Peter Mayle, author of A YEAR IN PROVENCE, writes in his Preface to this charming travel memoir: ` Michael Sadler was born in Lewes, a small town in the south of Engl&. This was a geographical accident. He should have emerged from the womb in Paris, looking anxiously about him for a suitable place to have lunch.` He may not have been born there, but Michael Sadler eventually found his spiritual home. AN ENGLISHMAN IN PARIS is his delightful account of his first year in the French capital, describing with alternate affection & bemusement such continental confusions as the etiquette of flower-buying, the role of cricket in French foreplay, & the dangers `black butter` presents not just to one`s cholesterol levels but also to dry-cleaning bills. Beautifully observed & very funny, AN ENGLISHMAN IN PARIS will delight armchair travellers & Francophiles alike. ...

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.
...

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.
...

When the body of a Russian agent is found down a monastery well, Yashim knows exactly who to blame. Fevzi Ahmet Pasha, commander of the Ottoman fleet. Years ago, when Yashim first entered the sultan`s service, Fevzi Ahmet was his mentor. Ruthless, cruel, &
- in Yashim`s eyes
- ultimately ineffective, he is the only man who makes him afraid. & now Yashim must confront the secret that Fevzi Pasha has been keeping all these years, a secret whose roots lie deep in the tortured atmosphere of the sultan`s harem, where normal rules are suspended, & women can simply disappear. Once again, Yashim & his friends encounter treachery & politics, played out against the backdrop of 1840s Istanbul.

...

An Expensive Education cuts between the African bush & Harvard
- taking its readers deep inside this iconic university & the inner
...

Following `A Change in Climate`, this brilliant novel from the double Man Booker prize-winning author of ` Wolf Hall` is a coming-of-age tale set in Seventies London. It is London, 1970. Carmel Mc Bain, in her first term at university, has cut free of her childhood roots in the north. Among the gossiping, flirtatious girls of Tonbridge Hall, she begins her experiments in life & love. But the year turns. The mini-skirt falls out of style & an era of concealment begins. Carmel`s world darkens, & tragedy waits in the wings. ...

With over eighty maps & accompanying articles, the Historical Atlas of Hertfordshire contains an immense amount of research which will be invaluable to all those with an interest in the history of this important English county. Arranged thematically, it guides the reader through geology, geography & topography, administrative organisation, buildings, transport & communications, demography, settlement, agriculture, industry & trade, landscape, religion, welfare, war & civil unrest. Although it is one of the smaller counties, Hertfordshire is surprisingly diverse. Lacking any simple topographical uniformity, its natural features have in turn influenced the development of the county`s landscape, settlements & industries. The diversity & particularity of Hertfordshire help to explain the wide range of topics presented in this atlas, but the breadth of the book is also due to the variety of interests that Hertfordshire local historians display. Few county historical atlases can boast such detailed information on, for example, ice-houses, dovecotes, medieval & Tudor graffiti, local volunteers for military service, or eighteenth- & nineteenth-century transportations & executions. Hertfordshire has had an essentially agrarian economy for much of its history, but has nonetheless benefited from the development of a number of important industries. It may not have been at the cutting edge of the industrial revolution, yet it has certainly not been devoid of manufacturing activity. From the later eighteenth century forwards it boasted significant involvement in paper-making, silk throwing, brewing & malting &
- more distinctively
- the straw plait industry, for which it assumed an importance surpassed only by neighbouring Bedfordshire. The twentieth century witnessed the rise of printing, pharmaceuticals, a film industry & the extraction of aggregates. All these areas of activity are explored in detail as is the long history of settlement in the county, from the Palaeolithic period to the garden cities & new towns. Printed in full colour, & with a fold-out parish map, the Historical Atlas is an essential tool for the local historian & anyone with an interest in this fascinating county.

...

“ An Historical Atlas of Kent” is an atlas that seeks to show the varied historical background of ‘the Garden of England’; with it, authors David Killingray & Terence Lawson fill a notable gap in the published histories of the county. It

Includes:: 250 newly-drawn & reader-friendly maps covering topics ranging from the earliest Stone-Age occupation to such modern developments as the growth of leisure industries. Several other areas not usually covered by other county atlases include the introduction of public water & gas supplies in the nineteenth century, together with the expansion of banking services & the local press. Virtually every aspect of Kent’s history is mapped & explained in this atlas, & will make an already important of England that much more interesting, whether a resident, or virgin traveller.

...