Books by Peter Robinson

Book SynopsisThe seventeenth instalment in the Number One bestselling DCI Banks seriesWhen Karen Drew is found sitting in her wheelchair staring out to sea with her throat cut one chilly morning, DI Annie Cabbot, on loan to Eastern Area, gets lumbered with the case.Back in Eastvale, that same Sunday morning, 19-year-old Hayley Daniels is found raped and strangled in the Maze, a tangle of narrow alleys behind Eastvale''s market square, after a drunken night on the town with a group of friends, and DCI Alan Banks is called in. Banks finds suspects galore, while Annie seems to hit a brick wall - until she reaches a breakthrough that spins her case in a shocking and surprising new direction, one that also involves Banks. Then another incident occurs in the Maze which seems to link the two cases in a bizarre and mysterious way. As Banks and Annie dig into the past to uncover the deeper connections, they find themselves also dealTrade ReviewWatch for those twists - they'll get you every time * Ian Rankin *Robinson once again puts his skills to work in a police procedural that grips like pliers * Independent on Sunday *Classic Robinson: a labyrinthine plot merged with deft characterisation * Observer *Peter Robinson is good at producing ingenious mysteries, and this one does not disappoint * Daily Telegraph *Readers will be on the edge of their seats * Publishers Weekly *If you haven't encountered Chief Inspector Alan Banks before, prepare for a crash course in taut, clean writing and subtle psychology -- Ian RankinIt's neither the setting nor even the characters that makes Robinson's work so satisfying, but the plotting of Swiss-watch precision * Independent *

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Book SynopsisNot Safe After Dark is a complete collection of Peter Robinson’s short crime tales including four stories featuring Inspector Banks, a private-eye story set in Florida, a romantic Parisian mystery, and the modern classic, ‘Innocence’ – winner of the Crime Writer of Canada’s Best Short Story Award.Whether writing pure detective fiction or heartbreaking noir, Peter Robinson is one of the crime world’s finest stylists. This anthology explores our hidden paranoia, challenges all that we take for granted and lures us to new, exotic places, only to make us wish that we could run back home.Trade ReviewChilling, evocative, deeply nuanced works of art -- Dennis LehaneReaders who know Robinson only through his Inspector Banks novels are in for a treat * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisBefore you discovered DCI Banks, Dectective Arvo Hughes was on the case in this vintage standalone crime thriller from Peter Robinson.As a detective in the LAPD Threat Management Unit, Arvo Hughes has dealt with every kind of stalker there is - and in 1990s Hollywood, he''s not short of work.Tasked with finding out who has been sending unsettling anonymous letters to beautiful TV star Sarah Broughton, Arvo expects this case to be nothing out of the ordinary - until the actress discovers a strangely mutilated body left in the sand outside her beach house.Certain that Sarah''s stalker must have met her before, Arvo realises his only chance to catch the killer before he gets closer to Sarah is to delve into her past. But nothing is straightforward in this case, and the squeaky-clean star seems to be keeping all memories of a shady history locked away . . .Trade ReviewClassic Robinson: labyrinthine plot merged with deft characterisation * Observer *[Peter Robinson deserves a place] near, perhaps even at the top of, the British crime writers' league * The Times *Gut-wrenching plotting, alongside heart-wenching portraits of the characters who populate his world . . . top-notch police procedure * Jeffery Deaver *If Robinson is to turn out one-off novels as assured as this perhaps we wouldn't mind too much if Alan Banks was to retire and take up beekeeping in Sussex * Daily Express *

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Book Synopsis‘The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong’ – Stephen KingCold is the Grave is the eleventh novel in Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series, following on from In A Dry Season.A runaway girl. An inescapable past. Banks is pulled into a perilous world. With his personal life in turmoil DCI Banks is considering his options. But then late one night the architect of his professional misfortune, Chief Constable Riddle, summons Banks to his house for his daughter Emily has run away and compromising photos have appeared online. Riddle wants Banks to use his unorthodox methods to find her without a fuss.Banks, a father himself, cannot refuse and he follows the trail to the dark heart of London. But when a series of gruesome murders follows soon after, Banks finds himself pulled into the dangerous world of his most powerful enemy, Chief Constable Jimmy Riddle.Cold is the Grave is followed by the twelfth book in this Yorkshire-based crime series, Aftermath.Trade ReviewA writer at the very height of his powers -- Ian RankinThe master of the police procedural * Mail on Sunday *

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Book Synopsis'The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong' Stephen KingThe Summer That Never Was is the thirteenth novel in Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series, following on from Aftermath.A skeleton has been unearthed. Soon the body is identified, and the horrific discovery hits the headlines.Fourteen-year-old Graham Marshall went missing during his paper round in 1965. The police found no trace of him. His disappearance left his family shattered, and his best friend, Alan Banks, full of guilt.That friend has now become Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks, and he is determined to bring justice for Graham. But he soon realizes that in this case, the boundary between victim and perpetrator, between law-guardian and law-breaker, is becoming more and more blurred.Trade ReviewThe master of the police procedural * Mail on Sunday *Robinson is an author with amazing empathy, a snare-trap ear for dialogue, and a clear eye for the telling detail. -- Michael ConnellyMove over Ian Rankin - there's a new gunslinger in town looking to take over your role as top British police procedural author. . . Chief Inspector Alan Banks emerges as a definite contender for fiction's new top cop * Independent on Sunday *Peter Robinson is a master. -- Tess GerritsenThrilling-brilliantly plotted, beautifully paced. -- Louise PennyIt demonstrates how the crime novel, when done right, can reach parts that other books can't . . . A considerable achievement * Guardian *Near, perhaps even at the top of, the British crime writers' league * The Times *Exemplary * New York Times Book Review *Banks' slow but dogged pursuit of murderers and his meditations on the past make him a figure readers feel they know intimately and trust implicitly and, despite moments of darkness, the series warmth makes you feel all's right with the world. - * S Magazine *

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Book Synopsis‘The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong’ – Stephen KingThe 20th Anniversary edition of Sunday Times bestseller, Aftermath, is the twelfth novel in Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series, following on from Cold is the Grave.A house of horror. A despicable serial killer. Banks's darkest case.When a concerned neighbour calls the police to number 35 The Hill after a domestic disturbance, the two constables are led to a truly horrific scene. They unwittingly uncover an elusive serial killer known as the Chameleon. With the killer finally in custody it appears the nightmare is over.Not for Banks though. Too many questions remain unanswered at the house of horrors. And then they discover there are more bodies than victims. Is the Chameleon killer just one monster of many? Banks must solve his darkest case yet.Aftermath is followed by the thirteenth book in this Yorkshire-based crime series, The Summer That Never Was.Trade ReviewIt demonstrates how the crime novel, when done right, can reach parts that other books can't . . . A considerable achievement * Guardian *Move over Ian Rankin - there's a new gunslinger in town looking to take over your role as top British police procedural author. With Aftermath, Chief Inspector Alan Banks emerges as a definite contender for fiction's new top cop * Independent on Sunday *Near, perhaps even at the top of, the British crime writers' league * The Times *The master of the police procedural * Mail on Sunday *Banks' slow but dogged pursuit of murderers and his meditations on the past make him a figure readers feel they know intimately and trust implicitly and, despite moments of darkness, the series' warmth makes you feel all's right with the world * S Magazine *

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Book Synopsis***THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***Murder is only the beginning for Banks and his team . . .The gruesome double murder at an Eastvale property developer's luxury home should be an open and shut case for Superintendent Banks and his team of detectives. There's a clear link to the notoriously vicious Albanian mafia, men who left the country suspiciously soon after the death. Then they find a cache of spy-cam videos hidden in the house - and Annie and Gerry's investigation pivots to the rape of a young girl that could cast the murders in an entirely different light.Banks's friend Zelda, increasingly uncertain of her future in Britain's hostile environment, thinks she will be safer in Moldova hunting the men who abducted, raped and enslaved her than she is Yorkshire or London. Her search takes her back to the orphanage where it all began - but by stirring up the murky waters of the past, Zelda is putting herself in greater danger than any she's seen before. And as the threat escalates, so does the danger for Banks and those who love Zelda . . .'The master of the police procedural' Mail on Sunday'The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong' Stephen KingTrade ReviewHaving started my Banks habit up again I won't be leaving it so long before I pick up my next Robinson thriller * Evening Standard Online *As ever, Peter Robinson has constructed a gripping, complex mystery . . . his legion of fans will be delighted * The Sunday Times Crime Club *Not Dark Yet by Peter Robinson sees the author and his creation, Supt Alan Banks on top form in the 27th book in the series * Peterborough Telegraph *Complicated, unexpected and startling, the story is all that, but Robinson brings all the disparate parts together so cleverly that the result on finishing the novel is a satisfaction that all readers want at the end of a good book * On-Magazine *This series continues to be as thoughtful and intelligent as ever, with the usual bonus of the magnificent Dales * Observer *Robinson cleverly incorporates the two plots, showing how police work has had to adapt in a very different climate * The Sunday Times *As gripping as ever * Choice Magazine *Fans will welcome this latest Banks adventure and revel in what Michael Connelly calls Robinson's 'clear eye for the telling detail.' * Booklist *Robinson pulls the reader in with deft characterizations, powerfully understated action scenes, and strong locales . . . A strong addition to the Banks series that suggests tantalizing possibilities for the next installment * Kirkus *Bestseller Robinson ably balances multiple plotlines in his intricate 27th novel * Publishers Weekly *

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Book Synopsis***THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER***Murder is only the beginning for Banks and his team . . .The gruesome double murder at an Eastvale property developer's luxury home should be an open and shut case for Superintendent Banks and his team of detectives. There's a clear link to the notoriously vicious Albanian mafia, men who left the country suspiciously soon after the death. Then they find a cache of spy-cam videos hidden in the house - and Annie and Gerry's investigation pivots to the rape of a young girl that could cast the murders in an entirely different light.Banks's friend Zelda, increasingly uncertain of her future in Britain's hostile environment, thinks she will be safer in Moldova hunting the men who abducted, raped and enslaved her than she is Yorkshire or London. Her search takes her back to the orphanage where it all began - but by stirring up the murky waters of the past, Zelda is putting herself in greater danger than any she's seen before. And as the threat escalates, so does the danger for Banks and those who love Zelda . . .'The master of the police procedural' Mail on Sunday'The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are the best series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong' Stephen KingTrade ReviewBestseller Robinson ably balances multiple plotlines in his intricate 27th novel * Publishers Weekly *Robinson pulls the reader in with deft characterizations, powerfully understated action scenes, and strong locales . . . A strong addition to the Banks series that suggests tantalizing possibilities for the next installment * Kirkus *Fans will welcome this latest Banks adventure and revel in what Michael Connelly calls Robinson's 'clear eye for the telling detail.' * Booklist *Having started my Banks habit up again I won't be leaving it so long before I pick up my next Robinson thriller * Evening Standard Online *As ever, Peter Robinson has constructed a gripping, complex mystery . . . his legion of fans will be delighted * The Sunday Times Crime Club *Not Dark Yet by Peter Robinson sees the author and his creation, Supt Alan Banks on top form in the 27th book in the series * Peterborough Telegraph *Complicated, unexpected and startling, the story is all that, but Robinson brings all the disparate parts together so cleverly that the result on finishing the novel is a satisfaction that all readers want at the end of a good book * On-Magazine *This series continues to be as thoughtful and intelligent as ever, with the usual bonus of the magnificent Dales * Observer *Robinson cleverly incorporates the two plots, showing how police work has had to adapt in a very different climate * The Sunday Times *As gripping as ever * Choice Magazine *

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Book SynopsisThe brilliant last novel in the number one bestselling Alan Banks crime series - by the master of the police procedural.'The best mystery-procedural series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong' STEPHEN KING'"[O]ne of the finest police procedural writers around... [Standing in the Shadows] is as narratively rich and surprising as Robinson's best work' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEWLate November, 1980. Student Nick Hartley returns from a lecture to find his house full of police officers. As he discovers that his ex-girlfriend has been found murdered in a nearby park, and her new boyfriend is missing, he realises two things in quick succession: he is undoubtedly a suspect as he has no convincing alibi, and he has own suspicions as to what might have happened . . .Late November 2019. An dig near Scotch Corner unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more recent than the Roman remains the archaeologist is looking for. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called in and, as an investigation into the find begins, the past and the present meet with devastating consequences.'The master of the police procedural' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Robinson delivers an impeccably structured, engagingly spun performance... Robinson was a master of the police procedural and his thoughtful, nuanced work will endure' IRISH TIMESTrade ReviewHaving started my Banks habit up again I won't be leaving it so long before I pick up my next Robinson thriller * Evening Standard Online *As ever, Peter Robinson has constructed a gripping, complex mystery . . . his legion of fans will be delighted * The Sunday Times Crime Club *Not Dark Yet by Peter Robinson sees the author and his creation, Supt Alan Banks on top form in the 27th book in the series * Peterborough Telegraph *Complicated, unexpected and startling, the story is all that, but Robinson brings all the disparate parts together so cleverly that the result on finishing the novel is a satisfaction that all readers want at the end of a good book * On-Magazine *This series continues to be as thoughtful and intelligent as ever, with the usual bonus of the magnificent Dales * Observer *Robinson cleverly incorporates the two plots, showing how police work has had to adapt in a very different climate * The Sunday Times *As gripping as ever * Choice Magazine *The ending, in which the two narratives join, is a stunner * Booklist *Peter Robinson's new novel is a publishing event . . . The novel feels elegiac . . . Robinson's plots were always superb and this final novel is a haunting tribute to a fine writer * The Sunday Times, Crime Book of the Month (June) *It is bittersweet to crack open the 28th , and final, Inspector Banks novel. The mighty Peter Robinson, who died last year, created one of the most convivial, compelling detectives in Alan Banks: compassionate, intelligent and music-loving, he was the sort of man you wanted to spend time with. Standing in the Shadows is a worthy addition to the Banks canon . . . It is a pleasure to be back in Banks's company, whether it's watching him with his friends and colleagues, listening to his thoughts on music or waiting for his intuition to kick in. Robinson was an author at the top of his game, and Banks a detective at the top of his. Both will be sorely missed by their readers * Observer *A fond and fitting farewell * The Sun *Robinson delivers an impeccably structured, engagingly spun performance . . .Robinson was a master of the police procedural and his thoughtful, nuanced work will endure * Irish Times *In the realm of crime fiction, the late Peter Robinson has etched his name with a distinction as pronounced as the 27 novels that have preceded his latest creation . . . Standing in the Shadows, stands testament to his unwavering prowess in crafting intricate and seductive narratives. With each turn of the page, a whirlwind of astonishments awaits, as the story elegantly navigates between the lives of inhabitants dwelling within a bustling student abode and their poignant journey toward academic culmination... Robinson's artistry lies in his dexterous placement of clues, whispered secrets lying dormant or boldly paraded in plain sight. The seamless choreography of police procedure, rendered with an authenticity that underscores the writer's mastery, unveils a police force willing to bend the rules in the pursuit of justice... Within this literary tapestry, suspense and intrigue are woven deftly.. , Characters are luminous conduits through which the narrative unfurls, bursting forth vividly under Robinson's hand. This sorcery of characterization allows the story to coalesce around their palpable presence, creating an immersive experience that ignites the imagination... Standing in the Shadows is his final enigma... the last page turns, a pang of melancholy mingles with elation, as you realise you're reading the last words of a crime fiction great. * On Magazine (Yorkshire) *Fans will welcome this latest Banks adventure and revel in what Michael Connelly calls Robinson's 'clear eye for the telling detail.' * Booklist *Robinson pulls the reader in with deft characterizations, powerfully understated action scenes, and strong locales . . . A strong addition to the Banks series that suggests tantalizing possibilities for the next installment * Kirkus *Bestseller Robinson ably balances multiple plotlines in his intricate 27th novel * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisThe final novel in the bestselling Alan Banks crime series - and a NUMBER ONE PAPERBACK BESTSELLER (January 2024) - by the master of the police procedural.'The best mystery-procedural series on the market. Try one and tell me I'm wrong' STEPHEN KINGLate November, 1980. Student Nick Hartley returns from a lecture to find his house full of police officers. As he discovers that his ex-girlfriend has been found murdered in a nearby park, and her new boyfriend is missing, he realises two things in quick succession: he is undoubtedly a suspect as he has no convincing alibi, and he has own suspicions as to what might have happened . . .Late November 2019. An dig near Scotch Corner unearths a skeleton that turns out to be far more recent than the Roman remains the archaeologist is looking for. Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called in and, as an investigation into the find begins, the past and the present meet with devastating consequences.'The master of the police procedural' MAIL ON SUNDAYTrade ReviewThe ending, in which the two narratives join, is a stunner * Booklist *Peter Robinson's new novel is a publishing event . . . The novel feels elegiac . . . Robinson's plots were always superb and this final novel is a haunting tribute to a fine writer * The Sunday Times, Crime Book of the Month (June) *It is bittersweet to crack open the 28th , and final, Inspector Banks novel. The mighty Peter Robinson, who died last year, created one of the most convivial, compelling detectives in Alan Banks: compassionate, intelligent and music-loving, he was the sort of man you wanted to spend time with. Standing in the Shadows is a worthy addition to the Banks canon . . . It is a pleasure to be back in Banks's company, whether it's watching him with his friends and colleagues, listening to his thoughts on music or waiting for his intuition to kick in. Robinson was an author at the top of his game, and Banks a detective at the top of his. Both will be sorely missed by their readers * Observer *A fond and fitting farewell * The Sun *Robinson delivers an impeccably structured, engagingly spun performance . . .Robinson was a master of the police procedural and his thoughtful, nuanced work will endure * Irish Times *In the realm of crime fiction, the late Peter Robinson has etched his name with a distinction as pronounced as the 27 novels that have preceded his latest creation . . . Standing in the Shadows, stands testament to his unwavering prowess in crafting intricate and seductive narratives. With each turn of the page, a whirlwind of astonishments awaits, as the story elegantly navigates between the lives of inhabitants dwelling within a bustling student abode and their poignant journey toward academic culmination... Robinson's artistry lies in his dexterous placement of clues, whispered secrets lying dormant or boldly paraded in plain sight. The seamless choreography of police procedure, rendered with an authenticity that underscores the writer's mastery, unveils a police force willing to bend the rules in the pursuit of justice... Within this literary tapestry, suspense and intrigue are woven deftly.. , Characters are luminous conduits through which the narrative unfurls, bursting forth vividly under Robinson's hand. This sorcery of characterization allows the story to coalesce around their palpable presence, creating an immersive experience that ignites the imagination... Standing in the Shadows is his final enigma... the last page turns, a pang of melancholy mingles with elation, as you realise you're reading the last words of a crime fiction great. * On Magazine (Yorkshire) *

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Book SynopsisIn Poetry & Translation the acclaimed poet and translator Peter Robinson examines the activity of translation practised by poets and others, and the way in which the various practices of translating have continued in parallel with the writing of original poetry. While some attention is paid to classic statements of the translator’s cultural role, readers should not expect to find formalized theoretical debate along the lines already developed in translation studies courses and their teaching handbooks. Instead, Poetry & Translation seeks to raise issues and matters for discussion - not to close them down. The aim of the book is to increase knowledge of, and thought about, the interactive processes of reading and writing poetry composed in mother tongues and in translations. Poetry & Translation will be of value to all devoted readers and students of poetry or translation, to students involved in classical and modern languages, and to those taking part in creative writing courses, whether as students or as teachers.Trade Review'Informative as well as argued, polemical as well as seeking out common ground, and written in a no-nonsense, clear style, Poetry & Translation shows quite simple things to be complex and more nuanced than thought, but has also a refreshing directness about dealing with things that have often been made to seem too complex to deal with. It is also written from the triple perspective of poet, translator and critic. A fine book.' Professor Patrick McGuinness, University of Oxford'Scholars and practitioners of poetry translation will welcome this intelligent and insightful new book.'Gregary J. Racz, Metamorphoses, Vol. 20, No. 1'Robinson’s monograph is a splendid achievement, and should occupy a very desirable place on the shelves of Translation Studies sections in libraries everywhere – even though its argument lays waste to so many of its neighbours.'Adam Piette, Translation and Literature, Vol. 21, No. 2'In this erudite and well-written work, Peter Robinson builds a very strong and highly commendable case for the feasibility of what he terms ‘‘the art of the impossible’’, namely translating poetry.'Peter Flynn, Translation Studies'Vigorously and wittily argued, Robinson’s book is an excellent and provocative contribution to a complex debate.'Justin Quinn, Times Literary SupplementTable of Contents Preface 1. On First Looking 2. What Is Lost? 3. Thou Art Translated 4. The Art of the Impossible 5. Nostalgia for World Culture 6. Translating the ‘Foreign’ 7. The Quick and the Dead Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThe ebook edition of this title is Open Access, thanks to Knowledge Unlatched funding, and freely available to read online. How do we prepare for the penultimate stage of life? This is a crucial question now facing the ageing post-war generation. Examining research participants’ use of wills, guardianship, medical attorney and beneficiaries, as well as their funeral plans and how they envisage the physical end of life, Peter Robinson’s new book provides a practical contribution for anyone considering how to prepare for their end of life, including those from LGBTQ+ communities. Drawing on theory where appropriate, Robinson focuses on the practicalities of end-of-life preparation as revealed through a variety of personal experiences. With its universal application and international scope, How Gay Men Prepare for Death: The Dying Business supports the work of carers, charities and policymakers, and benefits readers from all backgrounds, as well as those from LGBTQ+ communities.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1. Affective and Intimate Lives Chapter 2. Wills and Beneficiary Decisions Chapter 3. Managing Physical and Mental End of Life Chapter 4. Euthanasia and Afterlife Beliefs Chapter 5. Funeral Plans Conclusion

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Book SynopsisWhen Bernard Spencer died in September 1963, he left behind two collections of poetry and a volume of collaborative translations from George Seferis. The second of these collections, With Luck Lasting, has proved aptly entitled with the publications of a Collected Poems (1965) edited by Alan Ross, an enlarged edition from 1981 edited by Roger Bowen, and a Complete Poetry, Translations & Selected Prose (2011) edited by Peter Robinson. With Bernard Spencer: Essays on his Poetry & Life, Robinson now offers the first collection of writings dedicated to the poet. Coming out of a 2009 centenary conference at Special Collections in the University of Reading, where his archive is housed, these essays cover a great many aspects of Spencer's poetry, translations, and his relations with contemporary writers. The volume also contains an updated bibliography of primary and secondary materials, and forms an invaluable aid to approaching this distinctive voice in mid-twentieth-century poetry.

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Book SynopsisHearing Rilke quoted at the Co-op, an experience evoked in the title poem to Peter Robinson's latest collection, Buried Music, the poet continues his work of discovering poetry in everyday, anywhere places. It is as if, as Roy Fisher intuited, 'he carries a listening device, alert for the moments when the tectonic plates of mental experience slide quietly one beneath another to create paradoxes and complexities that call for poems to be made.' Prompted by varieties of losses - health, hopes, friends or relatives - his listening unearths a rhythmic contour from such opening cracks in the terrain. Buried Music finds poetry in its absence, presence in the place of what's missing. For those who have followed his trajectory, this new book offers a fresh opportunity to tune in to the work of what Poetry Review has called 'a major English poet', one according to The London Magazine, who is 'writing at the height of his powers' and producing, in the words of the selectors for the Poetry Book Society in 2012, 'his finest work to date.' For those new to his writing, this world is all before you.

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Book SynopsisIn recognition of the town’s long history and rich heritage, the poems gathered in this anthology celebrate Reading’s connections with poetry, both past and present. Written by poets who live or have lived in the area, many of the poems are set in Reading and the Thames Valley and make reference to poems and writers associated with the town over the years: Coleridge in flight from his university debts, Rimbaud’s association with a language school in King’s Road, Oscar Wilde’s ‘Ballad of Reading Gaol’, Jane Austen’s only formal schooling, and Dickens’s many visits to the town. The anthology is also an essential introduction to reading poetry. Each poet has provided his or her own account of their relation to the anthology’s theme, their inspiration, their muse. The poets represented are Paul Bavister, Adrian Blamires, David Cooke, Jane Draycott, Claire Dyer, John Froy, A.F. Harrold, Ian House, Wendy Klein, Gill Learner, Allison McVety, Kate Noakes, Victoria Pugh, Peter Robinson, Lesley Saunders, Susan Utting, and Jean Watkins. Specially commissioned illustrations from Sally Castle round off this refreshingly approachable collection.Trade Review‘one of the most thoroughly enjoyable books of poetry I have read of late … I was moved by their calm, lyrical approach … This collection reminds us of what is great about English poetry … its continuity, its depth of field, and its constant surprising relationship to wherever it happens to find itself … a glimpse into what living in a less-than-metropolitan city over here is like, and how poets get on with words day to day … get this exemplary beautifully-made collection’ — Todd Swift, Eyewear

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Book SynopsisThe stories brought together in Foreigners, Drunks and Babies cast the slanting light of a poet's sensibility on the Imperial Academy of an ancient Eastern empire; detail the musical education of a northern realist parish priest and his sons; travel through the West of Ireland with a couple facing various extinctions; spy on the shadowy private life of a Cold War warrior; engage in hand-to-hand fighting with a classroom full of Soviet teachers; follow the adventures of an Italian girl visiting her sick boyfriend in hospital; discover how hard it can be to get a passport for your first-born; find out why everyone pretends you're not there; investigate a seemingly victimless crime; reveal reasons for a Japanese girl's committing suicide; and realize that there's no need to be forgiven for things you didn't know you hadn't done. In this first collection of his imaginative fiction, Peter Robinson, winner of the Cheltenham Prize, the John Florio Prize, and two Poetry Book Society Recommendations for his poems and translations, brings a characteristic perceptiveness, rhythmical accuracy, and vividness of evocation to these eleven examples of what he's been doing in the gaps between his other writings. His new and returning readers may be both surprised and entertained.

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Book Synopsis'Like the Living End', an elegy occasioned by the sudden death of a school friend, is the centre-piece of this gathering of poems completed since The Returning Sky (2012), a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Described as 'the finest poet of his generation' and 'the finest poet alive when it comes to the probing of shifts in atmosphere, momeTrade Review'These poems are vivid, formally experimental, often strangely celebratory - written with great warmth and tenderness', observe the selectors in the Poetry Book Society Bulletin, adding that 'Robinson is able to bring off rapid and surprising shifts in register within poems shot through with wit', and concluding that here is 'a concentration and confidence that mark this out as his finest work to date.' 'a poet who is writing at the height of his powers' - The London Magazine 'he is a major English poet' - Poetry ReviewTable of ContentsDirty World 1 For the Years 2 In the Drift 3 Rubbish Theory 4 Coincidences 6 Between Parentheses 7 All Change 8 Next to Nothing 9 Another Twilight 10 One Late Afternoon 11 A Middle-Age Scene 12 Note to Self 13 Ein Feste Burg 14 Like the Living End 16 On the Esplanade 23 Diminishing Returns 24 Holy Dying 26 Notes 27

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Book SynopsisThe poet’s eleventh collection, marks a wholly unexpected development, prompted, as is evident throughout, by the fissures exported from a political party to an entire country, and beyond, by the 2016 referendum on membership of the EuropeanUnion. Its consequences cast crucial events for this poet, bothpersonal and public, into unforeseen fresh lights. Prompted by a televised debate to wonder in the title poem upon what impulse the founding European myth is based, Robinson’s new poems search through his individual and cultural memory to offer, as the book unfolds, an answer.Table of ContentsOne 1 Belongings 3 Monterosso 5 Written in the Bay 6 Violated Landscape 7 Ravishing Europa 8 Lincolnshire Landscapes 9 Balkan Trilogy 11 Garden Thoughts 13 Bibliographical Note 14 In the Apennines 15 Women of Elche 17 Plaza de las Monjas 19 On a Walk to Sonning 22 Out of Europe 24 The Prospects 25 Sonning Lock 27 World Citizens 28 Die Holzwege 30 Night Flight 32 Post-Truth 34 Two 35 Bloomsbury Way 37 The Hard and Soft of It 39 Drawing a Line 40 The Vehicle 42 Where Europe Ends 45 The Further Losses 50 Saudades da Europa 54 At this Distance 56 Last Refuge 57 Cold Comfort 58 The Irish Border 59 Wall-to-Wall 62 Don Quixote in Sofia 63 On the Electricity 64 Three 65 This Last Year 67 Leave to Remain 69 European Epitaphs 72 Colouring the Past 82 Haus Europe 84 Postcards from Bern 86 Empty Vase 88 Notes 89 Acknowledgements 94

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Book SynopsisTaking some convalescent wanders around Reading, the narrator of The Constitutionals, a figure haunted by being called Crusoe in childhood, also `sets out to avert global catastrophe, hoping to trigger the end of neoliberalism by going for a walk.' What does he discover about the place in which he's settled with his wife, who he will call Friday, and their ocean-haunted daughter? Published on the tercentenary of Robinson Crusoe's appearance, our author answers such questions by paying sustained tribute to the town, and the founding `autobiography' by which it has-as have so many works alluded to here-been indelibly marked.Trade Review`Drinking deep from one of the great and self-renewing sources of the English imagination, Peter Robinson caulks the punctured craft of contemporary fiction. His wit and intelligence reinvigorate our diminished sense of the local: as it reluctantly reveals itself through a series of melancholy peregrinations. Here the solitary poet walks with his invisible peers, ventriloquizing the grateful dead, and making new’—IAIN SINCLAIR

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Book SynopsisBonjour Mr Inshaw is a homage by the award-winning poet Peter Robinson to David Inshaw, the celebrated painter, whom he first met during the artist's years as Creative Arts Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge, in the mid-1970s. Largely produced in an unexpected burst of inspiration after a visit to the painter's studio early in 2019, these poems combine memories of Inshaw's paintings, or characteristic landscapes, with experiences of his company and conversation. Showing a formal flexibility and deftness characteristic of this poet's work, they reflect on the role of art in a time of political and cultural division. Presented in an en face format, Bonjour Mr Inshaw beautifully illustrates its ekphrastic encounters and allows us to reflect in turn on this contemporary example of the centuries-old dialogue between the arts of poetry and painting. `Following the visionary traditions of such quintessentially English predecessors as Samuel Palmer ... or Stanley Spencer ... Inshaw's paintings discover the mystical in what could just as easily be overlooked as the mundane.' - Rachel Campbell-Johnston, art critic for The Times `Robinson is the finest poet alive when it comes to the probing of shifts in atmosphere, momentary changes in the weather of the mind, each poem an astonishingly fine-tuned gauge for recording the pressures and processes that generate lived occasions' - Adam Piette in The ReaderTrade Review"The stillness of Inshaw’s focus upon more than the moment is complimented by the way in which Peter Robinson’s poems note the depth of the present’s conversation with the past" ~ Ian Brinton, Tears in the Fence

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Book SynopsisThe first edition of English Nettles brought together poems Peter Robinson began writing on his return to England after many years living in Japan. The twenty-three works, evocatively illustrated by Sally Castle, show the poet's ability to catch at fleeting landscapes and moments as, discovering Reading, he reacquainted himself with his native land. The poems celebrate his collaboration with the artist in their tribute to the place in which he came to settle. This beautifully redesigned new edition brings the book back into print, and includes an additional poem and illustration. Running through their lines like the town's two arteries are oblique reflections on the meaning of home, the nature of money, work, love, death, and parenthood. Approachable yet inexhaustible, Peter Robinson's poetry welcomes readers and promises rewards that can be kept.Trade Review"... the finest poet of his generation" - PN Review; "Robinson is at his best when describing the strangeness of marginalia such as ... "a creosoted shed / with ivy busting through its boards" ... where time is distorted and realigned like perspectives in a mirror so that a return "home" feels as strange as being in a foreign country" - Poetry London; "... a major English poet" - Poetry Review;

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Book SynopsisThe Retrieved Attachments in Peter Robinson’s new collection are to people and places, friends and loved ones, mentor poets and artists. Deploying the full range of his gifts, these poems are characteristically responsive both to fresh encounters and evocative returns. Presented in five titled sections they revisit the landscapes of his years in Japan, find a way to tell the story of a heartbreak, return to familial locations in an unvisitable Italy, elegize or re-encounter companions and friends, and, for the final section, recover intimate senses of a locality’s flora and fauna. Peter Robinson has been described as ‘the finest poet of his generation’ (PN Review) and ‘a major English poet’ (Poetry Review). Retrieved Attachments again shows why.Trade Review"Robinson’s attentiveness to the nuances of place, even those that appear unpromising on conventional aesthetic terms, has been apparent since his very earliest work and poems here like ‘Across the Park’, ‘Toast Funèbre’ and ‘Behind the Shops’ are further examples of this – acute observations of the modern human landscape that excavate meaning from what’s typically overlooked or ignored and connects it into the broader state we’re in." - Tom Phillips, in The High Window

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