Christmas Britain

’Tis the season! The Crown meets When Harry Met Sally in the latest heartwarming historical novel from Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, bestselling authors of Last Christmas in Paris, Meet Me in Monaco, and Three Words for Goodbye. December 1952. While the young Queen Elizabeth II finds her feet...

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Rosamunde Pilcher, Winter Solstice (the basis for the TV movie) is the story of five unforgettable characters, lonely and haunted strangers who find love and loyalty as a reborn family of friends during the Christmas holidays. Elfrida Phipps, once of...

Charles Dickens never sat on the throne, commanded an army or governed the British Empire. Yet few figures did more to shape the way Victorian Britain saw itself. He turned streets, prisons, workhouses, offices, schools, debt, childhood, hunger, ambition, hypocrisy, cruelty, laughter, Christmas and conscience into a national mirror. Through unforgettable characters such as Oliver Twist, Ebenezer Scrooge, David Copperfield, Pip, Little Nell, Mr Micawber, Jo the crossing sweeper and countless others, Dickens gave Victorian Britain a language for its own contradictions. Charles Dickens: The ...

Combined into one volume, this is the definitive collection of Tolkien’s five acclaimed modern classic ‘fairie’ tales in the vein of The Hobbit, read by Derek Jacobi. The five tales are written with the same skill, quality and charm that made The Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked...

J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings on the Second Age of Middle-earth, collected for the first time in one volume. J.R.R. Tolkien famously described the Second Age of Middle-earth as a ‘dark age, and not very much of its history is (or need be) told’. And for many years readers would need to be...

A collection of three medieval English poems, translated by Tolkien for the modern-day reader and containing romance, tragedy, love, sex and honour. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl are two poems by an unknown author written in about 1400. Sir Gawain is a romance, a fairy-tale for...

Brought to you by Penguin. The fascinating new history of the British Aristocracy since the Second World War There are fewer than 5000 people who can genuinely claim to be members of the British aristocracy, and yet they loom large in the popular consciousness. We're fascinated by their houses...

Read by the author, Alice Loxton. Biggest books to look out for in 2024 – The Guardian 'Loxton is the next big thing in history' – Dan Snow At eighteen, your life is full of of what-ifs and why-nots. You have everything to look forward to – unless you’ve got the plague. From a young...

Brought to you by Penguin. A SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER The hilarious and heartwarming memoir from one of Britain's best-loved comedians and Women's Prize longlisted author, Dawn French. Dawn French is one of the greatest comedians of our time with a career that has spanned nearly four...

Bloomsbury presents the 250TH BIRTHDAY EDITION of What Matters in Jane Austen? by John Mullan, read by Charles Armstrong "An Austen lover’s greatest wish is for more of her novels. This intimate guide to the world of her books in the next best thing." —The Atlantic Marking the 250th...

When British photojournalist Poppy Garrett swaps bodies with US Marine Børkhur Wrencher, it was all part of her plan to get back at the high priestess of her druid coven. But will she succeed when Børkhur relies on his military training to stop a possible murder?

From ARNIE to DOLLY, BLACKADDER to SCORSESE; GRAHAM NORTON to HARRY POTTER; the VAGINA MONOLOGUES to ZOOM, welcome back to the irrepressible and unstoppable world of Miriam Margolyes. Packed with her wit, wisdom and unfiltered stories, The Little Book of Miriam is a memory palace of Miriam's...

'When a robin appears, a loved one is near' In 2019, Tony Putman was working as a gardener in Edenbridge, Kent, when he noticed a bold robin sitting on a branch of an old plum tree. The robin glanced in his direction as he approached, but he didn't move, so Tony grabbed his camera and took a...

From Blackadder to Call the Midwife, from the Cadbury's Caramel Rabbit to Harry Potter, Miriam Margolyes is the outspoken great aunt (after two sherries) we all wish we had -- this is (at last) her extraordinary life story and it's well worth the wait. 'There is no one on earth quite so...

Building on the story begun in The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, this is the second part of Tolkien’s epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. Frodo and the Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of...

In this Christian Encounter Series biography, author John Perry explores the life of Sir. Winston Churchill, the man who changed World War II. Winston Churchill captivated the world with his voice and his writings. His books and speeches ooze with patriotism and faith in a just God. But he...

'Oh Miriam! risks the curse of the sequel, and pulls it off . . . A force of nature, a tour de farce. Bold, brave and bright, but also revealing, shocking and touching. Miriam is an icon, a cocksucker - and the star of her show' ROBERT McCRUM, Independent 'Our naughtiest national treasure...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Wrighty's characteristic honesty means his book is far more engrossing than most bland football memoirs' Sunday Times Ian Wright, Arsenal legend, England striker and TV pundit extraordinaire, is one of the most interesting and relevant figures in modern football. His...

Bloomsbury presents Monstrous Tales read by Kimberley Nixon, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Ian Hanmore, Oscar Kennedy, Janice Hallett, Catrin Walker-Booth, Dan Jones, Abir Mukherjee, Arthur Darvill and Ralph Ineson. This isle is full of noises... From the beaches of Orkney to the Welsh mountains, and the...

From Queen of Tarts to the nation's heart, Mary Berry shares her Recipe for Life. 'In the words of my father, my birth caused no end of trouble...' From the moment she came into the world - two weeks early, throwing her parents' lives into disarray - Mary has gracefully but firmly done things...