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One of the great 20th century political diaries

‘A tremendous read’ SPECTATOR

‘One stops to marvel at the achievement. Honesty, decency, modesty, magnanimity, are stamped on every page, as evident as the wit’ EVENING STANDARD

Harold Nicolson was one of the three great political diarists of the 20th century (along with Chips Channon and Alan Clark). Nicolson was an MP (Conservative, 1935-45, who also flirted with Labour after WWII). He had previously been in the Foreign Office and attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, and material from his period is included in this new edition for the first time.

Nicolson never achieved high office, but rarely a day went by when he didn’t record what was going on at Westminster. He socialised widely, was married to the poet and author Vita Sackville-West, and together they created the famous garden at Sissinghurst. Both were bi-sexuals and had affairs outside their marriage. This new edition also draws on diary entries and letters previously considered too sensitive for inclusion.

The diversity of Harold Nicolson’s interests and the irony in his writing make his diary a highly entertaining record of his life and times, as well as a document of great historical value.

Sven Hassel’s ultimate tank warfare novel.

‘This is a book of horrors, and should be left alone by those prone to nightmares. Sven Hassel’s descriptions of the atrocities committed by both sides are the most horrible indictments of war I have ever read … A great war novel!’ Alan Silitoe

Stationed on the Russian Front and now equipped with armoured vehicles, Sven Hassel and his comrades from the 27th Penal Regiment fight on remorselessly…

All of them should be dead: life expectancy on the Russian Front is measured in weeks. But Sven, Porta, Tiny and The Legionnaire fight to the end, not for Germany, not for Hitler, but for survival.

WHEELS OF TERROR is a sobering depiction of war’s brutalities, and the violence and inhumanity that the history books leave out.

Sven Hassel’s iconic novel about the Battle for Monte Cassino.

The thunder of the guns could be heard in Rome, 170 miles away…

Having survived the horrors of the Eastern Front, the 27th Penal Regiment are posted to Italy. Hitler has ordered that every position must be held to the last, and every lost position recaptured by counter-attack.

Monte Cassino – a major look-out post on the German defensive line – is under attack. In the face of overwhelming Allied firepower, Sven Hassel and his comrades are ordered to hold the fortress at all costs…

MONTE CASSINO is a classic Sven Hassel novel, a no-holds-barred account of frontline combat.

Sven Hassel based his unflinching narrative on his experiences in the German army. He ended the Second World War in a prisoner of war camp, where he wrote his first novel LEGION OF THE DAMNED.

SS GENERAL is the definitive Stalingrad novel, a gripping portrait of war’s brutal realities.

It was said that Stalingrad had been burning since August, ever since the first German bombs were dropped…

Sven Hassel and his comrades are plunged into the maelstrom of Stalingrad.

Radio Moscow reports that one German soldier dies every minute.

Trapped by the Russian counter-attack, starving soldiers must resort to cannibalism to survive. But ‘Tiny’, Porta, the Legionnaire and Sven attempt to break out, to fight their way across the frozen steppe.

Their leader: an SS general who takes no prisoners…

The true story of the Mau Mau rebellion of 1952-60 in Kenya, told for the first time

This book tells for the first time the story of the dirty war the British fought in Kenya, in the run-up to the country’s independence in 1964. In 1952, after years of tension and bitterness, the grievances of the Gikuyu people of central Kenya exploded into open rebellion. Only 32 European settlers died in the subsequent fighting, but more than 1,800 African civilians, over 3,000 African police and soldiers, and 12,000 Mau Mau rebels were killed.

Between 1953 and 1956 Britain sent over a thousand Kenyans to the gallows, often on trumped up or non-existent charges. Meanwhile 70,000 people were imprisoned in camps without trial for between two and six years. David Anderson provides a full and convincing account of a war in which all sides behaved badly, and therefore few of the combatants can be either fully excused, or blamed. These events are still within living memory, and eye-witness testimonies provide the backbone of this controversial story.

The true story of the Mau Mau rebellion of 1952-60 in Kenya, told for the first time

This book tells for the first time the story of the dirty war the British fought in Kenya, in the run-up to the country’s independence in 1964. In 1952, after years of tension and bitterness, the grievances of the Gikuyu people of central Kenya exploded into open rebellion. Only 32 European settlers died in the subsequent fighting, but more than 1,800 African civilians, over 3,000 African police and soldiers, and 12,000 Mau Mau rebels were killed.

Between 1953 and 1956 Britain sent over a thousand Kenyans to the gallows, often on trumped up or non-existent charges. Meanwhile 70,000 people were imprisoned in camps without trial for between two and six years. David Anderson provides a full and convincing account of a war in which all sides behaved badly, and therefore few of the combatants can be either fully excused, or blamed. These events are still within living memory, and eye-witness testimonies provide the backbone of this controversial story.

Erast Fandorin returns to Moscow, and he just can’t seem to keep out of trouble… The fourth novel in the bestselling crime series from the author of THE WINTER QUEEN.

Erast Fandorin returns to Moscow after an absence of six years, only to find himself instantly embroiled in court politics and scandal. His old friend General Sobolev – the famous ‘Russian Achilles’ – has been found dead in a hotel room, and Fandorin suspects foul play.

Using his now-famous powers of detection – powers that belie his twenty-six years – Fandorin embarks on an investigation, during which the political and the personal may become dangerously blurred. With the assistance of some formidable martial arts skills, acquired whilst Fandorin was in Japan, our eccentric and ingenious hero must endeavour to discover not so much whodunit, as why…

The third Erast Fandorin mystery from Boris Akunin, shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger.

‘Akunin is an outstanding novelist…Fandorin is a beautifully drawn character who more than lives up to comparisons with Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes…The characters are delightful and you can imagine them in a Woody Allen version of an Agatha Christie novel…Akunin’s work is gloriously tongue-in-cheek but seriously edge-of-your-seat at the same time’ Daily Express

On 15th March 1878 Lord Littleby, an English eccentric and collector, is found murdered in his Paris house together with nine members of his staff. A gold whale in the victim’s hand leads Erast Fandorin to board the Leviathan, the world’s largest steamship, as the murderer is one of the 142 first class passengers.

Commissioner Gauche of the French police has narrowed down the suspects to ten, and they are forced to eat together at every meal time in the ship’s Windsor Suite until ‘the Crime of the Century’ is solved. But is the murderer really at the table, and can Erast Fandorin discover his or her identity before Gauche? As more passengers are murdered and the Leviathan heads towards Calcutta, Fandorin needs all his investigative skills to find the truth.

Erast Fandorin returns in another thrilling Russian crime caper, from the bestselling author of THE WINTER QUEEN.

The Russo-Turkish war is at a critical juncture, and Erast Fandorin, broken-hearted and disillusioned, has gone to the front in an attempt to forget his sorrows. But Fandorin’s efforts to steer clear of trouble are thwarted when he comes to the aid of Varvara Suvorova – a ‘progressive’ Russian woman trying to make her way to the Russian headquarters to join her fiancé.

Within days, Varvara’s fiancé has been accused of treason, a Turkish victory looms on the horizon, and there are rumours of a Turkish spy hiding within their own camp. Our reluctant gentleman sleuth will need to resurrect all of his dormant powers of detection if he is to unmask the traitor, help the Russians to victory and smooth the path of young love.

A thoroughly gripping novel about small town intrigue and corruption from the Booker-shortlisted author of THE KEEPERS OF TRUTH and THE RESURRECTIONISTS.

‘The thinking man’s John Grisham’ New Statesman

The body of a small girl, dressed as an angel, is discovered late one night in a pile of autumn leaves at the side of the road. At first it looks like a hit and run – after all, it’s Halloween night and the streets have been full of children trick or treating. But how did a 3-year-old come to be alone on the dark streets at such a late hour?

Lawrence, the policeman sent to investigate, finds himself under increasing pressure when it becomes clear that the chief suspect is the town’s star quarterback. In the ensuing cover-up, Lawrence finds himself a pawn in the power games between the local mayor, the suspect’s family, and an investigator with some personal scores to settle.

Sven Hassel’s iconic war novel about the Russian Front.

‘An extraordinary book, which has captured the attention of all of Europe’ – NEW YORK TIMES

‘LEGION OF THE DAMNED is an incredible picture of totalitarianism, of stupefying injustice … He is graphic, at times brilliantly so, but never brutal or bitter. He is, too, a first-rate storyteller’ – WASHINGTON POST

Convicted of deserting the German army, Sven Hassel is sent to a penal regiment on the Russian Front. He and his comrades are regarded as expendable, cannon fodder in the battle against the implacable Red Army. Outnumbered and outgunned, they fight their way across the frozen steppe…

This iconic anti-war novel is a testament to the atrocities suffered by the lone soldier in the fight for survival.

Sven Hassel’s unflinching narrative is based on his own experiences in the German Army. He began writing his first novel, LEGION OF THE DAMNED in a prisoner of war camp at the end of the Second World War.

THE MODERN CLASSIC: OVER 20 MILLION COPIES SOLD

A Sunday Times bestseller and a Richard & Judy book club pick

‘The real deal: one gorgeous read’ Stephen King

‘This book will change your life. An instant classic’ Daily Telegraph

‘A book lover’s dream’ The Times

Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the ‘Cemetery of Lost Books’, a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles that have long gone out of print. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son Daniel one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book from the shelves and pulls out ‘The Shadow of the Wind’ by Julian Carax.

But as he grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find.

Then, one night, as he is wandering the old streets once more, Daniel is approached by a figure who reminds him of a character from the book, a character who turns out to be the devil. This man is tracking down every last copy of Carax’s work in order to burn them.

What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind…

‘Marvellous’ Sunday Times

‘A hymn of praise to all the joys of reading’ Independent

‘Gripping and instantly atmospheric’ Mail on Sunday

‘Irresistibly readable’ Guardian

‘Diabolically good’ Elle

From the author of SOPHIE’S WORLD, a modern fairy tale with a philosophical twist.

‘It should be read by all’ VOGUE

‘My father died eleven years ago. I was only four then. I never thought I’d hear from him again, but now we’re writing a book together’

To Georg Røed, his father is no more than a shadow, a distant memory. But then one day his grandmother discovers some pages stuffed into the lining of an old red pushchair. The pages are a letter to Georg, written just before his father died, and a story, ‘The Orange Girl’.

But ‘The Orange Girl’ is no ordinary story – it is a riddle from the past and centres around an incident in his father’s youth. One day he boarded a tram and was captivated by a beautiful girl standing in the aisle, clutching a huge paper bag of luscious-looking oranges. Suddenly the tram gave a jolt and he stumbled forward, sending the oranges flying in all directions. The girl simply hopped off the tram leaving Georg’s father with arms full of oranges. Now, from beyond the grave, he is asking his son to help him finally solve the puzzle of her identity.

The unsettling dreams begin for small-town reporter Will Barbee not long after he first meets the mysterious and beautiful April Bell. They are vivid, powerful and deeply disturbing nightmares in which he commits atrocious acts. And one by one, his friends are meeting violent deaths.

It is clear to Barbee that he is embroiled in something far beyond human understanding, something unspeakably evil. And it intimately involves the seductive, dangerously intoxicating April, and the question, ‘Who is the Child of the Night?’ When he discovers the answer to that, his world will change utterly.

The key battle of the First World War from the German point of view

The Battle of the Somme has an enduring legacy, the image established by Alan Clark of ‘lions led by donkeys’: brave British soldiers sent to their deaths by incompetent generals. However, from the German point of view the battle was a disaster. Their own casualties were horrendous. The Germans did not hold the (modern) view that the British Army was useless. As Christopher Duffy reveals, they had great respect for the British forces and German reports shed a fascinating light on the volunteer army recruited by General Kitchener.

The German view of the British Army has never been made public until now. Their typically diligent reports have lain undisturbed in obscure archives until unearthed by Christopher Duffy. The picture that emerges is a far cry from ‘Blackadder’: the Germans developed an increasing respect for the professionalism of the British Army. And the fact that every British soldier taken prisoner still believed Britain would win the war gave German intelligence teams their first indication that their Empire would go down to defeat.

Following the huge success of THE MEANING OF THINGS and THE REASON OF THINGS, a third collection of bestselling essays from Britain’s top philosopher.

‘Human genius has done much, and promises much, in the way of removing the mystery from many things in our world; at the same time it recognises and honours the mystery in things too.’

In this collection A.C. Grayling extends the range of his previous two books to show how much understanding people can gain about themselves and their world by reflecting on the lessons offered by science, the arts (including literature) and history.

Covering subjects as diverse as Jane Austen’s EMMA, the Rosetta Stone, Shakespeare, the Holocaust, quantum physics, Galileo, and even alien abductions, A..C. Grayling’s latest collection is a rich source for reflection and contemplation over the mysteries of life.

Following the huge success of THE MEANING OF THINGS and THE REASON OF THINGS, a third collection of bestselling essays from Britain’s top philosopher.

‘Human genius has done much, and promises much, in the way of removing the mystery from many things in our world; at the same time it recognises and honours the mystery in things too.’

In this collection A.C. Grayling extends the range of his previous two books to show how much understanding people can gain about themselves and their world by reflecting on the lessons offered by science, the arts (including literature) and history.

Covering subjects as diverse as Jane Austen’s EMMA, the Rosetta Stone, Shakespeare, the Holocaust, quantum physics, Galileo, and even alien abductions, A..C. Grayling’s latest collection is a rich source for reflection and contemplation over the mysteries of life.

The bestselling detective novel from the author of THE READER. Available in paperback for the first time in the UK.

Sixty-eight years old; a smoker of Sweet Aftons, a dedicated drinker of Aviateur cocktails, and the owner of a charismatic cat named Turbo, Gerhard Self is an unconventional private detective.

When Self is summoned by his long-time friend and rival Korten to investigate several incidents of computer-hacking at a chemicals company, he finds himself dealing with an unfamiliar kind of crime that throws up many challenges. But in his search for the hacker, Self stumbles upon something far more sinister. His investigation eventually unearths dark secrets that have been hidden for decades, and forces Self to confront his own demons.

Ground-breaking history of how King Henry VIII created England’s navy

It was Henry VIII who began the process of making England a first-rate sea-power. He inherited no more than seven warships from Henry VII, yet at his own death the King’s Navy had 53 seaworthy ships afloat (much the same size as the Royal Navy today) manned by almost 8,000 sailors.

Henry VIII originally needed a navy to hold the English Channel and blockade the enemy while he invaded France. Later when invasion from the continent grew serious Henry’s navy fought in many actions.

Moorhouse doesn’t only deal with seagoing exploits. Thanks to Henry VIII dockyards were built (Greenwich and Deptford), timber had to be felled in quantities previously unknown (from land seized during the dissolution of the monasteries), and hemp (for rope) was harvested; new skills were developed, not least the gun-founders and the master shipwrights.

Some of the ships were celebrated – ‘Henry Grace a Dieu’ (aka ‘Great Harry’) was the biggest ship in the world – 1,000 tons, 122 guns, crew of 700 and the ‘Mary Rose’ (500 tons, 80 guns, 40 crew) became one of the most famous after she heeled over too far, took water and sank with the loss of almost all hands off Portsmouth.

From the IgNobel-winning author of How to Dunk a Doughnut, another slice of the weird and wonderful side of science

Good science and common sense often don’t mix. In Weighing the Soul, Len Fisher shows the path to scientific discovery is frequently a bumpy one that follows Schopenhauer’s famous maxim – ‘All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed; Second, it is violently opposed; and Third, it is accepted as self-evident.’

Fisher tells the fascinating, human stories behind some of the great as well as some of the not-so-great scientific ideas of the past – those that were truly bizarre, peculiar or downright daft, and those that just seemed that way at the time. As he shows, it is often only with hindsight that the two can be told apart, and it is some of those who appeared most wrong – and who were variously ignored, persecuted and imprisoned as a result – that ultimately went on to be proved most right.

From the author of the critically acclaimed THE VICEROY’S DAUGHTERS, the story of a glittering aristocrat who was also at the heart of political society in the interwar years.

At the age of twenty-one, Edith Chaplin married one of the most eligible bachelors of the day, the eldest son of the sixth Marquess of Londonderry. Her husband served in the Ulster cabinet and was Air Minister in the National Government of 1934-5. Edith founded the Women’s Legion during the First World War and was also an early campaigner for women’s suffrage. She created the renowned Mount Stewart Gardens in County Down that are now owned by the National Trust.

All her life, Edith remained at the heart of politics both in Westminster and Ireland. She is perhaps best known for her role as ‘society’s queen’ – a hostess to the rich and famous. Her close circle of friends included Winston Churchill, Lady Astor, Neville Chamberlain and Harold Macmillan who congregated in her salon, known as ‘The Ark’. Other members included artists and writers such as John Buchan, Sean O’Casey. Britain’s first Labour prime minister, Ramsey MacDonald, became romantically obsessed by her.

How the first ever SAS operation ended in disaster in the desert

In summer 1941 Erwin Rommel was Hitler’s favourite general: he had driven the British out of Libya and stood poised to invade Egypt. He seemed unbeatable. So the British decided to have him killed.
The British opened their counter-attack with a series of special forces raids, the first ever operation by the newly formed SAS. Rommel was one of the targets.

Michael Asher reveals how poor planning and incompetence in high places led to disaster in the desert– and how fantastic bravery and brilliant improvisation enabled a handful of men to escape. Classic real life adventure, written by best-selling desert expert and novelist Michael Asher.

Manhattan 2012: Nat Hamlin’s brilliant career as an artist came to an end the day he went insane and embarked on a murderous rampage … his sentence: Total Personality Replacement.

Lissa loved Nat for his passion, now she loves him again – but as Paul Macy – for his warmth and kindness. Now each personality wants her help in battling the other, for with her Power, the man she chooses can kill the other. Lissa is terrified. She has to send one of her loves to his destruction. If she chooses the wrong man, the horror will never end.

Mistresses and wives, mothers and daughters – Antonia Fraser brilliantly explores the relationships which existed between The Sun King and the women in his life. This includes not only Louis XIV’s mistresses, principally Louise de La Vallière, Athénaïs de Montespan, and the puritanical Madame de Maintenon, but also the wider story of his relationships with women in general, including his mother Anne of Austria, his two sisters-in-law who were Duchesses d’Orléans in succession, Henriette-Anne and Liselotte, his wayward illegitimate daughters, and lastly Adelaide, the beloved child-wife of his grandson.