Category Archives: Travel Guides
The Cry Of The Go-Away Bird
Elise loves the farm that is her home. There is always tea in the silver teapot, gin and tonics are served on the veranda and her days are spent listening to stories of spirits and charms told by her nanny, Beauty. As a young white girl growing up in Zimbabwe, her life is idyllic. However,
Leela`s Book
Leela – alluring, taciturn, haunted – is moving back to Delhi after years of exile in New York. She knows her return will disrupt precariously balanced lives. Twenty years ago her sister Meera died, taking a devastating secret with her. Now, as the family gathers for a wedding, Leela must sift truth from fiction. Meanwhile
Dreams In A Time of War
Ngugi wa Thiong`o was born the fifth child of his father`s third wife, in a family that included twenty-four children born to four different mothers. He spent his 1930s childhood as the apple of his mother`s eye, before attending school to slake what was then considered a bizarre thirst for learning. As he grows up,
Silence of the Grave
Silence of the Grave” sees Arnaldur Indridasun continue his compelling murder mystery series, as downtrodden detective Erlendur and his team must once again investigate Reykjavรญk`s hidden past to unravel a case of human nastiness. Alive with tension and atmosphere and disturbingly real, this is an outstanding continuation of the Reykjavรญk Murder MysteriesBuilding work in an
The Undiscovered Country: Journeys Among the Dead
“This is a wonderful book: curious and insightful”. (Ian Mortimer, author of The Time Traveller`s Guide to Medieval England). We know what happens to the body when we die, but what happens to the soul? The answer may remain a great unknown, but the question has shaped centuries of tradition, folklore and religious belief. In
Cheek by Jowl: A History of Neighbours
Almost everyone has a neighbour. Neighbours can enrich or ruin our lives. They fascinate and worry us in equal measure. Soap operas watched by millions play with every lurid permutation of relationships in fictional neighbourhoods. Disputes over gigantic Leylandii and noise nuisance turn nasty and fill newspaper columns. These stories have a rich history –
The Scourging Angel
Nothing experienced in human history, before or since, eclipses the terror, tragedy and scale of the Black Death, the disease which killed millions of people in Medieval Europe. “The Scourging Angel” tells the story of Britain immediately before, during and after this catastrophe. Against a backdrop of empty homes, half-built cathedrals and pestilence-saturated cities, we
A Death in Valencia
Detective Max Camara is under pressure. A renowned paella chef has been found dead; the town hall are set on demolishing El Cabanyal, the colourful fisherman`s quarter on Valencia`s sea-front; an abortionist has been kidnapped and with the Pope due to visit the city, the police are summoned to offer protection from crowds of the
The Milkman in the Night
Semyon is disturbed. He has woken up in the living room with blood on his shirt, an angry wife and no idea where he was the night before. When this happens several mornings in a row, he realises he needs to investigate. After his friend Volodka follows him one night, they discover he`s meeting a
Or the Bull Kills You
Either you kill the bull, or the bull kills you – traditional proverb. Chief Inspector Max Camara hates bullfighting but one hot afternoon in Valencia he has to replace his boss, judging a festival corrida that stars Spain`s most famous young matador. That night, he is summoned back to the bullring where the young matador`s
Book of Secrets
“A Book of Secrets” is a masterfully atmospheric treasure-trove of hidden lives, uncelebrated achievements and family mysteries. Acclaimed biographer Michael Holroyd peers into dusty corners to bring a company of unknown women into the light: Alice Keppel was the mistress of both the second Lord Grimthorpe and the Prince of Wales; Eve Fairfax was Lord
Three Houses, Many Lives
“A major achievement”. (Ronald Blythe, author of Akenfield). A Cotswold vicarage. A former girls` boarding school in Surrey. A Jacobean house now buried in inner London. Three Houses, Many Lives tells the stories not only of the houses themselves but of the lives of the many people who lived in them. From Eugenia Stanhope who
Solar
WINNER OF THE BOLLINGER EVERYMAN WODEHOUSE PRIZE FOR COMIC FICTION Michael Beard is a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him. A compulsive womaniser, Beard finds his fifth marriage floundering. But this time it is different: she is having the affair, and he is still in love with her. When Beard`s professional and
The Lore of Scotland
Scotland`s rich past and varied landscape have inspired an extraordinary array of legends and beliefs, and in “The Lore of Scotland” Jennifer Westwood and Sophia Kingshill bring together many of the finest and most intriguing: stories of heroes and bloody feuds, tales of giants, fairies, and witches, and accounts of local customs and traditions. Their
Russian Winter
Praise for Russian Winter `An elegant, compelling puzzle of family, memory and solitude that brings to life modern day Boston and postwar Russia through a profound love story. Graceful, moving and unexpected` – Matthew Pearl, author of The Dante Club `A tender and moving debut novel` – Candis Magazine `An impressive debut: intelligent, moving, and
A Question Of Belief
As Venice experiences a debilitating heatwave, Commissario Brunetti escapes the city to spend time with his family. For Ispettore Vianello, however, the weather is the last thing on his mind. It appears his aunt has become obsessed with horoscopes and has been withdrawing large amounts of money from the family business. Not knowing what to
Sisters of Sinai
Sisters of Sinai is the story of how Scottish twin sisters made one of the most important manuscript finds of the nineteenth century – an early copy of the gospels which lay hidden in the Sinai desert. We trace the footsteps of the intrepid pair from the Ayrshire of their childhood, as they voyage to
Amexica
Amexica provides a full account of the war along the US-Mexico border. An area of land more than 2,000 miles long and 100 miles wide, it has become a battleground where drugs, guns and killings are the currency of everyday existence. Journalist Ed Vulliamy went on a four month road trip along the entire border
In-Flight Entertainment
Poignant, funny and perceptive, Helen Simpson`s fifth collection of short stories deals with the full stretch, from birth to death and everything in between. A young woman`s diary records a blackly farcical escape attempt involving flamenco, murder and wild picnics; two students fall in love then almost talk themselves out of it in an argument
Voices
Voices” sees Arnaldur Indridasun’s Detective Erlendur encounter memories of his troubled past in this tense continuation of his Reykjavรญk murder mysteries.At a grand Reykjavรญk hotel the doorman has been repeatedly stabbed in the dingy basement room he called home. It is only a few days before Christmas and he was preparing to appear as Santa
