Are we really in control of our destinies?Tehran, 1969.An Assyrian fortune teller, who is well-known for her accurate predictions, informs a young woman, Mahin, that she would soon meet a young man with blond hair and blue eyes and travel the world.John, a British Engineer, is posted on a temporary assignment to Iran to estimate the costs of one of the Shah’s most prestigious construction projects. Following his arrival, he...

A vibrant history of the castle in Britain, from the early Middle Ages to the present dayThe castle has long had a pivotal place in British life, associated with lordship, landholding, and military might, and today it remains a powerful symbol of history. But castles have never been merely impressive fortresses—they were hubs of life, activity, and imagination.John Goodall weaves together the history of the British castle across the span of a millennium, fr...

An enthralling guide to the largely unrecognised treasures of England's remarkable Parish Churches, 'the supreme treasury of English vernacular art and memory'.Our parish churches constitute a living patrimony without precise European parallel. Their cultural riches are astonishing, not only for their quality and quantity, but also their diversity and interest. Fine art and architecture here combine unpredictably with the functional, the curious and the naïve, from...

The best stories are true storiesTehran, 1969. An Assyrian fortune teller, famed for her accurate predictions, informs a young woman, Mahin, that she will meet a young man with blond hair and blue eyes, and will travel the world.John, a British Engineer, who has been posted on a temporary assignment to Iran receives an invitation to the races. To his amazement, a breathtakingly beautiful young woman and her friends appear to be poi...

Which king's guards massacred a group of his supporters by mistake? Who had an oversized tongue and had to slobber when they ate food? Who was so large when they died that they had to be buried in a square coffin? Who survived seven assassination attempts? As you can tell from the bizarre questions above, it wasn't all thrones and sceptres for British kings and queens. Some of them were completely batty, and others were downright vicious. On the other hand, some monarchs were an icon to th...

The Yorkshire countryside's ancient earthwork castles, built in the time of the Norman Conquest, come to life in this beautiful guide—includes pictures!The Norman conquest of the British isle was a landmark event in England's history, drawing a line between its misty Roman and Saxon origins and the grand empire it would eventually become. Largely built after 1071, the era's castles were basic earth-and-timber structures situated on high mounds known as mottes. Thou...

Samah Sabawi shares the story of her parents and many like them who were born as their parents were being forced to leave their homelands.Filled with love for land, history, peoples it is more than anything else a family story and a love story told with enormous humanity and feeling. How the son (one of six), born at the height of the displacements to a disabled father and illiterate mother, a believer in peaceful resistance, became a leading poet and writer in Palestine, before be...

Life as Zeba knows it could be over for good . . .Zeba Khan is like any other sixteen-year-old girl: enjoying herself, waiting for exam results . . . and dreaming of the day she'll meet her one true love.Except her parents have other plans.In Pakistan for the summer, Zeba's world is shattered. Her future is threatened by an unthinkable - and forced - duty to protect her father's honour.But does she hold the secrets that will help her...

The Tower of London is an icon of England’s history. William the Conqueror built the White Tower after his invasion and conquest in 1066 to dominate London, and it has become infamous as a place of torture, execution and murder. The deaths of royals attracted most attention: the murder of the Princes in the Tower, the beheading of Henry VIII’s wives Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, and Lady Jane Grey, Henry’s great-niece, and queen for just nine days. Few prisoners recorded their experien...

Barbara Nadel's gripping Ikmen mysteries are the inspiration behind The Turkish Detective, BBC Two's sensational eight-part TV crime drama series, out now.When Honour can be deadly...The brilliant thirteenth Istanbul crime novel from Barbara Nadel's Inspector Ikmen Mysteries series delves into the shocking world of honour killing. A Noble Killing will enthral fans of Andrea Camilleri and Colin Cotterill....

Westminster Abbey has held a hugely important role in Britain's History over the last 800 years. This fascinating book describes the inside of the Abbey, giving the reader an amazing insight into the architecture, history and feel of the building. Many full colour illustrations are included to give the reader a complete picture of this historic abbey where Kings and Queens are crowned. This version has been specially formatted for today's e-readers.

**COMING 28TH MAY: The new travel journal Michael Palin In NigeriaALSO AVAILABLE TO PREORDER NOW: MICHAEL PALIN IN THE PHILIPPINES - COMING SEPTEMBER 2026.______**In March 2022, Michael Palin travelled the length of the River Tigris through Iraq to get a sense of what life is like in a region of the world that once formed the cradle of civilisation, but that in recent times has witnessed turmoil and appalling bloodshed. In the journal he kept during his trip...