‘I want you to marry me.’ Miss Georgiana Wickford has a plan to avoid the marriage mart―she’ll propose a marriage of convenience! She hasn’t spoken to the Earl of Ashenden since their childhood friendship was torn apart, but now Edmund is her only hope. Edmund refuses to take any bride, especially the unsuitable country miss who abandoned him years ago. But when he sees beautiful Georgie at the mercy of society’s rakes it arouses his protective instincts. And soon the Earl is tempted to claim the daring debutante for himself!

From the award-winning Michael Pearce comes an engrossing murder mystery set in the Cairo of the 1900s. After a series of attacks on public officials, the Mamur Zapt is called in to investigate. Cairo in the 1900s. While riding home, Fairclough of Customs is shot at from behind. It is the first of many similar attacks – all seemingly aimed at public officials. The Mamur Zapt, British head of Cairo’s secret police, is told to catch the killer – and quickly. His efforts to do so take him into Cairo’s student quarter and out to a remote rural estate. And require him to handle a fading Pasha and a dangerous gypsy girl – whose claims he has to balance against those of his fiery Egyptian mistress.

A classic crime novel by one of the most highly regarded exponents of the genre. The murder of old Mr Fransham while washing his hands in his niece’s cloakroom was one of the most astounding problems that ever confronted Scotland Yard. Not only was there a policeman in the house at the time, but there was an ugly wound in the victim’s forehead and nothing in the locked room that could have inflicted it. The combined efforts of Superintendent Hanslet and Inspector Waghorn brought no answer and the case was dropped. It was only after another equally baffling murder had been committed that Dr Lancelot Priestley’s orderly and imaginative deductions began to make the connections that would solve this extraordinary case.

Stéphane Garner was born in Lyon in 1974. www.stephanegarnier.com

Black Mad Wheel plunges us into the depths of psychological horror, where you can’t always believe everything you hear. THE DANES, the band once known as the ‘Darlings of Detroit’, are washed up and desperate to have another number one hit. When an agent from the US Army approaches them with an unusual offer, they believe it could be the answer to their inspiration drought. So, under the guidance of their front man, Philip Tonka, the Danes decide to embark on a harrowing journey through scorching African desert to track down the source of a strange and debilitating sound. In a Midwestern hospital, a nurse named Ellen tends to a patient recovering from a near-fatal accident. The circumstances that led to his injuries are mysterious, and his broken body heals at a remarkable rate. Ellen will do the impossible for this enigmatic patient as he reveals more about his accident with each passing day. BLACK MAD WHEEL plunges us into the depths of psychological horror, where you can’t always believe everything you hear.

An audacious, compassionate state-of-the-nation novel about four strangers whose lives collide with far-reaching consequences. Beatrice Kizza, a woman in flight from a homeland that condemned her for daring to love, flees to London. There, she shields her sorrow from the indifference of her adopted city, and navigates a night-time world of shift-work and bedsits. Howard Pink is a self-made millionaire who has risen from Petticoat Lane to the mansions of Kensington on a tide of determination and bluster. Yet self-doubt still snaps at his heels and his life is shadowed by the terrible loss that has shaken him to his foundations. Carol Hetherington, recently widowed, is living the quiet life in Wandsworth with her cat and The Jeremy Kyle Show for company. As she tries to come to terms with the absence her husband has left on the other side of the bed, she frets over her daughter's prospects and wonders if she'll ever be happy again. Esme Reade is a young journalist learning to muck-rake and doorstep in pursuit of the elusive scoop, even as she longs to find some greater meaning and leave her imprint on the world. Four strangers, each inhabitants of the same city, where the gulf between those who have too much and those who will never have enough is impossibly vast. But when the glass that separates Howard's and Beatrice's worlds is shattered by an inexcusable act, they discover that the capital has connected them in ways they could never have imagined.

Bruce Henderson is the author or coauthor of more than twenty nonfiction books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller And The Sea Will Tell, which was made into a highly-rated TV miniseries. General Colin Powell has called the Los Ba?os raid "a textbook operation for all ages and all armies." An award-winning journalist and author, Henderson is a member of the Authors Guild and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. He has taught reporting and writing courses at USC School of Journalism and Stanford University.

THE #2 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ‘The last untold account of the biggest crisis to hit the royals since the abdication … Explosive biography by Britain’s top royal author … A gripping story of human frailty, love, loss, sadness, and tragedy’ Daily Mail In her relationship with Charles that has survived for more than forty years, Camilla’s story has seen a great many myths. This book is the definitive account. The relationship between Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is one of the most remarkable love stories of the age. It has endured against all the odds, and in the process nearly destroyed the British monarchy. It is a rich and remarkable story that has never been properly told – indeed, it is one of the most extraordinary, star-crossed love stories of the past fifty years.

The brand new Wartime drama novel from bestselling author Annie Groves, perfect for fans of Christmas on the Mersey and Child of the Mersey Rita Kennedy has finally seen through her good-for-nothing husband, Charlie. Now he’s gone AWOL with his fancy woman and left her at the mercy of the local gossips. Her future is full of uncertainty and the only thing that keeps her going is knowing that her children are safe from the Luftwaffe – and the letters that she receives from Jack Callaghan, her childhood sweetheart – but a life together can is just a distant fantasy. Meanwhile, Kitty Callaghan has joined the WRENS and it’s opened up a whole new world. But despite finding romance with a handsome doctor, she still can’t forget Frank Feeny, the brave officer from Empire Street who still inhabits her dreams. As the bombs rain down on Liverpool, Rita and Kitty must face heartache and sorrow as they pray for the sun to shine on the Mersey once again.

Previously published as ‘For Better For Worse’ A dramatic read from Sunday Times bestseller, Pam Weaver, filled with bigamy, scandal and friendships which bring hope in the darkness. The perfect read for fans of Katie Flynn and Maureen Lee. July 1948. As Britain recovers from WWII, Annie Royal is looking to the future. Recently married to Henry, and with a baby on the way, she and her new husband are happily settled in the seaside town of Worthing. But a knock at the door brings Annie’s world crashing down. On her doorstep stands Sarah and her two young children. As they talk, Sarah reveals that she is Henry’s wife – and she has been searching for him since he walked out on their family a year ago. Struggling to believe what she’s hearing, Annie is forced to accept the truth when Henry is arrested for bigamy. Alone, with no one to support her, and with the baby due to arrive imminently, Annie must look to the most unlikely of places to find support in her darkest hour…

Another timeless masterpiece in the Voyager Classics series Mars – the barren, forbidding planet that epitomises mankind’s dreams of space conquest. From the first pioneers who looked back at Earth and saw a small blue star, to the first colonists – hand-picked scientists with the skills necessary to create life from cold desert – Red Mars is the story of a new genesis. It is also the story of how Man must struggle against his own self-destructive mechanisms to achieve his dreams: before he even sets foot on the red planet, factions are forming, tensions are rising and violence is brewing… for civilization can be very uncivilized.

The heart-stopping new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of 15 Seconds and Reckless. Perfect for fans of James Patterson. A chance encounter with a stranger in a New York hotel ends in a shooting. Wendy Gould was an average mother – now she’s the sole witness to the murder she’s being framed for. YOU CAN RUN What she saw makes Wendy the top target for a deadly network of powerful men. They want her silence. They will take no prisoners. How can she clear her name? YOU CAN HIDE Lauritzia Velez is a suburban nanny with a tragic past – and a terrifying future. After another attempt on her life, she once again leaves everything she loves behind to go on the run. THERE IS NO WAY BACK Both women know too much – except how to escape from this nightmare alive. To survive, they must find each other fast, or there will be no way back…

’A heart-breaking tale of love, grief and devotion’ THE SUN ‘Exceptionally beautiful, emotionally charged and inspirational’ MIRANDA DICKINSON, Sunday Times bestseller ‘A wonderfully told tale of devastation, grief and ultimately hope’ KATHRYN HUGHES, bestselling author of THE LETTER and THE SECRET Is holding on harder than letting go? Dan’s life has fallen apart at the seams. He’s lost his house, his job is on the line, and now he’s going to lose his family too. All he’s ever wanted is to keep them together, but is everything beyond repair? Maria is drowning in grief. She spends her days writing letters that will never be answered. Nights are spent trying to hold terrible memories at bay, to escape the pain that threatens to engulf her. Jack wakes up confused and alone. He doesn’t know who he is, how he got there, or why he finds himself on a deserted clifftop, but will piecing together the past leave him a broken man? In the face of real tragedy, can these three people find a way to reconcile their past with a new future? And is love enough to carry them through?

From the Collins Crime Club archive, the sixth Inspector French novel by Freeman Wills Crofts, once dubbed ‘The King of Detective Story Writers’. A MURDER MYSTERY WITHOUT A CLUE When Sir John Magill, the wealthy Irish industrialist, fails to show up at his home town on a well-publicised visit, neither his family nor the Belfast police can explain his disappearance. Foul play is suspected when his bloodstained hat is discovered, and Scotland Yard is called in. With his characteristic genius for reconstruction, Inspector French evolves a gruesome theory about what happened to the elderly man, but his reputation – and that of Scotland Yard – will depend on finding out who was responsible . . .

Imagine a world where the past, present and future have collided. A world that is timeless. This is the world Diego was born into… For fans of Rick Riordan and Brian Selznick, author-artist Armand Baltazar introduces the first book in a new fantasy adventure series. Over 150 full-colour illustrations bring this cinematic story to life! You’ve never seen Earth like this before: continents reshaped, oceans re-formed, cities rebuilt. Dinosaurs roam the plains alongside herds of buffalo, and giant robots navigate the same waters as steam-powered ships. In New Chicago, Diego’s middle school hallways buzz with kids from all eras of history and from cultures all over the world. The pieces do not always fit together neatly, but this is the world he loves. There are those, however, who do not share his affection. On his thirteenth birthday, Diego learns of a special gift he has, a secret that is part of something much bigger. When his father, New Chicago’s top engineer, is taken by the Aeternum, Diego must rescue him and prevent this evil group from disrupting the fragile peace humanity has forged.

Paul Sterry is author of Complete British Wildlife, which has sold over half a million copies, as well as numerous other titles in the successful Collins Complete Photoguide series, including Complete British Birds and Complete British Wild Flowers. He owns the photo library Nature Photographers.

Paula Byrne is the author the bestselling biographies ‘Perdita’, ‘Mad World’, ‘The Real Jane Austen’, ‘Belle’ and ‘Kick’. She is founder and chief executive of ReLit, the Bibliotherapy Foundation, a charity devoted to the mental health benefits of reading. She is married to Sir Jonathan Bate and lives in Oxford.

When Milly (aka actress Nicola Millbank of Mount Pleasant, Mr. Selfridge and Silent Witness) moved to London aged 18 to become an actress she had to learn to fend for herself and that included improving her cooking skills. With a love for home-cooked dishes, she wanted to make them her own but a bit fresher, lighter and more exciting. So followed a 10-year full-blown love affair with home cooking that became her food blog MILLY COOKBOOK.

Dan Hancox is a native Londoner who writes about music, politics, gentrification, social exclusion, protest and the margins of urban life, chiefly for the Guardian, but also the New York Times, Vice, The Fader, Dazed & Confused and XXL. He is the author of The Village Against the World (Verso).

Painstakingly restored from Tolkien’s manuscripts and presented for the first time as a continuous and standalone story, the epic tale of Beren and Lúthien will reunite fans of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings with Elves and Men, Dwarves and Orcs and the rich landscape and creatures unique to Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The tale of Beren and Lúthien was, or became, an essential element in the evolution of The Silmarillion, the myths and legends of the First Age of the World conceived by J.R.R. Tolkien. Returning from France and the battle of the Somme at the end of 1916, he wrote the tale in the following year. Essential to the story, and never changed, is the fate that shadowed the love of Beren and Lúthien: for Beren was a mortal man, but Lúthien was an immortal Elf. Her father, a great Elvish lord, in deep opposition to Beren, imposed on him an impossible task that he must perform before he might wed Lúthien. This is the kernel of the legend; and it leads to the supremely heroic attempt of Beren and Lúthien together to rob the greatest of all evil beings, Melkor, called Morgoth, the Black Enemy, of a Silmaril. In this book Christopher Tolkien has attempted to extract the story of Beren and Lúthien from the comprehensive work in which it was embedded; but that story was itself changing as it developed new associations within the larger history. To show something of the process whereby this legend of Middle-earth evolved over the years, he has told the story in his father's own words by giving, first, its original form, and then passages in prose and verse from later texts that illustrate the narrative as it changed. Presented together for the first time, they reveal aspects of the story, both in event and in narrative immediacy, that were afterwards lost.

“You have the luck of Croesus on stilts (as my Auntie Vi would have said) if you’ve had the sort of career, ups and downs, warts and all that I have in that wondrous little corner of show business called musical theatre.” One of the most successful and distinguished artists of our time, Andrew Lloyd Webber has reigned over the musical theatre world for nearly five decades. The winner of numerous awards, including multiple Tonys and an Oscar, Lloyd Webber has enchanted millions worldwide with his music and numerous hit shows, including Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, The Phantom of the Opera―Broadway’s longest running show―and most recently, School of Rock. In Unmasked, written in his own inimitable, quirky voice, the revered, award-winning composer takes stock of his achievements, the twists of fate and circumstance which brought him both success and disappointment, and the passions that inspire and sustain him. The son of a music professor and a piano teacher, Lloyd Webber reveals his artistic influences, from his idols Rodgers and Hammerstein and the perfection of South Pacific’s ‘Some Enchanted Evening,’ to the pop and rock music of the 1960s and Puccini’s Tosca, to P. G. Wodehouse and T. S. Eliot. Lloyd Webber recalls his bohemian London youth, reminiscing about the happiest place of his childhood, his homemade Harrington Pavilion―a make-believe world of musical theatre in which he created his earliest entertainments. A record of several exciting and turbulent decades of British and American musical theatre and the transformation of popular music itself, Unmasked is ultimately a chronicle of artistic creation. Lloyd Webber looks back at the development of some of his most famous works and illuminates his collaborations with luminaries such as Tim Rice, Robert Stigwood, Harold Prince, Cameron Mackintosh, and Trevor Nunn. Taking us behind the scenes of his productions, Lloyd Webber reveals fascinating details about each show, including the rich cast of characters involved with making them, and the creative and logistical challenges and artistic political battles that ensued. Lloyd Webber shares his recollections of the works that have become cultural touchstones for generations of fans: writings songs for a school production that would become his first hit, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat; finding the coterie of performers for his classic rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar; developing his first mega-hit, Evita, which would win seven Tonys Awards, including Best Musical; staking his reputation and fortune on the groundbreaking Cats; and making history with the dazzling The Phantom of the Opera. Reflecting a life that included many passions (from architecture to Turkish Swimming Cats), full of witty and revealing anecdotes, and featuring cameo appearances by numerous celebrities―Elaine Paige, Sarah Brightman, David Frost, Julie Covington, Judi Dench, Richard Branson, A.R. Rahman, Mandy Patinkin, Patti LuPone, Richard Rodgers, Norman Jewison, Milos Forman, Plácido Domingo, Barbra Streisand, Michael Crawford, Gillian Lynne, Betty Buckley, and more―Unmasked at last reveals the true face of the extraordinary man beneath the storied legend.