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Staying On

Ebook: October 18, 2018
Hardback:
Paperback: October 18, 2018

Staying On

C. M. Taylor

A late in life coming-of-age story…

Retired expat, Tony Metcalfe, is going through a three-quarter-life crisis. Viva España, his bar in a mountain village beyond Spain’s Costa Blanca, is failing. Tony started the bar for the English post-war babies who retired early on good pensions – the por favors, as the Spanish call them – flocking to the dream of wine, rest and sun around the pool. But now their retirement paradise is shadowed by Brexit: the pound has fallen, pensions are frozen and the property crash happened long ago.

Tony wants to move back to enjoy the remainder of his life in his childhood home, but his tenacious wife Laney wants to stay in the happy valley and forget about England and the dark, unresolved feelings it provokes in their marriage. Sod it – he couldn’t go home even if he tried; nobody would buy an ailing bar during a recession.

But Tony’s luck is about to change when his son Nick arrives for a surprise visit with his self-possessed wife, Jo, and their son. With the extra help, Tony thinks things are on the up, but Jo has brought along more baggage than just their family’s suitcases.

Staying On is a compelling story of little and greater family secrets come to light and what it means to find home, wherever you are.

 

Reviews

  • ‘Told with humour and enormous compassion, this is a beguiling story about broken people who have all the feelings and none of the words. Utterly captivating’ Damien Owens, author of Married to a Cave Man and Dead Cat Bounce

  • ‘C.M. Taylor's Staying On is a trademark sweet-and-sour Mike Leigh film in novel form. As well as a fictional retread of Joe Cawley's More Ketchup than Salsa. Updating both to our worrying post-Brexit times where the shifting of boundaries forces us to question where we truly feel we belong’ Matthew Hirtes, author of Going Local in Gran Canaria

  • 'A wry take on expat life, astutely observed and deftly drawn. Peppered with humour, yet poignant and as topical as it's revealing' Peter Kerr, bestselling author of the award-winning Snowball Oranges series

  • 'A timely tale about expats braving the Brexit tidal wave in rural Spain. I raced through this warm-hearted, warts-and-all portrayal of a broken family, its members fighting to love one another while haunted by the past and afraid of what the future holds. Funny and thought-provoking; an ideal summer read' S .D. Robertson author of Time to Say Goodbye

  • ‘Beautifully written by an author who's obviously a keen observer of people... you will love it’ Bookbag

Georgia in the Mountains of Poetry

Ebook: January 4, 2018
Hardback: May 4, 2017
Paperback: April 18, 2019

Georgia in the Mountains of Poetry

Peter Nasmyth

Category: History,

Peter Nasmyth has lived in and travelled extensively throughout Georgia for the last 32 years. Georgia in the Mountains of Poetry is his fascinating account of this historically rich and drama loving country, based on his travels and hundreds of wide-ranging interviews. Reprinted numerous times, it remains the only comprehensive book on Georgia’s history and culture written for the general reader, now substantially revised and expanded for this new edition.

Georgia – no larger than Ireland – is the most geographical diverse country in the world for its size. It borders on the Black Sea and contains the heart of the Caucasus mountains, as well as subtropical wetlands and semi-arid regions. Stone towers attest to its 3,000-year-old history, which has witnessed the thousand-year reign of the Bagratuni monarchy, the rise and fall of the Soviet Union, a bitter civil war, the celebration of its independence in 1991 and the arrival of full democracy in 2012. Yet little is known about this remarkable nation outside its borders. Georgia in the Mountains of Poetry is the first book to provide its full inner story and remains essential reading for anyone interested in this fascinating region set on the historic far borders of Europe and Asia.

Reviews

  • 'Elegiac, quirky, readable, deeply knowledgeable... the best cultural-historical introduction to that tempestuous land' Daily Telegraph

  • 'The best book on post-Soviet Georgia' Independent

  • 'Indispensable to all serious travellers to the Caucasus' Times Literary Supplement

  • 'Nasmyth is an ideal chronicler... read his quirky, entertaining, sometimes surreal book' Literary Review

The Optickal Illusion

Ebook: February 8, 2018
Hardback: February 8, 2018
Paperback: May 2, 2019

The Optickal Illusion

Rachel Halliburton

Category: Historical Fiction,

In The Optickal Illusion, Rachel Halliburton’s meticulous recreation of Georgian society reveals the sordid details of a genuine scandal that deceived the British Royal Academy.

Her debut novel questions the lengths women must go to make their mark on a society that seeks to underplay their abilities – a theme only too relevant today. It is three years from the dawn of a new century and in London, nothing is certain any more: the future of the monarchy is in question, the city is aflame with right and left-wing conspiracies, and the French could invade any day.

Against this feverish atmosphere, the American painter Benjamin West is visited by a strange father and daughter, the Provises, who claim they have a secret that has obsessed painters for centuries: the Venetian techniques of master painter Titian. West was once the most celebrated painter in London, but hasn’t produced anything of note in years so against his better judgment he agrees to let the intriguing Ann Jemima Provis visit his studio and demonstrate what she knows. What unravels reveals more than he has ever understood – about himself, about the treachery of the art world and the seductive promise of genius. The nature of truth itself is called into question in this story of envy, lust and corruption.

Reviews

  • 'An assured and enjoyable debut that asks some uncomfortable questions about women's erasure from the history of art' The Times

  • 'Written with a detail and often a lyricism that makes me go back and reread for the pleasure of it. I am drawn into the history and vibrancy of colour as never before. I see more intensely, and that is a great gift to have been given' Anne Perry, international bestselling author of the Monk and Pitt series

  • 'A most intriguing tale of how the world of high art was convulsed by deceit, desire and delusion' Victoria Glendinning

  • 'A remarkable true story of vanity and delusion, which Halliburton turns into a gripping and only partly fictional whodunnit... brings the artists and their art to colourful life and brushes in streaks of feminism, via Mary Wollstonecraft, as well as dark shadows of the French Revolution' John Spurling, winner of the Walter Scott prize for Historical Fiction for The Ten Thousand Things

  • 'As if stepping into the frame a sensual, intricate and richly textured painting. The novel is a fine achievement by a serious and talented writer' Wendy Wallace, author of The Painted Bridge

  • 'Utterly absorbing... Halliburton builds up the layers of deception, ambition and scandal into a shimmering, fully textured portrait of Georgian London with all its gloss, dross, glamour and corruption' Imogen Robertson, author of Instruments of Darknes

Every Breath You Take

Ebook: July 11, 2019
Hardback:
Paperback: July 11, 2019

Every Breath You Take

Mark Broomfield

Category: Popular Science,

A fascinating journey through the atmosphere that will leave you breathless.

With seven million early deaths a year linked to air pollution, air quality is headline news around the world. But how do we measure air pollution and what on earth is an odour panel? Why are property prices higher upwind of cities? Should we buy, hold on to, or avoid a diesel car? And will our grandchildren inherit an atmosphere worth breathing?

From the atmosphere on distant planets to the stuff that gets into your lungs, from holes in the ozone layer to lazy and disappearing gases, air quality specialist and full-time breather Dr Mark Broomfield combines scientific evidence with personal stories and advice on what you can do to improve air quality, giving you the low-down on what’s up high.

Reviews

  • 'Written in an easily accessible style yet get across important facts about the world and what we are doing to it' Peter Wadhams, author of A Farewell to Ice

  • 'Not without raising a wry smile, the author takes us from the atmospheres of the planets to the air outside our front door... a fascinating read' Professor Duncan Laxen, Associate of Air Quality Consultants

  • 'Mark Broomfield’s writing is just the breath of fresh air needed to lift the fog on atmospheric sciences' Piers Forster, Professor of Physical Climate Change, University of Leeds

Rainsongs

Ebook: January 11, 2018
Hardback:
Paperback: March 7, 2019

Rainsongs

Sue Hubbard

Award-winning writer Sue Hubbard delivers a poignant story of transformation, conjuring the rugged beauty of County Kerry’s coastline.

Newly widowed, Martha Cassidy has returned to a remote cottage in a virtually abandoned village on the west coast of Ireland for reasons even she is uncertain of. Looking out from her window towards the dramatic rise of the Skelligs across the water, she reflects on the loss of Brendan, her husband and charming curator, his death stirring unresolved heartache from years gone by. Alone on the windswept headland, surrounded by miles of cold sea, the past closes in.

As the days unfold, Martha searches for a way forward beyond grief, but finds herself drawn into a standoff between the entrepreneur Eugene Riordan and local hill farmer Paddy O’Connell. While the tension between them builds to a crisis that leaves Paddy in hospital, Martha encounters Colm, a talented but much younger musician and poet. Caught between its history and its future, the Celtic Tiger reels with change, and Martha faces redemptive choices that will change her life forever.

Reviews

  • 'An elegiac story of loss and valediction... Woolfian echoes pulse through haunting the reader' Guardian

  • 'A wool-soaked odyssey on the Iveragh peninsula I could feel and smell the rain all the way through, and when the sun broke in now and then, I felt that too... tremendous and moving' Irish Times

  • 'A gently absorbing novel... wistful but never morose - tugging the heartstrings without milking the double bereavement at the novel's heart' Daily Mail

  • 'A beautifully-written and evocative novel about grief and greed, art and life, isolation and emotion' Amanda Craig

  • 'A ravishing tale of an emotional journey in the wild beauty of Ireland... Read this book for the delicacy of its central story , the sheer delight of being led into the drama of this edge of the world with its landscape beaten by hectic weather and lit by unfiltered sunlight, and for the pleasure of Hubbard's intensely honed, sharply insightful story-telling' Angela Neustatter

  • 'Ambitious and heartfelt... brings a poet's lyric gift to a compelling story' Shena Mackay

  • 'A lyrical evocation of Ireland's fragile, ancient coastline reveals a poet's sensibility. This multi-layered story of love and loss, of a woman 'erased by grief', who finds solace in the heart of a community that is threatened from within, is exceptionally moving. This book will stay with you' Eleanor Fitzsimons

  • 'Has a unique and beautiful emotive quality that shines through its delicately constructed prose in a love-letter to Ireland, memory and parenthood, taking advantage of its mature narrator to speak with resonance and depth. In a contemporary world of instant connections, Rainsongs returns to an age just prior to the boom of social media 2007 in an exploration of what it means to be truly alone... champions the role of literature in an increasingly disconnected modern world' London Magazine

The Friendship Cure

Ebook: March 22, 2018
Hardback: March 22, 2018
Paperback: February 7, 2019

The Friendship Cure

Kate Leaver

Category: Psychology & Philosophy,

Our best friends, gal-pals, bromances, Twitter followers, Facebook friends, long- distance buddies and WhatsApp threads define us in ways we rarely acknowledge. There is so much about friendship we either don t know or don t articulate: why do some friendships last a lifetime, while others are only temporary? How do you break up with a toxic friend? And maybe the most important question: how can we live in the most interconnected age and still find ourselves stuck in the greatest loneliness epidemic of our time? It s killing us, making us miserable and causing a public health crisis. What if meaningful friendships are the solution, not a distraction 

In The Friendship Cure, Kate Leaver’s much anticipated manifesto brings to light what modern friendship means, how it can survive, why we need it and what we can do to get the most from it. From behavioural scientists to best mates, Kate finds extraordinary stories and research, drawing on her own experiences to create a fascinating blend of accessible smart thinking, investigative journalism, pop culture and memoir.

Reviews

  • 'Kate Leaver has written a beautiful book about something so specific and unchartered, yet so universal. Friendship can change your life as could this book' Dolly Alderton, author of Everything I Know About Love

  • 'A gorgeous book and a reminder of just how intense and special female friendship is' Emma Gannon, author of CtrlAltDelete podcast

  • 'A really gorgeous, affirming book which makes me want to find the people I love most in the world and hug them very, very tightly' The Pool

  • 'The Friendship Cure is here to make us love our girl friends all over again... you'll want to buy it and give it to all of your friends immediately' Evening Standard

  • 'It's time to talk about love. No, not that kind of love, but that which is shared between female friends' Red

  • 'Witty, relatable, thought-provoking. If Jon Ronson and Marian Keyes morphed into one magic person and wrote a book, this book would be it' Rosie Waterland, author of The Anti-Cool Girl

  • 'Kate Leaver's book is a wide-ranging exploration of what friends mean to us full of rich personal insights and common sense, accompanied by a good dose of science' Robin Dunbar, author of How Many Friends Does One Person Need?

The Zombie Survival Guide

Ebook: July 19, 2010
Hardback:
Paperback: April 18, 2019

The Zombie Survival Guide

Max Brooks

Don’t be reckless with you most precious asset – life. This book is your key to survival against the hordes of undead who may be stalking you right now without your even knowing it.

It covers everything you need to know, from how to understand zombie behaviour to survival in any territory or terrain.

The Zombie Survival Guide offers complete protection through proven tips for safeguarding yourself and your loved ones against the living dead.

It might just save your life.

Reviews

  • 'A tome you start reading for fun and then at page 50 you go out and buy a machete just to be on the safe side' New York Post

  • 'So straightforward, so sensible and logical that you start to believe the steps needed to outlast a worldwide plague of flesh eating zombies. This practical approach is exactly what makes this book so funny' Fangoria

  • 'A bloody-minded, strait-laced manual for evading the grasp of the undead' Time Out

  • 'So meticulous and well researched that it's more scary than funny' Esquire

A Wood of One’s Own

Ebook: October 5, 2017
Hardback: September 21, 2017
Paperback: April 18, 2019

A Wood of One’s Own

Ruth Pavey, Ruth Pavey (illustrator)

Category: Memoir & Biography,

Touring the West Country in the late 1990s, Pavey found herself in the Somerset Levels. On seeing this expanse of reclaimed land under its wide, soft skies she was struck by its beauty and set-out to plant a wood, tree by tree. She bought four acres, and over the years transformed them into a haven where woodland plants and creatures could flourish; an emblem of enduring life in a changeable world.

Interwoven with Pavey’s candid descriptions of the practical challenges she faced are forays into the Levels’ local history, as well as thoughtful portraits of its inhabitants past and present. Accompanied throughout by her evocative hand-drawn illustrations, A Wood of One’s Own is a lyrical, beguiling and inspiring story; a potent reminder of nature’s delicate balance, and its comforting and abiding presence.

Reviews

  • 'So beguiling... Pavey's writing is everywhere amiable' Times Literary Supplement

  • '[In planting her wood] the satisfactions are many... her book is a gentle, generous extension of that... one all her readers can share in' The Lady

  • 'Pavey's love for her small patch of land shimmers off the page [in this] narrative of warmth, honesty and great spirit made all the more beautiful by Pavey's own lively and accomplished drawings... this lovely book is itself a gift encouraging country-dweller and townie alike to marvel at the infinite possibilities at the heart of a single tree' Daily Mail, Book of the Week

  • 'Captivating... If this book was not as much a pleasure to write as it is to read, I'll eat my hat and gardening glove... Pavey's unassuming memoir celebrates the imperfections of rural life and the virtues of spontaneity... the non-bravura style attractively illustrated with Pavey's black-and-white sketches makes this book a winner' Kate Kellaway, Observer

  • ‘A delightful account… with intriguing digressions into local history and culture. [Pavey] writes with warmth and spirit, and brings this space to life in all its detail of plants, trees and wildlife’ Penelope Lively

  • ‘A lovely story – a super book’ Steve Yabsley, BBC Radio Bristol and Somerset

  • ‘Draws together childhood memories, local history… and literary penumbra’ Sunday Telegraph

  • ‘A lyrical story of desire and determination, soft and gentle, warm and wise in a wicked world’ Camden New Journal

  • ‘Practical and full of helpful advice which has been artfully baked-in throughout. If someone asks you what you'd like for Christmas or a birthday don't hesitate to reply, A Wood of One's Own' Woodlands.co.uk

Why Won’t You Apologize?

Ebook: January 12, 2017
Hardback:
Paperback: January 12, 2017

Why Won’t You Apologize?

Harriet Lerner

Category: Psychology & Philosophy,

With her trademark wit, Harriet Lerner offers a joyful and sanity-saving guide to setting things right.

Renowned psychologist and bestselling author of The Dance of Anger sheds new light on the two most important words in the English language, "I’m sorry," and offers a unique perspective on the challenge of healing broken relationships and restoring trust.

Dr. Harriet Lerner has been studying apologies for more than two decades, namely, why some people won’t give them. Now she offers compelling stories and solid theory that demonstrates the transformative power of making amends and what is required for healing when the damage we’ve inflicted (or received) is far from simple. Readers will learn how to craft a meaningful apology and avoid signals of insincerity that only deepen suffering.

In Why Won’t You Apologize? Lerner challenges the popular notion that forgiveness is the only path to peace of mind and helps those who have been injured to resist pressure to forgive too easily. She explains what drives both the non-apologizer and the over-apologizer, and why the people who do the worst things are the least able to own their misdeeds.

Reviews

  • 'This book is a game changer' Brene Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Rising Strong

  • 'Draws you in with deft and engaging prose, and then changes your life with her rigorous intelligence and her deeply human advice' Esther Perel, author of Mating in Captivity

World War Z

Ebook: July 19, 2010
Hardback:
Paperback: April 18, 2019

World War Z

Max Brooks

It began with rumours from China about another pandemic. Then the cases started to multiply and what had looked like the stirrings of a criminal underclass, even the beginning of a revolution, soon revealed itself to be much, much worse.

Faced with a future of mindless man-eating horror, humanity was forced to accept the logic of world government and face events that tested our sanity and our sense of reality. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and key players in the ten-year fight against the horde, World War Z brings the finest traditions of journalism to bear on what is surely the most incredible story in the history of human civilisation.

Read the original cult novel that propelled the zombie genre into the mainstream – now a blockbuster film and game.

Reviews

  • 'An absolute must have... Brooks infuses his writing with such precise detail and authenticity, one wonders if he knows something we don't' Simon Pegg

  • ‘The best science fiction has traditionally been steeped in social commentary. World War Z continues that legacy... We haven't been this excited about a book without pictures since well, since ever’ Metro

  • 'Brilliant' Time Out

  • 'Max Brooks really is the godfather of all the zombie stories' The Sun

  • 'When the zombie apocalypse arrives, we'll be at Max Brooks' house... As a horror story, it's exciting. As a parable, it's terrifying' Empire, 5-starred review

  • ‘Prepare to be entranced by this addictively readable oral history of the great war between humans and zombies... Will grab you as tightly as a dead man’s fist’ Entertainment Weekly

  • ‘[Brooks’] iron-jaw narrative is studded with practical advice on what to do when the zombies come, as they surely will. A literate, ironic, strangely tasty treat’ Kirkus Reviews

  • ‘A sober, frequently horrifying and even moving account... Brooks has delivered a full-blown horror novel, laced with sharp social and political observations and loads of macabre, gruesome imagery’ Fangoria

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