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DIVORCED? A couple of books to make you feel better and make sense of it all ...
£9.99
You Could Make this Place Beautiful : In her long-awaited debut memoir, award-winning poet Maggie Smith explores in lyrical vignettes the end of her marriage and the beginning of a surprising new life. It is a story about a mother's fierce and constant love for her children, and a woman's love and regard for herself. Above all, this memoir is an argument for possibility. Smith reveals how, in the aftermath of loss, we can discover our power and make something new. Something beautiful.
EX -WIFE : A reissued sensation from 1929, it's an evocative and sharp memoir of Manhattan in the late 1920's. A forgotten classic: darkly funny and startlingly contemporary, full of witty one-liners and stop-you-in-your-tracks observations about romance, work, and life.' (Monica Heisey, Really Good, Actually).
DM Baby Card Moses Basket
£3.50
Daniel Mackie is an award winning illustrator whose whimsical cards are designed and printed in Scotland.
We have a full range of his animal designs in store.
DM Daniel Mackie cards
£3.50
Quirky range of blank cards by award winning illustrator Daniel Mackie.
Featuring animals and birds. Each card is blank for your own message, and contains a small paragraph on the reverse with Daniel's creative thinking behind the image. Delightful.
Do You Love Bugs? by Matt Robertson ( paperback, 2020)
£7.99
Crawly! Hairy! Maybe a bit scary? Snails slime upside down. Eeek! Worms can somersault and butterflies smell like cake. YUM.Wait, don't eat them... Because bugs are truly BRILLIANT! Matt Robertson's quirky text and sweet yet hilarious illustrations show exactly why minibeasts can be truly awesome in their own unique way. The book includes 14 hilarious globally inclusive, bug-tastic spreads, featuring worms, bees, beetles, dragonflies, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, spiders, ants, snails and stick insects.
Find out how honey bees make their honey, why moths always fly around lamps and how bombardier beetles protect themselves from hungry predators. There's something new to learn about each bug. Did you know that stick insects can dance? Or that butterflies can smell like cake? And guess what? A grasshopper will spit on you if it gets angry! So always be good to grasshoppers, give spiders a smile not a screech and never get angry at ants! There are so many more fun facts to uncover about our tiny furry and slimy friends.
Do you Love Oceans, Matt Robertson ( April 2023)
£6.99
Dive to the darkest depths of the deep blue sea, weave in and out of colourful coral reefs and learn about the incredible people who are trying to save our oceans in the fourth book in Matt Robertson's award-winning Do You Love? series
Investigate shipwrecks where scorpionfish hide, dive down to the Mariana trench to meet a dumbo octopus, marvel at ocean giants and dart in between manatees in mangrove forests to find out why oceans are magnificently mega!Did you know lobsters keep their teeth in their tummies? Or that you can find rivers and lakes beneath the ocean? And did you know that sea stars have no brain or blood? Explore the wonders of our underwater worlds on every page, from coral reefs, sharks and the deep to shipwrecks, weird fish and frozen seas, there's so much to discover!
With fun and colourful illustrations and bursting with facts, Do You Love Oceans? is perfect for readers who want to explore Earth's spectacular seas, discover the wildlife that lives there and find out why our oceans need protecting. Matt Robertson is the award-winning illustrator of Do You Love Bugs?, Do You Love Dinosaurs? and Do You Love Exploring?
Dog Man 12: The Scarlet Shredder ( hardback March 2024)
£12.99
Our canine superhero returns in DOG MAN: THE SCARLET SHEDDER, the suspenseful and hilarious twelfth graphic novel in the #1 worldwide bestselling series by award-winning author and illustrator Dav Pilkey! P.U.! Dog Man got sprayed by a skunk! After being dunked in tomato juice, the stink is gone but the scarlet red colour remains. Now exiled, this spunky superhero must struggle to save the citizens who shunned him! Will the ends justify the means for Petey, who's reluctantly pulled back into a life of crime in order to help Dog Man? And who will step forward when an all-new, never-before-seen villain unleashes an army of A.I. robots?
Dogs of the Deadlands, Anthony McGowan ( paperback 2023)
£7.99
It broke my heart and then splinted it back together again... Magnificent.' Hannah Gold, bestselling author of The Last Bear 'A dog's eye perspective that's so vivid you can almost taste the earthworms.' FT, YA Book of the Year'This visceral story of heartbreak and survival...has the memorable feel of a classic.' Guardian, Best children's and YA books of 2022Chernobyl, 1986. Natasha's world is coming to an end.Forced to evacuate her home in the middle of the night, she must leave her puppy behind and has no idea if she'll ever return. Some time later, growing up in the shadow of the ruined nuclear power plant, pups Misha and Bratan have to learn how to live in the wild-and fast. Creatures with sharp teeth, claws, and yellow eyes lurk in the overgrown woods.
And they're watching the brothers' every move... But will the dogs survive without humans? And can humans live without them?
Don’t ask the Dragon, Lemn Sissay ( paperback March 2023)
£7.99
This is the story of a little boy called Alem who goes on an adventure. It's his birthday, but who knows where he can go to celebrate it?Maybe the bear, the fox, the treefrog or the bulldog know? But don't ask the dragon . .. or he will EAT you!
Don’t Ever Smile At A Shark, Harriet Evans ( hardback, Jan 2024)
£10.99
If you meet a sea creature,It's best to be polite. Don't make an enemy (or should that be an anemone?!) of any of these super sea dwellers and you'll have a whale of a time with this fin-tastically fishy pop-up book! From a jumpy octopus and a pinchy crab to some cheeky clownfish and a hungry shark, there's a whole host of underwater animals to meet. Little ones will adore the clever pop-ups on each page as well as the witty, silly text.This is the perfect book to encourage your child to read along to.
Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive the Sleigh ( paperback Oct 23)
£7.99
From #1 New York Times bestselling, award-winning author and illustrator Mo Willems comes a new holiday classic. It's the most wonderful time of the year-for driving a sleigh! 'Tis also the season-for driving a sleigh! Oh, and joy to the-driving a sleigh! The Pigeon has made a list and checked it once. Can his holiday dream come true? Or will The Pigeon be left out in the cold?
Don’t Look Back, Jo Spain ( paperback Jan 2024 )
£8.99
For one week, everything in Luke Miller's life is perfect.
Surprised with a belated honeymoon by his wife, Rose, he's had seven days with her in a Caribbean paradise. It's more than he ever thought he'd deserve. But as they pack their bags, Rose breaks down, confessing that on the day they left London, a violent man from her past tracked her down and broke into their home.
He wasn't expecting her to fight back. And, in her terror, Rose killed him. Now there's a dead body in Luke's apartment, and only one person he can think to turn to.
Mickey Sheils never expected to hear from Luke again, not after he disappeared the first time. Luke knows Mickey can't deny a woman who needs help, so she promises she'll deal with things - she'll make sure Rose doesn't have to keep running. But it turns out, some lies are too big to run from.
Paperback Jan 2024
Don’t worry Little Crab, by Chris Haughton (paperback 2020)
£7.99
From the creator of A Bit Lost, Oh No, George!, Shh! We Have a Plan and Goodnight Everyone, comes a book about taking the time you need to overcome your fears. In the rockpool above the sea, live two crabs: Big Crab and Little Crab. Today, they're going for a dip in the sea."This is going to be so great!" says Little Crab. But then Little Crab catches a first glimpse of the water... Oh.
The waves! They're ENORMOUS. "Oh..." Will Little Crab be brave enough to go in?From the multi award-winning picture book maker of A Bit Lost, Oh No, George! and Shh! We Have a Plan comes a bold, beautiful picture book about working through anxiety and, with the support of a loved one, building up the courage to try something new.
Doppelgänger, Naomi Klein ( paperback June 2024)
£10.99
When Naomi Klein discovered that a woman who shared her first name, but had radically different, harmful views, was getting chronically mistaken for her, it seemed too ridiculous to take seriously. Then suddenly it wasn't. She started to find herself grappling with a distorted sense of reality, becoming obsessed with reading the threats on social media, the endlessly scrolling insults from the followers of her doppelganger.
Why had her shadowy other gone down such an extreme path? Why was identity - all we have to meet the world - so unstable?To find out, Klein decided to follow her double into a bizarre, uncanny mirror world: one of conspiracy theories, anti-vaxxers and demagogue hucksters, where soft-focus wellness influencers make common cause with fire-breathing far right propagandists (all in the name of protecting 'the children'). In doing so, she lifts the lid on our own culture during this surreal moment in history, as we turn ourselves into polished virtual brands, publicly shame our enemies, watch as deep fakes proliferate and whole nations flip from democracy to something far more sinister. This is a book for our age and for all of us; a deadly serious dark comedy which invites us to view our reflections in the looking glass.
It's for anyone who has lost hours down an internet rabbit hole, who wonders why our politics has become so fatally warped, and who wants a way out of our collective vertigo and back to fighting for what really matters.
THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER**A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES, GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, AND PROSPECT*
Dragon Destiny, K and K Tsang ( paperback Sept 2022)
£7.99
The first DRAGON REALM series reaches its epic finale with the fifth adventure for 9+ readers! Perfect for fans of epic conclusions. Also very suitable for reading aloud to younger children.
In their search for a new home for the dragon population, they learn of the Hidden Realm, a secret so well guarded that only one dragon knows how to locate it . . .
Glorious Old. But convincing her to trust them comes with its own problems, not to mention the introduction of an evil new baddie and their band of human-hating dragons. With trouble round every corner, what destiny is in store for Billy and the group?
'Rollicking, escapist storytelling with a dragon-sized heart' - Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of THE GIRL OF INK AND STARS '
Brimming with warmth and originality, DRAGON MOUNTAIN combines edge-of-your-seat adventure, laugh-out-loud humour and hugely exciting dragons to create a sweeping fantasy that will captivate readers of all ages.' - Catherine Doyle, author of THE STORM KEEPER'S ISLAND
Dragon Force - Infinity's Secret, Katie and Kevin Tsang ( paperback Sept 2023)
£7.99
From the authors of the bestselling DRAGON REALM books comes the first in a brand-new, action-packed, dragon-obsessed series for 8+ readers. Get ready to join DRAGON FORCE!Check out the complete Dragon Realm series - Dragon Mountain, Dragon Legend, Dragon City, Dragon Rising and Dragon Destiny. And don't miss A Dragon Realm Adventure, the special World Book Day story! 'Impossible to put down - a dynamic, dragon-filled, delight of an adventure.' - A.F. Steadman, author of SKANDAR AND THE UNICORN THIEF It's been five years since the Dragon Realm fell into the Human Realm and both populations are now living side by side. But dangerous magical creatures are threatening to disrupt the peace and it's up to a new group of heart-bonded humans and dragons to protect the world - the Dragon Force.
Under the watchful eye of seventeen-year-old Billy Chan, Lance Lo, his younger sister Zoe and new friends enrol at Camp Claw to learn all the skills they need to become protectors. But when Camp Claw is mysteriously attacked and an evil plot is exposed, it's up to the latest recruits to prove they've got what it takes to save the day.
Dragon Rider: The Aurelia Curse (bk 3), by Cornelia Funke ( paperback Sept 2021)
£7.99
The third dragon adventure from the legendary author of Inkheart, Cornelia Funke - over one million English language copies of DRAGON RIDER sold worldwide, and now a major movie on Sky Cinema! 'A warm-hearted dream of a book.' THE GUARDIAN
Dragon RiderBen and the Greenblooms must protect a mythical new creature rising from the ocean that can bring light or darkness to whoever it first meets - a vast, mythical Aurelia. It's a race against time to protect it, for if the Aurelia is hurt, all fabulous creatures will vanish from Earth. In the end though, it may take the arrival of the original silver dragon, Firedrake, to help save them all ...
Dragons, myth and magic unite in the third instalment of Cornelia Funke's bestselling epic fantasy-adventure series! Dragon Rider has now been adapted for the big screen in a major animation with a stellar cast including Felicity Jones and Patrick Stewart, available on Sky Cinema. Features stunning cover artwork and maps from Laura Ellen Anderson.
Dread Wood ( Book 1), Jennifer Killick ( paperback March 2022)
£7.99
The brand new must-read middle-grade ( 8-10) novel from the author of super-spooky Crater Lake.
"Jennifer Killick's talent for horror and humour is blended brilliantly here as the spiky dialogue, unstoppable pace and genuinely menacing atmosphere build to a tremendous climax"- Daily Mail
It's basically the worst school detention ever. When classmates (but not mate-mates) Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school on a SATURDAY, they think things can't get much worse.
But they're wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary. What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keeping humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute .
. .? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang's only hope is to work together. But it's no coincidence that they're all there on detention.
Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge . . .
Dubliners, James Joyce
£7.99
James Joyce's Dubliners is an enthralling collection of modernist short stories which create a vivid picture of the day-to-day experience of Dublin life. This Penguin Classics edition includes notes and an introduction by Terence Brown. Joyce's first major work, written when he was only twenty-five, brought his city to the world for the first time.His stories are rooted in the rich detail of Dublin life, portraying ordinary, often defeated lives with unflinching realism. From 'The Sisters', a vivid portrait of childhood faith and guilt, to 'Araby', a timeless evocation of the inexplicable yearnings of adolescence, to 'The Dead', in which Gabriel Conroy is gradually brought to a painful epiphany regarding the nature of his existence, Joyce draws a realistic and memorable cast of Dubliners together in an powerful exploration of overarching themes. Writing of social decline, sexual desire and exploitation, corruption and personal failure, he creates a brilliantly compelling, unique vision of the world and of human experience.
Duffy and Son, Damian Owens ( paperback August 2023)
£9.99
A heart-warming and hilarious novel about life, love, and the weight of all we leave unsaid, Duffy & Son is a quietly moving masterpiece from one of Ireland's most gifted comic writers. Eugene Duffy is turning 70; his son Jim is turning 40. For decades now, they've been running the family hardware shop and living in good-natured bachelor harmony.But time is marching on, and with thoughts of old age weighing heavily on his mind, Eugene is growing increasingly concerned about his son's future. He resolves to help in the best way possible: by finding Jim a wife. And he's not going to let anyone - let alone Jim himself - stand in his way.
Reminiscent of Fredrik Backman's bestselling novel A Man Called Ove, Duffy and Son contains a likeable but curmudgeonly main character, wry humour, tremendous heart, as well as a strong sense of community
Dust Child, Nguyen Phan Que Mai ( paperback Feb 2024)
£9.99
Trang and Quynh are sisters who leave their rural village for the bustling city of Saigon, desperate to find work to help their impoverished parents. When they take jobs as bar girls, paid to flirt with American GIs, they must decide whether they are willing to turn their backs on the people they used to be.
Phong: one of the thousands of mixed-race children abandoned by their American fathers and Vietnamese mothers. Phong grows up surrounded by rejection, insulted as a ‘Black American imperialist, and a child of the enemy. But he never gives up hope of finding his parents and proving he is more than a 'bui doi': more than the dust of life.
Dan: A former American helicopter pilot still plagued by regrets about his actions during the VietNam war.
Now he has returned in the hope of confronting the demons that refuse to fall silent.Set between the Vietnam war and the present day,Dust Childis a sweeping epic of family secrets and hidden heartache, from an internationally celebrated author
Earth Shapers, Maxim Samson ( hardback August 2025)
£22.00
Mountains, meridians, rivers and borders; these are some of the features that carve up the world on our maps and in our minds. But geography is far less set in stone than we might believe and, over time, we have become experts at reshaping our surroundings. From the Qhapaq Ñan, South America's 'Great Road', and the Panama Canal to Mozambique's railways and Korea's sacred Baekdu-daegan mountain range, Samson explores how we mould the world around us.
And how, as we etch our needs onto the natural landscape, we alter the course of history. An immense work of cultural geography touching on ecology, sociology, history and politics, Earth Shapers argues that, far from being constrained by geography, we are instead its creators. Readable and fascinating.
Easy Wins, Anna Jones (hardback March 2024)
£28.00
‘For when it’s 8pm, you’re starving and you want a Tuesday night triumph. An easy, honest, delicious win’ Yotam Ottolenghi
A brand new and essential book from award-winning and bestselling cook Anna Jones. Anna Jones gives her golden rules for easy wins in the kitchen with super-simple recipes that are bursting with flavour and kind to the planet.
Anna takes 12 hero ingredients that are guaranteed to make your food taste great, with chapters on lemons, olive oil, mustard, tahini and more. She gives 125 all-new dishes that you will want to cook on repeat, like Double Lemon Pilaf with Buttery Almonds, Traybake Lemon Dhal, Miso Rarebit, and Cherry and Chocolate Peanut Butter Sundae. And there’s practical advice on how to season and flavour, plus plenty of ideas for invaluable vegetarian swaps.
EASY WINS will become your go-to for the most flavourful dishes that come together quickly and promise daily moments of triumph.
Eat or We Both Starve, Victoria Kennefick ( 2021)
£10.99
Shortlisted for the Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry 2022. Winner of the Seamus Heaney First Collection Prize 2022. Awarded the Emerging Writer of the Year in the Dalkey Literary Awards 2022.Shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award 2021. Shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2021.
An Irish Times Best Poetry Books of 2021. A Guardian Book of the Year 2021. A White Review Book of the Year 2021.
A Sunday Independent (Dublin) Book of the Year 2021. A Telegraph Best New Poetry Books for Christmas 2021. Victoria Kennefick's daring first book, Eat or We Both Starve, draws readers into seemingly recognisable set-pieces - the family home, the shared meal, the rituals of historical occasions, desire - but Kennefick forges this material into new shapes, making them viable again for exploring what it is to live with the past - and not to be consumed by it.
Rebecca Goss writes: 'Victoria Kennefick writes with a fresh urgency, giving us poems that are honest and fearless. She once said: "Poetry has saved my life, made my life. Reading and writing it have taught me bravery and discipline." Kennefick is unafraid to explore bereavement, sex and the female body in her poetry.
She writes with a visceral originality. Her poems are rich with physical sensations. She is able to find beauty in the big subjects like sorrow and desire, offering us the finest, most startling details.
Her identity as a young Irish woman is hugely important to her, something she explores with intelligence and candour. I have always felt there is nothing Victoria could not tackle. The scope in her work is exhilarating.'
Echo Mountain, Lauren Wolk ( paperback, March 2021)
£7.99
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2021 ( suggested readers 8+)
When Ellie and her family lose everything, they flee to Echo Mountain.
Ellie runs wild, exploring the mountain's mysteries. But the one she can't solve is who's leaving the gifts for her: tiny wooden carvings of animals and flowers, dotted around the mountain for her to find. Then Ellie's father has a terrible accident.
When she sets out to find a cure for him, she discovers Cate, the outcast witch, and Larkin, a wild mountain boy. From them she learns about being a healer, being brave - and how there can be more to a person than first meets the eye. An unforgettable novel from the award-winning author of Wolf Hollow and Beyond the Bright Sea.
Eden, Jim Crace ( Paperback August 2023)
£9.99
Eden opens with a summons. The gardeners of Eden are called by their masters, the angels, to see a dead body. It is that of a bird, a creature who has strayed beyond the garden walls.
The garden's inhabitants live an eternal and unblemished life - surrounded by bountiful fields, orchards and lakes, a place where the lord's bidding is done. But outside, where there is poverty and sickness and death, this bird has met a fate that is beyond their imagining. For the gardeners, this summons is a warning.
Deliciously intriguing and utterly propulsive, eden by Jim Crace is both a love story and a song to freedom, a novel that toys with creation myth and asks, where does authority lie? Who commands fear?
Lyrical, thought provoking and original.
Educated, by Tara Westover ( paperback 2018)
£10.99
'PHENOMENAL' - Michelle Obama, New York Times Book Review `An amazing story, and truly inspiring. The kind of book everyone will enjoy.
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 had no school records because she'd never set foot in a classroom, and no medical records because her father didn't believe in hospitals. As she grew older, her father became more radical and her brother more violent.
At sixteen, Tara knew she had to leave home. In doing so she discovered both the transformative power of education, and the price she had to pay for it.
Einstein’s Secretary, Matthew Reilly ( paperback August 2024)
£10.99
All Hanna Fischer ever wanted to do was to study physics - but her world is suddenly turned upside-down and she is catapulted into a new and extraordinary life: as a secretary, a scientist, a sister and a spy. From racist gangs in Berlin to mobsters in New York City, and Hitler's inner circle during the Second World War, Hanna encounters some of history's greatest minds and most terrible moments, all while desperately trying to stay alive. She is a most unique secretary and she will work for many bosses - from shrewd businessmen to vile Nazis, to the greatest boss of them all, Mr Albert Einstein .
Thrilling, action-packed adventure from cover to cover' Guardian'
'Get ready for a wild ride' Daily Telegraph'
Either / Or, Elif Batuman (paperback May 2023)
£9.99
SELIN IS THE LUCKIEST PERSON IN HER FAMILY: The only one who was born in America and got to go to Harvard. Now it's her second year, 1996, and Selin knows she has to make it count. The first order of business: to figure out the meaning of everything that happened over the summer.Why did Selin's elusive crush, Ivan, find her that job in the Hungarian countryside? What was up with all those other people in the Hungarian countryside? Why is Ivan's ex-girlfriend now trying to get in touch with her? On the plus side, her life feels like the plot of an exciting novel. On the other hand, why do so many novels have crazy, abandoned women in them? How does one live a life as interesting as a novel-a life worthy of becoming a novel-without becoming a crazy, abandoned woman oneself? Guided by her literature syllabus and by her more worldly and confident peers, Selin reaches certain conclusions about the universal importance of parties, alcohol, and sex, and resolves to execute them in practice - no matter the cost. Next on the list: international travel.
Unfolding with the propulsive logic and intensity of youth, Either / Or is a landmark novel by one of our most brilliant writers. Hilarious, revelatory, and unforgettable, its gripping narrative will confront you with searching questions that persist long after the last page.
Elizabeth Finch, Julian Barnes ( paperback March 2023)
£9.99
She will change the way you see the world . . .'I'll remember Elizabeth Finch when most other characters I've met this year have faded' The TimesElizabeth Finch was a teacher, a thinker, an inspiration. Neil is just one of many who fell under her spell during his time in her class. Tasked with unpacking her notebooks after her death, Neil encounters once again Elizabeth's astonishing ideas on the past and on how to make sense of the present.
But Elizabeth was much more than a scholar. Her secrets are waiting to be revealed . .
. and will change Neil's view of the world forever. 'Enthralling .
Ellie and the Pony Camp Mystery, Esme Higgs ( paperback Feb 2024)
£7.99
Fans of Clare Balding and Jacqueline Wilson will love this fun and heartwarming new adventure series for animal-mad 8-12 year olds from superstar equestrian influencer Esme Higgs!The Starlight Stables Summer Show is over, and Ellie will be starting at a new school very soon. Even though her best friends Summer and Jessie will be there too, Ellie still can't help but worry a little - will she be able to make friends in her own year? Will she be able to fit in?But excitement is on the horizon - news of a half-term pony camp reach the gang, and they're all keen to attend! Along with new faces, horses and activities, there's a mystery to be solved. Will super-sleuth Ellie and the rest of the gang be able to get to the bottom of it before the end of camp?Full of fun, friendship and mystery, this is the much-anticipated third book in the Starlight Stables Gang series.Beautifully illustrated by Hannah George.
Em & Me, Beth Morrey ( paperback March 2023)
£8.99
From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Saving Missy A mother. A daughter. A secret waiting to be uncovered.The day that Delphine stands up for herself is the day that changes everything... For too long, Delphine has been unable to let go of the past, obsessed with protecting her daughter, Em, and clinging to a secret that has cast a shadow over their lives. When a chance encounter offers a way out, Delphine seizes it with both hands.
As their lives begins to fill with colour again, can she find the courage to change their lives forever? 'An uplifting story of second chances and the hope of human connection ... full of warmth and wit' The i paper 'A beautiful story of love in all its forms' Jessica Ryn 'Glorious and heartfelt ... full of hope, humour and kindness' Sarah Haywood
Emperor of Rome, Mary Beard (paperback July 2024)
£30.00
In her international best-seller SPQR, A History of Ancient Rome, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome.
Now, she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Beard asks bigger questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained?Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.
Empire of Pain : The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, Patrick Radden Keefe ( Paperback March 2022)
£12.99
The gripping and shocking story of three generations of the Sackler family and their roles in the stories of Valium, OxyContin and the opioid crisis. 'Jaw-dropping . .. Beggars belief' Sunday Times'You feel almost guilty for enjoying it so much' The TimesThe Sackler name adorns the walls of many storied institutions - Harvard; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Oxford; the Louvre. They are one of the richest families in the world, known for their lavish donations in the arts and the sciences.
The source of the family fortune was vague, however, until it emerged that the Sacklers were responsible for making and marketing Oxycontin, a blockbuster painkiller that was a catalyst for the opioid crisis - an international epidemic of drug addiction which has killed nearly half a million people. In this masterpiece of narrative reporting and writing, award-winning journalist and host of the Wind of Change podcast Patrick Radden Keefe exhaustively documents the jaw-dropping and ferociously compelling reality. Empire of Pain is the story of a dynasty: a parable of twenty-first-century greed.
Encyclopaedia of Everything, DK Books ( Sept 2023)
£25.00
Packed with striking photography and the topics kids love most, this is the fundamental guide to the world around you. The world's greatest record-breakers, most remarkable animals, inspiring history-makers, and cutting-edge technology are all here, in one utterly unputdownable kid's encyclopedia. Like the hugely successful Eyewitness series itself, Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything includes all the topics children want to read about.Each page is illustrated with vivid photography and filled with facts ideal for children aged 9+. This fact-packed encyclopedia for children offers: - Content across the core subjects of nature, science, technology, history, and culture, tackling each topic in an engaging, attention-grabbing way. - Exciting photography, over 1,500 images and a clear design, familiar from the refreshed Eyewitness series.
- Facts and stats, quizzes, and interviews with experts - from astronauts to zoologists - who answer kid's questions about what they do and why they love it. Become an eyewitness to the world's most incredible nature, science, and historical events, all in one tremendous picture-led reference guide that will take you on a visual tour of everything. Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything introduces the essential guide to the world's most deadly creatures and natural wonders, history's heroes and villains, and science's most incredible breakthroughs and inventions, all as you've never seen them before.
This all-encompassing encyclopedia for kids is packed with the topics kids love the most and is a must-have for children who want to know more.
Eurotrash, Christian Kracht (paperback Nov 2024)
£12.99
Realising he and she are the very worst kind of people, a middle-aged man embarks on a dubious road trip through Switzerland with his eighty-year-old mother, recently discharged from a mental institution. Traversing the country in a hired cab, they attempt to give away the wealth she has amassed from investing in the arms industry, but a fortune of such immensity is surprisingly hard to squander. Haunted in different ways by the figure of her father, an ardent supporter of Nazism, mother and son can no longer avoid delving into the darkest truths about their past.
Eurotrash is a bitterly funny, vertiginous mirror-cabinet of familial and historical reckoning. The pair's tragicomic quest is punctuated by the tenderness and spite meted out between two people who cannot escape one another. Intensely personal and unsparingly critical, Eurotrash is a disorientingly brilliant novel by a writer at the pinnacle of his powers.
Hilarious, unsettling and unexpectedly moving' FINANCIAL TIMES
Eva and the Perfect Rain : A Rainy Irish Tale, Tatyana Feeney
£8.99
Eva wakes up to find that it's raining - again! She is thrilled because she can't wait to use her new umbrella but after breakfast the rain is too soft for an umbrella. The rain is lovely but it's just not perfect umbrella rain!Eva spends the day searching and hoping for the perfect umbrella rain that's not too windy, too thundery or too drizzly. Finally, she finds it in a sun shower and a rainbow shines making it the most perfect rain of all.Embrace rainy Ireland with Eva in this beautiful and delightful picture book!
Evenings and Weekends, Oisin McKenna (paperback from April 2025)
£9.99
Summer in London stops for no-one. Not the half-naked boozers, stoners, and cruisers, the hen parties glugging from bejewelled bottles, the drag queens puffing on hurried fags.
It’s June 2019, and everyone has converged on the city’s parks, beer gardens and street corners to revel in the collective joys of being alive. Everyone but Maggie. She’s 30, pregnant and broke.
Faced with moving back to the town she fought to escape, she’s wondering if having a baby with boyfriend Ed will be the last spontaneous act of her life. Ed, meanwhile, is trying to run from his past with Maggie’s best friend Phil and harbouring secret dreams of his own. Phil hates his office job and is living for the weekend, while falling for his housemate, Keith.
But there’s a problem: Keith has a boyfriend and there might not be room for three people in the relationship. Then there’s Rosaleen, Phil’s mother, who’s tired of feeling like a side character in her own life. She’s just been diagnosed with cancer and is travelling to London to tell Phil, if she can ever get hold of him.
As Saturday night approaches, all their lives are set to change forever. It’s the hottest summer on record and the weekend is about to begin.
I found this a surprisingly touching and raw look at contemporary love and friendship - Linda
Every Word Tells A Story, Tom Read Wilson (hardback October 2022)
£12.99
Full of funny stories and fascinating facts, Tom Read Wilson knows even the most ordinary-sounding word can have the most surprising story behind it! Did you know, for instance, that: The word 'bloomers' comes from Amelia Bloomer, who was a women's rights activist and owner and editor of the first U.S.newspaper edited by and for women, who wanted to move more freely in her knickers? Or that the word 'daisy' comes from the Old English daeges eage, meaning 'day's eye', because the petals of a daisy open at dawn and close at dusk? The word 'easel' comes from the Dutch word 'ezel', meaning donkey, because both are depenable and suitable for carrying a load? Or that English nicknames for police officers, 'bobbies' and 'peelers', both come from the names of Sir Robert Peel, British prime minister in the 1800s and creator of the first modern police force? Each fascinating word is explored through a quirky, amusing story alongside the etymology, word origin and definition. Paired with beautiful, characterful illustrations by Ian Morris, Every Word Tells a Story is a perfect book for young wordsmiths, encouraging kids and adults alike to have fun whilst learning about language.
Also a really fun fact book to read aloud to younger children.
Everybody Knows, Jordan Harper ( paperback Sept 2023)
£8.99
THE SUNDAY TIMES 'CRIME BOOK OF THE MONTH'
Cinematic and insightful. Everybody Knows is a tour de force.' GUARDIAN'
In Hollywood, nobody talks. But everybody whispers.
Welcome to Mae Pruett's LA. A 'black-bag' publicist at one of Hollywood's most powerful crisis PR firms, Mae's job isn't to get good news out, it's to keep the bad news in and contain the scandals. But just as she starts to question her job and life choices, her boss is gunned down in front of the Beverly Hills Hotel, and everything changes.
Investigating with the help of an ex-boyfriend, Mae dives headlong into a neon joyride through the jungle of contemporary Hollywood. Pitted against the twisted system she's worked so hard to perpetuate, she's desperately fighting for redemption, and her life.
Arguably the year's best detective novel.
Everyman’s Library Classics: hardback collector editions
£15.00
Beautiful gift edition - for example, Wedding Stories. Perfect for anyone contemplating a wedding. Short stories encompass engagements broken and mended, honeymoon adventures and glamorous and eccentric weddings.
Part of a collectors series - Horses / Dogs / Golf / Kitchen / Erotic/ Fishing / London / Love / Ghost / Detective
Compiled and edited by Diana Secker Tesdell.
* please note these are sometimes out of stock, I will be in touch if any problems arise from your order *
