.
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Brian Keenan went to Beirut in 1985 for a change of scene from his native Belfast. He became headline news when he was kidnapped by fundamentalist Shi`ite militiamen & held in the suburbs of Beirut for the next four & a half years. For much of that time he was shut off from all news & contact with anyone other than his jailers &, later, his fellow hostages, amongst them John Mc Carthy. ...