Destitute after the death of her beloved Papa, Carmela is miserable working as Nanny to the brattish children of the local vicar. So when her closest friend Felicity asks her to take her place in the home of her guardian, the dictatorial Earl of Galeston, she nervously agrees. The subterfuge is necessary to ensure Felicity can marry the love of her life – and possible firstly because none of Felicity’s feuding family have set eyes on her since she was a child... And secondly because both young women are blue-eyed, blonde and beautiful. The Earl’s ancestral home is awe-inspiring – but it is the Earl himself who makes the greatest impression on Carmela. Growing to appreciate the profound kindness behind his steely fa?ade, she falls deeply, utterly in love... But can true love live when it’s based on a lieThe Earl finds the answer in his heart when Carmela’s life – and any hope of love – is at stake...

Tasked by the Prime Minister himself with bringing to justice the smuggling gangs that are rife around the Kent and Sussex coast, esteemed Napoleonic war hero Lord Cheriton is surprised to find a beautiful young girl called Wivina living in his dead and deeply hated father’s supposedly vacant mansion. She has no idea who he is – and when he hears his reputation as a cold-hearted Lord who would turn her out without a qualm, he tells her he is just a passing friend... Nevertheless Wivina seems terrified by his presence – but whyRealising the entire village is at the mercy of a cut-throat gang and Wivina’s prey to its murderous leader, Lord Cheriton endeavours to save the young beauty who’s stolen his heart while accomplishing his mission to stop the smugglers once and for all. For the first time, he is fighting not for his country but for the love of his life – and the life of his love.

In the loveless household of General Sir Frederick and Lady Emily Osmund and their empty-headed twin daughters, begrudgingly adopted niece Azalea is little more than a wallflower. And all because her kind, heroic and beloved father died in a manner they wrongly consider scandalous – and because her mother was Russian! ‘You must pay the price of your father’s sins and what happened in India you will take to your grave with sealed lips’, her uncle says, as if to seal her fate. When the General is posted to Hong Kong, Azalea is thrilled but there, as always, she is cast aside and abused. Only the handsome, dashing but imperious Lord Sheldon shows any interest in her – until to her aunt and uncle’s disgust she’s befriended by a kind Chinese family. But her joy at learning of their culture and customs is short-lived. Kidnapped by pirates, she faces death and worse. Is there any hope now that she’ll find true love and a life of her own ?

The death of her beloved father, has left artistic and idealistic Tempera and her stunning, scatterbrained stepmother Lady Rothley bereft not only of love but also of money. So when Lady Rothley?s womanly wiles attract an invitation from none other than the Duke of Chevingham to join him in the South of France, it?s a Godsend. At last the prospect of a handsome, aristocratic suitor for Tempera?s Belle-m?re who would keep them both in the style to which they would dearly love to be re-acquainted! To arrive without a lady?s maid is inconceivable to afford one impossible. So Tempera escorts her Belle-m?re in the guise of a servant and attempts to coach her in fine art, the Duke?s consuming passion. While her stepmother flirts with C?te D?Azur society Tempera contents herself with capturing the local flora?s beauty on canvas. And when the flair she inherited from her father captivates and mystifies the magnificent Duke, something stirs in Tempera that she has never felt before. Is it loveOr is it betrayal?

Anastasia is about to be married, which should be the most exciting day of any young girl?s life. Pretty, impulsive and wise beyond her years it seems that the young Princess will make an ideal bride for one lucky man. There is only one flaw in the wedding plans she is not in love with her bridegroom. Commanded to marry by Queen Victoria, Anastasia is horror struck at the thought of an arranged marriage. Having dreamt of true love since childhood, she despairs that a marriage based on political allegiance can ever be a happy one. Especially when her bridegroom, the handsome King of Maurona, is reputed to have a preference for anything French, including the seductive wife of Maurona's French ambassador. Determined to do her duty, Anastasia prepares to meet her future husband just days before their wedding. The roar of the assembled crowd tells her that she has won the love and approval of the people, but will she ever have the love of their KingAs passions and political intrigue simmer amidst the idyllic palaces and sun-kissed olive groves of Maurona, Anastasia decides that this is a challenge she must rise to. As well as ensuring British protection for the tiny Principality from the greedy hands of neighbouring France, she determines to make her marriage a success. But can an innocent English rose compete with the dark smoldering beauty of the sensual Comtesse le GranmontTwo women, one man and only one winner but as danger grows ever closer will the King realise who his real friends are, and which woman should be at his side, in time to save his country?

Have you ever been so desperate that you would do literally anything for moneyThis is the tragic situation Giselda finds herself in, with no money for an operation her younger brother desperately needs to save his life, and no one to turn to. Ground down by poverty she plucks up her courage to offer the only thing she has of value her purity. Choking back her pride and knowing that she is about to forfeit his respect, she approaches her wealthy employer, the handsome Earl of Lyndhurst, who is recovering from his injuries sustained in the Battle of Waterloo. Appalled that this frail and innocent young girl should be faced with such a terrible decision, he vows to find a way to help her without offending her dignity. He knows she would never accept his charity, and she refuses to confide in him the reasons for her family's poverty. Intrigued by the air of mystery about a girl of obvious quality reduced to the role of maidservant, the Earl decides to discover why a beautiful young woman of strong principles has been reduced to such extreme measures. Discovering her to have gentle hands and wonderful nursing skills he employs her as his private nurse and turns his sharp mind to uncovering her secrets and learns his own lessons in love in the process.

Bereaved of her beloved father at sixteen, and now her mother, Belinda Wyncombe?s only comfort is that she still has the family?s home. Until she finds her irresponsible stepfather, Captain D?Arcy Rowland, has squandered their money and fraudulently mortgaged the house. This means he faces jail while Belinda faces penury, unless she complies with her stepfather?s shameful scheme to gain and ruthlessly exploit the trust of the famed adventurer ?LuckyLogan, who has made a fortune with his legendary ability to find diamonds, gold and other precious metals wherever he travels. Every fibre of Belinda?s being recoils from such deceit more so when she finds that Marcus ?LuckyLogan is not the greedy fortune hunter of her imagining but a generous, handsome and heroic man. When murderous thugs come for Marcus in the dead of night, it is Belinda who raises the alarm and saves his life. And when he kisses her,Belinda is suddenly, utterly, in love but surely her love is doomed by her deceit?

Following the sudden death of his rakish father, Seldon Burn unexpectedly inherits the title of Duke of Otterburn. Returning to the family estate, he swiftly discovers that the title is the only thing he has inherited – along with a mountain of his father’s debts and nothing to pay them with. A brave and proud soldier, nothing has prepared the new Duke for the devastation to the family coffers caused by his late father’s love of lavish entertainment, Gaiety Girls and good living. Meeting with the family Solicitor, the Duke is horrified to discover the Ducal properties are crumbling, everything of value is entailed and even the racehorses have not been schooled properly. Desperately seeking to rebuild the family fortune and honourably fulfil his duty of care to the old and infirm of the village, his cousin Edith, a sophisticated Socialite, offers a solution. She suggests that he follows in the footsteps of many an impoverished English aristocrat and marries a wealthy American heiress – she even has a fitting bride in mind from her recent visit to New York. With no viable alternative and a pressing demand for money, a wedding is hastily arranged – but will the English traditions of generations of the Burn’s family be overshadowed by the razzle-dazzle of the Duke’s mother-in-law to be, Mrs. Vandevilt, the renowned New York hostessHorrified at being married for his title and not love, the Duke is so angry that he barely considers the feelings of his young and vulnerable bride. Meanwhile, the lovely Magnolia Vandevilt, one of the richest heiresses in America, is equally disgusted and contemptuous of a man who is marrying her only for her money. Joined together in holy matrimony, can this marriage of convenience ever be more than a disappointment and battleground as both parties dream of the love they might have had?

The Duke of Buckhurst, handsome, wealthy, a brilliant horseman and known to everyone as ‘Buck’ has sworn that he will never marry. Cutting a swathe through the sophisticated beauties of the Beau Monde, who are drawn to his sardonic charm like social butterflies to a bright light, he has only one requirement for his amours – that they are safely married to someone else. That is until he discovers that his heir apparent, his dissolute cousin Edmund, has married an actress. Horrified that a common showgirl will become the next Duchess and bring his family name into disrepute, the Duke is forced by his family into finding a bride. Bored by the very thought of being tied to a young, inexperienced young woman, he sets his loyal sisters the daunting task of choosing a suitable wife within the month, so that he can be married before the Royal races at Ascot. With time running out, Buck’s sisters are in despair – until they meet Lady Samala Wynn, the daughter of the honorable but impoverished Earl of Kenwyn. Lovely, innocent and angel-faced, she seems the ideal bride, but can they persuade her to marry their rakish brother, BuckFor Samala is a young woman with her own ideas about marriage – and they include love and romance. But can a marriage between two strangers, built on a foundation of the groom’s resentment and the bride’s family duty, ever bring happiness and loveAs the Duke, furious at the prospect of losing his freedom, dallies with the latest married woman to fall all too eagerly into his arms and Samala worries how her beloved father will cope living alone in his crumbling estate, it seems that this is a match that is doomed to bring nothing but sadness.

Lady Loretta's father, the well-respected Lord Lieutenant of the County, is doing his best to force her into marriage with the Marquis of Sauerdun, the son of a good friend. Whilst her father thinks he is making a good match for his beloved daughter, she is aghast at the thought of an arranged marriage and vows she will only marry for love. Searching her mind for a way to stay free to pursue the kind of love she has always dreamt of, she happens upon a good plan. What if she could prove to her straight-laced father that the man he means for her is not only an unsuitable husband, but a philandering rake tooWith the Marquis’s reputation for love affairs with beautiful, seductive and preferably married women well known in Society, surely this would not prove too difficultSeizing upon this last ditch attempt to stay unmarried, Lady Loretta devises a scheme to prove to her father that her intended is an unrepentant heartbreaker. Throwing herself upon the charity and good nature of her notorious cousin Ingrid, whose scandalous love affair has already rocked polite English Society, she heads for Paris alone. Delighted at how quickly she has escaped and enjoying the freedom of her adventure, Loretta determines to find out more about the Marquis and wastes no time in seeking him out. But Fate has its own plans for this spirited English beauty and before too long she is caught up in a web of deceit that threatens to change her life forever.

Although beautiful young Laetitia is a Princess, she and her family lead a life more befitting paupers. Despising them for the gypsy blood that runs in their veins, the Grand Duchess, their cruel Cousin Augustina, bullies and oppresses them just as she persecutes the Romany people and banishes them from Ovenstadt’s Capital. If only Laetitia could call upon some ancient gypsy spell to make things right. Worse still, Laetitia hears that the hateful woman has arranged for her daughter, Princess Stephanie, to marry King Viktor of Zvotana, despite her love for Laetitia’s handsome brother Kyril. Determined to save Stephanie from a loveless marriage, Laetitia enlists the help of a Romany Voivode and his powerful gypsy magic and then meets the King disguised as a gypsy princess – only to find herself enraptured by the Voivode’s spell and filled with a love too powerful to be denied –

Although Chandra’s father Professor Barnard Wardell is the world’s most distinguished Sanskrit scholar, his earnings are barely enough to support him, his daughter and their faithful servant Ellen. So when the dashing Lord Damon Frome invites him on a highly paid expedition to Nepal it is a Godsend. But, having spent much of his advance, the Professor is struck down by a heart attack. So, to the fury of the woman-hating Lord Frome, demure young Chandra arrives in Nepal in her father’s place. An arduous journey through Nepal’s mountains follows, during which Chandra is entrusted with a sacred treasure by a mysterious wise man. Soon the haughty Lord and the scholarly girl find another treasure that cannot be measured in money – the precious love that lies hidden in the Himalayan clouds.

When fog leaves the Duke of Marazion stranded at a bleak inn, he soothes his restless soul with a brandy, a book and a roaring fire. A glittering figure amongst London Society, the rich and handsome Duke has everything he could ever want – apart from true love. As he sits, determined to continue his journey as soon as possible, he cannot foresee the consequences of answering a late night knock at his door. Astonished to find a young woman alone and in distress, he naturally takes on the role of her rescuer. Calming her frightened tears, he discovers that lovely runaway, Ilitta, is not only a talented artist but also a perceptive girl whose judgment he can immediately trust. Offering his protection and an introduction into the coveted London art world in exchange for her instinctive response to his new business partners, they set off together. As refreshing as a spring morning in comparison to the worldly-wise beauties he usually spends time with, the Duke is amused and then enchanted by his unlikely new friend. Determined to discover the secrets behind Ilitta’s decision to run away, the Duke hopes that soon she will accept his sensible advice and return home. But just as the Duke discovers his true feelings, the seductive charm of a tempting Comtesse forces him to make a decision that will change his life forever.

Create, package, and customize stunning themes using PrimeFacesAbout This BookBuild PrimeFaces themes that meet the industry standardsCustomize your themes for mobile web applications with PrimeFaces MobileA precise, example-oriented guide to help you create interesting themes using the PrimeFaces tools Who This Book Is For If you are a Web Designer who wants to create and modify PrimeFaces themes then this book is for you. Basic knowledge of JSF, CSS, and HTML is assumed.What You Will LearnUse Maven to create JSF ProjectsCreate a custom theme using JQuery UI toolsPackage your theme for distribution and use your PrimeFaces-based web applications as drop in librariesDevelop additional dynamic look and feel elements that themes do not already supplyApply look and feel elements dynamically to views without causing page refreshesReduce code repetition by applying page templates to your JSF project In Detail Developing stunning themes for web applications has never been easier! PrimeFaces delivers a powerful set of features that enables JSF developers to create and customize awesome themes on the web. It is very easy to use because it comes as a single JAR file and requires no mandatory XML configuration. With more than 30 out-of-the-box themes, jQuery integration, a mobile UI toolkit, Ajax Push technology, and much more, PrimeFaces takes JSF application development to a whole new level! This book is a hands-on example-rich guide to creating and customizing PrimeFaces themes using available tools. Beginning with creating a JSF project and integrating the PrimeFaces library, this book will introduce you to the features of theme components, how these are structured, and how PrimeFaces uses JQuery UI to apply a theme to your application. You will learn to examine and change the CSS rules and get creative by setting standard icons and adding new icons to them. You will use a combination of JavaScript and CSS to enhance your application with help of scheduler component and go on to adapt and package your custom theme so that it is compatible with the Resource Manager. Finally, you will explore PrimeFaces mobile apps, ensuring themes are compatible with your mobile applications best practices for theme design.Style and approach This book is a concise, hands-on guide to developing PrimeFaces themes, working from the ground up with examples in each topic implemented in a web application. You will be encouraged to explore areas of your own interest without the requirement to stick to the letter of the chapter.

Create your own massively scalable Cassandra database with highly responsive database queries About This Book Create a Cassandra cluster and tweak its configuration to get the best performance based on your environment Analyze the key concepts and architecture of Cassandra, which are essential to create highly responsive Cassandra databases A fast-paced and step-by-step guide on handling huge amount of data and getting the best out of your database applications Who This Book Is For If you are a developer who is working with Cassandra and you want to deep dive into the core concepts and understand Cassandra’s non-relational nature, then this book is for you. A basic understanding of Cassandra is expected. What You Will Learn Install and set up your Cassandra Cluster using various installation types Use Cassandra Query Language (CQL) to design Cassandra database and tables with various configuration options Design your Cassandra database to be evenly loaded with the lowest read/write latencies Employ the available Cassandra tools to monitor and maintain a Cassandra cluster Debug CQL queries to discover why they are performing relatively slowly Choose the best-suited compaction strategy for your database based on your usage pattern Tune Cassandra based on your deployment operation system environment In Detail Apache Cassandra Essentials takes you step-by-step from from the basics of installation to advanced installation options and database design techniques. It gives you all the information you need to effectively design a well distributed and high performance database. You’ll get to know about the steps that are performed by a Cassandra node when you execute a read/write query, which is essential to properly maintain of a Cassandra cluster and to debug any issues. Next, you’ll discover how to integrate a Cassandra driver in your applications and perform read/write operations. Finally, you’ll learn about the various tools provided by Cassandra for serviceability aspects such as logging, metrics, backup, and recovery. Style and approach This step-by-step guide is packed with examples that explain the core concepts as well as advanced concepts, techniques, and usages of Apache Cassandra.

The handsome and aristocratic, thirty-five year old diplomat Lord Athelstan knows that he is heading for trouble on his mission to the Caucasus to investigate how long the legendary Shamyl, the Imam of Daghestan, can hold out against the invading Russians. But little does he expect to be faced with another kind of conflict – with a beautiful young hostage imprisoned in the Imam’s stronghold. The lovely Natasha is only nineteen and she was seized along with a Royal party by the Imam’s followers and held to ransom against the release of the Imam’s only son by the Russians. Orphaned, she has no hope of raising a ransom and instead has reluctantly agreed to be given to the Sultan of Turkey as a ‘wife’ for his vast harem in return for the release of her nine-year-old brother. The Imam implores Lord Athelstan to escort Natasha safely to Constantinople – a favour he cannot grant lest it anger the Russians and compromise Great Britain. But then he meets her – undoubtedly the most glorious woman he has ever seen, with fire in her eyes, when he informs her that he cannot agree to Shamyl’s request. Ultimately Natasha gives him no choice and, when she appears among his party in disguise, Lord Athelstan is furious. Soon their mutual hatred turns to all-consuming love – a love surely doomed by Natasha’s pledge to sacrifice herself to the Sultan’s harem for the sake of her brother –

With her flaming red hair and emerald green eyes, Xenia’s unusual beauty makes her stand out in any crowd – that is until she unexpectedly meets her long lost cousin, Johanna, amidst the wreckage of a railway accident. Incredulous at finding her mirror image and desperate for a friend, Xenia’s initial joy is soon replaced by misgivings when Johanna suggests an outrageous plan to swap lives for two weeks. However, these are soon swept aside by her forceful cousin and Xenia finds herself agreeing to help Johanna enjoy ten final days of freedom with the Englishman she loves before her arranged Royal marriage. As her cousin steals away from the site of the train crash, Xenia suddenly realises all that impersonating Johanna, even for a short while, will entail. Especially as her cousin was travelling to meet and marry her fiancé, King István of Luthenia, and the journey must continue so suspicions are not aroused. Surrounded by servants and diplomats, Xenia struggles to assume the Royal role that Johanna inhabits so easily and prays that her true identity will not be discovered. Arriving in Luthenia, Xenia is instantly plunged into a world of political intrigue and drama a million miles away from the quiet life she previously enjoyed in the English countryside. With a Constitutional crisis threatening and rumours of revolution, Luthenia desperately needs this arranged wedding to go ahead to cement allegiances and maintain the balance of power in Europe. As the Luthenian Court prepares for a grand State wedding and the nuptial date grows ever nearer, it seems that the beautiful cousins have only one desire in common – they both want to marry for love. But who shall be their bridegrooms?

Beautiful, young, impoverished Parson’s daughter, Hermia Brooke, is happy with her simple country life, despite being shunned by her wealthy uncle the Earl of Millbrooke and her cousin, the spoilt and selfish Marilyn. In a chance encounter with a raffishly handsome gentleman, whom she decides resembles the Devil himself, she nevertheless helps him with a stone stuck in his horse’s hoof. Rewarded with a golden guinea and a shocking kiss, Hermia finds her world turned topsy turvy when she meets the mysterious stranger once more at the behest of Marilyn, who is determined to trap this ‘Devil’ – namely the Marquis of Deverille – into marriage. Just as Hermia’s innocent heart warms to the gentler side of this hard-bitten aristocrat and he falls under her guileless spell, the Marquis is embroiled in a murderous plot and Hermia must fight for his life, even as all hope of the love she dreams about for herself seems lost.

John Clare (1793-1864) was born at a time of great social upheaval, just months after the beheading of Louis XVI and the outbreak of war with France which was to last till the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. He also lived through the upheavals of the land enclosure movement and agricultural revolution which changed the face of the countryside and the way of life in rural England. His father was a farm worker who managed to pay for his son’s schooling, though this was cut short as conditions worsened, but at least Clare had by then learnt to read and write so he could continue his own education, reading whatever books he could lay his hands on. At the age of sixteen he witnessed the social dislocation caused by the local enclosure Act and observed how the landscape was gradually transformed. Drawing on Clare’s writing, this extensively researched study gives the modern reader an appreciation of the divisive effects of these policies. Structured chronologically, this exploration of John Clare’s life highlights the socio-economic and environmental aspects of his observations and includes his reports on an insidious revolution taking place in the English countryside. Parliament, dominated by landowners, authorised the enclosure of large tracts of common land by private acts without considering the effect on those who had enjoyed rights of use and pasturage for centuries. Land enclosures, and the improved agricultural techniques which this permitted, was important in increasing food production at a time when the population of England was growing rapidly. While additional work was initially provided for agricultural labourers in the fencing and walling needed, this was temporary. The introduction of new, labour-saving machinery further reduced the opportunities for work. Insufficient attention, the author argues, has been given to the consequences. Those driven out of their homes in the country were left with no option but to migrate to the towns and sell their labour to whoever would pay for it. In effect, land enclosure created a market in land; landlessness created a market in labour. These are the foundations of our modern market economy. The author asserts that the harshness of the early years of the industrial revolution were the product of land enclosure which the welfare state has to some extent mitigated, although at the cost of creating a dependency culture in contrast to the sturdy independence of Clare’s parents’ generation of farm workers.

‘The Gustav Holst Way’ is the first guidebook to describe the 35-mile rambling route across the Cotswolds to celebrate the life and work of the composer Gustav Holst. Published exactly 100 years after Holst began work on The Planets, the route visits many of the places that were important to the young Holst as his musical career took wing. Among the highlights are the house in Cheltenham where he was born (now the Holst Birthplace Museum) and several venues in the Cotswolds where he played, conducted and taught music. The richly illustrated guidebook divides the walk into five easy/moderate sections (with four optional detours) and includes detailed maps, points of historical interest and all the practical information you need to follow in Gustav Holst’s footsteps from Cranham to Wyck Rissington. The Holst Birthplace Museum Gustav Holst, one of England’s greatest composers, was born in a Regency terraced house in Cheltenham in 1874. The house has been carefully restored and converted into a ‘living museum’ that captures the atmosphere of the era, both above and below stairs. The most eye-catching of the museum’s collection of 3,000 items is the piano on which Holst composed The Planets, as popular as ever nearly 100 years after it was published. Step inside the Museum and see the piano Holst used to compose The Planets. Find out how he developed into a world-class composer by examining and listening to original manu*s written when he was a schoolboy in Cheltenham. "

Even if there is a realm beyond mortality, would finding it improve our lives on earthWhat use is Spirit to a troubled worldDo prayer and meditation workAs a young man in search of love and a purpose to live for, the author could not fit within the world he found. Longing to be useful but unwilling to conform, he went out to South America. It wasn’t so easy. Alone on a mountainside one day, an inner voice said, ‘To make whole, be whole’. This was a turning point. He realised that, before being able to help others, he first had to work on himself. Once back in England, he found a method of meditation. Love of nature led him to become one of the first organic farmers but, when asked what he really wanted in life, he answered ‘God’. He’d been schooled in the Christian faith but was not at this time attracted to the Church. Meditation proved an ideal accompaniment as further adventures took him to Africa and, in particular, the desert. Later, at a low ebb in the USA, he ‘met Jesus’, which brought his practice of meditation and Christianity together. At the age of 51, he re-entered university to study Russian prior to visiting his mother’s homeland for the first time in 1991. This led to several years living in Russia, where he realised the similarity between his own practice and traditional Orthodox ‘prayer of the heart’. The book is based on notes of the author’s unfolding spiritual experience, which taught him that the wholeness he sought is actually – Spirit. How is it attainedWith many encouraging examples he shows how, with patient perseverance, the grip of the ego with all the restrictive unhappiness it brings, can be released. Being then more open to the influence of Grace, we may come to discover the Kingdom of God – our original, spiritual and perfect home. Dear John, ‘I hope you won’t mind my addressing you by your Christian name but having read your book twice as well as highlighting many paragraphs to study, I feel you are a dear friend. I am writing to say that your profound insights are enormously encouraging, an awakening, a wonderful inspiration for me, and I feel so fortunate to have found them. Your experiences in Spirit are conveyed so clearly and simply ‘ I find them truly uplifting. Every day I read some pages and always seem to find something new. I feel extremely grateful that you chose to write of your experience ‘ your legacy is to inspire countless other people, and to enrich their lives as you have mine.’ ML, 2011 Dear Mr Butler, ‘I am over half-way through your book ‘Wonders of Spiritual Unfoldment’ and feel I would like to express my gratitude to you for helping me gain clarity in the process of awakening. It is difficult to express in words the way your writings from personal experience have helped crystallise my sense of ‘Being’ in Reality. Your notes on waking from the dream or illusion we mistake for life and the sense of non-attachment to the world this engenders ‘ greatly assist me in releasing my conditioned perception. It is wonderful to find that someone living so near me, geographically, can write with such clarity and, knowing that you are here in the flesh confirming the truth of the possibility of waking up, has been a great affirmation to me and is supporting me in my own journey of awaking or coming home. Thank you so much.’ L, 2011 ‘This is a moving, honest ‘ and long ‘ spiritual autobiography, interestingly given in two voices: contemporary notebooks interlaced with present day ruminations. Butler met the meditation early and it colours his early days of self-sustaining farming after Cambridge, and his many adventures described in detail and with compassion in South America, Africa (sharing keenness of hunger and the haunting splendour of the night skies) and India, culminating in coming ‘home’ to his core way in the Russia of his mother and its Christian orthodoxy. It was love that led him through the labyrinth of his life ‘ a path we all recognise. As he says, ‘to surrender myself and let the spirit act.’ Throughout it is his honesty which makes the book valid for us. His spiritual insights have all been gained through the experience of this varied life which he seems to have accepted with the innocence and enthusiasm of a child. His way is our way. It is a book of vivid de*ion and some very helpful insights.’ Contact 55 – Summer 2011