Category Archives: Travel Guides
The Leopard
Lampedusa`s masterpiece, one of the finest works of twentieth century fiction, is set amongst an aristocratic family, facing social and political changes in the wake of Garibaldi`s invasion of Sicily in 1860. At the head of the family is the prince, Don Fabrizio. Proud and stubborn, he is accustomed to knowing his own place in
A Void
Anton Vowl is missing. Ransacking his Paris flat, a group of his faithful companions trawl through his diary for any hint as to his location and, insidiously, a ghost, from Vowl`s past starts to cast its malignant shadow. This virtuoso story, chock-full of plots and subplots, shows the skill of both author and translator who
Take me to the Source
Colourless, tasteless, odourless, ageless: water is both the simplest thing on earth and the most complex. We cannot live without it yet it kills six thousand children a day. It is the ultimate renewable resource but we pollute it without thinking twice. Why, if water is so valuable does nobody want to pay for it
The Last Dickens
1870. Charles Dickens is dead. The final instalment of his last manuscript has vanished. The script was last seen addressed to the publisher whose fortunes depend on it. Since its sudden disappearance the only clue to its whereabouts is a trail of brutal murders. With his livelihood – indeed his life – in jeopardy, Dickens`
Ararat
Mount Ararat in Turkey is where, as biblical tradition has it, Noah`s Ark ran aground and God made his covenant with mankind. Now it stands astride the fault-line between religion and science, a geographical, political and cultural crossroads, bound up with the centuries-old history of warfare between different cultures in this region. Frank Westerman takes
Dreams From The Endz
Dreams from the Endz is the story of twenty-four-year-old Ahleme, who is spirited, sassy and wise but has more problems than she knows how to deal with. Her father, The Boss, is permanently disabled after an accident on a building site, her sixteen-year-old brother, Foued, has been permanently excluded from school and seems intent on
Sacred Sierra: A Year on a Spanish Mountain
This is a romantic, utterly alluring leap into Spanish sunshine, remote mountains and rural life. Jason Webster had lived in Spain for several years before he and his partner, the flamenco dancer Salud, decided to buy a deserted farmhouse clinging to the side of a steep valley in the eastern province of Castellon, near the
We The Drowned
In 1848 a motley crew of Danish sailors sets sail from the small island town of Marstal to fight the Germans. Not all of them return – and those who do will never be the same. Among them is the daredevil Laurids Madsen, who promptly escapes again into the anonymity of the high seas. Spanning
Italian Shoes
Once a successful surgeon, Frederick Welin now lives in self-imposed exile on an island in the Swedish archipelago. Nearly twelve years have passed since he was disgraced for attempting to cover up a tragic mishap on the operating table. One morning in the depths of winter, he sees a hunched figure struggling towards him across
Little Women and Good Wives
“Life in the March” household is full of adventures and accidents as the four very different March sisters follow their varying paths to adulthood, always maintaining the special bond between them. Sensible Meg, impetuous Jo, shy Beth and artistic Amy each have to confront different challenges as they grow up together and attempt to learn
The Ode Less Travelled
Stephen Fry believes that if you can speak and read English you can write poetry. But it is no fun if you don`t know where to start or have been led to believe that Anything Goes. Stephen, who has long written poems, and indeed has written long poems, for his own private pleasure, invites you
The Clumsiest People In Europe
In the middle of the 1800s, Mrs Favell Lee Mortimer set out to write an ambitious guide to all the nations on Earth. There were just three problems: She had never set foot outside Shropshire; she was horribly misinformed about virtually every topic she turned her attention to; and she was prejudiced against foreigners. The
Thin White Line
In 1997 Andy Cave climbed the north face of Changabang in the Himalayas and attained something most climbers dream of but at a huge cost: the harrowing process claimed the life of his friend and climbing partner. This trauma prompted him to examine his relationship with the mountains and confront the question of whether he
Flights Of Fancy
Did you know that Barnacle geese were once classified as fish? That both the Cherokees and the ancient Greeks were convinced that cranes regularly fought battles with pygmies? That the Swiss believed that any cuckoo that managed to survive for a year would turn into an eagle? Throughout history, birds have fascinated and intrigued mankind,
Leap In: A Woman, Some Waves and the Will to Swim
Readers as well as listeners can now embark on a journey through the cycling year with The Cycling Podcast, which has been entertaining and informing fans since 2013. Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe share their diaries from three incident-filled Grand Tours, the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espaรฑa. These take
How to Be Human
`An intriguing and subversive debut, charged with the power of the ignored and the suppressed.` Hilary Mantel You’ve seen a fox. Come face to face in an unexpected place, or at an unexpected moment.And he has looked at you, as you have looked at him. As if he has something to tell you, or you
Salt Houses
`A piercingly elegant novel . . . with the power to both break and mend your heart.` Ru Freeman, author of On Sal Mal Lane`Epic in scope and uniquely relevant in its concern for displacement. Particularly well-suited for our times, then.` RedWhere do you go when you can’t go home? On the eve of her
Educated: The Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling memoir
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER`A memoir to stand alongside the classics by the likes of Jeanette Winterson and Lorna Sage … compelling and ultimately joyous` Sunday Times Tara Westover and her family grew up preparing for the End of Days but, according to the government, she didn`t exist. She hadn`t been registered for a birth certificate. She
The Complete Fairy Tales
With an introduction from Jack Zipes.Wolves and grandmothers, ugly sisters, a house made of bread, a goose made of gold…the folk tales collected by the Grimm brothers created an astonishingly influential imaginative world. However, this is also a world where a woman serves her stepson up in a stew, a man marries a snake, a
On The Road To Babadag
Andrzej Stasiuk is a restless and indefatigable traveller. His journeys – by car, train, bus, ferry – take him from his native Poland to small towns and villages with unfamiliar yet evocative names in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine. Here is an unfamiliar Europe, grappling with the remnants of the Communist era
