The author cut her gardener's teeth in the gardens at Helmingham Hall, where she moved on her marriage in 1975. She now has a successful garden design company, Chelsea Gold medals to her nam... read more
Islands of banishment approached through three lives: New Caledonia in the South Pacific, where Louise Michel, grandmother of French anarchy and a leader in theParis Commune, was sent for s... read more
The range of Blackburn's books testifies to her profound curiosity about the world. This account of her journey (imaginative as well as physical) among the little-known South African people ... read more
In 2015, as war raged in Syria, Lowe set off on an 11,000 kilometre journey through Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, the Gulf and finally to Iran. Full of humour, anecdote and the abun... read more
Gabriel Cromer (1873-1934) was a French photographer who assembled a remarkable collection that ranges from photography's beginnings to c.1890. This collection never found a permanent home o... read more
The Gibson family of the Scilly Isles photographed shipwrecks for four generations in the C19th and C20th - an extraordinary archive that is now held at the National Maritime Museum in Green... read more
Culinary archaeology following the trails of ancient maritime trade through Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Iran and the Emirates. Transporting stuff.
Ruthlessly funny memoir of working front of house: the great deception of ease, of luxe, calme et volupte , of lamplight and conversation, while, behind the swing doors, rages a very differe... read more
There are 50,000 different edible plants in the world yet only 15 of them make up 90% of our staples... Informative and full of excellent vegetarian recipes contributed by many well known na... read more
Mouse wanders through his wood visiting friends as the seasons unfurl; flaps for little fingers reveal the various cosy interiors of his friends' houses, filled with teapots, colourful count... read more