Search results for ""Kensington""

They’re not like us, the royal family. Or are they? We simply don’t know and we’re all desperate to find out. This A-Z of royalty is the practical miscellany of the royal family that everyone’s been waiting for. Did the Queen Mum really give all her clothes to charity? Hundreds of people send Her Majesty boxes of chocolates on her birthday, but what happens to them? Where are the best places to go to see the royal family? Does the Queen hold a driving licence and did she pass a test? What are the correct days and hours when it is permitted to fly a flag above Buckingham Palace? Including fascinating facts on abdication, birthdays, Christmas, dining, equerries, fashion, garden parties, hairdressers, insignia, the Jewel House, Kensington Palace, liveries, maids of honour, nannies, orbs, protection squads, the Queen’s piper, racing, Snowdon, tartans, the Union Jack, Queen Victoria, weddings, the X-ray machine at Buckingham Palace, yachts and Meghan Markle, this is an unstoppable, unbeatable little guide to our great monarchy.

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Finger of a Frenchman explores looking, and writing about looking: looking at surfaces and beyond them, at what is depicted and what is hidden in shadow, at how a transient chemistry of light may be fixed in colour and words. Kinloch's poems are portraits of artists and reflections on art through five centuries of the artistic bond between Scotland and France. John Acheson, Master of the Scottish Mint, takes Mary, Queen of Scots' portrait for the Scottish coinage; Esther Inglis paints the first self-portrait by a Scottish artist; Jean-Jacques Rousseau ticks off his portrait painter, Allan Ramsay, and Eugene Delacroix offers David Wilkie a brace of partridge for tea in Kensington. The Glasgow Boys, the Scottish Colourists and Charles Rennie Mackintosh bring the gallery into the twentieth century, where Kinloch considers the hybrid art of figures such as Ian Hamilton Finlay, Alison Watt and Douglas Gordon in analytical prose-poems. In the book's second part, a mini-epic of a seventeenth-century priest's Grand Tour offers a reflection on the nature of Collection itself, whether of paintings or poems, the composing of fragments into a whole.

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When a bomb rips the façade off the Kensington Hotel in Tokyo, dozens are killed and injured while one man walks calmly away from the wreckage, a coy smile playing on his lips. Former Army intelligence officer Dan Reilly, now an international hotel executive with high level access to the CIA, makes it his mission to track him down. He begins a jet-setting search for answers as the clock ticks down to a climactic event that threatens NATO and the very security of member nations. Reilly begins mining old contacts and resources in an effort to delve deeper into the motive behind these attacks, and fast. Through his connections he learns that the Tokyo bomber is not acting alone. But the organization behind the perpetrator is not who they expect. Facilitated by the official government from a fearsome global superpower, the implications and reasons for these attacks are well beyond anything Reilly or his sources in the CIA and State Department could have imagined, and point not to random acts of terror, but calculated acts of war. RED Hotel is an incredibly timely globe-trotting thriller that's fiction on the edge of reality.

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'I delight in this work', wrote the young Victoria shortly after she became Queen. She was an engaging creature, high-spirited and eager to be 'amused'. But her early years were difficult ones. Fatherless from the age of eight months, she was brought up at Kensington Palace in an atmosphere thick with family feuds, backbiting and jealousy - the focus of conflicting ambitions. Though her uncle William IV was anxious to bring her into Court circles, her German mother and the calculating John Conroy were equally determined that she should remain under their control. The 'little Queen', who succeeded to the throne a month after her eighteenth birthday, was greeted by a unanimous chorus of praise and admiration. She embraced the independence of her position and often forced her will on those around her. She met and married Albert, marking the end of her childhood and the beginning of a glorious legend. Alison Plowden was one of the most successful and popular historians of British history. Her bestselling books include: The House of Tudor, The Young Elizabeth, Lady Jane Grey and Danger to Elizabeth, all of which are available from The History Press.

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Detective Inspector Silas Quinn investigates one of the strangest cases of his career...London, 1914. Called out to investigate the murder of an employee of the House of Brackley, an upmarket Kensington department store, Silas finds himself investigating one of the most bizarre cases of his career. For the chief murder suspect is a monkey.One of the store’s fashion models has been found dead on her bed, strangled with a red silk scarf. The room is locked from the inside, the only other occupant being a monkey in a red fez hat.While he is sceptical of the theory that the monkey is the killer, Quinn suspects it holds the key to the mystery. But where has it disappeared to? And how will he ever get to the truth when faced with the maelstrom of resentment and thwarted passion that is the mannequin house?A thrill-a-minute historical mystery full of intrigue, perfect for fans of C. J. Sansom, S. G. MacLean and Abir Mukherjee.Praise for R. N. Morris‘A classic whodunnit plot with emotion and psychological depth’ Publishers Weekly‘A challenging, utterly fascinating read’ Booklist‘His sense of the historical moment is strong’ Kirkus Reviews

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'Move over Ian Rankin - there's a new gunslinger in town looking to take over your role as top British police procedural author...' Independent on SundayFollowing on from Playing With Fire, Strange Affair is the fifteenth novel in Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks series, which inspired the major British ITV drama DCI Banks.When Alan Banks receives a disturbing message from his brother, Roy, he abandons the peaceful Yorkshire Dales to seek him out amidst the bright lights of London. But Roy seems to have vanished into thin air.Meanwhile, DI Annie Cabbot is called to a quiet stretch of road just outside Eastvale, where a young woman has been found dead in her car. In the victim’s pocket, scribbled on a slip of paper, police discover Banks’s name and address.Living in Roy's empty South Kensington house, Banks finds himself digging into the life of the brother he never really knew, nor even liked. And as he begins to uncover a few troubling surprises, the two cases become sinisterly entwined . . .'The Banks novels are, simply put, the best series now on the market' - Stephen King

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In Here, There Be Dragons, an unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the First World War An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica-an atlas of the Archipelago of Dreams, which contains all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. And these adventures will help shape two of these men into the greatest fantasists of their generation: C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. In The Search for the Red Dragon, it has been nine years since John, Jack, and Charles had their great adventure in the Archipelago of Dreams and became the Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica. Now they have been brought together again to solve a mystery: Someone is kidnapping the children of the Archipelago. Their to save the world from a centuries-old plot is to seek out the last of the Dragonships-the Red Dragon-in a spectacular journey that takes them from Sir James Barrie's Kensington Gardens to the Underneath of the Greek Titans of myth.

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‘Am dining at Goldini’s Restaurant, Gloucester Road, Kensington. Please come at once and join me there. Bring with you a jemmy, a dark lantern, a chisel, and a revolver – S. H.’ The game's afoot for the most famous amateur detective of all time in this collection of eight of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic tales.‘The Speckled Band’, a Victorian melodrama in a country house, comes complete with murderous villain, murdered heroine, and a very unpleasant snake; ‘Silver Blaze’ tells of a missing race horse on Dartmoor which turns out not to be missing at all, and a murder that never was. In ‘The Redheaded League’ a pawnbroker answers an advertisement for a red-headed man and bizarrely finds himself copying out the Encyclopedia Britannica; in ‘The Bruce Partington Plans’ Holmes is skulking in the London Underground with a dead body when his patriotic services are called upon to find some stolen state secrets in the run-up to World War I. Sidney Paget was the original illustrator and helped to form the image of Sherlock Holmes which exists to this day - in fact, it was he who created the famous deer-stalker!

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'A gripping mystery... sweeping across centuries in its three interlinked sections, Molly & the Captain summons the past effortlessly' ObserverA celebrated artist of the Georgian era paints his two young daughters at the family home in Bath. The portrait, known as "Molly & the Captain", becomes instantly famous. In the summer of 1889, a young painter glimpses a mother at play with her two daughters in Kensington Gardens and decides to include them in his picture. A century later, in Kentish Town, a painter and her grown-up daughters receive news of an ancestor linking them to the long-vanished double portrait. Molly & the Captain is a story about time and art and love. Through the prism of a single painting it examines the mysteries of creativity, and the ambiguous nature of success. With period subtlety, intricate characterisation and storytelling verve, Anthony Quinn melds three families and three centuries into a single vision of human frailty and longing. 'A delicious mystery' Daily Mail'A thrilling read' Spectator'So versatile - Quinn seems to reinvent himself with every book' Jonathan Coe

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Owing a debt to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Barbara Pym’s An Unsuitable Attachment is an elegant and witty comedy of manners from an acclaimed author who Philip Larkin called ‘the most underrated novelist of the century’.‘I'm a huge fan of Barbara Pym’ – Richard Osman, author of The Thursday Murder Club‘The day comes in the life of every single man living alone when he must give a dinner party.’The parish of St Basil, on the fringes of North Kensington, is all of a flutter due to the arrival of Rupert Stonebird, a most eligible bachelor, in the neighbourhood. The local matchmakers are sure he will make a suitable husband for the vicar’s wife’s sister, Penny, or perhaps for local librarian Ianthe Broome?But Ianthe is in danger of forming a most unsuitable attachment to her new library assistant, John, a man of questionable background with not a penny to his name . . .‘Barbara Pym is one of my most favourite novelists. Few other writers have given me more laughter and more pleasure’ – Jilly Cooper, author of The Rutshire Chronicles

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7 Reece Mews, South Kensington, was Francis Bacon’s home and studio for over thirty years. After he died in 1992, access was granted to award-winning photographer Perry Ogden to work undisturbed for days on end to produce this riveting record of the house and its contents. He captured every part of the small building’s hidden interior: the rickety wooden staircase; the kitchen with its ‘gallery’ of Bacon works in reproduction; the bedsitting room with its bookcases piled high. In the studio itself, thirty years of inspired artistic endeavour had accumulated unchecked: the slashed, discarded canvases scattered across the floor; the brushes, rags and tins encrusted with layer upon layer of paint; the surfaces used as impromptu palettes; the last unfinished self-portrait on the easel. For some, Bacon’s studio was an heroic statement, a work of art in its own right, constructed to distil and give form to his aesthetic intentions. In this astonishing book we are invited to take an intimate and privileged look around his private space, and to gain unrivalled insights into how, why and what he painted.

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Father Gabriel Neville has everything going for him as vicar of St Anne’s, Kensington Gardens: intellectual prowess, physical beauty, a happy family life and the prospect of promotion to Archdeacon. But his perfect world is shattered when he receives an anonymous letter that has the power to destroy his career and marriage, by threatening to expose something that no one could possibly know. The only person Gabriel can turn to is David Middleton-Brown, an old friend and a man with a few secrets of his own. Against his better judgement, David comes to London, where his discreet enquiries bring to light a whole host of suspects. There’s the eccentric church organist, Miles Taylor; the gossip Mavis Conwell; the disapproving Dawson family; the Churchwarden, Cyril Fitzjames, who’s in love with Gabriel’s wife Emily; and the charming and talented artist Lucy Kingsley. In his efforts to help Gabriel uncover the blackmailer, David hauls numerous skeletons out of cupboards, and enters into a web of relationships that threaten to shatter his own peace of mind.

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‘Brilliant’ Financial Times ‘Hollis expertly weaves together the human tragedy and high politics behind the explosion of one of the world’s greatest cities’ Dan Snow The reclaimed history of a woman whose tragic life tells a story of madness, forced marriages and how the super-rich came to own London June 1701, and a young widow wakes in a Paris hotel to find a man in her bed. Within hours they are married. Yet three weeks later, the bride flees to London and swears that she had never agreed to the wedding. So begins one of the most intriguing stories of madness, tragic passion and the curse of inheritance. Inheritance charts the forgotten life of Mary Davies and the fate of the land that she inherited as a baby – land that would become the squares, wide streets and elegant homes of Mayfair, Belgravia, Kensington and Pimlico. From child brides and mad heiresses to religious controversy and shady dealing, the drama culminated in a court case that determined not just the state of Mary’s legacy but the future of London itself.

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Follow in the footsteps of royalty past and present on this journey through England’s capital and beyond to Kew, Hampton Court and Windsor. London has a charm that draws visitors from home and abroad who are looking to explore what England’s capital city has to offer. The fact that for hundreds of years Britain has had a Royal Family is part of that charm, and the unique history of our monarchy forms the basis of Royal London. From palaces and parks to pomp and ceremony, from streets with royal connections to statues commemorating past sovereigns and their consorts, much of today’s royal London is readily available to any visitor who wishes to seek it out. But it is fascinating, too, to reflect on how parts of London came about, thanks to those monarchs who have lived, loved, lost and left a royal footprint. Sites include: Buckingham Palace, St James’s Palace, Kensington Palace, Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower of London, V&A Museum, Green Park, Hyde Park, Greenwich Observatory, Hampton Court, Windsor Castle. This beautifully illustrated book is part of the Pitkin Royal Collection series, celebrating the lives of the British royal family. Other notable titles in this insightful series include Royal Babies, The Queen and Her Family and Queen Elizabeth II.

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Step into the past to discover a thrilling mystery about a sinister plot to shape and control the future, in this spine-tingling historical adventure from award-winning author Christopher Edge.Penelope Tredwell is the feisty thirteen-year-old orphan heiress of the bestselling magazine, The Penny Dreadful. Her masterly tales of the macabre are gripping Victorian Britain, even if no one knows she's the author. One day, a letter she receives from the governor of the notorious Bedlam madhouse plunges her into an adventure more terrifying than anything she has ever imagined.Why are the patients of Bedlam waking every night at twelve minutes to midnight? What is the meaning of the strange messages they write? Who is the Spider Lady of South Kensington?Penelope is always seeking mysteries to fill the pages of her magazine. But this isn't any ordinary story, it's the future.And the future looks deadly...Spine-tingling historical adventure series with a supernatural twist! From the acclaimed author of The Many Worlds of Albie Bright and The Infinite Lives of Maisie Day.'The feisty and courageous Penelope makes the perfect heroine for an adventure packed with exciting twists and turns.' - BookTrustRelated discussion notes and activity ideas available on the Nosy Crow website.

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When a bomb rips the façade off the Kensington Hotel in Tokyo, dozens are killed and injured while one man walks calmly away from the wreckage, a coy smile playing on his lips. Former Army intelligence officer Dan Reilly, now an international hotel executive with high level access to the CIA, makes it his mission to track him down. He begins a jet-setting search for answers as the clock ticks down to a climactic event that threatens NATO and the very security of member nations. Reilly begins mining old contacts and resources in an effort to delve deeper into the motive behind these attacks, and fast.Through his connections he learns that the Tokyo bomber is not acting alone. But the organization behind the perpetrator is not who they expect. Facilitated by the official government from a fearsome global superpower, the implications and reasons for these attacks are well beyond anything Reilly or his sources in the CIA and State Department could have imagined, and point not to random acts of terror, but calculated acts of war.RED Hotel is an incredibly timely globe-trotting thriller that's fiction on the edge of reality.

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A rigorous account of the European origins of American art museums American art museums share a mission and format that differ from those of their European counterparts, which often have origins in aristocratic collections. This groundbreaking work recounts the fascinating story of the invention of the modern American art museum, starting with its roots in the 1870s in the craft museum type, which was based on London's South Kensington (now the Victoria and Albert) Museum. At the turn of the twentieth century, American planners grew enthusiastic about a new type of museum and presentation that was developed in Northern Europe, particularly in Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavia. Called Kulturgeschichte (cultural history) museums, they were evocative displays of regional history. American trustees, museum directors, and curators found that the Kulturgeschichte approach offered a variety of transformational options in planning museums, classifying and displaying objects, and broadening collecting categories, including American art and the decorative arts. Leading institutions, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, adopted and developed crucial aspects of the Kulturgeschichte model. By the 1930s, such museum plans and exhibition techniques had become standard practice at museums across the country.

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Generations of children have been captivated by the exploits of Jemima Puddle-Duck, Squirrel Nutkin, Peter Rabbit and the host of other characters conjured up by Beatrix Potter. Packed with original artwork, Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature, looks at secrets to her success and celebrates her wider life and legacy - her passions and accomplishments - that stretch far beyond the pages of her storybooks. Charting her life, from her childhood in South Kensington, London to her later years in the Lake District, Annemarie Bilclough and Emma Laws show how Potter's exceptional affinity with nature from an early age ensured the success of her stories - underneath the costumes were real, believable, animals. Sara Glenn highlights Potter's entrepreneurial talents whilst Lucy Shaw takes readers on a Victorian holiday. Contributions from Richard Fortey and James Rebanks reveal her work in the field of mycology and transformation into a farmer, and Liz Hunter MacFarlane discusses her profound impact on the preservation of the Lake District landscape. Naturalist, creative pioneer, storyteller, determined entrepreneur - Potter has been described as 'a many-sided genius' and Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature allows readers a tantalising glimpse into the life of this extraordinary woman.

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PRINCE HARRY, AUTHOR OF SPARE, IN HIS OWN WORDS - INCLUDING EXCLUSIVE ACCESS AND INTERVIEWSOnce a reckless rebel, now a respected role model, Prince Harry is one of the world's most popular royals and all set to haul the British royal family into the twenty-first century. How has he done it?Harry: Conversations with the Prince takes a three-dimensional look at what Harry is really like, both on and off royal duty. It delves into his troubled childhood and rebellious teenage years, as well as exploring the defining moments that have enabled him to face his demons and use his own experiences to help others.Distinguished journalist and royal biographer Angela Levin accompanied Prince Harry on many of his engagements and had exclusive access to him at Kensington Palace. She found a complex man who has inherited his late mother's extraordinary charisma and determination to 'make a difference.'In this updated insightful and engaging biography, Levin examines the first year of Harry's marriage to Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, the pivotal moments the couple face following the birth of their son, and their shared vision as they forge their own path on the world stage.

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A passionate advocate of craftsmanship over mass-production, William Morris (1834– 1896) designed a huge variety of objects, but it is his highly original carpet, fabric and wallpaper patterns that have continued to capture the imagination and exert their influence on the decorative arts. Around 600 such designs are attributed to Morris, of which the vast majority are based on natural forms, including trees, plants and flowers. This beautifully designed, accessibly priced gift book offers a wealth of designs by Morris in which flowers are the principal motif, bringing together not only completed patterns but also working drawings in pen and watercolour, and examples of his pearwood, floral-pattern printing blocks. It also explores examples of the sources that inspired Morris’s flower-based designs: his own gardens at the Red House in Kent, Kelmscott Manor in Oxfordshire and elsewhere; 16th- and 17th-century herbals; illuminated medieval manuscripts; late medieval and Renaissance tapestries; and a range of decorated objects, particularly from the Islamic world, that Morris studied at the South Kensington Museum (now the V&A). Authored by Rowan Bain, curator at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, north London, and lavishly illustrated with almost 100 colour illustrations, this exquisite book will both inform and delight

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'The most positive advice on menopausal life you will ever read' Daily Mirror'This is the book that encourages you to get off your oestrogen free backside and grab life with both hands' The FT'...(Ruddock) has written a ground-breaking book. Hugely liberating, empowering and transforming' The Independent on SundayThe Second Half of Your Life has been heralded as 'one of the most important women's books for a decade' and 'the manual for women in the second half of their life'. First published in 2011, and revised and updated in 2015, The Second Half of Your Life is one of the first books written on the hormonal changes around menopause as a positive springboard to the rest of a woman's life. Based on the science of hormones, Jill Ruddock provides advice to create a second life of limitless possibilities.All proceeds from this book go to The Second Half Foundation. The Second Half Foundation funds The Second Half Centre (created and opened in 2012) in the NHS St Charles in North Kensington, a place where both men and women can go and live Jill's 'Five A Day', the five components of successful ageing as written in her book.

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Inviting, perfect in proportion, exquisite in detail such are a few of the ways to describe homes designed by John Simpson. Well known for his work with the British royal family at Buckingham and Kensington palaces and for his buildings at Eton College in the U.K. and at the University of Notre Dame in the U.S., he is perhaps most brilliant at the level of the house and home. Building Beautiful is an invitation to enter the work of this master designer, as one might visit with a treasured friend. From a dream made real within a Venetian palazzo a former seventeenth-century near-ruin, brought back to glorious, fancifully detailed life to an English countryside cottage with a thatched roof, the featured homes are expressions of Simpson s unerring eye and extraordinary sense of beauty. Here we find drama in contrasts of scale and the seductive effects of light, where a cosy reading nook opens to an expansive living room with a double-height ceiling that nevertheless feels not overly large but rather just right. This is Simpson s subtle art a mastery of scale, balance, and a pervading sense of elegance.

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Often more interesting than great battles, royal weddings or grand state occasions are the weird and wonderful tales of ordinary folk. These memories turn into valuable currency as our familiar world is vandalised in the name of progress… Rantings of the Loon Pant King is a flippant, irreverent and tongue-in-cheek account of Tex Austin’s 'madventures' touring with various 1960s Beat Groups and Mod Bands. After this Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster ride ended he became a fashion guru and the guy who invented loon pants in the early 1970s. Admittedly a dubious claim to fame, but to be fair, absolutely everybody was wearing these outrageous bell-bottoms at the time and many people made a fortune flogging good old loons. Originally sold from the back of a minivan at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival featuring The Who and Hendrix, sales went stratospheric when they hit London’s Kensington Market. Flying off shelves nationwide, the loon pant became iconic throughout the UK as the 'post hippie' uniform, staying in style for half a decade before being displayed at the V&A Museum… Tex reveals all this plus a zillion more rants and escapades on his loony trip.

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Lady Georgiana Rannoch won't deny that being thirty-fifth in line for the British throne has its advantages. Unfortunately, money isn't one of them. And sometimes making ends meet requires her to investigate a little royal wrongdoing.While my beau Darcy is off on a mysterious mission, I am once again caught between my high birth and empty purse. I am therefore relieved to receive a new assignment from the Queen - especially one that includes lodging. The King's youngest son, George, is to wed Princess Marina of Greece, and I shall be her companion at the supposedly haunted Kensington Palace.My duties are simple: help Marina acclimate to English life, show her the best of London and, above all, dispel any rumours about George's libertine history. Perhaps that last bit isn't so simple.George is known for his many affairs with women as well as men - including the great songwriter Noel Coward. But things truly get complicated when I search the Palace for a supposed ghost only to encounter an actual dead person: a society beauty said to have been one of Prince George's mistresses.Nothing spoils a royal wedding more than murder, and the Queen wants the whole matter hushed. But as the investigation unfolds - and Darcy, as always, turns up in the most unlikely of places - the investigation brings us precariously close to the prince himself.

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San Diego Then and Now pairs up fascinating archive pictures of the city from its Spanish old town origins, to the bright and shining metropolis of today Known to its residents as “America’s Finest City,” San Diego has a mild, inviting climate and stunning coastal scenery. San Diego Then and Now looks at how the city developed from a small village settled by early Franciscan missionaries and the Spanish military. It came under U.S. rule in 1846, but it was not until 1867 when San Francisco speculator and businessman Alonzo E. Horton acquired 960 acres of waterfront land and promoted it as “New Town” that San Diego really began to take off. San Diego Then and Now pairs archival photographs with modern views of the same scene to illustrate the city’s growth since these humble beginnings. It shows how the city’s architecture still reflects and preserves its Spanish heritage but also incorporates modern glass skyscrapers and Victorian mansions. Sites include: Horton Plaza, U.S. Grant Hotel, Stingaree District, Speckels Theatre, Fifth Avenue, Seaport Village, Embarcadero, Star of India, Coronado, Hotel del Coronado, Santa Fe Depot, Carnegie Library, El Cortez Hotel, Long-Waterman Mansion, Villa Montezuma, The Prado, San Diego Zoo, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego High School, Hillcrest, City Heights, Kensington, La Casa de Estudillo, Casa de Bandini, Whaley House, Junipero Serra Museum, Ballast Point, Point Loma, Ocean Beach and Pacific Beach.

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Founded as a boutique mail-order service in 1963, Biba - the brainchild of designer Barbara Hulanicki - quickly gained cult status, and outgrew several London premises before landing at 99 - 117 Kensington High Street in 1973 as 'Big Biba', 'the most beautiful store in the world'. This book tells the story of the Biba years, from the first ensembles, through the four iconic London shops, to the eventual flourishing of a lifestyle brand that revolutionized British retail and fashion culture. Featuring a wealth of previously unpublished material, including early fashion illustrations by Hulanicki and full-colour facsimiles of the six luxurious Biba catalogues, The Biba Years investigates the innovative ethos of the company - the first retailer to bring affordable fashion to the young consumers of the 1960s and '70s. Extensive garment photography documents the unique Biba 'look', while archival images provide a glimpse into the glamorous surrounds of the hugely popular London stores. An ideal companion to A to Biba: The Autobiography of Barbara Hulanicki (V&A, 2018), this beautiful book incorporates many personal insights from the designer and her contemporaries at Biba, and includes new illustrations by Hulanicki created specially for the publication. The Biba Years provides the last word on a fashion phenomenon, whose extensive impact on the fashion industry can still be felt today.

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'Compulsively readable . . . thrilling' – Sunday Telegraph'Brings alive a glamorous, swashbuckling heroine' – Sunday TimesIn June 1952, a woman was murdered by an obsessive colleague in a hotel in South Kensington. Her name was Christine Granville – Churchill's favourite spy. That she died young was perhaps unsurprising. That she had survived the Second World War was remarkable.The daughter of a feckless Polish aristocrat and his wealthy Jewish wife, Christine fled to Britain on the outbreak of war and persuaded MI6 to make her their first female recruit. She took on mission after mission, skiing into occupied Poland, serving in Egypt and later parachuting into occupied France.Her quick wit, courage and determination won her release from arrest more than once, and she saved the lives of several fellow officers, including one of her many lovers just hours before he was due to be executed by the Gestapo.Of more strategic importance, the intelligence she smuggled to Britain, and her service in France, including single-handedly securing the defection of an entire Nazi German garrison, was a significant contribution to the Allied war effort. She was awarded the George Medal, the OBE and the Croix de Guerre.In The Spy Who Loved Mulley has brought Christine vividly to life – a complex, courageous and very effective special agent who deserves to be better remembered.

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A gem of a book.' Graham Tomlin, Bishop of Kensington Many of our everyday encounters in the world are touched by the divine, if we were only aware of it. We may find it impossible to miss God in the great interruptions of human existence, but God often finds a humbler dwelling-place . . . Donna Lazenby was in a packed underground carriage when it was taken siege by a group of musicians ripe to start a ceilidh. The eruption into dull passivity of joy seemed a herald of the Kingdom of God. And so she began to write a series of reflections, some prosaic, others more poetic in tone, that open up ways of seeing light in darkness; love in places of desolation; in-breaking life when all seems tired and old. But the coming of this Kingdom is also revealed in protest, in the world’s cry against a pervasive sense of alienation, while an allegedly ‘secular’ culture steals and presents the claims of the Gospel as its own. And so, Divine Sparks calls us to be prophets: visionaries able to discern and proclaim God’s incoming Kingdom, as it arrives by day – and night. Praise for the author’s A Mystical Theology (Bloomsbury, 2014): ‘[Written] with elegance and originality’ Catherine Pickstock, Professor of Metaphysics and Poetics, University of Cambridge

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From Dr Annie Gray, presenter of BBC2's Victorian Bakers What does it mean to eat like a queen? Elizabeth gorged on sugar, Mary on chocolate and Anne was known as 'Brandy Nan'. Victoria ate all of this and more. The Greedy Queen celebrates Victoria's appetite, both for food and, indeed, for life. Born in May 1819, Victoria came 'as plump as a partridge'. In her early years she lived on milk and bread under the Kensington system; in her old age she suffered constant indigestion yet continued to over-eat. From intimate breakfasts with the King of France, to romping at tea-parties with her children, and from state balls to her last sip of milk, her life is examined through what she ate, when and with whom. In the royal household, Victoria was surrounded by ladies-in-waiting, secretaries, dressers and coachmen, but below stairs there was another category of servant: her cooks. More fundamental and yet completely hidden, they are now uncovered in their working environment for the first time. Voracious and adventurous in her tastes, Queen Victoria was head of state during a revolution in how we ate - from the highest tables to the most humble. Bursting with original research, The Greedy Queen considers Britain's most iconic monarch from a new perspective, telling the story of British food along the way.

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Across the United States, newsrooms are grappling with systemic racism in their organizations and the media industry. Many have implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives or made other attempts to confront past and present biases in pursuit of greater equity. Are such efforts merely performative, or are any transforming norms and power structures? What would it take to hold newsrooms truly accountable?Andrea Wenzel provides a critical look at how local media organizations in the Philadelphia area are attempting to address structural racism. She focuses on two established, majority-white newsrooms, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the public radio station WHYY, and two start-ups where at least half the staff identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC), Resolve Philly and Kensington Voice. Drawing on more than five years of field research, Wenzel charts how these outlets have pursued a range of interventions—such as tracking the diversity of sources, examining reporting and editing practices, and working with community members to gain input—to varying degrees of success. Wenzel argues that institutional and systemic transformation will be possible only through the establishment of structures that facilitate holding those with more power responsible for listening to and addressing the needs and concerns of those with less. Offering recommendations for building infrastructure that enables sustainable accountability, Antiracist Journalism is an important book for everyone interested in making local journalism more equitable.

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In Secrets at Bletchley Park by Margaret Dickinson, two young women from very different backgrounds meet in the Second World War and are plunged into a life where security and discretion are paramount. But both have secrets of their own to hide . . .In 1929, life for ten-year-old Mattie Price, born and raised in the back streets of Sheffield, is tough. But Mattie’s neighbours and teachers recognize that the girl is clever beyond her years and they are determined that she shall have the opportunity in life she deserves.Victoria Hamilton, living in the opulence of London’s Kensington, has all the material possessions that a young girl could want. But Victoria's mother lives her life in the social whirl of upper-class society, leaving Victoria in the care of her governess and the servants. At eleven years old, Victoria is sent to boarding school where, for the first time in her young life, she is able to make friends of her own age.Mattie and Victoria are both set on a path that will bring them together at Bletchley Park in May 1940. Together they will face the rest of the war keeping the nation’s secrets and helping to win the fight. But keeping secrets is second nature to both of them . . .

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Visit the Natural History Museum - 100 years ago. Featuring a wealth of stunning black-and-white photographs from the Museum's archives, this book offers a real flavour of life at one of London's oldest and most famous visitor attractions, from Victorian times until just after the Second World War. The photographs go back as far as the 1880s, to the earliest years of the Museum, when only a few horsedrawn carriages plied the streets of South Kensington and elephants and gorillas from distant parts of the British Empire were exhibited for the first time. In later years the Museum gardens were to be dug over for vegetable production during the Second World War and whale carcasses were buried in the grounds to allow the flesh to rot away. The book focuses on the unusual events that have taken place over the years, the characters working at and visiting the Museum, and of course the awe-inspiring specimens. Ranging from the amazing to the amusing, the images are evocative and brimming with period detail. The authors are senior archivists and well placed to share their knowledge of the stories that lie behind the silver-nitrate surface of the old photographic prints.

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'It was a tower block, but it was home.' The early hours of Wednesday 14 June 2017. The north-west corner of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. A twenty-four-storey residential tower. The scene of a national tragedy. This powerful verbatim play is drawn from the testimony of residents – a group of survivors and bereaved – at the heart of the Grenfell Tower tragedy. It reveals the impact of the multiple failures that led to the most devastating residential fire in the UK since the Second World War, and asks: how do we stop this ever happening again? Startling, urgent and deeply moving, Grenfell: in the words of survivors explores the courage and resilience of an ill-treated community and their continued campaign for justice. Created from interviews by Gillian Slovo, the play was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in July 2023, co-directed by Phyllida Lloyd and Anthony Simpson-Pike. 10% of the net proceeds from sales of this book will be donated by the publisher to the Grenfell Foundation, who support the bereaved and survivors in the aftermath of the fire, as well as help them ensure Grenfell is remembered long into the future.

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'What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.' - W.H. DaviesWalking around London is one of life's great pleasures. There is a huge amount that you can only see on foot – but sometimes it is hard to know where to look. Luckily, Christopher Winn, bestselling author of I Never Knew That About London, knows where all the hidden treasures are. This book takes the reader on a series of stimulating original walks through different areas of central London, focusing on one particular period of history, the Victorian, so ubiquitous that we take it for granted, and yet so astonishing and so far reaching in its variety, imagination, ambition and detail.Discover.....the remarkable 300-foot bell tower at the Houses of Parliament you never knew was there.... ..the extraordinary fairytale house in Kensington where the Mikado was inspired.....the best Victorian loos in the world near Old Street... ..a hidden chapel in Bloomsbury described by Oscar Wilde as 'the most delightful private chapel in London'... ..London's best preserved high class Victorian shop near Tottenham Court Road… ...an almost complete Victorian townscape boasting the world's oldest surviving mansion block... Walk through history and discover the hidden gems of Victorian London!

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The royal chef to The Prince & Princess of Wales, Prince William, and Prince Harry shares 50 of her best-loved recipes fit for any teatime event.Former royal chef Carolyn Robb presents sumptuous recipes for tea time inspired by the signature dishes served at 12 of the most popular and luxurious palaces in England. From classic Giant Bourbon Biscuits inspired by Kensington Palace, to Little Scones with Raspberries and Clotted Cream for a Buckingham Palace–inspired garden party, to a White Chocolate and Mint Cake reminiscent of Highgrove House, each delicious recipe offers a taste of the history and tradition of royal British tea parties. ROYAL INSIDER: Carolyn Robb served as a chef to the Royal Family for 11 years, creating everything from intimate family meals to sumptuous formal events. 50 RECIPES: Recreate a royal tea party with sweets, savories, drinks and more. INSPIRING IMAGES: Filled with beautiful food photography and inspiration for setting a tea table fit for a Queen! PALACE TOUR: Take a virtual visit to 12 of the most popular and luxurious Palaces the Royal Family has called home. CLASSICS MADE MODERN: Recipes rely on seasonal ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions so that cooks of every skill level can make palace favorites at home.

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The story of Alpha is of major significance for understanding the place of religious faith in the modern world, but that story has never been told - until now.Since its launch in 1993, the Alpha movement has evolved from 'supper party evangelism' in the Kensington suburbs into a global brand of Christian outreach. Today, over a million people attend Alpha every year, but the history of its rise to popularity has never been documented. What caused such spiritual renewal in an age of scepticism? And what propelled Alpha into a phenomenon that is recognised across the globe?Alpha is far more than an introductory course to Christianity. At the core of its brand identity is a 'repackaging' of the Christian message for contemporary audiences. Innovation and cultural adaptability are built into Alpha's DNA, one of the chief reasons for its longevity and influence. Nimbly utilising the multimedia and digital revolutions, it has contextualised into cultures and languages across the planet. And led by charismatic, savvy individuals, it has attracted people from across the social spectrum, making waves in national media.Andrew Atherstone leaves no stone unturned as he presents this fascinating history. With exclusive access to original archives, Atherstone recounts the miraculous stories of HTB's early years, the first full account of Nicky Gumbel's conversion, and the strategic decisions that launched Alpha onto the global stage of Christian influence.With sharp historical analysis, Andrew Atherstone uncovers the story of Christian resurgence in our contemporary age.

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Britain is packed to the gunnels with places to visit that many regard as sacred, from iconic sites such as Iona, Lindisfarne and Stonehenge to more out-of-the-way pilgrimage destinations, stone circles, holy wells and obscure corners. Then there are places that appeal to a particular following, places of philosophical or celebrity interest such as Karl Marx's tomb in Highgate cemetery, Princess Diana's statue or, for sporting enthusiasts, Twickenham rugby stadium. This book, first published in 2011 as Sacred Britain, has been thoroughly revised with additional sites and re-packaged as part of Bradt's award-winning series of Slow travel guides to regions - and aspects - of the UK. Updates have been included, including to Stonehenge, Tintagel and Monkwearmouth-Jarrow, as well as new locations such as Goat's Hole Cave on the Gower Peninsula, Creswell Crags in Nottinghamshire, Stanton Drew in Somerset and St Nectan's Glen in Cornwall. Also new is the memorial to Princess Diana in Kensington Palace Gardens, which is included in addition to the island on the Althorp estate on which she is buried. Sites in England, Wales and Scotland are featured, from far-flung islands to ancient chalk hill carvings, hot springs and sites of myth, legend and apparition; and from soaring cathedrals to Buddhist and Hindu temples, shrines to martyred saints, irreligious philosophers and immortal rock stars - locations revered for their connections with art, music, literature, sport, crime; and places holding emotional associations for those with ancestral roots on Britain.

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The story of Alpha is of major significance for understanding the place of religious faith in the modern world, but that story has never been told - until now.Since its launch in 1993, the Alpha movement has evolved from 'supper party evangelism' in the Kensington suburbs into a global brand of Christian outreach. Today, over a million people attend Alpha every year, but the history of its rise to popularity has never been documented. What caused such spiritual renewal in an age of scepticism? And what propelled Alpha into a phenomenon that is recognised across the globe?Alpha is far more than an introductory course to Christianity. At the core of its brand identity is a 'repackaging' of the Christian message for contemporary audiences. Innovation and cultural adaptability are built into Alpha's DNA, one of the chief reasons for its longevity and influence. Nimbly utilising the multimedia and digital revolutions, it has contextualised into cultures and languages across the planet. And led by charismatic, savvy individuals, it has attracted people from across the social spectrum, making waves in national media.Andrew Atherstone leaves no stone unturned as he presents this fascinating history. With exclusive access to original archives, Atherstone recounts the miraculous stories of HTB's early years, the first full account of Nicky Gumbel's conversion, and the strategic decisions that launched Alpha onto the global stage of Christian influence. With sharp historical analysis, Andrew Atherstone uncovers the story of Christian resurgence in our contemporary age.

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A vivid portrait of Queen Victoria’s childhood, offering new insights into one of the most celebrated, but often misunderstood, monarchs in British history, 200 years after her birth This beautiful, extensively researched volume investigates the birth and early life of one of the most familiar British monarchs, Queen Victoria (1819–1901). A wealth of material, including many unexamined sources and unpublished images, sheds new light on Victoria’s youth. Included here are portraits of the queen as princess, childhood diaries and sketchbooks, clothing, jewelery, and correspondence. Deirdre Murphy paints a vivid picture of Victoria’s early years. Among her most surprising conclusions is the idea that the queen’s personal mythology of a childhood characterized by sadness and isolation is less accurate than is generally thought. Victoria’s personal relationships are brought brilliantly to life, from her affectionate but increasingly suffocating bond with her mother, the Duchess of Kent, to the controlling influence of Sir John Conroy, a man she came to despise, and her courtship with Prince Albert. Lesser-known figures are also explored, including Victoria’s first schoolmaster the Reverend George Davys, her governess Louise Lehzen, and her half-sister Feodora. This fascinating cast of characters enhances our image of Victoria, who emerges as both willful and submissive, fickle and affectionate, and with the explosive temper of her Hanoverian ancestors. Published in association with Historic Royal PalacesExhibition Schedule:Kensington Palace (May 24—December 2019)

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London's streets have always worn a variety of influences, reflecting the diverse crowds who live and work on them. Take a walk down any number of historic streets and an abundance of tales exist in the bricks and mortar, waiting to be told. The Hidden Lives of London's Streets takes the reader on a journey through Soho, Piccadilly, Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Chelsea, Kensington, Fitzrovia and Clerkenwell. A street map is provided for each area, marking out the streets and buildings in which the various activities - some forgotten, others well-remembered - took place.Stories include those of courtesans such as the notorious Lola Montez and Theresa de Cornelys, who gave lavish balls at their home in Soho Square which were little more than orgies, during which a man playing the violin while on roller skates crashed through her plate glass window; Casanova and his quarrel with Marianne Charpillon after he taught a parrot to say she was a 'whore'; clubs - great (the Gargoyle), the artistic (Muriel Belcher's Colony), and the small (Royston Smith's club for dwarves); the police; robberies; murder and executions; the nightclubs; cinemas and theatres; the villains and prostitution. Beyond mere gangs and criminality, the book will trace the social changes that have gradually unfolded on any given street. For example the metamorphosis of Old Compton Street as home to race gangs in the 1920s, to becoming an essentially Italian street, to being part of the gay community.

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Surviving Poverty carefully examines the experiences of people living below the poverty level, looking in particular at the tension between social isolation and social ties among the poor. Joan Maya Mazelis draws on in-depth interviews with poor people in Philadelphia to explore how they survive and the benefits they gain by being connected to one another. Half of the study participants are members of the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, a distinctive organization that brings poor people together in the struggle to survive. The mutually supportive relationships the members create, which last for years, even decades, contrast dramatically with the experiences of participants without such affiliation. In interviews, participants discuss their struggles and hardships, and their responses highlight the importance of cultivating relationships among people living in poverty. Surviving Poverty documents the ways in which social ties become beneficial and sustainable, allowing members to share their skills and resources and providing those living in similar situations a space to unite and speak collectively to the growing and deepening poverty in the United States. The study concludes that productive, sustainable ties between poor people have an enduring and valuable impact. Grounding her study in current debates about the importance of alleviating poverty, Mazelis proposes new modes of improving the lives of the poor. Surviving Poverty is invested in both structural and social change and demonstrates the power support services can have to foster relationships and build sustainable social ties for those living in poverty.

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Across the United States, newsrooms are grappling with systemic racism in their organizations and the media industry. Many have implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives or made other attempts to confront past and present biases in pursuit of greater equity. Are such efforts merely performative, or are any transforming norms and power structures? What would it take to hold newsrooms truly accountable?Andrea Wenzel provides a critical look at how local media organizations in the Philadelphia area are attempting to address structural racism. She focuses on two established, majority-white newsrooms, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the public radio station WHYY, and two start-ups where at least half the staff identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC), Resolve Philly and Kensington Voice. Drawing on more than five years of field research, Wenzel charts how these outlets have pursued a range of interventions—such as tracking the diversity of sources, examining reporting and editing practices, and working with community members to gain input—to varying degrees of success. Wenzel argues that institutional and systemic transformation will be possible only through the establishment of structures that facilitate holding those with more power responsible for listening to and addressing the needs and concerns of those with less. Offering recommendations for building infrastructure that enables sustainable accountability, Antiracist Journalism is an important book for everyone interested in making local journalism more equitable.

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George Orwell once said that the British love a really good murder. He might have added that the only thing the British love more than a good murder is a really good scandal, and best of all are the sexual and political scandals that take place behind the gilded doors of Britain's royal palaces. From Edward II's intimate relationship with Piers Gaveston to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's dramatic exit from the royal family, the royal residences have seen it all. This glorious romp of a book contains new information on well-known and not-so-well-known scandals, including those that have only recently been revealed through the release of previously secret official papers. Exploring surviving palaces such as Kensington as well as long -vanished residences including Whitehall, Scandals of the Royal Palaces is the first in-depth look at the bad behaviour of not just the royals themselves but also palace officials, courtiers, household servants and hangers-on. Delving into the bitter hatreds that generations of King Georges nursed for their eldest sons, Queen Victoria's opium -fuelled rages and Edward VII's near-miss perjury conviction, royal expert Tom Quinn reveals that scandal and the royal family have always been bedfellows. And if the behaviour of today's royals is anything to go by, the glittering palaces will continue to house intriguing, embarrassing and outrageous scandals for centuries to come.

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WATERSTONES' BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2023: PUZZLES AND HUMOURThe crime is simple: a valuable gemstone known as The Tiger's Eye was stolen from the Kensington Museum in the year 1926. The case was investigated by one Detective Inspector Jane Waterstone. Can you step into Jane's shoes and solve the case? A beautiful, intricate puzzle book with an intriguing mystery that places you at the heart of the story - Agatha Christie meets Murdle.The Museum Heist is an interactive book where murder mystery meets escape room-style puzzle solving, in an epic adventure for all the family. Put yourself to the test, and follow the story, working your way through a whole host of challenges - from deciphering clues at crime scenes and searching for hidden pieces of evidence in the pages - to satisfy your inner detective. Look out also for interactive elements within the book that will take each mystery to a whole new level.'I'm just mad about the Mystery Agency, and even madder about Henry Lewis. Like, it makes me actually mad how wonderfully talented he is at puzzle creation and storytelling. This book is an utter delight, one that should be in the collection of any sharp thinker. I hated how much I loved it. Can't recommend it enough.'-- Neil Patrick Harris, puzzle-master and award-winning actor

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An examination of the garden plans of eighteenth-century landscape architect Charles Bridgeman, shedding light on his artistic vision and contributions to English garden history. Charles Bridgeman was a popular and highly successful landscape architect in the first part of the eighteenth century. He was Royal Gardener to George I and George II, designing the gardens at Kensington Palace for them and working for many of the ruling Whig elite, including Sir Robert Walpole at Houghton Hall in Norfolk. His landscapes were audacious and monumental, but he is barely known outside the world of academic garden history; most of his gardens have disappeared, changed out of all recognition to chime with later tastes shaped by Lancelot Brown's vision of a more "natural" landscape, or buried under housing developments and golf courses; and there is little archaeological or written evidence of his work. This book aims to redress this injustice and rescue his legacy. It draws on the only significant body of evidence which survived him: an extensive but wildly heterogenous corpus of garden plans. Close examination of them reveals an artistic vision heavily influenced by the late seventeenth-century geometric garden but deeply rooted in the "genius of the place", and working methods that include a proto-business model which prefigures the gentleman improvers who followed him. The volume brings him from obscurity to demonstrate his skill as an artist, a manipulator of space on a grand scale and a consummate practitioner, a deserved member of the canon of famous and revered English landscape gardeners.

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WINNER OF THE PORTICO PRIZE 'A distinctive new voice for fans of 'Fleabag' or Sally Rooney' Independent'Raw, intimate and authentic' The Sunday Times'Gorgeous . . . Andrews's writing is transportingly voluptuous, conjuring tastes and smells and sounds like her literary godmother, Edna O'Brien.' New York TimesWhen Lucy wins a place at university, she thinks London will unlock her future. It is a city alive with pop up bars, cool girls and neon lights illuminating the Thames at night. At least this is what Lucy expects, having grown up seemingly a world away in working-class Sunderland, amid legendary family stories of Irish immigrants and boarding houses, now defunct ice rinks and an engagement ring at a fish market. Yet Lucy's transition to a new life is more overwhelming than she ever expected. As she works long shifts to make ends meet and navigates chaotic parties from East London warehouses to South Kensington mansions, she still feels like an outsider among her fellow students. When things come to a head at her graduation, Lucy takes off for Ireland, seeking solace in her late grandfather's cottage and the wild landscape that surrounds it, wondering if she can piece together who she really is. Lyrical and boundary-breaking, Saltwater explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, the challenges of shifting class identity and the way that the strongest feelings of love can be the hardest to define.'Luminous' Observer'Lyrically poetic' Evening Standard'Disarmingly honest . . . I wish I had read this when I was 19.' Guardian

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‘He seems perfection and I think that I have the prospect of very great happiness before me…’ Victoria in a letter of 15 October 1839 One of the greatest royal love matches of all time was that of Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert. The English princess, born at Kensington Palace in 1819, and the German prince were cousins, and first met when Victoria was 16. At their second meeting in 1839 she, by now Queen Victoria, proposed to him and they married the following year. Victoria and Albert’s romance marked a turning point for Britain’s royal family, and to the queen in particular love and marriage proved a source of strength and comfort. The two young people were brought together, like so many royal couples, by the scheming of matchmakers. The aftermath was not always easy. Albert’s adopted country remained wary of his intelligence and seriousness, most people as unaware of his private playfulness as they were of the contrasting aspects of Victoria’s own character. Victoria and Albert tells of a young couple’s love: how the two grew up, what they were like, how they first met. Love deepened within their marriage, as they became partners in private and in public, at home with their family and ever on duty as sovereign and consort. This beautifully illustrated book is part of the Pitkin Royal Collection series, celebrating the lives of the British royal family. Other notable titles in this insightful series include Royal Babies, The Queen and Her Family and Queen Elizabeth II.

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"I'm so glad that a new edition is coming! A wonderful, inspirational and essential book for Christie-lovers." Lucy Worsley, author of Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman (Hodder & Stoughton, 2022) ‘My dear home, my nest, my house’: these words from a 1958 song by Jules Bruyère, with which Agatha Christie opened her autobiography, sum up the importance of home to her. She also wrote: ‘What I liked playing with as a child I have liked playing with later in life. Houses for instance.’ She also lovingly included descriptions of houses (especially ‘her’ houses) in her books. Hilary Macaskill examines the houses that meant most to Agatha Christie, including her childhood home, Ashfield, in Torquay; Winterbrook in Oxfordshire, and, above all, Greenway, soaring above the River Dart and Agatha’s favourite home from 1938 to the end of her life in 1976 (though requisitioned in the Second World War by the Admiralty, and from 1943 to 1945 home also to the United States Coast Guard). The author also explores more temporary abodes, not only a succession of flats and houses in London (mainly in Kensington and Chelsea) but also the homes she set up at the digs in the Middle East that she travelled to with her archaeologist husband, Max Mallowan, and the hotels – notably the Moorland Hotel on Dartmoor, to which she adjourned in the grip of writer’s block to complete her first detective novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and the Burgh Island Hotel, a major inspiration for And Then There Were None and Evil Under the Sun.

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