Carlo Rovelli is an internationally acclaimed writer whose books, including Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, The Order of Time, Helgoland and White Holes, have been number one bestsellers around the world and translated into over forty languages. As a theoretical physicist, he has made significant contributions to the physics of space and time and he is currently directing the quantum gravity research group of the Centre de physique théorique in Marseille, France.

Carlo Rovelli

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Mary Taylor Simeti

Maria Grammatico

Bitter Almonds is a remarkable memoir, a tribute to Sicilian food and culture, and the record of an historic and vanishing craft. At the heart of the book are forty-six recipes of unique Sicilian specialities, written down for the first time. 
 
In the early 1950s, Maria Grammatico and her sister were sent by their impoverished mother to the San Carlo, a cloistered orphanage in Erice, an ancient hill town on the western coast of Sicily. It was a Dickensian existence - beating sugar mixtures for six hours at a time, rising before dawn to prime the ovens, and surviving on an unrelenting diet of vegetable gruel. But it was here that Maria learned to make the beautifully handcrafted pastries that were sold to customers from behind a grille in the convent wall. 
 
At 22, Maria left the orphanage with no personal possessions, minimal schooling and no skills other than what she carried in her head and her hands - the knowledge acquired during a childhood spent preparing delicacies for other people's celebrations. 
 
Today, she is the successful owner of her own pasticceria in Erice, a mecca for travellers the world over. Her counters are piled high with home-made biscotti, tarts, cakes, and jams - Torta Divina, Cassata Siciliana, Cotognata. A frequent customer, Mary Taylor Simeti became first friend and then chronicler of Maria's moving story.

Bitter Almonds

Edwin Thomas

July 1806. Commanding a prison hulk full of French captives, Lieutenant Martin Jerrold thinks his war can't get much better. He's far away from the more life threatening aspects of naval service and he can keep his mistress close to hand. It all seems too good to last. 
And so it proves. When one of the prisoners goes missing, Jerrold's comfortable world is suddenly turned upside down. Ordered by the First Lord of the Admiralty to recapture the Frenchman at any cost, he finds himself racing across England: from the stinking marshes of Chatham to the wilds of Dartmoor and the fashionable resort of Brighton. 
But what makes this prisoner so damned important? At the Post Office, Jerrold's old friend Mr Nevell is curious; so too are politicians from either side, including the cunning Tory leader Spencer Perceval. Even the seductive Princess Caroline takes an unexpected interest. 
As Jerrold - dogged by his usual bad timing, bad luck and bad behaviour - closes in on his elusive quarry, he uncovers a devilish web of treachery and deceit stretching back twenty years and ensnaring the most exalted members of society. And in hot pursuit are those who will stop at nothing to stop him...

Chains Of Albion

Steven Pressfield

From the pen of Steven Pressfield, author of The Sunday Times Bestseller Gates of Fire comes a captivating, gripping and atmospheric novel of military might and war. 
 
"Awesome...this is an extraordinary work - an instant classic." -- DAVID GEMMELL 
 
"Gripping, moving and literate...rarely does an author manage to recreate a moment in history with such mastery, authority and psychological insight." -- NELSON DEMILLE 
 
"No one writes better historical fiction than Steven Pressfield" -- VINCE FLYNN 
 
"This book doesn't 'grab you from the first page'; it slowly envelops you in silken claws until you realise that this story owns you" -- ***** Reader review 
 
"Powerful and insightful" -- ***** Reader review 
 
"Absolutely brilliant" -- ***** Reader review 
******************************************************** 
WHAT LENGTHS WILL THEY GO TO TO ACHIEVE VICTORY? 
 
330 BC: Alexander The Great launches his bloody and brutal campaign in the Afghan Kingdoms... 
 
Among the ranks of Macedonian infantry is Matthias. The youngest of three brothers, he is eager to prove himself, but as he joins the front-line, he comes to realise that warfare has changed. The Macedonians face a new kind of enemy, and must learn to fight a new kind of war. 
 
Experiencing fear, euphoria, horror and shame, Matthias and his comrades undergo a rite of passage as they, soldiers of a Western force whose code is secular and humanist, confront a proud Eastern warrior people who possess a fervent willingness to die for their cause. 
 
Just to survive, Alexander's men must shake off the trappings of 'civilization' and adopt the same unorthodox and barbaric tactics as their foe - but is that a price worth paying?

The Afghan Campaign

A bloody, brutal, brilliant novel of men at war from the master of the genre

Alice Borchardt

It is that time known as the Dark Ages, the Romans have abandoned Britain's shores, leaving behind a brutal, fear-filled twilight world where magic and superstition, strife and warfare hold sway. Into this world is born the daughter of a pagan queen. Her name is Guinevere and to the all-seeing, power-hungry sorceror Merlin, she represents a grave threat. Sent into hiding in the remote north, she grows up under the protection of a shape-shifting wolf and a wayward druid, watched over by dragons - yet through his dark arts, Merlin tracks her down. He knows her destiny and will stop at nothing to prevent what has been foretold. For if Guinevere becomes queen and Arthur, king, together they will bring a peace to the land that will leave the sorcerer but a shrivelled and empty old magiciain in a weary cloak. What Merlin doesn't realise is that Guinevere has inherited dazzling powers of her own. With Arthur trapped in a netherworld from which the only escape is death, Guinevere must call upon the ancient, primal spirits and beings who walked this earth when it was still young to help her in her final confrontation with the High Druid himself... 
Dark, exciting, highly original and utterly compelling, THE DRAGON QUEEN is set in a brutal, grittily and historically authentic Celtic world where the Pagan and the Christian battle for supremacy. Full of wild magic, both benign and malign, romance, superstition, wonder, bloody battles and wonderfully well-wrought characters, and written with a fresh, contemporary voice, this novel turns the legend of King Arthur and his mercurial queen well and truly on its head.

The Dragon Queen

Tales Of Guinevere Vol 1

John O'Donohue

Conamara in the West of Ireland has a strange and beautiful landscape - a landscape of intense contrasts uniquely dependent on light and shade. In daylight, a subtle radiance of gentle colours envelops the place. Yet on the threshold of darkness, the fading light reveals an almost haunted vista of mysterious beauty.In this exquisitely crafted collection of poetry, John O'Donohue evokes the vital energy and rhythm of the Conamara landscape, engaging with earth, sky and sea, and the majestic mountains that silently preside over this glorious region. Here too, as he draws upon the ancient memory and history of this sacred place, he focuses upon the power of language and the vagaries of human need and passion, tenderly revealing the fragile vulnerability of love and friendship. 
Written with penetrating insight and a deftness of touch, Conamara Blues offers a unique, imaginative vision of a landscape steeped in mystery and legend - a landscape of hope and possibility that is at once both familiar and unknown.

Conamara Blues

Gianluca Vialli

Gabriele Marcotti

Football lies at the heart of popular culture in both England and Italy. It is played, watched, written about and talked to death by millions virtually every day of the year. But how do the characteristics of England and Italy affect the game in these two footballing nations? Do the national stereotypes of Italians as passionate, stylish lotharios and the English as cold-hearted eccentrics still hold true when they kick a ball around? 
In The Italian Job, for the first time, a footballer of the first rank, Gianluca Vialli, in conjunction with sportswriter and broadcaster Gabriele Marcotti, tackles this debate head on. Uniquely positioned across both the English and the Italian games, they provide a fascinating and highly controversial commentary on where football is now and where it's headed. And they have invited some of the biggest names in the sport to join in their discussion. Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Sven Goran Eriksson, Fabio Capello and Marcello Lippi, amongst others, add their not inconsiderable weight to the highest-profile symposium on football ever convened. 
Gianluca Vialli and Gabriele Marcotti explore every aspect of football, be it tactical and technical or cultural and sociological. Stuffed full of controversial opinions and gripping revelations, The Italian Job takes you on a journey to the very heart of two of the world's great footballing cultures.

The Italian Job

Karen Swan

Tricase Porto, Puglia, Italy 
 
1957: The summer of innocence 
Amongst the lemon trees, Rafaella Parisi impatiently waits for the summer visitors to arrive in her small fishing village on the coast of Puglia. She may be dating Fon Gianelli, but there is one person she longs to see: Cosimo - son of the wealthy Franchetti family. 
 
1958: The summer everything changed 
After a devastating accident at the lavish Franchetti villa, Rafa makes a vow that changes the course of all their futures… 
 
1961: The summer they met again 
And when Rafa and Cosi’s lives collide, Rafa must decide if she’s willing to risk the life she has built for the future she might have had…

Three Summers

Katy Hays

From the bestselling author of The Cloisters comes this electrifying thriller about an affluent family whose annual retreat to Italy is shattered when a decades-old murder resurfaces . . . think The Talented Mr Ripley meets Succession meets The White Lotus . . . 
 
On the glittering island of Capri, anything can be a mirage. But one thing is true: there's nothing deadlier than a family with everything to lose . . . 
 
The world was shocked by playwright Sarah Lingate’s death thirty years ago at an opulent, 
white-washed villa on the island of Capri. Absolved of the crime, the Lingate family maintains that what happened that night was a tragic accident. And every July they return to Capri to prove it’s true. 
 
This time, Helen Lingate - sole heir to the family fortune - has a plan. Tightly controlled by her father, she enlists the help of the family assistant, Lorna Moreno, to free herself from her family’s stranglehold on her life. And yet, behind closed doors, the legendary Lingate family unity is at breaking point. Upon arrival at the villa in Capri, an anonymous gift awaits them: the necklace Sarah was wearing the night she died. 
 
In the aftermath, the paranoid, insular Lingates begin to unravel. As the investigation into her mother’s death is reopened, Helen begins to lose trust in everyone around her: her controlling father Richard, drug-addled aunt Naomi, aloof uncle Marcus, and even Lorna, whose past she realizes is frustratingly opaque. And as the family fractures, the long-hidden truth about that night and the secrets they’ve kept from one another boil to the surface - and they might not leave the island alive. 
 
'Sultry and sophisticated with a menacing undercurrent that keeps you thrillingly unsettled until its final spellbinding twist. Let the languid glamour of Capri gently take you by one hand, an ice cold Negroni in the other, but watch your step — the cliffs are treacherous and so, too, is a family with everything to lose.' 
RACHEL KOLLER CROFT, author of Stone Cold Fox 
 
'Engrossing and sinister . . . a must-read for 2025.' JULIE CLARK, author of The Last Flight

The Vipers

Fabio Capello is a born winner. As a midfielder with Roma, Juventus and Milan, he won four Italian league championships and two cups, and played for his country 32 times, scoring a goal at Wembley in 1973 in Italy's first ever win in England. As a manager, Capello's fierce determination has seen him win championships - nine of them in 16 years - with every club he has taken charge of, from the great Milan team he helped create in the early 1990s to Real Madrid with David Beckham in 2007. 
 
Now he faces his greatest challenge yet, the challenge that he has said is his long-cherished dream, and the last of his glittering coaching career. To restore England to the top of the world football tree, to take his adopted country to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, and to win it. For Capello, nothing less than the best will do. For England, it is win or bust. And you don't want to lose under Capello. 
 
In this, the first ever biography of the new England manager, award-winning writer Gabriele Marcotti travels from Capello's early days in Italy to his first months in his new job at Soho Square to tell the story of the man behind the steely glare, the method behind the sometimes manic behaviour. Capello's drive for success at any cost has seen him make more than a few enemies over the years, and Marcotti has talked to them all, as well as his closest associates. No-one has ever got this close to Capello before, and this is the story not just of a remarkable career, but of the life of a truly extraordinary man.

Capello

The Man Behind England's World Cup Dream

Nancy Dell'Olio

Though Nancy Dell'Olio is no stranger to the front pages, her real story has never been told. Now, for the first time she talks about herself, her life and the passions which have inspired her. It's a story which millions think they know already, from the acres of purely speculative newsprint which this fascinating woman has generated. Prepare to be surprised! The real story is far more gripping than the fictional one. 
 
Born and brought up in New York City, Nancy is a true woman of the world. She has the temperament and style of an Italian, yet she lives in London and has adopted an English lifestyle. She is also a proud European, a Catholic, a Jew and a true internationalist. She is also a successful lawyer with a keen interest in politics and world affairs - a woman for all seasons. 
 
Nancy has always emerged serene from scandal that would break most people. She values her sense of humour as her saving grace. Remember that scarlet cat suit entrance to Downing Street and all those classic red carpet moments? Nancy is just as at home in combat jacket and fatigues on the streets of Ramallah as lunching at Claridges. Fashion is fun and life is too serious to be taken seriously. 
 
Nancy's book tells the whole story of her life so far. From her childhood in New York and Puglia in Italy and the accident which nearly killed her, to the successful career in in commercial law and the passions which drive her on, despite all too public crises which would be the end of most of us. This is an inspirational and entertaining glimpse into the life of a fascinating and enigmatic woman.

My Beautiful Game

Allan Mallinson

Edgehill, 1642: Surveying the disastrous scene in the aftermath of the first battle of the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell realizes that war can no longer be made in the old, feudal way: there has to be system and discipline, and therefore - eventually - a standing professional army. 
 
From the 'New Model Army' of Cromwell's distant vision, former soldier Allan Mallinson shows us the people and events that have shaped the army we know today. How Marlborough's momentous victory at Blenheim is linked to Wellington's at Waterloo; how the desperate fight at Rorke's Drift in 1879 underpinned the heroism of the airborne forces at Arnhem in 1944; and why Montgomery's momentous victory at El Alamein mattered long after the Second World War was over. 
 
From the Army's origins at the battle of Edgehill to our current conflict in Afghanistan, this is history at its most relevant - and most dramatic.

The Making Of The British Army

Martin Booth

The locals in the Italian village where he lives call him Signor Farfalla - Mr Butterfly. He is a discreet gentleman who spends his time studying rare butterflies. 
 
But Farfalla's real profession is deadly. He considers himself an artisan, not for the butterflies he paints but for the guns he creates for assassins. 
 
Farfalla has resolved to make his next job his last. Then, perhaps, he can settle down comfortably in the Italian village he has grown to love and enjoy the remainder of his life without constantly looking over his shoulder. 
 
But a treacherous circle is closing in on him...

The American

Peter Moore

It was the late night Tai Bo fitness commercial warning him that life comes to an end after 40 that prompted Peter Moore to chase a boyhood dream. To go to Italy and seek out its celebrated dolce vita from the back of a Vespa. 
But it couldn't be just any old Vespa. Peter wanted a bike as old as he was and in the same sort of condition: a little rough round the edges, a bit slow in the mornings perhaps, but basically still OK. And it had to have saddle seats. And temperamental electrics. And a little too much chrome. The sort of scooter you'd imagine a sharp-suited, Ray Ban-wearing young Marcello Mastroianni riding. Her name was Sophia. 
From picnicking in the Italian alps and rattling through cobbled hilltop to gate-crashing Frances Mayes's villa and re-enacting 'Roman Holiday', Vroom with a View is as much a romance as a travel adventure. For not only does Peter win the woman of his dreams, he falls for a side of Italy others rarely see. Along with Sophia, of course...

Vroom With A View

In Search Of Italy's Dolce Vita On A '61 Vespa

Layli Miller Bashir

Fauziya Kassindja

Like the bestsellers Princess and Not Without My Daughter, Do They Hear You When You Cry? tells the dramatic, compulsively readable story of a woman fighting to free herself from the injustices of her culture. Fauziya Kassindja's harrowing story begins in Togo, Africa, where she enjoyed a sheltered childhood, shielded by her progressive father from the tribal practice of polygamy and genital mutilation. But when her father died in 1993, Fauziya's life changed dramatically. At the age of seventeen, she was forced to marry a man she barely knew who already had three wives, and prepare for the tribal ritual practice of genital mutilation - a practice that is performed without painkillers or antibiotics. But hours before the ritual was to take place, Fauziya's sister helped her escape to Germany, and from there she travelled to the United States seeking asylum - and freedom. Instead she was stripped, shackled and imprisoned for sixteen months by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. 
Enter Layli Miller Bashir, a twenty-three-year-old law student who took on Fauziya's case. When the two women met, Layli found a broken, emaciated girl with whom she forged an extraordinary friendship. Putting her heart into Fauziya's case, Layli enlisted help from the American University International Human Rights Clinic. The clinic's acting director Karen Musalo, an expert in refugee law, assembled a team to fight on Fauziya's behalf. Ultimately, in a landmark decision that has given hope to many seeking asylum on the grounds of gender-based persecution, Fauziya was granted asylum on 13 June 1996. 
Here, for the first time, is Fauziya's dramatic personal story, told in her own words, vividly detailing her life as a young woman in Togo and her nightmarish day-to-day existence in American prisons. It is a story of faith and freedom, courage and inspiration - one that you will not easily forget.

Do They Hear You When You Cry

Frances Mayes

Discover the New York Times bestseller that inspired the film. The perfect read for anyone seeking an escape to the Italian countryside. 
 
When Frances Mayes – poet, gourmet cook and travel writer – buys an abandoned villa in Tuscany, she has no idea of the scale of the project she is embarking on. 
 
In this enchanting memoir she takes the reader on a journey to restore a crumbling villa and build a new life in the Italian countryside, navigating hilarious cultural misunderstandings, legal frustrations and the challenges of renovating a house that seems determined to remain a ruin. 
 
Filled with evocative landscapes, delicious recipes and colourful characters, Under the Tuscan Sun is a book to savour. It’s a love letter to Tuscany, good food, and the joys of starting over. 
 
"What makes it special is the sustained note of joy in it; joy in the beauty of the Tuscan countryside, the sights and sounds of daily life, the physical labour involved in the restoration of this 200-year-old villa and the five acres of land that go with it" SUNDAY TIMES

Under The Tuscan Sun

Anniversary Edition

A J Baime

Coming to cinemas in November 2019, under the title LE MANS '66 
____________________ 
 
In the 1960s Enzo Ferrari emerged as the dominant force in sports cars in the world, creating speed machines that were unbeatable on the race track. In America, the Ford Motor Company was quickly losing ground as the pre-eminent brand. Henry Ford II saw a solution. He decided to declare war on Ferrari, to build a faster car than anything Ferrari had brought to the track, and to beat him at the world's biggest race, Le Mans. Ferrari was just as determined to see off this challenge from across the Atlantic. 
 
With practically no safety regulations in place in the European Grand Prix races, horrific accidents were routine, with both drivers and spectators killed in many races. The stakes were incredibly high, money and men were thrown at the competition, neither Ford or Ferrari would accept anything but victory. The battle to become the fastest in the world truly became a race to the death.

Go Like Hell

Ford, Ferrari and their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans

John August

Craig Mazin

The ultimate guide to writing and building a successful writing career—from the creators of the "highly influential" (Vulture) hit podcast Scriptnotes. 
 
With decades of Hollywood experience, John August and Craig Mazin know what it takes to write a successful script for the screen. And over the past ten years, they've analyzed generation-defining movies and shared their wisdom on their popular podcast Scriptnotes, inviting experts in the craft, including Mike Schur, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Seth Rogen, and many others to discuss everything that makes a script shine. 
 
Now, in their first book, August and Mazin draw on more than 550 hours of Scriptnotes conversations, as well as their own storied careers, to help readers begin, refine, and sell their own scripts. Part writing class, part informational interview with the best creators in the business, this essential book shares tips on:<ul><li>The Basics—including the rules of screenwriting, and when to break them</li><li>The Craft—including how to create a compelling story with captivating protagonists, worthy antagonists, and a sound structure</li><li>The Business—including how to pitch a script and the do's (and don’ts) of working collaboratively on a project</li></ul>Perfect for screenwriters, film buffs, and anyone who enjoys behind-the-scenes stories of popular movies like Die Hard and Clueless, this one-of-a-kind resource provides exclusive access to the screenwriting process—and will inspire anyone ready to pen their own successful screenplay.

Scriptnotes

The author who unforgettably captured the experience of starting a new life in Tuscany returns to immerse herself - and her readers - in the sights, aromas and treasures of twelve new special places. 
 
A YEAR IN THE WORLD is vintage Frances Mayes - a celebration of the allure of travel, of serendipitous pleasures found in unlikely places, of memory woven into the present, and of a joyous sense of quest. An ideal travel companion, Frances Mayes brings to the page the curiosity of an intrepid explorer, remarkable insights into the wonder of the everyday, and a compelling narrative style that entertains as it informs. 
 
With her beloved Tuscany as a home base, Mayes travels to Spain and Portugal, France, the British Isles, and the Mediterranean world of Turkey, Greece, the south of Italy, and North Africa. In Andalucía, she relishes the intersection of cultures. She cooks in Portugal, gathers ideas in the gardens of England and Scotland, takes a literary pilgrimage to Burgundy and explores the Moroccan city of Fez. 
 
Weaving together personal perceptions and informed commentary on art, architecture, history, landscape, and the social and culinary traditions of each area, Mayes brings the immediacy of life in her temporary homes to the reader. An illuminating and passionate book that will be savored by all who loved UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN, A YEAR IN THE WORLD is travel writing at its absolute best.

A Year In The World

Christopher Fowler

Arthur Bryant and John May are Golden Age detectives living in the modern world. Together they head up the Peculiar Crimes Unit, ready to solve any of the weird and wonderful crimes that fall across their desks.

In every detective’s life there are cases that can’t be discussed, and throughout the Bryant &amp; May novels there have been mentions of some of these such as the Deptford Demon or the Little Italy Whelk Smuggling Scandal. 
Now Arthur Bryant has decided to open the files on eleven of these previously unseen investigations that required the collective genius and unique modus operandi of Arthur Bryant and John May and the Peculiar Crimes Unit - investigations that range from different times (London during the Great Smog) and a variety of places: a circus freak show, on board a London Tour Bus and even a yacht off the coast of Turkey. 
And in addition to these eleven classic cases, readers are also given a privileged look inside the Peculiar Crimes Unit (literally, with a cut away drawing of their offices), a guide to the characters of the Peculiar Crimes Unit, and access to the contents of Arthur Bryant’s highly individual library.

Bryant & May - London's Glory

(Bryant & May Book 13, Short Stories)

C. K. McDonnell

‘Fiendishly clever and monstrously funny, C K McDonnell's latest will steal your soul and eat your brain. In the nicest possible way, of course.’ TOM HOLT, author of The Portable Door and The Eight Reindeers of Christmas 
 
It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . . 
 
For most people, that means a time of celebration, relaxation and inebriation, but not for the staff of The Stranger Times. While a book club meeting ending in a triple murder isn’t unprecedented, it is at least noteworthy. It quickly emerges that this is no ordinary book-club-triple-murder either, as it features a librarian possessed by a chaotic entity who has broken through from another dimension and is hellbent on vengeance. He’s made a list, but he’s not checking it twice as the whole of humanity is on it. Who would want to summon such a thing? And how is anyone going to be able to send it back? 
 
As if that wasn’t enough to be dealing with, a shocking revelation about a member of The Stranger Times team’s past brings family together, but not in a way that’s ever going to make it into a Hallmark movie. 
 
Featuring demonically possessed Santas, blood-thirsty books and the ghost of a legendary nightclub, it’s beginning to look a lot like a Christmas apocalypse . . . 
 
Ring the Bells is the fifth book in the award-winning, critically acclaimed and laugh-out-loud funny The Stranger Times series. 
 
The reviewers loved Relight My Fire: 
 
'McDonnell's world is transgressively hilarious, grimly banal and beguilingly warm. Of course there's a story that the intrepid journalists of The Stranger Times have to tease out: grave-robbing, cryogenics, a very angry witch, and a washed-up indie legend looking for a lost album, but the real joy lies in the pitfalls and pratfalls of getting there.' DAILY MAIL 
 
'An absolute riot of a read.' DAILY EXPRESS 
 
'Laugh-out-loud funny and full of colourful characters.' DAILY MIRROR 
 
'It’s no secret that here at SciFi Towers we’re massive fans of the Stranger Times series by C. K. McDonnell.' SciFiNOW 
 
'I loved the dry and embedded humour of this book, it's the stuff of life . . . the whole thing is great fun.' SFCROSWNEST 
 
'Relight My Fire is perhaps the best since the original.' STARBURST

Ring the Bells

(The Stranger Times 5)

Continuing Frances Mayes's account of her love affair with Italy, Bella Tuscany presents the author now truly at home there, meeting the challenges of learning a new language and touring regions outside Tuscany, including castle towns, fishing villages, and islands. With fresh adventures and updates on the characters introduced in Under the Tuscan Sun, Mayes also explores new themes in this wondrous corner of the world, delving into gardening, wine-making, and the experience of primavera - a season of renewed possibility. And Mayes reveals more simple pleasures from her Tuscan kitchen in a section devoted to recipes. In the sensuous, vivid prose that has become her hallmark, Bella Tuscany celebrates Mayes's deepening connection to the land and her flourishing friendships in a newfound haven of idyllic living.

Bella Tuscany

Celia Lyttelton

When Celia Lyttelton visited a bespoke perfumers, she realized a long-held ambition: to have a scent created solely for her. Entering this heady, exotic world of oils and essences, she was transported from a leafy London square to a place of long-forgotten memories and sensory experiences. And once drawn into this world, she felt compelled to trace the origins, history and culture of the many ingredients that made up her unique perfume... 
 
And so began a magical journey of the senses that took Celia from Grasse, the cradle of perfume, to Morocco; from the rose-growing region of Isparta in Turkey, to the Tuscan hills where the iris grows wild. And after journeying to Sri Lanka, the home of the heavenly scented jasmine, Celia ventured to India, the Yemen and finally to the 'Island of Bliss', Socotra. Here she traced the rarest and most mysterious agent in perfumery, ambergris, which is found in the bellies of whales and is said to have powerful aphrodisiac qualities. 
 
From the peasants and farmers growing their own crops, and the traders who sell to the great perfume houses, to the 'noses' who create the scents and the marketing kings who rule this powerful billion-dollar industry, Celia Lyttelton paints a mystical, sensual landscape of sights, sounds and aromas as she recalls the extraordinary people and places she encountered on her unique Scent Trail.

The Scent Trail

A Journey of the Senses

John Man

Genghis Khan - creator of the greatest empire the world has ever seen - is one of history's immortals. In Central Asia, they still use his name to frighten children. In China, he is honoured as the founder of a dynasty. In Mongolia he is the father of the nation. In the USA, Time magazine, voted Genghis Khan 'the most important person of the last millennium'. But how much do we really know about this man? How is it that an unlettered, unsophisticated warrior-nomad came to have such a profound effect on world politics that his influence can still be felt some 800 years later? 
How he united the deeply divided Mongol peoples and went on to rule an empire that stretched from China in the east to Poland in the west (one substantially larger than Rome's at its zenith) is an epic tale of martial genius and breathtaking cruelty. John Man's towering achievement in this book, enriched by his experiences in China and Mongolia today, is to bring this little-known story vividly and viscerally to life.

Genghis Khan

Ariana Franklin

The King of England has called upon his Mistress of the Art of Death - anatomist and doctor Adelia Aguilar - to accompany 10-year-old Princess Joanna on her thousand-mile journey to marry the King of Sicily. They must take with them the legendary sword Excalibur. 
 
And so Adelia sets sail with the golden princess and her lavish party of nobles, musicians, servants, laundresses, grooms, luggage and treasure. But when members of the procession begin to die and it looks as though Adelia is to blame, there are dangerous accusations of witchcraft. 
 
Meanwhile one traveller, armed with a brilliant disguise and a personal vendetta, has been watching Adelia all too closely. This secret assassin wants her dead . . . but he wants her to suffer first.

The Assassin's Prayer

Mistress of the Art of Death, Adelia Aguilar series 4

James Becker

An Englishwoman is found dead in a house near Rome. 
 
Her distraught husband enlists the help of his closest friend, Chris Bronson, who discovers an ancient inscription on a slab of stone above their fireplace. It translates as 'Here Lie the Liars.' 
 
But who are the liars? And what is it they are lying to protect? 
 
Pursued across Europe, Bronson uncovers a trail of clues that leads him back to the shadowy beginnings of Christianity; to a chalice decorated with mysterious symbols; to a secret code hidden within a scroll. 
 
And to a deadly conspiracy which - if revealed - will rock the foundations of our modern world.

The First Apostle

Kate Thompson

Maddie Godard: chief copywriter, The Complete Works advertising agency. Smart. Sussed. Scared. Because when your self-esteem's been trampled and your world is overturned, you have to act fast. 
 
Maddie escapes from busy Dublin to seemingly tranquil Saint-Géyroux, an idyll in rural France. There, she is led into temptation by beautiful, roguish Sam, cajoled into becoming a life model by renowned artist Daniel Lennox, and haunted by a portrait of a mysterious beauty with a secret to share. Can she help Maddie exorcise her demons? 
 
In this moving, bittersweet, joyously romantic tale, Maddie Goddard confronts her innermost fears, makes new friends, and learns that life really is worth living...

The Blue Hour

Rosemary George

Tuscany offers some of the most spectacular scenery in Europe. The unique combination of cypress trees and olive groves mingling with vineyards and woods on undulating hillsides is enchanting. With villages and villas at every turn, what better way to explore the countryside than on foot? Over fifteen months of changing seasons Rosemary George did just that, visiting wine producers along the way, observing and savouring the local colour and the idiosyncrasies of a myriad of winemakers. 
 
Each chapter will feature a walk through a wine region and include advice on the key estates, places to visit and favourite restaurants. Chianti, which covers the heart of Tuscany, is the wine we all know and love, with vineyards in the magical hills around Florence and Siena, and the medieval cities of Arezzo and Pisa. However, the face of Tuscan viticulture has changed enormously in recent years with the development of the vineyards of the Maremma, bringing a host of new wines. 
 
Treading Grapes charts this wonderful renaissance of Tuscan wines, not just of Chianti, but also of the newer prestigious names such as Sassicaia and Ornellaia in the rising area of Bolgheri. It also covers the old-established wines of Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, and several others, not least the island of Elba. It will be enjoyed by wine enthusiasts and armchair travellers alike.

Treading Grapes

Walking Through The Vineyards Of Tuscany

Alice Steinbach

American journalist Alice Steinbach took a year off to live in four cities - Paris, Venice, London and Oxford - when she realized she had entered a new phase of life. Her sons had graduated from college; she had been divorced for a long time; she was a successful journalist. While there was nothing really wrong with her life, she felt restless. Could she live independently of her family, her friends, her career? 
Steinbach searches for the answer to this provocative question firstly in Paris, where she finds a soul mate in a Japanese man; in Milan, where she befriends a young woman about to marry, and in the evocative cities of Oxford and Venice. Her trip is peppered with accounts of the exotic strangers she meets, her reflections on life and the observational postcards she wrote to herself during her year away. 
Colourful, inspiring and beautifully told, Without Reservations will take the reader on a unique voyage of discovery into a woman's life, as she evolves a new one.

Without Reservations

The Travels Of An Independent Woman

Alice Roberts

Professor Alice Roberts travels two thousand miles by train in search of a greater understanding of the Roman Empire for Channel 4's popular TV series The Roman Empire by Train with Alice Roberts. 
 
This book delivers more depth and context than the TV series possibly can, using four broad narrative strands. Alice explores what everyday life was like for ordinary citizens of the Roman Empire and reveals the extraordinary developments in technology, law, lifestyle, politics, health and education that remain to this day and how these fed into the birth, expansion and collapse of the empire. She also shares her experiences from the journey itself, including her drawings and personal anecdotes. 
 
Roman Empire by Train with Alice Roberts reveals the extraordinary backstory of one of the world’s greatest expansionist empires and enables readers to follow Alice's journey through Italy, France and Spain, or simply enjoy the ride from the comfort of home.

Roman Empire by Train with Alice Roberts

A Travel Journal

Beth Elon

Beth Elon - a renowned cookery-book writer - has lived in and loved Tuscany for more than thirty years and in TASTING TUSCANY shares with her readers a side of Tuscany that is not widely known. Beyond the better-known cities with tourists, souvenir and fast-food shops, Tuscany is made up of hundreds of small clustered hill towns set in stunning scenery with lovely churches, piazzas and rural art that is worthy of the finest city museums. 
 
Beth has included in her book suggested itineraries so that the reader can follow in her footsteps and explore a Tuscany that is off the beaten track. A central feature of the itineraries are the restaurants that Beth has discovered over the years and which will allow the reader to experience a culture of life that values natural and traditional food. 
 
TASTING TUSCANY includes over one hundred recipes from restaurants so that even when you are back at home you can recreate the delicious and authentic food you will have enjoyed on your travels.

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