Neil MacGregor was Director of the National Gallery, London from 1987 to 2002 and of the British Museum from 2002 to 2015, and Chair of the Steering Committee of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin from 2015 to 2018. His previous books include A History of the World in 100 Objects, Shakespeare's Restless World and Germany: Memories of a Nation, all available in Penguin and now between them translated into more than a dozen languages. In 2010, he was made a member of the Order of Merit, the UK's highest civil honour. In 2015 he was awarded the Goethe Medal and the German National Prize. In 2018 the radio series Living with the Gods received the Sandford Saint Martin Award for Religious Broadcasting.

Neil MacGregor

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Richard Collett

Searching for a sense of national and personal identity in an increasingly fragmented United Kingdom, Borderlands merges British history with contemporary politics and culture. Collett’s journey takes him to the banks of the River Tamar - a natural boundary dividing Anglo-Saxon Devon from Celtic Cornwall for a thousand years, to the English-Welsh borders, where Offa’s Dyke has separated the two countries since the 8th century. He then travels north to the Anglo-Scottish borderlands, Orkney and Shetland, and across the Irish Sea to Northern Ireland. 
 
Richard Collett speaks to a cast of characters including Cornish nationalists, Welsh speakers teaching Welsh in England, and migrant charity workers helping refugees. For the first time in centuries, Brexit and the pandemic made hard borders an unprecedented reality. Calls for Scottish, Welsh, and even Cornish independence, are a constant backdrop to Collett’s journey. In Northern Ireland, there are fears of a hard border reigniting ‘The Troubles’, while in southern England, issues of immigration have turned the Kent coast into a maritime frontier and political battleground. 
 
Collett explores the rise of regional identities in the midst of an ever-loosening sense of national unity, but ultimately, this isn’t a book about differences and divisions. Borderlands is a travel book that tries to find what unites Britain.

Along the Borders

In search of what divides and unites us

Jane Flett

The year that Florida fell into the sea, I killed a man and joined a cult and ran away to Mexico. I ate human flesh for the first time. 
 
It’s another sticky summer in New Orleans and the world is ending. Natural disasters abound, tourists are descending on the Old Town and Marcy’s old wrestling scar has reopened. It’s enough to make any girl want to take her seemingly perfect husband and tedious job and set it all on fire. 
 
So when Marcy meets a crew of degenerate filmmakers who are keen to whisk her away from her ordinary life, she lets herself be swept into their world of filth, arson and debauchery. 
 
For their part, they’re convinced Marcy’s strange scar is a sign she’s the Chosen One they need to lead their community through the end of times. For hers, she’s never been able to resist that kind of flattery. 
 
Praise for Freakslaw 
'A transgressive, inventive dark fantasy' Guardian 
'Cracking with desire, hedonism, angst, violence and sex' Heat 
'A celebration of the marginalised' Observer 
'As frightening as it is seductive' Herald

Welcome to the Chaoskampf

Sophy Roberts

In 1879, King Leopold II of Belgium launched an ambitious plan to plunder Africa’s resources. The key to cracking open the continent, or so he thought, was its elephants — if only he could train them. And so he commissioned the charismatic Irish adventurer Frederick Carter to ship four tamed Asian elephants from India to the East African coast, where they were marched inland towards Congo. The ultimate aim was to establish a training school for African elephants.Following in the footsteps of the four elephants, Roberts pieces together the story of this long-forgotten expedition, in travels that take her to Belgium, Iraq, India, Tanzania and Congo. The storytelling brings to life a compelling cast of historic characters and modern voices, from ivory dealers to Catholic nuns, set against rich descriptions of the landscapes travelled. She digs deep into historic records to reckon with our broken relationship with animals, revealing an extraordinary — and enduring — story of colonial greed, ineptitude, hypocrisy and folly.

A Training School for Elephants

Kim Hana

Hwang Sunwoo

At some point between living alone and becoming single, Hwang Sunwoo and Kim Hana found each other, and decided to live together in a nice apartment where their four cats would finally have the freedom to run around. Together they became a family - and redefined it. 
 
At a time housing costs have skyrocketed whilst the birth rates plummets, these two independent Korean women in their late forties share their views on society and its expectations of them. And, intent neither to marry or to live alone, they reflect on the comfort of their cohabiting friendship as it blossoms into a life full of joy and meaning. 
 
From housing insecurity and access to health care, to solo dining and stigmatised cat ladies, the loaded, self-sacrificing demands of filial piety and obligations to in-laws, Two Women Living Together impugns social scripts by spelling them out plainly. But also, and especially, by showing what it’s like to choose differently. 
 
Quietly radical, full of warmth and wit, Two Women Living Together celebrates carving out your own path, cats, female friendship, and a different kind of family.

Two Women Living Together

Kim Willis

'This book is an act of excavation, and an act of remembering.' 
 
As Kim Willis drifts from the traditional path of marriage and motherhood, she yearns for a new set of stories to light her way. Here, she is pulled towards the source of the Severn, hearing whispers of ancient matriarchs: shape-shifting enchantresses, scaly nymphs and goddesses who once commanded our lands. These are no fair maidens, but powerful warrioresses and animalistic beasts, snaking along the edges of watery places where we meet the otherworld in the shadows. 
 
As she uncovers the ancient myths hidden in the rugged landscapes of the British Isles, the stories of women like Arianrhod, Melusine and Cerridwen awaken a forgotten power. Journeying from the Severn to Skye, Eryri to Northumberland, Kim discovers new magic in the tales of old, unveiling forgotten truths about grief and healing, while charting a new course through sisterhood and sexuality, fertility and freedom. 
 
Through the threads of folklore, history and landscape, Kim identifies a better way of being for modern women, and crafts a new vision for Britain where women are - and always were - a force of nature.

No Fair Maidens

A wild journey with the lost goddesses of Britain

Dr Lucy Rogers

'My only complaint about the writing of Lucy Rogers is that there isn't enough of it' Tim Radford, Guardian 
 
The sky is a world of endless wonder. From the intricate dance of clouds and the vibrant hues of the aurora borealis to the marvel of effortless soaring birds and the silent majesty of the stars, it is a living storybook. 
 
In Up, inventor and engineer Dr Lucy Rogers explores the beauty, science, and surprises of the world above. 
 
Join her on a marvellous adventure through a kite market in India, creep through the Borneo jungle to witness millions of bats pour out of a cave at dusk, venture to Tornado Alley to chase the raw power of storms, and journey to Mexico to stand in awe of a total solar eclipse. 
 
Up is for anyone who has ever paused to marvel at a shooting star, wondered about the ingenuity of human flight, or dreamed of touching a rainbow. Bringing rich insights, personal stories, and a very real sense of awe for the natural world, Dr Rogers explores the science behind these phenomena and reveals all there is to discover if you look Up.

A scientist's guide to the magic above us

Yehudis Fletcher

As the daughter of a rabbi raised in an Orthodox Jewish community, Yehudis struggled to conform to the strict expectations placed upon her and her siblings. Outspoken, curious and desperate to know more about G-d, she felt fenced in by arbitrary rules and questions left unanswered. 
 
As she grew older, these restrictions intensified and her questions for G-d hung heavier than ever. Repeatedly let down by those who were supposed to protect her and pushed on to a path that seemed to take her further away from who she really was, she began to yearn for a life where she could embrace all facets of herself. 
 
When Yehudis’s sexuality came to blows with the expectations of her family and her community, the pressure to inhabit a binary position reached fever pitch. Confronted with either losing the faith she loved or losing herself, Yehudis made the most daring decision of all: she decided to stay. 
 
Wry and exhilarating, Chutzpah is a fearless exploration of what is possible when one person simply refuses to choose between abandoning their roots and abandoning themselves.

Chutzpah

A memoir of faith, sexuality and daring to stay

James Aldred

Join James Aldred on a captivating journey, encountering master craftsmen, British wildlife, and a deep passion for a remarkable landscape. 
 
There are some moments in childhood that are frozen in time, vivid and vital, an anchor. When James Aldred tracked down an old Romani wagon he once played in, he found himself inside one such moment again. Though brambles had overtaken its rotted boards and its wheels were barely there, it transported him to a magical summer in the New Forest forty years ago and awakened in him the possibility of reliving it with his young family. Pairing an ambition to restore the wagon to its former glory with a determination to share the Forest with his children, he embarked on a remarkable journey. 
 
In his evocative memoir, Aldred chronicles his return to a cherished childhood landscape, rich with the history of the Romani families who once roamed freely there. As he painstakingly restores the wagon, Aldred delves into both the New Forest's natural history and storied past, tracing its roots back to the 16th century and even further to the time of William the Conqueror. Camera traps reveal otters hunting in the brook, while the nearby goshawk nest and fox earth speak to the area's thriving wildlife. 
 
Masterfully observed, A Wagon in the Woods is a celebration of both people and place, and the timeless bond between land, history and the enduring spirit of adventure.

A Wagon in the Woods

Pursuing a dream in an ancient forest

Siddharth Kara

'A horrific tale of the slave trade, destined to become a classic' New York Times 
 
* The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2025 
* Time’s 100 Must Read Books of 2025 
* The New Yorker 12 Essential Non-Fiction Reads 
 
From the New York Times bestselling author of Cobalt Red, discover the incredible true story and page-turning account of the 18th century slave ship, often known as the Zong yet actually named the Zorg - ironically meaning 'care' - that sparked the human rights campaign to end the slave trade. 
 
Perfect for fans of David Grann’s The Wager and The Wide, Wide Sea by Hampton Sides. 
‘Remarkable, riveting’, Adam Hochschild, historian and bestselling author of King Leopold's Ghost and Bury the Chains 
 
In 1781, the Zorg set off from The Netherlands to West Africa and from there onto the Caribbean. The fateful voyage would alter the course of history forever. 
 
By the time its journey ends, the Zorg would become the first undeniable argument against slavery. 
 
When a series of unpredictable weather events and navigational errors led to the Zorg sailing off course and running low on supplies, the ship's captain threw more than a hundred slaves overboard in order to save the crew and the most valuable slaves. The ship's owners then claimed their loss on insurance, a first for slaves who had not been killed due to insurrection or died of natural causes. 
 
The insurers refused to pay due to the higher than usual mortality rate of the slaves on board, leading to a trial which initially found in their favour, in which Chief Justice Mansfield compared the slaves to horses. Thanks to the outrage of one man present in court that day, a retrial was held. For the first time, concepts such as human rights and morality entered the discourse on slavery in a courtroom case that boiled down to a simple yet profound question: Were the Africans on board people or cargo? 
 
In his riveting new book, bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist Siddharth Kara brings history to life, showcasing how the Zorg’s fateful voyage exposed the harsh reality of the slave trade. 
 
The case catapulted the emerging anti-slavery movement to one of the most consequential moral campaigns that changed the course of history. 
 
The Zorg is the astonishing yet little-known true story of one of the most consequential ships that ever crossed the Atlantic.

The Zorg

A Tale of Greed, Murder and the Abolition of Slavery

John Crace

John Sutherland

‘Give me the daggers and I’ll pin the blame/ On Duncan’s grooms who both are also slain. /A little water clears us of this deed /Though a large scotch might also do the trick...’  To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, this is the first of a new collection of the Bard's greatest plays, digested to a few thousand words with invaluable side notes from John Sutherland.  Funny and incredibly clever, these parodies are a joy for those who know their Shakespeare, perfect for the theatre goer needing a quick recap, and a massive relief for those just desperate to pass their English exam.

Incomplete Shakespeare: Macbeth

Anthony Delaney

Mother Clap's Holborn coffee house is open to all comers, a place of companionship and community, until a tip-off leads to a midnight raid. 
 
Two women, exiled from their families, set up a utopian homestead in a remote Welsh cottage, inspiring a generation of Romantic poets. 
 
The celebrated Chevalier d'Eon, soldier, diplomat and spy, challenges a rival to a fencing match. The sweepstake is not over who will win, but whether the Chevalier is a man or a woman. 
 
In this dazzling work of restorative history, Dr Anthony Delaney has traced the stories of people daring to challenge society's expectations, unearthing archives and court records to reveal the tragedies and the joys of queer life three centuries ago. Breathing new life into the forgotten and offering radical new interpretations of celebrated figures such as Anne Lister, Queer Georgians is an invitation to view our shared history in a whole new light.

Queer Georgians

A hidden history of lovers, lawbreakers and homemakers

Charles Foster

We tend to think that everything important comes from the centre: from big cities, from established orthodoxies in the sciences and the arts, from the Establishment in all its forms. We think this because the centre tells us it is so, but it's a lie. It is only at the edges that we think, innovate and thrive. 
 
This book travels to the far frontiers of the planet, and of human culture and consciousness; to the edges of continents, of evolution, of artistic and political movements, and of life itself: from a rocky precipice in the Peloponnese where the first human set foot in Europe to an ancient Egyptian temple where monotheism was invented; from St Francis, kissing lepers’ sores to the giant bird-eating mice of St Kilda. 
 
Why do we stare at sunsets? Why do we celebrate birthdays and grieve for those who are gone? Why do all adventures begin when we leave and get lost? Who has the better view of reality – the Government or the dispossessed? And what happens when we live with the knowledge that we’re all teetering on the edge of the dark?

The Edges of the World

At the margins of life, lands and history

Sue Black

Pioneering forensic scientist, anatomist and anthropologist, Professor Dame Sue Black takes the reader into our criminal courts’ witness box from the perspective of an expert witness, the forensic scientist, explaining exactly what that job is, what it demands, how the role evolved, and its likely future. 
 
The expert witness sits at the crux of the relationship between law enforcement, science and the legal system. When that relationship works well, it makes for compelling fiction, television and movies. When it works less well, it makes for compelling and explosive news headlines. 
 
In Dissection of an Expert Witness, Sue Black puts the relationship between these different institutions, and how they affect and are affected by the expert witness, under the microscope. Using shocking landmark cases that expose both the strengths and weaknesses of the interconnection between disciplines - she probes: In which cases did we get it right? In which did we get it wrong? And if we had done it differently, might the pendulum of justice have swung another way? 
 
Incisive and compelling, following the impact of advances in technology to changes in funding and the effect of our gladiatorial system, Sue Black tracks the journey of this most intriguing of sciences through to its inevitable conclusion - and the toll it may take not only on experts but ultimately how justice plays out.

Dissection of an Expert Witness

Is this the cutting edge of forensic science?

Christopher Somerville

‘Somerville is one of our finest gazetteers of the British countryside. He brings his formidable knowledge to bear on his personal quest to explore the cathedrals in this entrancing book’ 
The Spectator 
 
Christopher Somerville, author of the acclaimed The January Man, pictured cathedrals as great unmoving bastions of tradition. But as he journeys among Britian’s favourites, old and new, he discovers buildings and communities that have been in constant upheaval for a thousand years. Here are stories of the monarchs and bishops who ordered the construction of these buildings, the masons whose genius brought them into being, and the peasants who worked and died on the scaffolding. We learn of rogue saints exploited by holy sinners, the pomp and prosperity that followed these ships of stone, the towns that grew up in their shadows. 
 
Meeting believers and non-believers, architects and archaeologists, the cleaner who dusts the monuments and the mason who judges stone by its taste, we delve deep into the private lives and the uncertain future of these ever-voyaging Ships of Heaven. 
 
‘Somerville paints word pictures of exquisite quality’ 
Church Times

Ships Of Heaven

The Private Life of Britain’s Cathedrals

Hallie Rubenhold

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 
 
The new page-turning, feminist retelling of the historical true-crime story of infamous wife-murderer Dr Crippen, brought to justice by an extraordinary group of women. 
 
FROM THE AWARD-WINNING, SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR OF TRUE CRIME SENSATION THE FIVE: THE WOMEN KILLED BY JACK THE RIPPER, WINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION. 
___________ 
 
'Thoughtful, humane, gripping. The kind of popular history you devour in one sitting' Sunday Times, Dominic Sandbrook 
 
'A finely layered portrait of a hypocritical Edwardian society’ Financial Times 
 
'An exceptional achievement. I was gripped from the very first page' The Secret Barrister, Sunday Times bestselling author 
 
‘I couldn't put it down' Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry 
 
'Under her pen, history comes alive' Professor Dame Sue Black 
___________ 
 
No murderer should ever be the keeper of their victim's story … 
 
On 1 February, 1910, vivacious music-hall performer, Belle Elmore, suddenly vanished from her north London home, causing alarm among her circle of female friends, the entertainers of the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild who demanded an immediate investigation. 
 
They could not have known what they would provoke: the unearthing of a gruesome secret, followed by a fevered manhunt for the prime suspect: Belle’s husband, medical fraudster, Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen. 
 
Hiding in the shadows of this evergreen tale is Crippen’s typist and lover, Ethel Le Neve – was she really just ‘an innocent young girl’ in thrall to a powerful older man as so many people have since reported? 
 
In this epic examination of one of the most infamous murders of the twentieth century, prizewinning social historian Hallie Rubenhold gives voice to those who have never properly been heard – the women. 
 
Featuring a carnival cast of eccentric entertainers, glamorous lawyers, zealous detectives, medics and liars, STORY OF A MURDER is meticulously researched and multi-layered, offering the reader an electrifying snapshot of Britain and America at the dawn of the modern era. 
___________ 
 
PRAISE FOR STORY OF A MURDER: 
 
'Gripping and eye-opening' I-news, Book to Watch Out For 
 
'Reads like a great thriller. I inhaled it' Bella Mackie, bestselling author of How to Kill Your Family 
 
'A unique combination of sleuthing, storytelling and compassion' Lucy Worsley, bestselling author and historian 
 
'Fascinating. It's about time Belle became the hero of her own story' Val McDermid, bestselling author of the Karen Pirie series 
 
'As compelling as any crime drama' S J Parris, bestselling author of the Giordano Bruno series 
 
'I had my hand over my wide-open mouth…I can’t recommend it more: I will be thinking about it for a very long time. Rachel Joyce, bestselling author of The Homemade God 
 
'Takes us beyond the world of Dr Crippen into the lives impacted by him and the society in which he moved. Terrific' Ian Rankin, bestselling author of the Rebus series 
 
'Compelling to the very last page' Denise Mina, award-winning author of Reese’s Book Club pick, Conviction 
 
'Does for the Crippen Murder case what THE FIVE did for the victims of Jack the Ripper. Forensic research and insistent sympathetic writing. I loved it' PROFESSOR DAVID WILSON, BBC 1, The Crime 
Squad 
 
'Breathtaking. Rubenhold has not only produced a thrilling reassessment of a notorious crime, but an impressive portrait of an age' Spectator

Story of a Murder

The Wives, the Mistress and Dr Crippen

The Crime of the Century retold by the Women History Forgot

Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson goes to Kenya at the invitation of CARE International, the charity dedicated to working with local communities to eradicate poverty around the world. Kenya, generally regarded as the cradle of humankind, is a land of stunning landscapes, famous game reserves, and a vibrant culture, but it also has many serious problems, including refugees, AIDS, drought and grinding poverty. It also provides plenty to worry a nervous traveller like Bill Bryson: hair-raising rides in light aircraft, tropical diseases, snakes, insects and large predators. 
 
Bryson casts his inimitable eye on a continent new to him, and the resultant diary, though short in length, contains all his trademark laugh-out-loud wit, wry observation and curious insight. 
 
All the author’s royalties from this book, as well as all profits, will go to CARE International.

Bill Bryson's African Diary

John Lewis-Stempel

"How to describe the ecstatic song of larks? How the writers and poets have tried..." 
 
Skylarks are the heralds of our countryside. Their music is the quintessential sound of spring. The spirit of English pastoralism, they inspire poets, composers and farmers alike. In the trenches of World War I they were a reminder of the chattering meadows of home. 
 
Perhaps you were up with the lark, or as happy as one. History has seen us poeticise and musicise the bird, but also capture and eat them. We watch as they climb the sky, delight in their joyful singing, and yet we harm them too. 
 
 The Soaring life of the Lark explores the music and poetry; the breath-taking heights and struggle to survive of one of Britain's most iconic songbirds. 
 
PRAISE FOR JOHN LEWIS-STEMPEL 
 
'Britain's finest living nature writer' - The Times 
 
'Lewis-Stempel is a fourth-generation farmer gifted with an extraordinary ability to write prose that soars and sings' - Daily Mail

The Soaring Life of the Lark

Scott Kelly

The first photo book by the Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent a record-breaking Year in Space. This is an awe-inspiring collection of the photos Scott took himself while on board the International Space Station, many of which have never been seen before. 
 
Scott Kelly has seen the world in ways most of us never will. During his record-breaking 340 consecutive days on board the ISS, Scott Kelly circled the earth 5,440 times, witnessing 10,944 sunrises and sunsets – that’s 16 a day. In all this time, he posted just 713 photos on Instagram. 
 
But it’s not all sunrises, sunsets and #nofilter. Through the photos Kelly took during his time in space, we can learn to see the world in a new way and we are afforded a glimpse into a life that most of us will never encounter but of which many of us dream. This book will show you what it’s really like to be a Nasa astronaut.

Infinite Wonder

An Astronaut's Photographs from a Year in Space

E Y Zhao

'A staggeringly good debut, written with élan, compassion and wit' Kaliane Bradley, author of The Ministry of Time 
'Challengers, but make it table tennis' Lit Hub, 'Most Anticipated Books of 2025' 
'An eruption of a debut . . . with meticulous precision and tremendous heart' Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars 
'A superior force to be reckoned with' Neel Mukherjee, author of The Lives of Others and Choice 
 
Ryan Lo begins playing table tennis aged eight. His brilliant but ruthless coach sees a talent in him that might be nurtured into greatness. 
 
Through an adolescence marked by hours of practice, matches away from home, clandestine relationships and a determination to win, Ryan ascends to the highest echelons of the game, just as he was supposed to. 
 
But here he is now, dead before his twenty-fifth birthday, leaving grief and confusion in his wake. 
 
Ryan Lo was meant to be great. What happened? 
 
Underspin delves beneath the pressure that forges a champion, and the vulnerability that makes a coming of age: the crackling intensity of a match, the push and pull of first love, and the great injustices committed within our closest relationships. 
 
 
'A kaleidoscopic novel . . . Zhao's prose is a marvel' Rob Franklin, author of Great Black Hope 
'Leaves a trail of fire in its wake . . . An electric debut' Jenny Tinghui Zhang, author of Four Treasures of the Sky 
'An unconventional and stylish portrait of a table tennis wunderkind . . . this book will immerse you in its high-stakes world until the very last page' Alina Grabowski, author of Women and Children First

Underspin

At night the senses become reordered. 
Hearing, touch, smell are privileged over vision. It is after dark that we humans become more sensitive to nature, more ‘animal’. But the lights of the modern world are obliterating any meaningful connection to the night. We have lost touch with its wonders as well as its terrors. 
 
In this enchanting follow-up to Nightwalking, John Lewis-Stempel once again ventures out into the night to discover the natural world after dark, its rarely seen spectacles and curiosities. There are hares boxing under stars, night jars hunting moths in the summer wood, wintry moons with halos, rock-pool creatures glowing neon under UV light, barley fields shimmering in moonshine … 
 
In Night Life, Lewis-Stempel wanders his familiar farmland, and goes further afield too, exploring the Lake District, the Welsh coast, London’s Thames. Everywhere, he shows us why the night is precious, and what it is to be human in the dark.

Night Life

Walking Britain’s wild landscapes after dark

Bella Jackson

There is a narrative we’ve become comfortable with: Mental health services are underfunded and understaffed. But that is only half the story. The other half is messy and confronting; uncomfortable enough to make us look sharply away. 
 
It is the story of the staff who believed they could make a difference, but were worn down by morally ambiguous tasks, impossible workloads and a systemic resistance to change. It is the story of the patients who are failed by hastily made diagnoses, overreliance on medication, coercion, stigma and inconsistency of care, and of the inspiring individuals struggling for justice and revolution. 
 
Beautifully wrought and staggeringly urgent , Fragile Minds documents Bella Jackson's time as a trainee mental health nurse, and the devastation and hope she encountered in winding corridors and behind locked doors. With compassion and care Bella introduces us to a vivid cast of staff and patients, prompting us to look closer, ask questions and demand more for them.

Fragile Minds

Stories from an NHS mental health ward

Number One Bestseller in both hardback and paperback 
The Sunday Times Book of the Year 
The ideal gift for everybody 
 
'We spend our whole lives in one body and yet most of us have practically no idea how it works and what goes on inside it. The idea of the book is simply to try to understand the extraordinary contraption that is us.' 
 
Bill Bryson sets off to explore the human body, how it functions and its remarkable ability to heal itself. Full of extraordinary facts, astonishing stories and now fully illustrated for the first time, The Body: A Guide for Occupants is a brilliant, often very funny attempt to understand the miracle of our physical and neurological make up. 
 
A wonderful successor to A Short History of Nearly Everything, this new book is an instant classic. It will have you marvelling at the form you occupy, and celebrating the genius of your existence, time and time again. The ideal gift for readers of every age who wish to discover more about themselves. 
 
'What I learned is that we are infinitely more complex and wondrous, and often more mysterious, than I had ever suspected. There really is no story more amazing than the story of us.' Bill Bryson

The Body Illustrated

A Guide for Occupants

Kate Riley

A LitHub most anticipated book of 2025 
 
‘It will become an underground classic’ New York Times 
‘A wonderful, loving, tenderly teasing and often moving portrait… Standout’ Wall Street Journal 
‘An irresistibly smart and funny novel’ Jenny Offill, author of Weather, shortlisted for the Women’s Prize For Fiction 
 
Ruth is raised in a snow globe of Christian communism, a world without private property, television, or tolerance for idle questions. Every morning she braids her hair and wears the same costume, sings the same breakfast song in a family room identical to every other family room in the community; every one of these moments is meant to be a prayer, but to Ruth they remain puzzles. 
 
Her life is seen in glimpses through childhood, marriage, and motherhood, as she tries to manage her own perilous curiosity in a community built on holy mystery. Is she happy? Might this in fact be happiness? Ruth immerses us in an experience that challenges our most fervent beliefs.

Ruth

Komail Aijazuddin

Discover the must-read, coming-of-age queer memoir about learning how to love yourself in a world that doesn’t want you to. 
 
‘A beautiful celebration of being different.’ TOM ALLEN 
 
‘An important story, told with a sharp wit and disarming humour’ MOHSIN ZAIDI author of A Dutiful Boy 
 
‘Brilliant, spectacularly witty and genuinely moving. I loved it.’ MATTHEW TODD, author of Straight Jacket 
 
I’m just a man, standing in front of a salad, asking it to be a cake. 
 
What do you do when you’re too gay for Pakistan, too Pakistani to be gay in America and you’re ashamed of your body everywhere? 
 
Even as a young child in Lahore, Komail Aijazuddin knew he was different. Other boys didn’t pirouette off their desks, get bullied for their ‘manboobs’ or spontaneously burst into songs from The Little Mermaid. Other boys didn’t play together like that. 
 
Starved of a crucial part of himself, he ate. And ate. Before long, his own body became another burden to carry everywhere and to hide. Komail began to believe his only chance at a happy, meaningful life would be found elsewhere: in America, land of the free, home of the gays. But he would soon learn that finding happiness takes a lot more than a plane ticket. 
 
This is Aijazuddin’s riotous, intelligent memoir of searching for his place between two worlds while navigating a minefield of expectations, prejudice and self-doubt. In Manboobs, Aijazuddin confidently announces himself as a sharp new voice in humour with his moving, wickedly funny search for love and the bravery required to be yourself.

Manboobs

A very queer memoir

In this fully revised and updated edition of the best-selling popular science book of the 21st century, Bill Bryson makes complex subjects clear and compelling for everyone with an interest in the world around them. 
 
NOW FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED. 
 
'Possibly the best scientific primer ever published.' Economist 
 
'Truly impressive...It's hard to imagine a better rough guide to science.' Guardian 
 
Bill Bryson can't contain his curiosity about the world around him. A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 is the result of his quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization – how we got from being nothing at all to what we are today. Now fully updated to reflect the many scientific discoveries in the last twenty years since this book was first published, it explains among much else: 
<ul><li>why Pluto is no longer a planet</li><li>how the number of moons in the solar system has more than doubled in 20 years</li><li>how scientists used advances in genetics to discover previously unknown species of early humans</li><li>why we still don't know what most of the universe is made of</li><li>how the little Higgs boson transformed physics</li></ul>This journey through time and space will inform a new generation of readers, young and old, as well as those who read this book on first publication with a new perspective based on what we know now. 
 
Written in his inimitable style, Bryson makes complex subjects fascinating and accessible to everyone with an interest in the world around them. 
 
A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0 reveals the world in a whole new way. 
 
Praise for A Short History of Nearly Everything: 
 
‘I doubt that a better book for the layman about the findings of modern science has been written.’ Sunday Telegraph 
 
‘Bill Bryson has an unmatched gift for explaining the most difficult subjects in the clearest possible way.’ Mail on Sunday 
 
'A travelogue of science, with a witty, engaging, and well-informed guide' The Times 
 
‘Hugely readable and never obfuscating.’ Sunday Times 
 
‘A genuinely useful and readable book... A thoroughly enjoyable, as well as educational, experience. Nobody who reads it will ever look at the world around them in the same way again’ Daily Express 
 
‘The very book I have been looking for most of my life... Bryson wears his knowledge with aplomb and a lot of very good jokes.’ Daily Mail 
 
‘Destined to become a modern classic of science writing’ The New York Times

A Short History of Nearly Everything 2.0

Terry Pratchett

A beautiful clothbound pocket edition of Sir Terry Pratchett’s essay on why we all deserve a life worth living and a death worth dying for. 
 
With a new Afterword by Peter Serafinowicz 
and an updated Introduction by Rob Wilkins 
 
'Eloquent and essential' Guardian 
 
'A poignant, thought-provoking, sometimes funny, always brilliant read' 5-star reader review 
 
 
‘Most men don’t fear death. They fear those things – the knife, the shipwreck, the illness, the bomb – which precede, by microseconds if you’re lucky, and many years if you’re not, the moment of death.’ 
 
When Terry Pratchett was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in his fifties he was angry - not with death but with the disease that would take him there, and with the suffering disease can cause when we are not allowed to put an end to it. 
 
In this essay, broadcast to millions as the BBC Richard Dimbleby Lecture, he argues for our right to choose – our right to a good life, and a good death too.

Shaking Hands With Death

Kim Ryeo-ryeong

**NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX TV SERIES, STARRING GONG YU AND SEO HYUN-JIN ** 
 
Read the gripping international feminist satire for fans of KIM JIYOUNG BORN 1982, CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN and YELLOWFACE. 
 
‘So this is the world we live in, where even spouses can be rented’ 
 
Meet Noh Inji: thirty years old, five wedding rings so far, and she’s never once been in love. 
 
When Inji takes a job at Wedding & Life, the popular matchmaking service, she never imagines her role will be with NM, their secretive marriage division that rents out ‘field spouses’ for a fixed period to their elite clientele. Just like a real marriage, Inji’s assignments involve a wedding, some sex and a spot of housework. It’s all tailored exactly to the client’s desires - no legal battles, no fights, no emotional baggage. 
 
In no way is Inji interested in finding real love, because accidents happen when you mistakenly assume that you are somehow special. 
 
When one of Inji’s old husbands, a mysterious high-profile music producer, requests her back for another year of marriage, Inji’s own dark past will begin to unravel – as well as the sinister underbelly of the NM management, who will stop at nothing to preserve their reputation - and that of their wealthiest clients … 
 
Readers love THE TRUNK!!!: 
 
‘It enraged me, it made me laugh, it was everything’ 
‘Intriguing and gripping’ 
‘Unique and intriguing and perfect for fans of Kim Jiyoung, born 1982’ 
‘Absorbing and consistently fascinating’ 
‘Really interesting book full of social commentary, rich characters … I had vibes of The Handmaid's Tale meets Convenience Store Woman’ 
___________

The Trunk

Marisa Kashino

'I promise you, you have no idea where this story is going' Taylor Jenkins Reid, recommended for her Must-Read Book of 2025 in TIME Magazine 
 
A Good Morning America Book Club Pick * A Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick * An ELLE Best Mystery/Thriller of 2025 * A BookRiot Best Mystery/Thriller of 2025 
 
‘Not since Gone Girl have I been so gripped by a narrative voice’ Alex Michaelides, bestselling author of The Silent Patient 
 
‘Darkly satirical and wildly entertaining… a riveting thriller from the first page to the last’ Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling author of Listen for the Lie 
 
How far would you go to get the perfect home? 
 
There was a time when Margo thought she knew. But that was before a soul-destroying eighteen months of house-hunting hell. 
 
Now she’s not sure. Her life, her marriage, her family, her career are dangerously out of control and all she needs is a new home to get them all back on track. 
 
So when the ideal house comes up, desperate measures are called for. A little online stalking. Some sneaky surveillance of the property in question. Befriending the owner. All reasonable enough, right? 
 
But soon it’s clear that nothing is off limits, because when your best offer might not win, then you just need to do what it takes… 
 
Praise for Best Offer Wins: 
 
'A twisty domestic thriller that had me guessing until the final pages' Lottie Hazell, author of Piglet 
 
‘A cross between Gone Girl and Selling Sunset’ Elizabeth Day, Sunday Times bestselling author of Magpie 
 
‘Genius’ Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us 
 
‘Dark, hilarious, and totally gripping, with a jaw-dropping twist that closes the deal’ Ryan Serhant, CEO and star real estate broker, author of Sell It Like Serhant, producer and star of Netflix’s Owning Manhatta

Best Offer Wins

Diana Preston

On May 7th, 1915 a passenger ship crossing the Atlantic sank with the loss of 1200 lives. On board were some world-famous figures, including multimillionaire Alfred Vanderbilt. But this wasn't the Titanic and there was no iceberg. The liner was the Lusitania and it was torpedoed by a German U-boat. 
 
Wilful Murder is the hugely compelling story of the sinking of the Lusitania. The first book to look at the events in their full historical context, it is also the first to place the human dimension at its heart. Using first-hand accounts of the tragedy Diana Preston brings the characters to life, recreating the splendour of the liner as it set sail and the horror of its final moments. Using British, American and German research material she answers many of the unanswered and controversial questions surrounding the Lusitania: why didn't Cunard listen to warnings that the ship would be a target of the Germans? Was the Lusitania sacrificed to bring the Americans into the War? What was really in the Lusitania's hold? Was she armed? Had Cunard's offices been infiltrated by German agents? And did the Kaiser's decision to cease unrestricted U-boat warfare in response to international outrage expressed after the sinking effectively change the outcome of the First World War? 
 
Highly readable, meticulously researched, this special centenary edition casts dramatic new light on one of the world's most famous maritime disasters.

Wilful Murder: The Sinking Of The Lusitania

Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev is the man who changed everything. It was Gorbachev's initiative that raised the Iron Curtain; his actions that resulted in one of the era's most symbolic events, the demolition on the Berlin Wall; his reforms that set in train events leading to the fall of Communism. 
Twelve years ago, when Gorbachev came to power, the globe was still divided into two armed camps, one for each superpower - as it had been ever since 1945. The Cold War dominated international politics, from Angola to Afghanistan. The man who became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 was much younger than his predecessors, yet there was little else to distinguish him from the stony-faced apparatchiks waving from the Kremlin. He seemed a model Communist, ideologically committed to socialism, raised wholly within the confines of the Party. Yet Gorbachev realized that the system could not continue. What was it about this man which enabled him to see so much more clearly than his colleagues? 
Like most who start a revolution, Gorbachev has been left behind. No longer in power, he has been forced to endure criticism from those wise after the event - most notably Boris Yeltsin, who became undisputed leader after the failed military coup that finally displaced Gorbachev from office. In these memoirs Gorbachev reveals his feelings about the sad state of his country today. He tells us of his childhood in the North Caucasus during the Second World War, of coming to Moscow as a student and meeting Raisa Maksimovna, of his glittering career as a Party functionary, eventually becoming one of the most powerful men in the world. This is a historical document of the first importance. It is also a fascinating human story, an insider's account of the events that we never dared believe could happen.

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