This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, focuses on the characters individually, examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. Forwarded by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. On the face of it, the young newlyweds Sybil and Tom hope to live an unobtrusive, quiet existence in Dublin as ‘Mr and Mrs Branson’, happily waiting for the arrival of their baby. But as the gossip back at Downton Abbey shows, nothing of their way of life is normal. An earl’s daughter and a chauffeur-turned-Irish-revolutionary cannot expect an uneventful life together. ‘She doesn’t want Tom to alter,’ says Jessica Brown Findlay, who plays Sybil, ‘she loves him for his fire and passion, and his desire to change things.’ But when they come home she doesn’t want to cause unnecessary fuss – she adores her family and respects their desire to live as they wish. Unlike Tom, she sees no harm in it. Trying to keep harmony is almost more than she can bear. Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.

This richly illustrated short, extracted from the official book The Chronicles of Downton Abbey, focuses on the characters individually, examining their motivations, their actions and the inspirations behind them. Forwarded by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. It is a strange life for the likes of Carson and Mrs Hughes, sitting between the family and the servants and never completely belonging to either group. It’s easy to understand why the two of them seek refuge in each other, even in their own rather stilted fashion. ‘Carson comes from a family of soldiers and servants,’ says Julian Fellowes. ‘His grandfather was a head groom and so he’s middle-middle class – they certainly weren’t scrabbling in the gutter for food.’ Mrs Hughes gave up the idea of marriage and a family for her career as Downton’s housekeeper. This does not mean she was without ambition: a career in service was something to be proud of; the job was steady, she had respect from her colleagues and she could look forward to a reasonably comfortable retirement provided by the Downton Abbey estate, if she served the family for many years. Purchase this ebook short and the others in the series to get closer still to the characters at Downton Abbey and to understand more about their social context – from the changing role of the aristocracy to fashion and beauty, American Anglophiles, the Suffragette movement and life below stairs in a big country house like Downton. Search for The Chronicles of Downton Abbey to purchase all shorts combined.

This is Corran Purdon’s story, one of five true-life recollections from the Second World War in Tales From The Special Forces Club. The Special Forces Club is a fabled gentlemen’s club, based in the heart of London. It has a closely guarded secret: you have to be a genuine hero to be a member. Corran Purdon was a gung-ho officer in the Ulster Rifles who thirsted for action. He would volunteer for a new unit, requested by Churchill: the British Commandos. Corran was to fight in ‘The Greatest Raid of All’: the destruction of the port of St Nazaire in France. The volunteers knew it was fraught with risks. This is his story.

This is Rae’s story, one of four true stories from the book GI Brides. ‘Hey, baby, how about you and me get out of here?’ the GI asked Rae. But even if he had been Clark Gable, she wouldn’t have given him a second look. He was a Yank, and therefore not to be trusted. After being bombed out of her home in North London, tomboy Rae joins the ATS and is sent to work welding tanks near Nottingham. Despite her dislike of ‘Yanks’, a GI called Raymond wears down her resistance and she agrees to marry him. After the war, she reluctantly follows him to rural Pennsylvania, where she soon discovers his dark secret. Rae’s story is extracted from GI Brides, written by the bestselling authors of The Sugar Girls. It tells the true stories of four of the 70,000 British women who crossed the Atlantic for love after the Second World War.

The gripping new crime novel in the Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus series from New York Times bestselling author Faye Kellerman. Detective Peter Decker and his wife Rina Lazarus have moved from the chaos of L.A. to upstate New York, to a quiet town that is home to elite colleges and pensioners. Semi-retired and faced with mundane call-outs at the Greenbury Police Department, Decker is becoming bored of life. So when he is called about a potential break-in at the local cemetery, he jumps at the opportunity to investigate. The Bergman crypt contains four intricately designed stained glass windows, one for each season, two of which are confirmed as definitely fake. Along with young Harvard graduate, Tyler McAdams, Decker must solve the mystery of the forgeries. His search leads him to Manhattan, although perhaps he should look closer to home: when a co-ed is brutally murdered at a local colleges, Decker must put his search for the art thief on hold. But not for long…

The book that inspired the movie Field of Dreams. The voice of a baseball announcer tells the Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella: "If you build it, he will come." "He" is Shoeless Joe Jackson, Ray's hero. "It" is a baseball stadium which Ray carves out of his cornfield. Like the movie Field Of Dreams that was made from this novel, Shoeless Joe is about baseball. But it's also about love and the power of dreams to make people come alive. . .

Is it better for a martini to be shaken, not stirred? Does it matter which order you add the ingredients of a Long Island Iced Tea? How many ice cubes can you add to a margarita without compromising the flavour? The perfect home begins with a blueprint and a dream, and your perfect cocktail should start the same way! The Architecture of the Cocktail will reveal the answers to all your cocktail queries and more. Focusing on the precise measurements to make the perfect drink as well as the recommended garnish and embellishments, you’ll no longer have to guess what a cocktail should taste like. Laying out the exact measurements from the bottom of your glass to the top, you’ll discover the order in which you should layer your liquor, the precise measurements needed, and even recommended brands. Not sure which stemware is appropriate? Consult the mini guide on identifying the correct stemware in the back of the book. Featuring 75 different cocktails and recipes (including specifications, notes, and embellishments), this is the perfect gift for the cocktail lover in your life. Don’t waste another minute on watered-down cocktails – become a cocktail master with this beautifully illustrated guide.

The ideal companion to the hugely successful Gem Calorie Counter, this is a handy portable guide to carbohydates in everyday foods. Perfect for those following the Fast Diet (5:2 Diet), Dukan Diet, Atkins Diet or other weight-loss diets. Clearly laid out tables give details of net carbohydrates per portion (slice, biscuit, apple) making it quick and simple to use. Reducing carbohydrates and following a high protein diet has become a popular and effective way of losing weight and keeping those extra pounds off. The interest in the Dr Atkins New Diet Revolution is clear proof of this. The key to following a high-protein diet is to control your carbohydrate intake. Collins Gem Carb Counter is a guide to the net carb contents of everyday foods. It also gives calories, protein and fat. Information is given per portion to make it easy to use. High protein, carb-counting diets are often referred to as a man’s diet and this emphasis on portions rather than 100 g means that there is less working out involved. Boredom is often the downfall of the carb counter, so a section is included which gives suggestions for different meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

CONSTANT PRINCESS Splendid and sumptuous historical novel from this internationally bestselling author, telling of the early life of Katherine of Aragon. We think of her as the barren wife of a notorious king; but behind this legacy lies a fascinating story. Katherine of Aragon is born Catalina, the Spanish Infanta, to parents who are both rulers and warriors. Aged four, she is betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, and is raised to be Queen of England. She is never in doubt that it is her destiny to rule that far-off, wet, cold land. Her faith is tested when her prospective fahter-in-law greets her arrival in her new country with a great insult; Arthur seems little better than a boy; the food is strange and the customs coarse. Slowly she adapts to the first Tudor court, and life as Arthur's wife grows ever more bearable. But when the studious young man dies, she is left to make her own future: how can she now be queen, and found a dynasty? Only by marrying Arthur's young brother, the sunny but spoilt Henry. His father and grandmother are against it; her powerful parents prove little use. Yet Katherine is her mother's daughter and her fighting spirit is strong. She will do anything to achieve her aim; even if it means telling the greatest lie, and holding to it. Philippa Gregory proves yet again that behind the apparently familiar face of history lies an astonishing story: of women warriors influencing the future of Europe, of revered heroes making deep mistakes, and of an untold love story which changes the fate of a nation. THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL. Fabulous historical novel set in the court of King Henry VIII. Mary Boleyn attracts the attention of the young king and becomes his mistress; when he tires of her, she sets out to school her sister, Anne, as a replacement. Politics and passion are inextricably bound together in this compelling drama. The Boleyn family is keen to rise through the ranks of society, and what better way to attract the attention of the most powerful in the land than to place their most beautiful young woman at court? But Mary becomes the king's mistress at a time of change. He needs his personal pleasures, but he also needs an heir. The unthinkable happens and the course of English history is irrevocably changed. For the women at the heart of the storm, they have only one weapon; and when it's no longer enough to be the mistress, Mary must groom her younger sister in the ways of the king. What happens next is common knowledge - but here it is told in a way we've never heard it before, with all of Philippa Gregory's characteristic perceptiveness, backed by meticulous research and superb storytelling skills. BOLEYN INHERITANCE. From the bestselling author of `The Other Boleyn Girl' comes a wonderfully atmospheric evocation of the court of Henry VIII, and the one woman who destroyed two of his queens. The year is 1539 and the court of Henry VIII is increasingly fearful at the moods of the ageing sick king. With only a baby in the cradle for an heir, Henry has to take another wife and the dangerous prize of the crown of England is won by Anne of Cleves. She has her own good reasons for agreeing to marry a man old enough to be her father, in a country where to her both language and habits are foreign. Although fascinated by the glamour of her new surroundings, she senses a trap closing around her. Katherine is confident that she can follow in the steps of her cousin Anne Boleyn to dazzle her way to the throne but her kinswoman Jane Boleyn, haunted by the past, knows that Anne's path led to Tower Green and to an adulterer's death. The story of these three young women, trying to make their own way through the most volatile court in Europe at a time of religious upheaval and political uncertainty, is Philippa Gregory's most compelling novel yet.

A fly-on-the-wall account of the greatest drama in modern sporting history by the New York Times cycling correspondent. As Lance Armstrong’s precipitous fall from grace continues, New York Times sports reporter Juliet Macur takes the reader behind the scenes to bring to life the astonishing twists and turns of the scandal that has rocked the world of cycling. With unprecedented access to the key players in the drama – from Armstrong’s fellow cyclists and top cycling officials to doctors, trainers and wives – Cycle of Lies reveals how Armstrong built a fortress of people around him to protect his image and upend the lives of anybody who stood in his way. As America’s fallen idol faces potential perjury charges, Cycle of Lies widens the focus to expose corruption at all levels of the sport in a thrilling, page-turning work of contemporary narrative history.

A NATION WILL FIGHT FOR ITS FREEDOM. The first two books in Robert Low’s trilogy on the making of Scotland. THE LION WAKES It is 1296 and Scotland is in turmoil. The old king, Alexander III, has died and Edward I of England, desperate to keep control of his northern borders, arranges for John Baliol, a weak man who Edward knows he can manipulate, to take leadership of Scotland. But unrest is rife and many are determined to throw off the shackles of England. Among those men is Robert the Bruce, young, angry and obsessed by his desire to win Scotland's throne. He will fight for the freedom of the Scots until the end. THE LION AT BAY A nation’s independence hangs in the balance. After fleeing to France following his defeat at the Battle of Falkirk, William Wallace has returned to Scottish soil to face his fate. But Robert the Bruce now stands between him and the crown. Warring factions, political intrigue and vicious battles threaten at every turn. Both men face uncertain futures, their efforts thwarted by shattered loyalties, superstition and rumour. In these troubled times, it is murder, treachery and the bitter rivalry amongst Scots nobility that will shape the long and bloody rise of Robert the Bruce to his coronation.

A major in-depth biography of Sven-Goran Eriksson - the first foreign manager of the England football team - which chronicles his time in the hot seat, from taking over from Kevin Keegan, the story of the 2002 World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea, through to the 2004 European Championships. Reserved - some would say introvert - by nature, he has so far dismissed as intrusive almost all questions about anything other than the England team. There is a fascinating story to be told about the moderate full-back who failed in his own country, retired from playing at 27, then went on to become one of the best coaches in the world. The son of a truck driver from a small provincial town in Sweden, Eriksson left school early and worked in a social security office. He went to college to study PE and played football as an amateur before being persuaded by an older teammate Tord Grip (now his assistant with England) that his career lay elsewhere in management. Modest success at Roma and Fiorentina was followed by a renewal of Sampdoria's fortunes. It wasn't long before Lazio came knocking - but not before an acrimonious fallout with Blackburn when his surprise about-turn left the Lancashire club without a new manager. He enjoyed phenomenal success in Rome, however, where he led Lazio to the scudetto, and this eventually paved the way to the England manager's job. Since then Eriksson has come under the microscope from the English press, as much for his private affairs as for his team's stuttering performances. Despite his achievements in leading England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2002, his methods, formations and team selections are the subject of fierce debate up and down the country. Joe Lovejoy's book captures the essence of the man and goes some way to explaining his influence behind England. This paperback edition explores his thoughts about his captain playing his football in Spain and documents England's rocky road to the 2004 European Championship finals.

A hilariously honest, and rather sweary, book about parenting from the author of The Bad Cook. From play dates to potty training, from weening to whining or whether to have two, or three, or more! Esther Walker focuses her unique humour on the art of parenting. Fans of Esther’s blog and journalism, or her bestselling Bad Cook book, will not be disappointed. This is every bit as funny, sweary and just plain honest as you would expect. Esther offers up her occasional successes and many failures as examples to parents everywhere: look, this is what happens, you’ll just have to deal with it! Harassed mums and dads will read this and smile, as well as sighing with ‘it isn’t just me’ relief.

An achingly funny story about how to be your own hero when life pulls the rug out from under your feet. From the author of the bestselling YOU HAD ME AT HELLO Delia Moss isn’t quite sure where she went wrong. When she proposed and discovered her boyfriend was sleeping with someone else – she thought it was her fault. When she realised life would never be the same again – she thought it was her fault. And when he wanted her back like nothing had changed – Delia started to wonder if perhaps she was not to blame… From Newcastle to London and back again, with dodgy jobs, eccentric bosses and annoyingly handsome journalists thrown in, Delia must find out where her old self went – and if she can ever get her back.

A killer at large in a remote Basque Country valley , a detective to rival Clarice Starling, myth versus reality, masterful storytelling – the Spanish bestseller that has taken Europe by storm. The naked body of a teenage girl is found on the banks of the River Baztán. Less than 24 hours after this discovery, a link is made to the murder of another girl the month before. Is this the work of a ritualistic killer or of the Invisible Guardian, the Basajaun, a creature of Basque mythology? 30-year-old Inspector Amaia Salazar heads an investigation which will take her back to Elizondo, the village in the heart of Basque country where she was born, and to which she had hoped never to return. A place of mists, rain and forests. A place of unresolved conflicts, of a dark secret that scarred her childhood and which will come back to torment her. Torn between the rational, procedural part of her job and local myths and superstitions, Amaia Salazar has to fight off the demons of her past in order to confront the reality of a serial killer at loose in a region steeped in the history of the Spanish Inquisition.

From a cutting-edge cultural commentator, a bold and brilliant challenge to cherished notions of the internet as the great leveler of our age. The internet has been hailed as an unprecedented democratising force, a place where everyone can participate. ? So why are minorities and marginalized groups under-represented on user-generated websites, with less than 15% of Wikipedia written by women? ? Why does keyword-jammed and star-studded churnalism proliferate, at the expense of in-depth, investigative journalism? ? And how have a handful of giant corporations like Facebook, Google and Apple seized control of our creativity, galvanizing individuals to produce content for free? ‘The People’s Platform’ argues that for all our ‘sharing’, the internet reflects real-world inequalities as much as it reduces them, as attention and income frequently accrue to those who already have plenty of both. The online world does offer a unique opportunity for greater freedom, but a community that supports the diverse and lasting will not spring up from technology alone. If we want the internet to be a people’s platform, we will have to make it so.

From the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Doris Lessing, a short story about a young boy’s coming of age. While on holiday with his mother, a young boy sees a group of older children jumping from a rock into deep sea. He feels compelled to challenge himself to match them, and in doing so will take his first steps away from childhood. An amazingly vivid short story, Through the Tunnel explores the difficulties of childhood and ageing, resonating with many of Doris Lessing’s acclaimed novels. This story also appears in the collection To Room Nineteen.

From the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Doris Lessing, a short story about a young woman’s attempts to juggle her political beliefs with everyday life. On the day that the newspapers report that Stalin is dying, a young woman, with communist sympathies, attempts to look after her aunt and cousin on a disastrous trip to a photographer. Lightly satirical about the absurd ways people can behave, no matter what their political views, ‘The Day Stalin Died’ shows Doris Lessing at her most wry. This story also appears in the collection To Room Nineteen.

The exhilarating conclusion to the critically acclaimed THE LUCK UGLIES series. “The Luck Uglies has it all: a feisty heroine, monstrous creatures, and a brimful of humor, and horror, to keep the readers turning the pages.” Joseph Delaney, Author of the Spook’s Apprentice series Rye feared her father, Harmless, might be lost forever after he was driven into the forest Beyond the Shale by his deadly enemy Slinister Varlet. Now Slinister is making moves to claim leadership over the Luck Uglies. Can Rye find her father, save her village and put an end to the fighting for good? Thrilling adventure, impossible choices and an epic battle with very highest stakes.

Brought together for the very first time, all 13 novels about Paddington, the beloved, classic bear from Darkest Peru! Paddington Bear had travelled all the way from Darkest Peru when the Brown family first met him on Paddington Station. Since then their lives have never been quite the same… for ordinary things become quite extraordinary when a bear called Paddington is around. From arriving at Paddington station and meeting the Brown family, to being mistaken for a famous athlete, with plenty of laugh-out-lad mishaps along the way, there is certainly never a dull moment in this fabulous story collection! Paddington Bear has been delighting adults and children alike with his earnest good intentions and humorous misadventures for over fifty years.

A single-volume edition of two hugely charming and funny memoirs of family life – ‘Notes to my Mother-in-Law’ and ‘How Many Camels Are There in Holland?’ – by the inimitable Phyllida Law. Phyllida Law’s treasured mother-in-law Annie was the lynchpin of the entire family, so when they realised she was growing ever more deaf the only solution was for Phyllida to note down all the day’s gossip for Annie to read. When her own mother Mego – always deliciously dotty – was diagnosed with dementia late in her life, Phyllida devoted herself to Mego’s care, on hand to keep the cottage tidy and prepare a medicinal G&T. And all the while Phyllida had to manage her busy acting career and bring up her own daughters, the actresses Emma and Sophie Thompson. Complete with wonderful new material from Phyllida, Emma and Sophie, this single-volume edition of Phyllida Laws’s two enchanting memoirs of family life – ‘Notes to my Mother-in-Law’ and ‘How Many Camels Are There in Holland?’ – is a tender and sweetly comic story of mothers, daughters, a malfunctioning hearing aid and a most peculiar question about camels …