The Austrian artist's late-C18th journey to Italy and the Levant resulted in his superb Flora Graeca; at the same time he made exquisite bird paintings, published here for the first time.
Travel memories - some imagined, such as a performance of 'Hamlet' off the African coast, in 1607 - from the amiable author of A Pike in the Basement: Tales of a Hungry Traveller.
Following Cromwell's death, there were 10 changes of government in 2 years. Reece argues that there was still no great support for a return to the monarchy and yet, despite strong military b... read more
As six astronauts orbit the earth in a space station, collecting scientific data, their attention is tugged t by distant human events and relationships. Beautifully written, this is an affec... read more
Blaschka père et fils were from Bohemia but moved to Dresden, where they worked in glass from the mid-1800s to the 1930s, making intricate models of sea anemones, medusas, corals and starfi... read more