Peter Ackroyd's method is to position Shakespeare in the close context of his world. In this way, Ackroyd not only richly conjures up the texture of Shakespeare's life, but also imparts an amazing amount of vivid, interesting material about place, period and background. The book is packed with gems - and the reader turns the pages eagerly, keen to absorb the next nugget of information. Some snippets: Shakespeare was secretly a Roman Catholic; he wrote many more plays but these have been lost; the witches in Macbeth were not hags but women fairies or nymphs played by boys; the 'best' bed was for guests which was why he bequeathed his wife his 'second best' bed (the matrimonial bed in which he probably died); 'ham acting' derives from the strutting walk which showed off the ham-strings; an actor called 'Will' played female parts - could it have been Shakespeare himself?; and the strongest bond in the plays is between father and daughter perhaps reflecting Shakespeare's own family life.

Parenting of children with complex needs

'The Hollow Crown is exhilarating, epic, blood-and-roses history . . . Jones's material is thrilling . . . There is fine scholarly intuition on display here and a mastery of the grand narrative; it is a supremely skilful piece of storytelling.' Sunday Telegraph The fifteenth century saw the crown of England change hands seven times as the great families of England fought to the death for power, majesty and the right to rule. The Hollow Crown completes Dan Jones' epic history of medieval England, and describes how the Plantagenets tore themselves apart to be finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains in British history were thrown together in these turbulent times: Henry V, whose victory at Agincourt and prudent rule at home marked the high point of the medieval monarchy; Edward IV, who was handed his crown by the scheming soldier Warwick the Kingmaker, before their alliance collapsed into a fight to the death; and the last Plantagenet, Richard III, who stole the throne and murdered his own nephews, the Princes in the Tower. Finally, the Tudors arrived - but even their rule was only made certain in the 1520s, when Henry VIII ruthlessly hunted down his family's last remaining enemies. In the midst this tumult, chivalry was reborn, the printing press arrived and the Renaissance began to flourish. With vivid descriptions of the battle of Towton, where 28,000 men died in a single morning, and the Battle of Bosworth Field, at which Richard III was hacked down, this is the real story behind Shakespeare's famous history plays.

While on a dig at Norwich Castle, forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway uncovers the bones Mother Hook, a serial killer who was executed in 1867 for the murder of five children, while DCI Harry Nelson investigates a serial child-abductor called the Childminder. 15,000 first printing.

Forensic archeologist Ruth Galloway investigates her most heart-stopping caseto date after an old university friend and fellow archeologist is murdered inan arson attack.

Charlotte Schleswig, the delightful narrator of Liz Jensen's latest novel, supports herself and the lumpen Fru Schleswig (who may or may not be her mother) as a prostitute in 1890s Copenhagen. While she is no small success at the trade, she leaps at a new job opportunity for herself and Fru Schleswig, as cleaning ladies for the wealthy widow Krak. But mysteries abound at Fru Krak's dark old mansion. The basement appears to be haunted, townspeople claim to have seen the dead Professor Krak walking the streets as a ghost, and there are stories of desperate souls who paid the professor a visit and never emerged. In fact, as Charlotte will discover, there is a simple explanation for all this: the basement is home to a time machine. When their cunning investigations land them in trouble, Charlotte and Fru Schleswig find themselves catapulted through time and space to modern-day London, and there their adventures truly begin. With the minxy, intrepid Charlotte, Liz Jensen introduces a heroine every bit as memorable as Louis Drax. And with My Dirty Little Book of Stolen Time, she delivers yet another outlandishly entertaining novel, in which the seemingly insurmountable obstacle of spacetime proves no match for human ingenuity and earthly passion.

Keisha Ceylon is a psychic. At least, that's what she tells people. She watches the news for stories of missing people, then waits a few days and goes to see the family. She tells them she’s had a vision and that she may know where their missing loved one is—for a price, of course. Keisha's latest mark is Wendell Garfield, whose wife disappeared a week ago. She's seen him on TV, pleading for his wife to come home, or for whoever took her to let her go. Keisha tells Wendell her vision of what might have happened. Unluckily for Keisha, her vision turns out to be alarmingly close to the truth. As she wades deeper into the mystery, Keisha inadvertently finds herself caught in a web of suspicion and violence that’s much more complicated than she first thought—and which may end up with her own disappearance… Also includes a preview of Linwood Barclay’s newest thriller, Trust Your Eyes

Fed up of being a grown up? Get away from it all with the No. 1 bestseller from Marian Keyes 'Magnificently messy lives, brilliantly untangled. Funny, tender and completely absorbing!' GRAHAM NORTON 'SUCH a treat. Like reading the cleverest cream cake of words' CAITLIN MORAN ______ MEET JESSIE, CARA AND NELL. Married to brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam Casey. Three very different women tied to three very different men. Every family occasion is a party - until the day the secrets spill out. PLAYTIME IS OVER. BUT WHERE ARE THE GROWN-UPS? ______ 'Comic, convincing and true. Grown Ups has an almost Austenesque insight into character. Keyes knows how to make serious issues relatable - and get a few grownup laughs, too' GUARDIAN 'Hilarious, alternately heartwarming and heartbreaking. I loved everything about it' DAILY MAIL 'You may have written the best book of your career' CHRIS EVANS, VIRGIN RADIO 'Superb. Warm-hearted, wise and highly entertaining' OBSERVER 'Keyes at her best: capturing everyday voices with humour and empathy with writing that you'll devour in a weekend. Just pure and simple joy' STYLIST 'I loved every word. I will be missing those gorgeous vibrant characters for many weeks to come' LIANE MORIARTY, bestselling author of Big Little Lies 'Messy, tangled complex humans who reminded me that few of us ever really sort our lives out at all' JOJO MOYES, bestselling author of Me Before You 'Her best yet. Charming, funny and poignant, but also profound, heartbreaking' NINA STIBBE, bestselling author of Reasons to be Cheerful Sunday Times bestseller April 2023

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A shocking accident. A little girl struggling to survive. And the childless aunt who transforms her own world to help her . . . Danielle Steel’s deeply moving novel is a story of resilience and hope. Paige Watts is the ultimate stage mother. The daughter of Hollywood royalty, Paige channels her acting dreams into making her own daughter, Emma, a star. By the age of nine, Emma is playing a central role in a hit TV show. Then everything is shattered by unforeseeable tragedy. Now Emma is living with her aunt Whitney, who had chosen a very different path from her sister’s. Whitney was always the studious older sister, hating the cult of celebrity that enveloped their childhood. Instead, she is a psychiatrist who lives for her work and enjoys a no-strings-attached love affair with a wealthy venture capitalist. But at a moment’s notice, Whitney drops everything to help her niece. Once famous, outgoing, and charismatic, Emma is now a shadow of her former self—without speech, without memory, lost and terrified. But with her aunt Whitney’s help, along with a team of caregivers and doctors, Emma begins to find her way, starting her young life all over again—and changing the lives of everyone around her. Emotionally gripping and richly involving, Silent Night explores how the heart has mysterious healing powers of its own, and blessings happen when we think all is lost.

'Nobody does cosy, get-away-from-it-all romance like Jenny Colgan' Sunday Express ___________________________________ In a Cornish coastal village, a tiny bakery serves the best hot chocolate you can possibly imagine 'An evocative, sweet treat' Jojo Moyes 'Gorgeous, glorious, uplifting' Marian Keyes 'A cracker - the must-read this festive season' Sun 'Irresistible' Jill Mansell 'Just lovely' Katie Fforde 'Naturally funny, warm-hearted' Lisa Jewell 'A gobble-it-all-up-in-one-sitting kind of book' Mike Gayle It's Christmas Mount Polbearne - a time for family, friends and feasting. Polly Waterford loves running the Little Beach Street Bakery. She's at her happiest when she's creating delicious treats and the festive season always inspires her to bake and knead something extra special for the village residents. In fact, the only thing she loves more than her bakery is curling up with her gorgeous boyfriend, Huckle. She's determined that this Christmas is going to be their best one yet, but life doesn't always work out as planned... When Polly's best friend Kerensa turns up with a secret that threatens the life Polly and Huckle have built together, the future begins to look uncertain. And then a face from Polly's past reappears and things become even more complicated. Polly can usually find solace in baking but she has a feeling that's not going to be enough this time. Can she get things back on track so that everyone has a merry Christmas? ___________________________________ Why readers ADORE Jenny Colgan 'Jenny Colgan has a way of writing that makes me melt inside' 'Her books are so good I want to start over as soon as I have finished' 'There's something so engaging about her characters and plots' 'Her books are like a big, warm blanket' 'Her stories are just so fabulous' 'She brings her settings and characters so vividly to life' 'The woman is just magic'