Buried deep under Istanbul, a secret is about to resurface with explosive consequences... Alex Zegliwski has been savagely beheaded. His body is found hidden near the sacred archaeological site of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. When Sean arrives in the ancient city to identify his colleague`s body, he is handed an envelope of photographs belonging to Alek & soon finds himself in grave danger. Someone wants him dead but why? Aided by British diplomat Isabel Sharp, Sean begins to unravel the mystery of the mosaics in the photographs & inch closer to snaring Alek`s assassin. Evil is at work & when a lethal virus is unleashed on the city, panic spreads fast. Time is running out for Sean & Isabel. They must catch the killer before it`s too late. An electrifying conspiracy thriller which will entice fans of Scott Mariani, Sam Bourne & Dan Brown. ...

Written in 1796, The Italian, with its archetypal villain Schedoni, intense romance between Vincentio di Vivaldi & Elena di Rosalba, & immaculate poetics of the sublime is the masterpiece of gothic fiction. Enlisted by Vincentio's mother, Marchesa, the scheming monk Schedoni casts a malevolent presence throughout the book in his plot to corrupt the romance of the young lovers. On the backdrop of the Inquisition & the French Revolution, it is a tale of the heroic struggle of love in the face of vindictive Machiavellian deceit told through the intensel descriptive landscapes of the Bay of Naples. ...

Melissa Forti is the Italian Baker. In her tea room in an idyllic medieval town near Tuscany, she bakes beautiful cakes that combine Italian traditions with her own modern twists. This book is a collection of Melissa`s favourite tarts, celebration cakes, loaves, biscuits & coffee-time treats borne out of her unique style of baking. Every recipe is a treat, taking in deliciously popular Italian ingredients like olive oil, mascarpone, almonds & stunning fresh fruit. Melissa gives perennial favourites like carrot cake, brownies, chocolate cake & cheesecake a fresh, Italian makeover, as well as sharing traditional Italian recipes & others handed down through her family. Every cake & cookie tells a story, reflecting Melissa`s travels, her passion for good food & the love of her Italian heritage. ...

Katie has travelled the rice fields of Italy`s northern provinces & the lemon groves of the south, the richly diverse urban & rural terrains & patchwork regions. She has collated recipes, techniques & ingredients to create this unique compendium of Italian food. The Italian Cookery Course will guide you through the vast collection of famous recipes & lesser-known regional dishes, with clear instruction on how to replicate them at home. The book is broken down into straightforward chapters including ` Meat`, ` Fish`, ` Dolci` & ` Cheese`. Each chapter contains `masterclasses` on technique, revealing the practical secrets of Italian cooking & giving the reader new confidence in the kitchen. All this is interwoven with fascinating narration about the culinary influences that have created this wonderful cuisine. ...

Famous for its bold flavours, seasonal ingredients & vibrant colours, Italian has repeatedly been voted the world`s favourite cuisine. Take a closer look, though, & you`ll discover that there is much more to this nation`s food than the ubiquitous pasta, pizzas & risottos offered at many restaurants. Italian-cooking expert Valentina Harris examines each area in turn, with a carefully curated selection of recipes, & detailed instructions & photographs to help you achieve an authentic, & completely delicious, end result. This comprehensive book is a must-have reference for anyone who is passionate about cooking authentic Italian food. ...

Sublime & maddening, fascinating yet baffling, Italy is a country of endless paradox & seemingly unanswerable riddles. John Hooper`s marvellously entertaining & perceptive book is the ideal companion for anyone seeking to understand contemporary Italy & the unique character of the Italians. Looking at the facts that lie behind
- & often belie
- the stereotypes, his revealing book sheds new light on many aspects of Italian life: football & Freemasonry, sex, symbolism & the reason why Italian has twelve words for a coat hanger, yet none for a hangover.

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Xenophobe’s Guide to the Italians is a pocket-size guide that takes a frank & funny look at what makes the Italians Italian.“ Punctuality is only relatively important in Italy & the time is often treated as an approximate.” Xenophobe’s guides attempt to forewarn readers of the main stereotypes & foibles that are associated with individual nationalities. Each guide explores the characteristics of a country’s people in a series of dedicated sections, encompassing nationalism & identity, behaviour, manners, character, obsessions, beliefs & values, leisure & pleasure, culture, custom & tradition, business, systems, health & hygiene, crime & punishment, government & bureaucracy, conversation & gestures & language. ...

This is the only English-language guidebook to focus solely on Ivory Coast, a country of crimson savannahs, sublime mountains & cream-hued beaches that is becoming popular for ecotourism & wildlife, surfing & off-the-beaten track travel. Having only recently re-opened for tourism, Ivory Coast is West Africa`s hidden treasure. In-depth & comprehensive coverage of everything from chimp-watching & hiking to food & the Ivorian music & dance scene is featured (including how Twerking originated from the Ivorian mapouka, which was deemed so raunchy in the 1970s that the government temporarily banned it from television.) Packed with vivid descriptions, detailed maps & essential practical advice, this book is invaluable to any visitor, whatever your purpose. The guide organises the country into ten regions &

Includes:: western Dix-Huit Montagnes & northern Savanes & Deguel, previously omitted from other, wider-ranging guides. It also

Includes:: meticulous maps & suggested itineraries for different timescales. Wide-ranging information on food & accommodation is given for each region. Ivory Coast`s nature is as alluring as its culture, whether you want to surf off beaches of Assinie, trek through the savannahs of the north or scale Mount Tonkoui for panoramic views of Liberia & Guinea. In the Comoe, Tai & Marahoue national parks, it`s possible to glimpse leopards, lions, chimpanzees, aardvarks, antelopes & 500 bird species. The guide

Includes:: sections offering advice on hiking & trekking the northern alpine regions & on birdwatching & wildlife-spotting in the various national parks. There is a section devoted to Ivory Coast`s artistic & cultural assets which

Includes:: accurate prices for tribal arts & crafts. Distributed throughout the book are fact boxes containing anecdotes about notable Ivorians (such as the dramatic rags-to-riches-back-to-rags story of the singer Francois Lougah) as well as vox pops of average citizens (taxi drivers, shopkeepers, bar staff) expressing their thoughts about Ivorian life, society & culture.







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The Ivy is the quintessential London restaurant, where people go to see & be seen, encapsulating everything that`s glamorous & romantic about dining in the capital. The original Ivy was established in 1917 on the very site where it still stands, in the heart of London`s Theatrel&. The epitome of glamour, there can be few film stars, musicians, royals, writers, artists & raconteurs who have not passed through its hallowed front doors. There are now also five Ivy brasseries in London (Covent Garden, Chelsea, Marylebone, Kensington & Wimbledon) & more opening nationwide. In 2017 this iconic landmark celebrates its centenary &, twenty years from the publication of the original Ivy cookbook, it`s time for a new peek behind those famous stained-glass windows. The Ivy Now contains all the dishes, secrets & stories behind the restaurant`s success. Charismatic Director & former maitre d` Fernando Peire tells the story
- the history, the theatre, the celebrities & the scandal
- & with classic recipes from Executive Chef Gary Lee, including the Ivy`s signature shepherd`s pie, Asian-inspired salads, desserts & cocktails, this is the must-have book for a new generation of Ivy fans.

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Stunning three-volume slipcased set containing the most comprehensive in-depth companion to Tolkien`s life & works ever published, including synopses of all his writings, & a Tolkien gazetteer, who`s who & chronology. The three volumes contained in this slipcase, written by two of the foremost experts on J.R.R. Tolkien, comprise the definitive handbook to one of the most popular authors of the 20th century. Tolkien`s progress is traced from his birth in South Africa in 1892, to the battlefields of France & the lecture-halls of Leeds & Oxford, to his success as the author of The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings, until his death in 1973. His many academic & literary achievements, his public reception, & his enduring fame are examined in detail. The first volume in this set is a Chronology of Tolkien`s life & works, the most extensive biographical resource about him ever published. Thousands of details have been drawn from letters, contemporary documents in libraries & archives, & a wide variety of other published & unpublished sources. Assembled together, they form a portrait of Tolkien in all his aspects: the distinguished scholar of Old & Middle English, the capable teacher & administrator, the devoted husband & father, the brilliant creator of Middle-earth. The second & third volumes, the Reader`s Guide, is an indispensable introduction to Tolkien`s life, writings, & art. It

Includes:: histories & discussions of his works; analyses of the components of his vast ` Silmarillion` mythology; brief biographies of persons important in his life; accounts of places he knew; essays on topics such as Tolkien`s interests & attitudes towards contemporary issues, ideas found in his works, adaptations, & invented languages; & checklists of his published works, his poetry, his pictorial art, & translations of his writing.

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