Two women in their mid-twenties, stifled by marriage and the monotony of Hampstead society, come across an advertisement in The Times: 'To Those Who Appreciate Wisteria and Sunshine. Small m... read more
This extraordinary book is much, much more than a simple analysis of Britain's relationship and future with oil. It is a travel book and social commentary that takes us from Milford Haven to... read more
A lovely hardback reissue of Mabey's book about beech trees, prompted by the great storm of 1987 when so many blew down. It's a wonderful stroll through the history of Fagus sylvatica, inclu... read more
A gorgeous book, drawing from the V&As enormous collections. It contains over 500 pages of lavish illustrations, each chapter focusing on a different technique - weaving, knitting, dying... read more
Celebrated particularly for its classical statues (qv the excellent recent The Torlonia Marbles), this Roman villa was the C18th creation of Cardinal Albani. It was preserved with its collec... read more
The product of many years' research, this is an amazing book that reconstructs the eleven 'Strand Palaces' which both gave rise to the distinctly English style that emerged in country houses... read more
Long has spent a large part of his 50-year career hiking across various mountain ranges, valleys and deserts. This book is a chronology of his trips and a testament to his eye for finding co... read more
Blackwell is a remarkable artist who creates astonishing tableaux made of cut-out paper; many of her subjects are taken from fairy tales and she often works with the pages of old books. This... read more
It's the shortest, coldest day of the year and Bill Furlong, a coal and timber merchant in a small Irish town, busies himself with the last few deliveries. An elegant and carefully distilled... read more
A deeply affecting memoir of coming of age in Albania - the last outpost of Stalinism in Europe. Tracing the transition in 1990 from repression, food shortages and political executions to po... read more