After centuries of mystery, the mythical Magical Unicorn Society has published its official handbook. These learned lovers of unicorns have created a treasure chest of unicorn lore
- the facts, the fiction, the where, why & what of these elusive beasts. This is the ultimate gift for anyone who truly believes. Discover the myth of the Gold & Silver Unicorns, & the legendary stories of the seven unicorn families. Find out about their unique powers, where they live around the world, what they eat & how to have the best chance of spotting one. Learn about the history of the Magical Unicorn Society
- from its foundation to the present day
- & how to become a member. With breathtaking artwork from Helen Dardik & Harry & Zanna Goldhawk (Papio Press), & stunning design & production, this special book gallops through a history of these mythical creatures & looks at their magical future.


...

Yasha the magician
- sword swallower, fire eater, acrobat & master of escape
- is famed for his extraordinary Houdini-like

...

` He scampered over rooftops, swam in deep water, leapt from balconies.` Set in the vanished world of the shtetl of nineteenth-century eastern Europe, this spellbinding fable tells the story of Yasha: magician, mesmerist, juggler, sword swallower, master of escape
- & breaker of hearts.
...

Shortlisted for the 2017 Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature. ` How much risk is worth taking for so beautiful a prize?` The Magician`s Glass by award-winning writer Ed Douglas is a collection of eight recent essays on some of the biggest stories & best-known personalities in the world of climbing. In the title essay, he writes about failure on Annapurna III in 1981, one of the boldest attempts in Himalayan mountaineering on one of the most beautiful lines
- a line that remains unclimbed to this day. Douglas writes about bitter controversies, like that surrounding Ueli Steck`s disputed solo ascent of the south face of Annapurna, the fate of Toni Egger on Cerro Torre in 1959
- when Cesare Maestri claimed the pair had made the first ascent, & the rise & fall of Slovenian ace Tomaz Humar. There are profiles of two stars of the 1980s: the much-loved German Kurt Albert, the father of the `redpoint`, & the enigmatic rock star Patrick Edlinger, a national hero in his native France who lost his way. In Crazy Wisdom, Douglas offers fresh perspectives on the impact mountaineering has on local communities & the role climbers play in the developing world. The final essay explores the relationship between art & alpinism as a way of understanding why it is that people climb mountains.

...

In The Magnetic North, Sara Wheeler documents her journeys around the Arctic regions of the globe. The book is the product of two years of smaller trips that add up to a circular, anti-clockwise voyage around the top of the inhabited world: from Siberia to Alaska, to Canada, to Greenl&, to Spitsbergen, to Lapland & back to Russia, to the White Sea. The book is part travelogue, part Arctic history, part scientific & political debate & part elegy to a fast changing region of the earth in the 21st century. Wheeler examines the allure of the Arctic & its hold on our imaginations, & encounters the people who live & work on the edge of the world in a book that tells of men eating boots, gulag ghosts & toxic polar bears… ...

When Augustin Meaulnes arrives in Francois` home, he changes everything. Life in the little town where they both go to school suddenly becomes far more adventurous & exciting. On one of his escapades, Meaulnes gets lost in the countryside finds himself at an extraordinary party where he meets the girl of his dreams. From this point on he is haunted by her memory & devotes his life, with Francois` willing help, to finding her again. ...

A ring of spectacular cemeteries, developed at the edges of London in the decade from 1832, have long been referred to as The Magnificent Seven. At the time, they set a new aesthetic for the burial of the dead, & remain rich in social history & beauty to this day. It was entrepreneurs, rather than the religious authorities, who responded to the squalor of the City`s brimming churchyards by fi nancing seemly, hygienic concepts of burial in the rural outskirts, now embraced by inner London. The Seven became showcases for neoclassical & neo-Gothic architecture, matched by splendid
- sometimes eccentric
- memorials recording Victorian society, & the sweep of London`s history to the present day. From grand Kensal Green in the west to modest Tower Hamlets in the east; from heady Highgate to charming Norwood & Nunhead; & from the military influences of Brompton to the Non-conformist woodland of Abney Park
- a host of characters & stories are visited in this distinctive coverage of the subject.


...

The Magpie & the Wardrobe A Curiosity of Folklore, Magic & Spells, is a lovingly curated compendium of time-honoured traditions & curious customs that have bewitched us for generations. Discover simple magic, heirloom recipes & forgotten fairytales in this eclectic treasury. The twelve chapters, representative of the seasons, present the celebrations, superstitions & folklore that shape our year. From cherished traditions like Valentine`s Day to the lost excitement of May Day, The Magpie & the Wardrobe reveals a calendar bursting with history, imagination & curious facts. Take a closer look at your favourite homespun rituals & the magic we conjure every day; make a candle wish, mix a moon oil elixir, & hang your romantic hopes on the predictions of an apple peel. Illustrated by a unique collection of ephemera & embellished with trinkets & charms, this sumptuous volume will appeal to the creative & curious. Digital version available in an enhanced e Book format. ...

On a remote Greek Isl&, Nicholas Urfe finds himself embroiled in the deceptions of a master trickster. As reality & illusion intertwine, Urfe is caught up in the darkest of psychological games. John Fowles expertly unfolds a tale that is lush with over-powering imagery in a spellbinding exploration of human complexities. By turns disturbing, thrilling & seductive, ” The Magus” is a feast for the mind & the senses. ...

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, yet its author remains unknown; this edition has been translated & abridged by John D. Smith. Of immense importance to the culture of the Indian subcontinent, & is a major text of Hinduism, its discussion of human goals (artha or `purpose`, kama or `pleasure`, dharma or `duty`, & moksha or `liberation`) takes place in a long-standing tradition, attempting to explain the relationship of the individual to society & the world (the nature of the ` Self`) & the workings of karma. ...