From the foreword: ' Some years ago, I was asked by a member of a Rambling Club to which I belonged, what was the meaning of the word Lychgate. Not being able to give an explanation, I took the first opportunity of looking into the matter. From that day I have made it a duty & pleasure to keep a log of everything unusual discovered during my many wanderings. This little book is the result'. The Ward Lock & Co.'s Wayfarer's Guide is a treasure trove of countryside sights, lore & history. From understanding the relevance of standing stones in Wiltshire to looking out for hop pickers in Kent, from ancient crosses in Northumbria to archery in Edinburgh, & from bridges in Monmouthshire to country rhymes from around the British Isles, this little gem is a delightful collection of history, nature & a bygone age. Topics covered include barns, bench marks, bridges, churches, dew ponds, dovecots, haymaking, hopping, horse brasses, love spoons, market crosses, scarecrows, stiles, sundials, thatching, village greens, watermills, weathercocks, whipping posts & windmills. (A lychgate is the decorative entrance gate to churchyards. The word 'lych' is derived from the German word for corpse as it is traditionally under this gate that the coffin was rested before being brought into the church). ...

”A clarion call to all of us that we should not give up. Somewhere there is a voice in the wreckage.” (Michael Palin). Since ISIS occupied Raqqa in eastern Syria, it has become one of the most isolated & fear-ridden cities on earth. The sale of televisions has been banned, wearing trousers the wrong length is a punishable offence, & using a mobile phone is considered an unforgivable crime. No journalists are allowed in & the penalty for speaking yo the western media is death by beheading. Despite this, after several months of nervy & often interrupted conversations, the BBC was able to make contact with a small activist group, Al-Sharqiya 24. Finally, courageously, one of their members agreed to write a personal diary about his experiences. Having seen friends & relatives butchered, his community`s life shattered & the local economy ruined by these hate-fuelled extremists, Samer is fighting back in the only way he can: by telling the world what is happening to his beloved city. This is Samer`s story. ...

The first behind-the-scenes account of life with the ravens at Britain`s most famous national monument
- as seen in the Daily Mail.
...

Larry Darrell is a young American in search of the absolute. The progress of this spiritual odyssey involves him with some of Maugham`s most brillant characters
- his fiancee Isabel, whose choice between love & wealth have lifelong repercussions, & Elliot Templeton, her uncle, a classic expatriate American snob. The most ambitious of Maugham`s novels, this is also one in which Maugham himself plays a considerable part as he wanders in & out of the story, to observe his characters struggling with their fates.
...

In this unconventional & accessible history, Italian best-seller Alberto Angela literally follows the money to map the reach & power of the Roman Empire. To see a map of the Roman Empire at the height of its territorial expansion is to be struck by its size, stretching from Scotland to Kuwait, from the Sahara to the North Sea. What was life like in the Empire, & how were such diverse peoples & places united under one rule? The Reach of Rome explores these questions through an ingenious lens: the path of a single coin as it changes hands & traverses the vast realms of the empire in the year 115. Admired in his native Italy for his ability to bring history to life through narrative, Alberto Angela opens up the ancient world to readers who have felt intimidated by the category or put off by dry historical tomes. By focusing on aspects of daily life so often overlooked in more academic treatments, The Reach of Rome travels back in time & shows us a world that was perhaps not very different from our own. & by following the path of a coin through the streams of commerce, we can touch every corner of that world & its people, from legionnaires & senators to prostitutes & slaves. Through lively & detailed vignettes all based on archeological & historical evidence, Angela reveals the vast Roman world & its remarkable modernity, & in so doing he reinforces the relevance of the ancient world for a new generation of readers. ...

An irresistible French sensation
- Mr Penumbra`s 24-hour Bookstore meets Amelie
- The Reader on the 6.27 explores the power

...

An irresistible French sensation
- Mr Penumbra`s 24-hour Bookstore meets Amelie
- The Reader on the 6.27 explores the power

...

The New York Times Bestseller. Sara has never left Sweden but at the age of 28 she decides it`s time. She cashes in her savings, packs a suitcase full of books & sets off for Broken Wheel, Iowa, a town where she knows nobody. Sara quickly realises that Broken Wheel is in desperate need of some adventure, a dose of self-help & perhaps a little romance, too. In short, this is a town in need of a bookshop. With a little help from the locals, Sara sets up Broken Wheel`s first bookstore. The shop might be a little quirky but then again, so is Sara. & as Broken Wheel`s story begins to take shape, there are some surprises in store for Sara too...” The perfect summer read”. (Stylist). ...

When the paper boat learns that there is such a place as the ocean, he is determinded to go there so he can be a real boat. On his journey he meets all sorts of friends, from the strong little tug boat to the glittering ocean liner. But he also learns that the real ocean is huge & deep & full of dangers. The lyrical text & illustrations of this modern fable create a world of wonder. ...

Who was the real Jane Austen? Overturning the traditional portrait of the author as conventional & genteel, bestseller Paula Byrne`s landmark biography reveals the real woman behind the books. In this new biography, bestselling author Paula Byrne (author of Perdita, Mad World) explores the forces that shaped the interior life of Britain`s most beloved novelist: her father`s religious faith, her mother`s aristocratic pedigree, her eldest brother`s adoption, her other brothers` naval & military experiences, her relatives in the East & West Indies, her cousin who lived through the trauma of the French Revolution, the family`s amateur theatricals, the female novelists she admired, her residence in Bath, her love of the seaside, her travels around England & her long struggle to become a published author. Byrne uses a highly innovative technique whereby each chapter begins from an object that conjures up a key moment or theme in Austen`s life & work-a silhouette, a vellum notebook, a topaz cross, a laptop writing box, a royalty cheque, a bathing machine, & many more. The woman who emerges in this biography is far tougher, more socially & politically aware, & altogether more modern than the conventional picture of `dear Aunt Jane` would allow. Published to coincide with the bicentenary of Pride & Prejudice, this lively & scholarly biography brings Austen dazzlingly into the twenty-first century. ...