British Problems

The forces behind an economic crisis in the making A “problem of twelve” arises when a small number of institutions acquire the means to exert outsized influence over the politics and economy of a nation. The Big Three index funds of Vanguard, State Street, and BlackRock control more than...

Hildy Good is a townie. A lifelong resident of a small community on the rocky coast of Boston's North Shore, she knows pretty much everything about everyone. And she's good at lots of things, too. A successful real-estate broker, mother, and grandmother, her days are full. But her nights have become lonely ever since her daughters, convinced their mother was drinking too much, sent her off to rehab. Now she's in recovery—more or less.

“Brimming with scandal and an equal amount of heart…a sweeping yet intimate look at the lives of some of history’s most notorious figures from Vanderbilts to the Prince of Wales… A must-read.”—Chanel Cleeton, New York Times bestselling author of When We Left Cuba and Next Year in...

I am the narrator of this book, which means I have already dragged everyone through an entire Cheltenham Season without so much as a thank you; now they have decided I should also persuade you to join in. Splendid. Do you have any idea what spa towns do to a person’s patience? Here is the problem, neatly served with lemon and a smile: Lady Dowager Barham has gathered society into her improved parlour, and one of her improved guests obligingly dies behind the pianoforte. Miss Verity Sedgewick, the dowager’s overqualified secretary and keeper of the calling cards, notices the sort of ...

What makes the English English? Is it their eccentricity, their passionate love (or, indeed, hatred) of Marmite – or is it something less easily defined? Beginning at the top of a muddy Gloucestershire slope at the Coopers Hill cheese-rolling contest and traversing a landscape of lawns and...

JUST A LITTLE BREAK What’s a girl to do when she’s had twelve lovers and the love of her life has only bedded two? Serena Adams, sexy makeup artist to the stars, is certain that her life is perfect – great job, devoted man and the silent promise of a ring on her finger. So when her boyfriend Markie attempts to shatter it by leaving her due to their “numbers” issue she is determined to do anything to keep him. No longer able to cope with Serena’s impressive sexual history (twelve one-night stands versus his two longstanding ex-lays) Markie sees splitting up as the only solution. ...

GUARDIAN'S TOP BOOK ON THE UK HOUSING CRISIS 'An essential read about a broken housing market.' – Peter Apps, Inside Housing If paying rent feels like a second tax — and saving for a deposit feels impossible — you’re not imagining it. Across the UK housing market, millions of people are stuck in the rent trap: high rents that can exceed mortgage payments, tiny and poorly maintained flats, insecure tenancies, deposit battles, and the constant stress of being forced to move with little notice. Generation Rent is Chloe Timperley’s razor-sharp, eye-opening investigation into ...

BEFORE I DIE: A Pact What would you do differently if you knew that in one year you were going die? This is the dilemma best friends Renata, Saffron and Charlotte face, after making a pact to end the discontent in their lives. Ending the pain is simple: after their proposed last year on Earth they plan to take a plunge off Deadman’s Cliff. Their reasoning is even simpler: if a person hasn’t sorted her life out by age thirty out chances are she never would. Renata, Saffron and Charlotte were simply over days that spun around like a broken record. They could choose to spend the next fifty...