More Books

MYSTERY LOVER'S ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND
More Books

1066, The Year of the Conquest • David Howarth HISTORY • 1981 • PAPER • 207 PAGES A concise, lucid history of the Battle of Hastings, rich in anecdotal detail. Howarth relies on the few medieval sources available to reconstruct the events leading up to and the consequences of the famous battle. As much a master storyteller as an adept historian, he provides insight into the court intrigue, personalities and daily life in the Norman period. (GBR115, $14.00)
Agatha Christie A to Z: The Essential Reference to Her Life and Writings • Dawn B. Sova MYSTERY • 1997 • HARD COVER • 304 PAGES A scholarly compendium of everything Christie, this handsome book is an encyclopedic guide to her life and work. It's also much fun, including such helpful categories as means of murder, characters and detectives. (GBR48, $55.00)
Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death • M.C. Beaton MYSTERY • 1999 • PAPER • 201 PAGES In this installment of the Agatha Raisin series, our heroine has quit her PR job in London and moved to a not-quite-so-quiet village in the Cotswolds, and of course finds her self in the middle of a puzzling murder that very much needs a solution. (GBR212, $7.99)
The Age of Shakespeare • Francois Laroque CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1993 • PAPER • 175 PAGES A volume in the outstanding "Discoveries" series, this pocket-size encyclopedia is an excellent introduction to Elizabethan England. It presents Shakespeare, his life, times and legacy in concise essays and hundreds of well-chosen illustrations. (GBR11, $12.95)
All Creatures Great and Small • James Herriot BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1998 • PAPER • 437 PAGES The first volume in the series of wildly popular tales by a country veterinarian -- and born storyteller -- set among the folk of the Yorkshire Dales. (GBR104, $7.99)
Art and Society in the Middle Ages • Georges Duby ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 128 PAGES A study of the relationship between the production of art and the nature of Medieval society. Noted French historian Georges Duby draws on religion, culture, government, geography, and, of course, artistic pursuits in this portrait of the Middle ages. (EUR85, $30.55)
Art of the Celts • Lloyd Robert Laing • Jennifer Laing ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1992 • PAPER • 216 PAGES A volume in the acclaimed "World of Art" series, this is a broad introduction to Celtic art, from the 5th century B.C. to 1200 A.D. (CLT02, $19.95)
The Arts and Crafts Movement • Wendy Kaplan • Elizabeth Cumming ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1991 • PAPER • 216 PAGES A survey of the Arts and Crafts movement among turn-of-the-century British, American and European designers. A handsome illustrated volume in the acclaimed "World of Art" series, it looks at the works of William Morris, Frank Lloyd Wright, Josef Hoffman, Eliel Saarinen and other important designers of furniture, glass, ceramics, metalwork, textiles and architecture. (GBR120, $18.95)
As You Like It • Paul Werstine • Barbara Mowat • William Shakespeare LITERATURE • 1997 • PAPER • 320 PAGES Part of the New Folger Library Shakespeare Series, Shakespeare's full text with a scene by scene prose summary and critical analysis. (TTR06, $3.99)
Atonement • Ian McEwan LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 351 PAGES A literary page-turner. This book is not only a pleasure to read, but is greatly evocative of Britain and its culture. The first part is set in pre-war British country estate; it's followed by a harrowing section on the Dunkirk retreat. The final section is set in modern-day London. The story concerns a family torn asunder by a great mistake that one of them makes as a child; it is rendered in rich, sensuous language, and great psychological nuance. A Booker Prize finalist and winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. (GBR370, $15.00)
Bath City Map • Geographers' A-Z MAP A street plan of Bath, with parks and monuments, at a scale of 1:12,000. One Side. 23x37 inches. (GBR317, $9.95)
The Battle of Britain, The Myth and Reality • Richard Overy HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 192 PAGES Renowned war historian Richard Overy's reassessment of the Battle of Britain, arguing that while it was indeed a turning point in World War II, its significance has been slightly mythologized. (WAR28, $17.95)
Beowulf • Seamus Heaney LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER • 215 PAGES A best-selling, critically acclaimed verse translation of the seminal Anglo-Saxon epic, which tells of a Scandinavian hero's bravery in defending Denmark from the monster Grendel. Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney translated. The Old English text appears side-by-side with Heaney's translation. (SCN27, $13.95)
Beth Chatto's Gravel Garden, Drought-Resistant Planting Through the Year • Steven Wooster • Beth Chatto NATURAL HISTORY • 2002 • HARD COVER • 192 PAGES Turning a former parking lot into a fertile garden sounds like an impossible task but British horticulturist Beth Chatto rises to the challenge. Chatto shows fellow green-thumbs how to get their flowers to bloom in gravelly, sandy soil. Wooster's photographs bring Chatto's practical gardening advice and biography of her garden to life. (GRD01, $35.00)
Birds of Britain & Europe • Hermann Heinzel • Richard Fitter • John Parslow FIELD GUIDE • 1998 • PAPER • 384 PAGES • COMING IN This masterfully organized Collins Pocket Guide, featuring 3,000 color illustrations covers the birds of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. Maps, text and illustrations for each species are organized together on facing pages for quick reference in the field. Heinzel contributed all the handsome watercolor illustrations. (EUR49, $27.50)
A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury • Edith Pargeter LITERATURE • 1992 • PAPER • 378 PAGES Another historical novel from the prolific English writer Edith Pargeter (aka Ellis Peters). Set at the turn of the 15th century, it is an engrossing yarn of medieval battles and disputes over feudal succession in the time of Henry IV. (GBR169, $13.50)
Blue Guide Channel Islands • Peter McGregor Eadie GUIDEBOOK • 1998 • PAPER • 160 PAGES A compact guide to the Channel Islands with a focus on history, culture and architecture. It includes 8 maps and site plans, and travel information. (GBR148, $19.95)
Blue Guide Prague • Jasper Tilbury GUIDEBOOK • 2004 • PAPER • 224 PAGES A detailed guide to the jewel of Eastern Europe complete with practical information, maps and cultural and historical background of Prague and Central Bohemia. With a color map, site plans and line drawings. (CZH56, $21.95)
The Bodleian Library and its Treasures, 1320-1700. • David Rogers ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1991 • HARD COVER • 175 PAGES A colorful, fully illustrated introduction to the famous library at Oxford. (GBR220, $50.00)
The Body in the Library • Agatha Christie MYSTERY • 2011 • PAPER • 192 PAGES In this Agatha Christie classic, a stylish blonde is found murdered at Grossington Hall and Miss Marple must put her keen observation skills to work to solve the crime. (GBR186, $12.99)
Bradt Guide Eccentric Britain • Benedict le Vay GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 384 PAGES From Longleat's Marquess of Bath and his 'set' of 62 'wifelets' to Biddeford's four acre Gnome Reserve, home to over a thousand of the little red-capped critters, and Chipping Campden's World Shin-kicking Championships, le Vay's book is an engaging and amusing read as well as being a practical travel guide. Lost for ideas? A calendar to the Eccentric Year is at hand - it's May so it must be the Randwick Wap religious cheese rolling festival. If you can wait a while August sees Tatton Park host the English Open Chainsaw Competition. Elsewhere, the guide details the Falkirk Wheel's triumph of eccentric engineering, which raises up to six boats at a time 155 feet from a canal to an aqueduct. However, if all this weirdness leaves you feeling a little jaded a trip to Salcombe, Devon and an encounter with Overbeck's Rejuvenator, just one of the items on display at the Electric Shock Museum, may ginger things up a bit... (GBR586, $24.99)
Brideshead Revisited • Evelyn Waugh LITERATURE • 1993 • HARD COVER • 315 PAGES A compact hardcover edition of Waugh's illuminating and entertaining portrait of England's aristocracy and, especially, of life in a country estate. (GBR106, $20.00)
British Isles Map, Great Britain and Ireland • Michelin Travel Publications 2008 • MAP This colorful and accurate, regularly updated map shows both Great Britain and Ireland at a scale of 1:1,000,000. Featuring excellent road data. One Side. 40x50 inches. (GBR07, $11.95)
The British Isles, A History of Four Nations • Hugh Kearney HISTORY • 2006 • PAPER • 324 PAGES A survey of 2000 years of British history from the Celts to the Romans, the Normans, to the rise (and fall) of the empire. With a welcome focus on the interaction of the Celts, Normans and other cultures that have made their home in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. Highly recommended. (GBR88, $39.99)
Britons: Forging the Nations, 1707-1837 • Linda Colley HISTORY • 2009 • PAPER • 442 PAGES Winner of the 1992 Wolfson History Prize given in London for the best history accessible to general readers, this very interesting study of the formation of a national British identity recounts the joining of England, Scotland and Wales. This political, military and social history records how the ruling elite withstood threats from within and without from the Jacobites to the French, the path from Protestantism to profits via trade, war and empire, the making of the British ruling class, the women's sphere, and parliamentary reforms from the act of Union to the beginning of the Victorian Age. (GBR81, $22.00)
The Cambridge Illustrated History of British Theatre • Simon Trussler ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 416 PAGES • COMING IN A comprehensive scholarly history of the theater from the Romans to the present, and Shakespeare to mimes -- featuring hundreds of illustrations, many in color. (GBR234, $47.00)
The Canterbury Tales (In Modern English) • Geoffrey Chaucer • Nevill Coghill LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 504 PAGES A "Penguin Classics" edition of the cornerstone of medieval English literature, Chaucer's unfinished tales of pilgrims en route to Canterbury. Nevill Coghill makes the going easier by translating the 600-year-old collection of epic poetry into modern English prose, but it's still a weighty endeavor. (GBR250, $10.00)
Cathedrals and Castles, The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages • Alain Erlande-Brandenburg ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2010 • PAPER • 175 PAGES This pocket-size encyclopedia of the art, architecture and culture of the Middle Ages features hundreds of drawings, color illustrations and a brief chronology. Take it along to gain a better appreciation of the Middle Ages and its legacy in Europe. (MED07, $15.95)
The Celts, First Masters of Europe • Chriatiane Eluere ARCHAEOLOGY • 1993 • PAPER • 175 PAGES • COMING IN A pocket-size encyclopedia of knowledge, this slim illustrated volume documents what we know of the art and archaeology of the Celts, taking the story from the fourth century B.C. to the arrival of the Romans. With over 100 maps and illustrations of sites and artifacts. Excellent. (CLT01, $15.95)
A Certain Justice • P.D. James MYSTERY • 2003 • PAPER • 431 PAGES A terrific mystery set in a London law firm, starring the redoubtable Adam Dalgliesh. (GBR185, $15.00)
Charles Darwin, The Power of Place • Janet Browne BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2003 • PAPER • 624 PAGES The second half of Browne's magisterial history, full of insight into Victorian science. In this big, engrossing volume she follows the fate of Darwin, and his ideas, from the return of the voyage of the Beagle until his death. (GBR375, $27.95)
The Children of Henry VIII • Alison Weir HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 363 PAGES This riveting account, both history and biography, examines the relationship of the four heirs left at Henry's death -- Prince Edward, "Bloody" Mary, Elizabeth, and Lady Jane Grey. Enlightening about the era and revealing in the portraits of the successors to Henry VIII, this is very enjoyable history. (GBR74, $16.00)
A Christmas Carol • Charles Dickens LITERATURE • 1999 • PAPER • 102 PAGES The famous tale by the Victorian master, here with watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations. (GBR235, $3.95)
City Secrets London • Robert Kahn GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • HARD COVER • 250 PAGES City Secrets London collects dozens of recommendations of where to go and what to do. It's a connoisseur's guide to the city and its attractions, with personal recommendations by artists, designers, architects and personalities who have made their homes there. Each contributor provides a brief profile of a favorite haunt. With detailed maps. (GBR327, $19.95)
Clara's Grand Tour, Travels With a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-century Europe • Glynis Ridley HISTORY • 2006 • PAPER • 240 PAGES The entertaining history of a most unusual eighteenth-century European celebrity. Clara the Indian rhinoceros was brought to Europe in 1741 by the Dutch sea captain Douwemout Van der Meer, and toured for seventeen years, to the delight of heads of state such as Louis XV and Frederick the Great. A marvelous and unique look at the introduction of Eastern wildlife into the Western world. (FRN536, $12.00)
Codebreakers, the Inside Story of Bletchley Park • Alan Stripp • F.H. Hinsley HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 352 PAGES The "inside story" of the British codebreakers who cracked the German Enigma code and turned the tide of World War II, as told by 27 of the codebreakers themselves. They were perhaps the most motley crew ever attached to the British government: an assortment of Oxford and Cambridge dons trained in classics and mathematics, thrust suddenly into the world of secret military intelligence. These narratives were written in 1970, shortly after a gag order was lifted. (WAR46, $19.95)
Collins Complete Guide to British Wildlife • P. Sterry FIELD GUIDE • 2008 • PAPER • 384 PAGES A one-volume photographic guide to British wildlife, covering everything from fungi to mammals, including plants, insects, birds and fish. (GBR93, $34.95)
Color for Adventurous Gardeners • Jonathan Buckley • Christopher Lloyd NATURAL HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 192 PAGES Practical advice on how to maximize the impact of color in your garden. In 11 chapters organized by shade, Lloyd explains color rules and when to break them. Over 200 photos demonstrate Lloyd's technique. (GRD08, $19.95)
The Complete Angler, Or the Contemplative Man's Recreation • Izaak Walton • Charles Cotton NATURAL HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 464 PAGES In print for nearly 350 years, this classic of fly fishing literature is not only an informative introduction to the sport, it's a meditation on the timeless appeal of it. Walton combines anecdote, commentary and verse, with helpful instructions on technique, to create a literary, somewhat spiritual handbook. This new edition contains reproductions of woodcuts and etchings that appeared in an 1844 printing. It is the third most reprinted book in the English language (after the Bible and the works of Shakespeare). (FSH01, $15.00)
The Complete Poems • John Keats • John Barnard LITERATURE • 1977 • PAPER • 731 PAGES A collection of every poem that John Keats ever wrote, in a portable paperback edition from "Penguin Classics." (GBR162, $17.00)
The Complete Sherlock Holmes, All 4 Novels and 56 Short Stories • Arthur Conan Doyle LITERATURE • 1998 • PAPER • 1122 PAGES This paperback volume manages to collect every Sherlock Holmes story that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ever wrote, including "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and his three other short novels concerning the legendary detective. Not only are these fun mysteries, they are also quite evocative of life in Victorian England. (GBR157, $13.90)
A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court • Mark Twain LITERATURE • 1977 • PAPER • 410 PAGES Twain's comic 1889 novel, in which a 19th-century American finds himself transported to 6th-century England. He takes with him his beliefs in liberty, fraternity and equality -- new concepts at the court of King Arthur. With the original illustrations by Dan Beard. (GBR326, $10.00)
Cotswolds Map • Ordnance Survey 2005 • MAP A terrific, colorful, and very detailed topographic map of the Cotswolds, at a scale of 1:25,000. It shows Chipping, Campden, Stow-on-the-Wold, Cirenchester, Burford and part of the Cortswold Way. Two Sides. 37x50 inches. (GBR124, $13.95)
The Crafts of Britain in the Twentieth Century • Tanya Harrod ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1999 • HARD COVER • 496 PAGES From architecture to bookbinding, Harrod traces the cultural history of 20th-century design. With 284 black-and-white and 222 color illustrations. The companion volume to a museum exhibition, this handsome book is a good overview of a big subject. (GBR119, $95.00)
Cross Channel • Julian Barnes LITERATURE • 1997 • PAPER • 211 PAGES Each linked in some way with cross channel experiences, these ten short stories range in time from the late 17th century to the year 2015. The stories display the deliciously comic, complex and intellectual pyrotechnics, for which novelist Barnes is famous. (GBR56, $15.00)
Daphne du Maurier, Haunted Heiress • Nina Auerbach BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1999 • HARD COVER • 196 PAGES A powerful psychological profile of the novelist by the author of "Our Vampires, Ourselves." Auerbach focuses on du Maurier's difficult family. (GBR117, $45.00)
David Copperfield • Charles Dickens LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 1024 PAGES Perhaps Dickens most famous novel, and certainly his most autobiographical, this classic is noteworthy for its vivid and painful descriptions of orphan life in Victorian London. (GBR381, $9.00)
Dead Cert • Dick Francis MYSTERY • 2004 • PAPER • 288 PAGES A former jockey, Dick Francis writes mysteries set in the world he knows best, the cut-throat competition of horse racing in England. This is his first, featuring the tireless jockey and sleuth Alan York. (GBR408, $7.99)
Disease, Medicine and Society in England, 1550-1860 • Roy Porter HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 78 PAGES A social history of England that examines the repercussions of disease before the development of modern public health care. A distinguished authority on the history of medicine, Porter uses recent research to make a strong contribution to both English and medical studies in this extended essay. (GBR112, $31.00)
Economic and Social History of Medieval Europe • Henri Pirenne HISTORY • 1936 • PAPER • 224 PAGES Pirenne, an important economic historian, traces the economic and social development of Western Europe from the end of the Roman Empire to the middle of the 15th century in this classic book, first published in 1936. It gives a concise picture of medieval Western Europe, including social disturbances, economic and social catastrophes, famine and the Black Death. A separate section on the North Sea and the Baltic contains specific references to the Hanseatic League. (EUR18, $15.95)
Eleanor of Aquitaine, A Life • Alison Weir BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2001 • PAPER • 464 PAGES Weir's enjoyable biography of the woman who was both queen of France (married to Louis VII) and queen of England (married to Henry II) shows Eleanor as an ambitious political and artistic powerbroker in an age when most women were seen but not heard. (FRN287, $17.00)
Ellis Peters' Shropshire • Ellis Peters CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1999 • PAPER • 167 PAGES • COMING IN A tour of Shropshire by the prolific historical novelist Edith Pargeter (aka Ellis Peters), who called it home for so many years. It is a personal, literary tour of the landscapes and towns of this beautiful piece of the British countryside. (GBR171, $15.95)
Empire, The British Imperial Experience from 1765 to the Present • Denis Judd HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 478 PAGES This survey of British imperial history sums up the balance sheet of empire and the continuing debate over its meaning. Its epic theme is how the empire affected rulers and the ruled from the American Revolution to the present. Included are issues of gender, race, sexuality, and national identity in the confrontations between British missionaries and colonial subjects. (GBR80, $28.50)
England As You Like It, An Independent Traveler's Companion • Susan Allen Toth GUIDEBOOK • 1996 • PAPER A charming, digressive guide to navigating England and Scotland on your own. More a theory of travel than a practical guidebook, Toth offers general advice on being your own travel agent, preparing for your trip and keeping a travel journal amongst her own memories of travelling -- also documented in her memoir "My Love Affair with England (GBR03). Toth highlights her favorite haunts of both countries including London, the Cornish Coast and Nairn. (GBR395, $12.95)
England, England • Julian Barnes LITERATURE • 2000 • PAPER • 275 PAGES Acclaimed novelist Barnes turns his characteristic wit toward both England and the experience of traveling. Business tycoon Sir Jack Pitman dreams of making a profit by recreating all of England's attractions -- from Big Ben to Stonehenge -- at the convenient scale of an amusement park (which is, incidentally, set on the Isle of Wight). A trenchant, entertaining critique that raises questions about tourism and British identity. (GBR45, $15.95)
English Architecture, A Concise History • David Watkin ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1985 • PAPER A straightforward, illustrated history of English architecture from Anglo-Saxon times to the present. (GBR228, $14.95)
English History 1914-1945 • Alan Taylor HISTORY • 1978 • HARD COVER • 737 PAGES A volume in the monumental 15-volume Oxford History of England, originally published in 1965. For history enthusiasts who don't require many maps, illustrations, table or diagrams to leaven the text. (GBR219, $229.75)
English Watercolors, An Introduction • Graham Reynolds ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1991 • HARD COVER • 160 PAGES Graham Reynold, former curator of the Victoria and Albert Museum, manages to lucidly and comprehensively discuss the entire history of English watercolor in one volume, no small feat. And he does it with aplomb, moving from Turner and Blake to modernists Lear and Lewis with skill. Recommended for both unschooled and scholarly lovers of art. (GBR182, $35.00)
Eyewitness Guide Great Britain • Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 720 PAGES With its 1,400 photos, maps and excellent introductory chapters, this guide is both a general introduction to Great Britain and a region-by-region look at its attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (GBR01, $30.00)
Eyewitness Guide London • Eyewitness Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 448 PAGES This superb guide to London features color photography, dozens of excellent neighborhood maps and a district-by-district synopsis of the city's attractions. Handsome, convenient and up-to-date, this is the guide to carry. (GBR34, $25.00)
Fallen into the Pit • Ellis Peters MYSTERY • 1996 • PAPER • 325 PAGES Edith Pargeter, who goes by the pen name of Ellis Peters, is best known for her medieval mystery series the "Chronicles of Brother Cadfael," but she has also written a series of 20th century mysteries concerning the brilliant detective George Felse. This is the first entry in the series, an intricately plotted whodunit set in 1950s England, where Felse must track down the murderer of a former German prisoner of war. Followed by 13 other Felse mysteries. (GBR167, $20.00)
A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain and Europe • Guy Mountfort FIELD GUIDE • 2001 • PAPER • 212 PAGES Every birder has their favorite field guide, but you can't go wrong with this classic in the Peterson series: compact, illustrated and convenient, covering 698 species. With range maps. (EUR15, $25.00)
Five Days in London, May 1940 • John Lukacs HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 256 PAGES The days in question are May 24-28th, 1940 -- a long weekend shortly after the Allied loss at Dunkirk, when Winston Churchill convinced his cabinet that Great Britain should continue the war with Germany. In this fly-on-the wall account, Lukacs argues that Churchill's success marked the true beginning of World War II. (WAR47, $11.95)
Flashman and the Tiger • George MacDonald Fraser LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER • 368 PAGES Fraser plumbs the annals of history to produce his factual, entertaining tales of folly in the service of her Majesty's empire. This 11th installment in The Flashman Papers (purportedly retrieved and not written by George Macdonald Fraser, a nice conceit), consists of three short adventures, which find our hero cavorting with Bismarck and Emperor Franz-Josef and the future Edward VI. (WAF58, $16.00)
Fodor's London's 25 Best • Fodor's GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 176 PAGES This slim guide to London includes a separate map of the city's center and a 96-page pocket book with essential information on its highlights, including restaurant recommendations and sightseeing. (GBR08, $12.99)
The French Lieutenant's Woman • John Fowles LITERATURE • 1998 • PAPER • 467 PAGES This Victorian love story, set in Lyme Regis of 1867, tells the tale of an obscure relationship between Charles Smithson and a mysterious, enigmatic woman. Skilfully told, it's as much about the author's modern day narration as it is about the hypocrisies of Victorian England. (GBR209, $15.99)
Friends, Lovers, Chocolate • Alexander McCall Smith MYSTERY • 2006 • PAPER • 272 PAGES From the author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes detective Isabel Dalhousie, the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics and host of the Sunday Philosophy Club at her home in Edinburgh. In book two of the series, Isabel looks after her niece's delicatessen, meets an eclectic cast of characters, and ponders the mysteries of chocolate. (SCT113, $14.00)
Garden Masterclass • John Brookes NATURAL HISTORY • 2002 • HARD COVER • 352 PAGES A visually striking, definitive book of garden design. Full color photographs and explanatory sketches will inspire even those not blessed with an eye for landscape design. With chapters on setting, shape, structure and contour, sheltered areas, water, plantings, entrance, surfaces and style. (GRD07, $40.00)
Garden Open Tomorrow • Beverley Nichols BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2002 • HARD COVER • 275 PAGES In this last book of his long gardening and writing career, Nichols reflects on nature's role as the ultimate gardener. Nichols' writing is full of wit, charm and many digressions including his thoughts on cats and plants as murder weapons. (GRD03, $24.95)
The Garden Through the Year • Fred Whitsey • Graham Stuart Thomas NATURAL HISTORY • 2002 • HARD COVER • 256 PAGES A month-by-month guide to gardening that weaves practical advice on plant introduction with Thomas' own thoughts on the craft. (GRD06, $49.95)
The Gothic Cathedral • Christopher Wilson ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2005 • PAPER • 304 PAGES An illustrated overview of gothic cathedrals, their history, design and construction, covering the masterpieces built from the 12th to the 16th century. With photographs and diagrams. (EUR80, $34.95)
The Gothic Enterprise, A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral • Robert A. Scott ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2005 • PAPER • 294 PAGES Scott, whose interest in the history of cathedrals began when he first saw the magnificent Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Salisbury, England, takes his reader on a historical, architectural and sociological tour of the magnificent spires and stained-glass windows that dot the landscape of Europe. It's an accessible, personable overview. (EUR190, $21.95)
Great Britain and Ireland Map • HEMA Maps MAP A nicely detailed map showing both Great Britain and Ireland at a scale of 1:750,000. Two Sides. 56x39 inches. (GBR31, $10.95)
Great Britain and Ireland Map • HEMA Maps MAP A nicely detailed map showing both Great Britain and Ireland at a scale of 1:750,000. Two Sides. 56x39 inches. (GBR31, $10.95)
Great Britain Map • Ordnance Survey MAP The Brits are famously in love with geography, and this is their homegrown, excellent map of Great Britain, at a scale of 1:625,000. Two Sides. 38x50 inches. (GBR06, $14.95)
Great Expectations • Charles Dickens LITERATURE • 2002 • PAPER • 544 PAGES Dickens at the top of his form. It follows Pip, from a boy orphan taken in by the eccentric Miss Havisham to a young man who finds himself benefactor to a small fortune. A "Penguin Classics" edition. (GBR380, $9.00)
A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland and Brittany • Aubrey Burl GUIDEBOOK • 2006 • PAPER • 276 PAGES An excellent guide to finding -- and understanding -- all the major sites, plus a few not-so-well known ones. It includes maps, black-and-white photographs, site diagrams, and a bibliography. (GBR102, $37.00)
Hadrian's Wall Map • Ordnance Survey 1998 • MAP A detailed, comprehensive map of Haltwhistle, Hexam and parts of Northumberland National Park suitable for walkers. It shows public rights of way and tourist information along the route of Hadrian's Wall, a World Heritage site. This double-sided map is at a scale of 1:25,000. Outdoor Leisure Map 43. Two Sides. 50x37 inches. (GBR304, $23.95)
Hadrian, The Restless Emperor • Anthony Birley BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2000 • PAPER • 424 PAGES An up-to-date, scholarly biography of Hadrian, chronicling the emperor's state, cultural and architectural accomplishments, and personal life (including his homosexual relationship with Antinous). (ITL260, $42.95)
A Handful of Dust • Evelyn Waugh LITERATURE • 1999 • PAPER • 308 PAGES Satirical novel of Britain between the wars. (GBR190, $14.99)
Hemingway's Chair • Michael Palin LITERATURE • 1999 • PAPER • 288 PAGES The celebration of Hemingway has even spread to a first novel "Hemingway's Chair" by Monty Python alum and travel writer, Michael Palin. Its subject is one Martin Sproale, a disgruntled East Anglican postal worker whose great passion is manifest in collecting Hemingway memorabilia, a shrine to the author in his bedroom -- and the taking up of the author's favorite pastime: drinking. (GBR111, $16.99)
Henry Esmond • Wiliam Makepeace Thackeray LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER • 544 PAGES This military romance, set in 18th-century England during the reign of Queen Anne, is one of the greatest historical novels ever written. Blending psychological drama and history, it is the story of a gentleman and officer wrestling with his allegiance to the old Tory-Catholic England until disillusionment forces him to come to terms with the Whig-Protestant future. Excellent on the history and the warfare of the time, this novel was instantly recognized as a masterpiece. (GBR85, $7.95)
Here Is Where We Meet • John Berger LITERATURE • 2006 • PAPER • 256 PAGES This novel weaves a portrait of several European countries through encounters with the dead, from the narrator's mother, whom he discovers on a park bench in Lisbon, to a childhood friend wandering a market in Krakow. "The dead don't stay where they are buried," the protagonist's mother tells him, and this becomes the mantra for this most unusual journey through Europe's history and people. (EUR189, $15.00)
A History of Britain: At the Edge of the World, 3500 B.C.-1603 A.D. • Simon Schama HISTORY • 2000 • HARD COVER • 416 PAGES An old-fashioned entertaining history of Britain by the prolific writer. This book, which includes some color photographs and maps, is the first of several companion volumes to the television documentary. (GBR203, $40.00)
The History of English Interiors • Peter Aprahamian • Ann Gore • Alan Gore ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1995 • PAPER • 192 PAGES The first comprehensive history of English interior decoration is collected here in a survey that covers a millennium's worth of styles. (GBR223, $29.95)
Hugh Casson's Oxford • Hugh Casson ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1998 • PAPER • 96 PAGES A personal tribute to Oxford -- in words and watercolors -- by the late former president of the British Royal Academy. Casson, who was an architect as well as a watercolorist, renders the city so that it is recognizable for traveler and native alike. (GBR240, $14.95)
An Illustrated History of the First World War • John Keegan HISTORY • 2001 • HARD COVER • 448 PAGES • COMING IN An illustrated edition of Keegan's outstanding history of the Great War, considerably enhanced by his selection of almost 500 photographs, maps, drawings and illustrations. The visuals clarify and augment his wide-ranging narrative of the origins, battles and consequences of WWI. (WAR16, $50.00)
In Search of England • H.V. Morton • James Morris TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 274 PAGES The much-beloved, enduring account of Morton's ramblings through the English countryside in the early days of the motorcar. As in all of his many travel books, Morton charmingly mixes a deep appreciation of the art, culture, and especially, the history of a place with his own keen observations. First published in 1927 and now returned to print in a handsome paper edition with an introduction by Jan Morris. (GBR368, $16.00)
In Search of England • Michael Wood CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2001 • PAPER • 352 PAGES Michael Wood combs the countryside in search of clues to English history and identity. (GBR323, $26.95)
In Search of London • H.V. Morton TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2002 • PAPER • 448 PAGES An enduring portrait of the city and especially of its history, originally published a half-century ago. As in all of his travel books, Morton charmingly mixes a deep appreciation of the art, culture and, especially, the history of a place with his own keen observations. (GBR269, $18.50)
Insight Compact Guide North York Moors • Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK • 1998 • PAPER A brief, easy-to-carry, and colorful introduction to the North York Moors, this useful guide features plenty of photos and maps, and covers all the major attractions. (GBR146, $7.95)
Insight Compact Guide Northumbria • Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK • 1998 • PAPER • 79 PAGES A brief, illustrated guide featuring color photographs and maps. (GBR200, $7.95)
The Invention of Love • Tom Stoppard LITERATURE • 1998 • PAPER • 102 PAGES Tom Stoppard's play delivers a powerful, intricate meditation on life, scholarship and the after-life in this brilliant play which has writer A.E. Houseman ("A Shropshire Lad") adrift on the River Styx, where he meets his younger Oxford University self, and reflects on a life lived in the shadow of Oscar Wilde. The often erudite dialogue dazzles with wit and humor. (GBR165, $12.00)
Ivanhoe, A Romance • Sir Walter Scott LITERATURE • 2001 • PAPER • 512 PAGES A rousing tale of gallantry set in England in the era of Robin Hood. (GBR237, $5.95)
Jamaica Inn • Daphne du Maurier LITERATURE • 1995 • PAPER • 302 PAGES This classic has all the elements of a guilty pleasure: piracy, murder, the High Church, a dying request and a dashing young horse thief. Du Maurier uses the wild Cornish landscape to great atmospheric effect. (GBR52, $7.99)
Jamaica Inn • Alfred Hitchcock 1939 • DVD An adaptation by Hitchcock (who made Rebecca a year later) of the atmospheric tale set in 19th-century Cornwall with Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara. DVD (GBR62, $29.99)
James Hutton, the Founder of Modern Geology • Scottish Natural Heritage 1997 • PAPER (GEO07, $28.00)
The Jewel That Was Ours • Colin Dexter MYSTERY • 1993 • PAPER • 256 PAGES An Inspector Morse mystery, set among the Oxford literati and featuring murder, a stolen jewel and a healthy dose of scandalous affairs. (GBR407, $7.99)
A Journal of the Plague Year • Daniel Defoe LITERATURE • 1966 • PAPER • 256 PAGES In 1665, when Defoe was a child, plague struck London. His classic fictional account of that time, told in the guise of truth, makes historically vivid, realistic fiction -- the prototype of all accounts of great cities under siege in disease or war. (GBR87, $10.00)
Karen Brown's England,Charming Bed & Breakfasts • June Brown GUIDEBOOK • 2005 • PAPER • 300 PAGES A survey of highly recommended bed and breakfasts throighout England. (GBR308, $19.95)
King Arthur and His Knights • Eugene Vinaver LITERATURE • 1975 • PAPER • 231 PAGES This volume includes English Arthurian fiction directly attributable to Malory's original tales -- including thoroughly readable accounts of the exploits of King Arthur, Merlin, Sir Lancelot, Gawain and the Green Knight, and the legend of the Holy Grail. (GBR90, $19.99)
Knopf Guide England and Wales • Knopf Guides GUIDEBOOK • 2007 • PAPER • 560 PAGES An excellent guide to the culture, history and sights of England and Wales. Like other Knopf guides, this volume is heavily illustrated with over a thousand color illustrations to accompany you on your tour of the British Isles. With tips on transportation, lodging, dining and shopping. (GBR191, $28.95)
Lake District Tourist Map • Ordnance Survey MAP A terrific, colorful, and very detailed map of the Lake District, at a scale of 1: 110,000 (1 inch = 1 3/4 mile). With tourist information on the reverse side. One Side. 50x37 inches. (GBR125, $14.95)
The Lake District, Landmark Visitors Guide • Landmark Publishing GUIDEBOOK • 2004 • PAPER • 224 PAGES • COMING IN A compact, fully illustrated guide to the Lake District, featuring dozens of maps, visitor attractions, travel information and suggested walks. (GBR141, $17.95)
Land's End/Penzance & St Ives • Ordnance Survey 1996 • MAP A detailed topographic map of the region with walking trails and landmarks at a scale of 1:25,000. One Side. 38x50 inches. (GBR343, $23.95)
Lands End, The Lizard Map • Ordnance Survey MAP A detailed map of the most southwestern portion of England, which covers much of the western part of Cornwall. Scale 1:50,000. One Side. 35x39 inches. (GBR123, $19.95)
The Last Detective • Peter Lovesey MYSTERY • 2000 • PAPER • 368 PAGES This sophisticated gumshoe novel features an old-fashioned detective, a drowned BBC actress, a pair of stolen Jane Austen letters and a suspenseful chase through the Roman baths of Bath. (GBR314, $13.00)
Letters from London • Julian Barnes CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1995 • PAPER • 320 PAGES This sparkling collection of essays by the brilliant novelist Julian Barnes hones in on the social complexity and political reality of modern day England. Originally published in the "New Yorker," these always-on-target essays range from Thatcherite Britain to the foibles of the royals. A dedicated francophile, he also meditates at length on the historic cross-channel animosity. (GBR14, $16.95)
Life in the English Country House, A Social and Architectural History • Mark Girouard ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1994 • PAPER • 432 PAGES A celebrated social and architectural history of life in English country houses, fully illustrated in black and white and color, first published in 1978. Girouard traces the history of these houses from medieval times to World War II. The Guardian said that Girouard has "no equal in describing social and political change in architectural terms." Based on the author's lectures at Oxford in 1975-76. (GBR221, $45.00)
The Lindisfarne Gospels • Janet Backhouse RELIGION • 1993 • PAPER • 96 PAGES A detailed, illustrated history of the illuminated manuscripts produced by the monks of the Lindisfarne monastery in Northumbria. All the major pages and many details of the manuscript are reproduced in full color. It's a handsome introduction for anyone with an interest in manuscript illustration and the early history of Celtic Britain. Janet Backhouse is curator of illuminated manuscripts at the British Library (GBR201, $14.95)
Literary Trails, British Writers in their Landscapes • Christina Hardyment LITERATURE • 2000 • HARD COVER • 256 PAGES A survey of the British landscapes that have given shape to the literary characters of Jane Austen, Daphne du Maurier, Virginia Woolf, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, and Wordsworth. Maps and photographs invite readers to trace the routes of favorite characters by foot, car, or boat. (GBR164, $49.50)
The Lives of the Kings and Queens of England • Antonia Fraser HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 384 PAGES Lady Antonia Fraser gathers eight British historians for this fully illustrated, engaging history of the monarchy, updated to include a new chapter on the House of Windsor. It's a tremendous resource on English royalty, chock full of personality, incident and scandal. Fraser, who has made her career chronicling the lives of the royals, has also written memorably about Mary Queen of Scots and the Wives of Henry the VIII. (GBR160, $34.95)
London Perceived • Evelyn Hofer • V. S. Pritchett CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 2002 • PAPER • 214 PAGES A love letter to the city -- which Pritchett endearingly calls a splodge -- and especially of the life of the place. In his mind, London means experience, and in these pages he wanders (often in the company of great authors from times past) through the neighborhoods, parks, palaces, pubs, markets, cemeteries and backwaters of the city. Prichett's eloquent riffs are accompanied by handsome black-and-white photographs by Evelyn Hofer. First published in 1962. (GBR310, $19.95)
London, A Social History • Roy Porter HISTORY • 1998 • PAPER • 448 PAGES A short, illustrated history of London, chronicling the city from its origins as an outpost of the Roman Empire through medieval hub, Renaissance center and imperial capital. A professor of history at University College, Porter is a marvelous guide. (GBR59, $20.95)
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner • Alan Sillitoe LITERATURE • 1992 • PAPER • 176 PAGES Powerful tales of working-class English youth in 1950s Nottingham, including the title story, an inspiring piece where a young man expresses rebellion through running. (GBR389, $14.00)
Lonely Planet Great Britain • Tom Smallman • Bryn Thomas • Pat Yale GUIDEBOOK • 2011 • PAPER • 1056 PAGES A practical guide to Great Britain covering England, Scotland and Wales. Featuring introductions to each country's culture, art and history, along with 160 maps and a great deal of practical information, this is an extremely useful guide for the independent traveler. It also includes extensive information on travel in London, including color maps. (GBR202, $29.99)
The Longitude Prize • Joan Dash • Dusan Petricic LITERATURE • 2000 • HARD COVER • 208 PAGES Excellent reading for young readers ages 9-12, Dash tells the story of an 18th century prize offered by the British government to the inventor of a device that can accurately measure a ship's longitude at sea. The protagonist, John Harrison, invents a functional clock, but his acceptance into the scientific world and aristocratic society is hindered by his lack of formal education. (GBR193, $17.00)
Lorna Doone • R.D. Blackmore LITERATURE • 2009 • PAPER • 680 PAGES A classic originally published in 1869, this historical novel is set at the time of the Monmouth Rebellion in the 17th century during the reign of Charles II. A yeoman farmer living in Exmoor plans to rescue and marry a young aristocrat whose family killed his father. (GBR83, $13.95)
Making of the Middle Ages • Richard W. Southern HISTORY • 1953 • PAPER A classic history of 10th to 13th century Europe, covering culture, politics and major personalites. (EUR105, $21.00)
Mammals of Europe • Priscilla Barrett • David W. MacDonald FIELD GUIDE • 2002 • PAPER • 320 PAGES Published by Princeton, this is a field guide to land and marine mammals throughout Europe, both endemic and introduced. With more than 600 color illustrations of over 200 mammals, it's a comprehensive handbook, with detailed descriptions, range maps and commentary on behavior. (FG61, $38.50)
Manchester/Bolton & Warrington Map • Ordnance Survey 2002 • MAP A detailed topographic map of the Manchester region at a scale of 1:50,000. One Side. 35x40 inches. (GBR400, $19.95)
Medieval Art • Marilyn Stokstad ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2004 • PAPER • 446 PAGES Filled with hundreds of illustrations, this comprehensive survey of medieval art throughout Europe describes the social and cultural significance of many of the works of the period. (EUR91, $69.00)
MI6, Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service • Stephen Dorril HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 928 PAGES An expose of the foreign division of the UK's intelligence service -- the employer of the mythical James Bond. In this enormous tome, Dorril unearths the controversies surrounding the agency since its founding mission to keep a watch on the Soviet Union in the early 20th century. Includes failed assassination attempts, international debacles and a critique of the extraordinary influence of the powerful agency. (SPY09, $23.95)
A Morbid Taste for Bones • Ellis Peters MYSTERY • 1994 • PAPER • 197 PAGES The first entry in prolific novelist Edith Pargeter's (aka Ellis Peters) popular "Chronicles of Brother Cadfael" series. In this historical mystery, 11th century monk and head of Shrewsbury Abbey Brother Cadfael travels to a small Welsh village to retrieve the relics of St. Winifred. A murder ensues and Cadfael must investigate. Followed by 19 other Cadfael Mysteries. (GBR166, $7.99)
The Mother Tongue, English and How it Got That Way • Bill Bryson CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1996 • PAPER • 270 PAGES An indispensable guide to the language that divides us, this book is a humorous and informative history of the English language that showcases Bryson's wry wit. He traces the development of the English language and its oddities from the Neolithic to present. Excellent. (GBR15, $14.99)
Murder in the Cathedral • T. S. Eliot LITERATURE • 1964 • PAPER • 88 PAGES The murder of Thomas Becket of Canterbury in 1170 is dramatized in this poetic play by T. S. Eliot, first performed at the Canterbury festival in 1935. (GBR251, $9.00)
Murder Unprompted • Simon Brett MYSTERY • 2000 • PAPER • 164 PAGES Getting a leading role on London's West End can be murder, at least that's the notion raised in this back-stage mystery featuring actor/amateur detective Charles Paris. (GBR406, $11.95)
Nelson's Navy, The Ships, Men, and Organization, 1793-1815 • Brian Lavery HISTORY • 2003 • PAPER • 352 PAGES An oversize, encyclopedic resource on the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars covering ships, naval administration, life at sea, fighting tactics and more. With 400 illustrations. (GBR385, $47.95)
Nelson's Ships, A Comprehensive History of the Ships in Which He Served • Peter Goodwin HISTORY • 2002 • HARD COVER • 192 PAGES A survey of every ship on which Lord Nelson served with 100 photos and illustrations. (GBR384, $39.95)
Northanger Abbey • Jane Austen LITERATURE • 1996 • PAPER • 219 PAGES Jane Austen's first novel parodies the Gothic thrillers of her day. Catherine Morland is a country girl spending a season in sophisticated Bath, where she falls for Henry Tilney, who invites her home to his possibly haunted mansion. Austen's wit is as keen as ever in this ruthless depiction of English high society. (GBR313, $8.00)
Northern England Map • Ordnance Survey MAP A regional map of northern England at a scale of 1;250,000. It's a densely printed and detailed road map published by the Ordnance Survey with an index of place names. It covers the North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales, Lake District and other popular tourist attractions between Manchester and Newcastle Upon Tyne. One Side. 37x50 inches. (GBR35, $14.95)
Northumbria Walks • Jarold Staff GUIDEBOOK • 1993 • PAPER • 80 PAGES This compact Pathfinder Guide details 28 walking tours, from 3 to 12 miles, graded and color-coded in order of difficulty. (GBR303, $14.95)
Notes from a Small Island • Bill Bryson CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1997 • PAPER • 324 PAGES This is a farewell walking tour of England by an American expatriate who has decided to return home after two decades. It is full of rich conversations, humorous anecdotes and amusing interactions with the natives who often astonish him (and the reader) with their observations and attitudes. A good-natured tour de force through the country's foibles as well as its charms, this is a congenial companion for any trip to the sceptered isle. (GBR16, $14.99)
Off in a Boat, Hebridean Voyage • Neil Miller Gunn TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 1990 • PAPER • 348 PAGES A classic tale of a 1930s voyage through the Hebrides by the well regarded Scottish novelist, (who quit his dull job with the civil service, sold his house, bought a useless boat, and tooled around the Inner Hebrides. Gunn captures the romance and exhilaration of a small boat voy age, interweaving his own adventures with Norse and Celtic tales. (GBR66, $18.95)
Offshore • Penelope Fitzgerald LITERATURE • 1998 • PAPER • 141 PAGES Penelope Fitzgerald won the 1979 Booker Prize for this slim, delicate novel, which illustrates the lives of a motley assortment of houseboat-dwellers on the Thames River in the 1960's. Fitzgerald, one of the great prose stylists of the 20th century, is gentle, but incisive with her characterizations. As a former houseboat-dweller herself, she knew of what she wrote. (GBR329, $12.95)
Oliver Cromwell Historical Association Studies • Peter Gaunt HISTORY • 1997 • PAPER • 272 PAGES (GBR217, $37.95)
Oliver Cromwell Profiles in Power • Barry Coward HISTORY • 1991 • PAPER • 204 PAGES A brief, cogent introduction to Cromwell's political career. (GBR218, $35.80)
Original Sin • P.D. James MYSTERY • 2009 • PAPER • 512 PAGES Master of the British murder mystery, P.D. James brings back Scotland Yard's Adam Dalgliesh for this whodunit in which prominent members of the publishing industry are dropping dead. (GBR409, $15.95)
The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain • Kenneth O. Morgan HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 646 PAGES A sweeping history of Britain with contributions by ten scholars. It's a popular standard reference much enhanced by drawings, illustrations, charts and tables. (GBR227, $31.95)
Oxford Map • Ordnance Survey MAP This detailed, double-sided Ordnance Survey Explorer's map shows parts of the Thames Path, Oxford Canal Walk, Oxfordshire Way and other walks in the countryside at a scale of 1:250,000. Two Sides. 35x40 inches. (GBR243, $23.95)
The Oxford Movement in Context, Anglican High Churchmanship, 1760-1857 • Peter B. Nockles ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1998 • PAPER • 216 PAGES A highly regarded study of the Oxford Movement and Anglicanism, first published in 1994. (GBR215, $55.00)
Oxford, A Cultural and Literary Companion • David Horan GUIDEBOOK • 1999 • PAPER • 246 PAGES A volume in the erudite series "Cities of the Imagination," this guide to the city and university focuses on the many writers and historic personalities from King Charles to Shelley, Christopher Wren, Oscar Wilde, Dr. Johnson, Alice of the Looking Glass, and C.S. Lewis. (GBR239, $15.00)
Painting in Britain, 1530-1790 • Ellis Waterhouse ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1994 • PAPER • 394 PAGES A comprehensive study of painting of the period, both scholarly and readable. (GBR225, $38.00)
A Pair of Blue Eyes • Thomas Hardy LITERATURE • 2009 • PAPER • 374 PAGES One of Hardy's lesser-known novels -- tragic, romantic -- and set squarely in Cornwall. (GBR359, $11.95)
Pallas Guide East Anglia: Essex, Suffolk & Norfolk • Peter Sager GUIDEBOOK • 2002 • PAPER • 580 PAGES A comprehensive, illustrated guide, with a focus on art, architecture, monuments and history. Much more indepth than even a Blue Guide, this book functions as much as a handbook and cultural history as guide. (GBR322, $35.00)
Passport United Kingdom: Your Pocket Guide to British Business, Customs & Etiquette • Timothy Harper • Barbara Szerlip • Tom Watson GUIDEBOOK • 1996 • PAPER • 96 PAGES A guide to British etiquette, manners, and all the other details of local customs that make Great Britain unique. Designed particularly for the business traveler. (GBR230, $6.95)
Pax Britannica, The Climax of Empire • James Morris HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 527 PAGES The centerpiece of the trilogy "Pax Britannica," this entertaining history concentrates on the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897, celebrated as a festival of imperial power and splendor. This is a historical travel book, focusing on how the empire looked and felt at the end of the 19th century, its structure and laws, imperial architecture, parks, gardens, arts, railroads, shipping, roads, the Royal Navy, mapping, and irrigation from India to Canada and Rhodesia. (GBR10, $37.95)
Persuasion • Jane Austen LITERATURE • 1999 • PAPER • 236 PAGES Set in Lyme Regis and Bath, this novel is possibly Austen's most mature finished work. Certainly it features her most mature heroine. There's particular pleasure for Bath-goers here, as much of the final action unfolds in streets and buildings that exist in Bath to this day. (GBR208, $5.95)
The Pickwick Papers • Charles Dickens LITERATURE • 2000 • PAPER • 800 PAGES First published in installments in 1836 and wildly successful in its day, this is the book that launched Dickens' career. It tells of Samuel Pickwick's highly comedic adventures in the wide world, including a riotous sequence among the aristocrats of Bath. (GBR316, $13.00)
The Pillars of the Earth • Ken Follett LITERATURE • 2010 • PAPER • 976 PAGES In a time of civil war, famine and religious strife in 12th-century England, there rises a magnificent Cathedral in Kingsbridge in this epic novel. Against this backdrop, lives entwine: Tom, the master builder, Aliena, the noblewoman, Philip, the prior of Kingsbridge, Jack, the artist in stone and Ellen, the woman from the forest who casts a curse. (GBR226, $22.00)
The Portable Romantic Poets • Norman Holmes Pearson • W.H. Auden LITERATURE • 1972 • PAPER • 540 PAGES As its title implies, this is the anthology to take along on a trip to England's Lake District, Italy's Cinqueterre or any other classic haunt of the romantic poets. This selection, edited by W.H. Auden and Norman Holmes Pearson, includes works by all the masters (and even an occasional mistress). (GBR346, $20.00)
Possession, A Romance • A.S. Byatt LITERATURE • 1991 • PAPER • 576 PAGES Byatt's jam-packed novel is a master class in literary forms. For it, she wrote all of the following and then some: Victorian verse, Breton fairy tales, literary biography, lesbian criticism, love letters and 19th-century diary entries, not to mention the novel itself. We recommend it for readers generally, but most particularly for travelers to the Breton Coast, who will find some wonderfully evocative prose (and those fairy tales!). (FRN355, $16.00)
The Pre-Raphaelites • Timothy Hilton ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1988 • PAPER • 216 PAGES Often ignored, yet important, this superb book analyzes the Pre-Raphaelites painters and paintings in the context of their Victorian era. With over 150 illustrations, almost every major and many minor painting are discussed. An entry in the "World of Art" series. (GBR181, $19.95)
The Pre-Raphaelites, Romance and Realism • Laurence Des Cars ART & ARCHITECTURE • 2000 • PAPER • 128 PAGES A slim book in the excellent "Discoveries" series, this pocket-size art history introduces the Pre-Raphaelite artists, their subjects, art and intentions. The book includes 125 illustrations, mini-biographies of the major players and a section of primary-source documents. (ART11, $12.95)
Pride and Prejudice • Jane Austen LITERATURE • 1996 • PAPER • 384 PAGES Austen's favorite of all her novels, this comedy follows the romantic fortunes of the Bennet sisters, who in the absence of any monetary advantages must win their husbands with wit (Elizabeth), sweetness (Jane) or threat of legal action (Lydia). The action unfolds mostly in Hampshire, where Austen was born and raised. (GBR324, $7.95)
The Princes in the Tower • Alison Weir HISTORY • 1992 • PAPER • 287 PAGES This fascinating historical who-dun-it probes the enduring murder mystery involving the boy king, Edward V, and his brother Richard, Duke of York. Reconstructing the chain of events -- including rivalry, ambition, intrigue and the power struggle that led to Richard III's securing the throne -- it also provides a solution to the puzzle. (GBR75, $16.00)
The Professor and the Madman • Simon Winchester HISTORY • 2005 • PAPER • 242 PAGES Subtitled "A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary," this is the bizarre true story behind the birth of the enormous dictionary and two men -- one a scholarly editor, the other a mentally ill, convicted murderer -- who contributed to its creation. In part it's a fascinating and powerful dual biography of very different men who shared a similar love of language. It is also an inside look at the massive 70 year process of assembling the world's most famous dictionary. (GBR178, $14.99)
Queen Elizabeth I • J.E. Neale BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1992 • PAPER • 424 PAGES This classic biography, which has received both scholarly and popular acclaim, covers every aspect of the life and rule of this strong-minded, independent woman in an age of masculine power. (GBR76, $16.95)
Recollections of a Happy Life, Being the Autobiography of Marianne North • Marianne North EXPLORATION • 1994 • PAPER • 400 PAGES An account of the tropical journeys of 19th-century British botanist and painter Marianne North, who traveled widely through the Caribbean, Brazil , South Africa and the Indian Ocean. A contemporary of Charles Darwin (who encouraged her to travel to Australia), North now has paintings on permanent display at Kew gardens. (GBR328, $25.00)
Richard II • Gurr • William Shakespeare LITERATURE • 1988 • PAPER • 153 PAGES A fine paperback edition of the classic play. (GBR177, $18.99)
Richard III • Paul Werstine • Barbara Mowat • William Shakespeare LITERATURE • 1996 • PAPER • 369 PAGES A volume in the New Folger Library Shakespeare Series, this edition of Richard III features annotations and critical analysis. (TTR07, $4.99)
Right Attitude To Rain, An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery • Alexander McCall Smith MYSTERY • 2007 • PAPER • 320 PAGES From the author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes detective Isabel Dalhousie, the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics and host of the Sunday Philosophy Club at her home in Edinburgh. In this third installment in the series, the mystery unfolds when suspicious Texan visitors arrive in Scotland. (SCT112, $21.95)
The Rise and Fall of the British Empire • Lawrence James HISTORY • 1996 • PAPER • 704 PAGES An epic history of the empire's achievements from 1600 to the present, Lawrence spices the book with quotes from private letters and diaries -- and good writing. He captures the mission and destiny that drove adventurers and explorers to travel the world in the name of God and king. From the imperial adventures of Drake to Lawrence of Arabia, the impact of the empire on natives, colonials, and the British at home, the lure of wealth tempered by moral misgivings, British sea power, the American War of Independence. (GBR72, $24.99)
The Romance of Tristan and Iseult • Joseph Bedier • Hillaire Belloc LITERATURE • 1994 • PAPER • 205 PAGES This chivalric myth -- of Arthurian fame -- features a Cornish knight and an Irish princess who are under a spell of love. It's Joseph Bedier's translation (Belloc rendered Bedier's French into English in the early 1900s). (GBR246, $13.00)
Rough Guide Bristol, Bath & Somerset • Rough Guide GUIDEBOOK • 2012 • PAPER • 312 PAGES A comprehensive regional guide featuring excellent local maps, travel information and suggested routes. (GBR42, $18.99)
Rough Guide Lake District • Jules Brown GUIDEBOOK • 2010 • PAPER • 272 PAGES This comprehensive practical guide is an excellent choice for the independent traveler in England's Lake District. It includes a good overview of history, culture and nature and authoritative touring advice. (GBR364, $19.99)
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Major Works • H.J. Jackson • Samuel Taylor Coleridge LITERATURE • 2000 • PAPER • 734 PAGES A collection of the greatest writing of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, including "Kubla Khan" and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner." Many of his critical pieces, letters and other writings are also included. (GBR198, $18.95)
Scotland, A Concise History • Fitzroy MacLean • Magnus Linklater HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 248 PAGES This classic, illustrated study brings Scottish history up to the present through its romantic figures and bloody battles. With 250 well-chosen and integrated illustrations, it's an excellent visual survey. Revised with an additional chapter by Magnus Linklater. (SCT15, $19.95)
The Secret Agent • Joseph Conrad LITERATURE • 1983 • PAPER • 237 PAGES This classic spy story, based on an anarchist plot to bomb Greenwich, is a chillingly prophetic examination of terrorism predating the espionage thriller. It's a fine portrait of turn-of-the-century London, featuring idealistic revolutionaries, ruthless ideologues, and an undercover counter-revolutionary mole with the mission of provoking violence to destroy the group he has infiltrated. (GBR86, $5.95)
Selected Poetry of William Wordsworth • John O. Hayden • William Wordsworth LITERATURE • 2002 • PAPER • 784 PAGES A collection of William Wordsworth's most celebrated poems. Includes selections from the "Lyrical Ballads," "The Excursion" and "The Prelude." (GBR147, $12.95)
Sense and Sensibility • Jane Austen LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 409 PAGES Set mostly in the West Country, this is the famous story of two sisters -- one prudent, discreet, and self-controlled, the other emotional, open and enthusiastic -- and the men they love. Through secrets, betrayals, and confessions, the sisters struggle to temper emotion with good sense. A hugely popular film was recently made of this famous novel. (GBR82, $7.00)
Shakespeare • F.E. Halliday BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1998 • PAPER • 144 PAGES A short, expert biography of the Bard -- illustrated, incisive and compact. Halliday outlines the known events of Shakespeare's life, gives an overview of the Elizabethan era and defends poor Will from the slings and arrows of his detractors (who would attribute his plays to Francis Bacon or Ann Hathaway). Originally published in 1949 as Shakespeare and His Critics, the book is a classic (if a bit old fashioned). Park Honan's Shakespeare, A Life is a livelier, more up-to-date biography. (GBR241, $12.95)
Shakespeare • David Bevington BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 2002 • PAPER • 256 PAGES A biography structured around "The Seven Ages of Man" speech from "As You Like It." Shakespeare Scholar David Bevington examines the enduring popularity of the Bard's writing, while using each life stage as a lens from which to analyze his works. (TTR04, $19.95)
Shakespeare's English Kings, History, Chronicle and Drama • Peter Saccio CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1998 • PAPER • 304 PAGES A history and guide to the English kings depicted in the plays of Shakespeare, including the Richards, Henrys and Edwards. The text is designed to elucidate the how the details of the monarch's lives influenced the Bard's works. (TTR09, $19.95)
Shakespeare's Political Drama, The History Plays and the Roman Plays • Alexander Leggatt CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1990 • PAPER • 288 PAGES Leggatt examines the depiction of state and public power in the English and Roman histories. (TTR08, $41.95)
Shrewsbury Map • Ordnance Survey MAP A map of the region of Shropshire that surrounds Shrewsbury, at a great scale of 1:50,000. Published in Great Britain. One Side. 35x44 inches. (GBR172, $19.95)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight • Brian Stone LITERATURE • 1959 • PAPER • 185 PAGES Probably the most famous of the romantic tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, this is the 14th-century poem of chivalry and heroism that inspired many others in its wake. Composed by an unknown contemporary of Chaucer. (GBR247, $11.00)
Sirens Sang of Murder • Sarah Caudwell MYSTERY • 1990 • PAPER • 277 PAGES A tantalizing comic mystery set in the Channel Islands. Written by Sarah Caudwell, whose Hilary Tamar mysteries (this is the third in a series of four) have become favorites for their clever plotting and erudite wit. She immerses the reader in the legends and atmosphere of Jersey, Sark and Little Sark in this tale of death, law and taxes, all popular subjects. (GBR196, $7.99)
The Six Wives of Henry VIII • Alison Weir HISTORY • 2000 • PAPER • 644 PAGES This compelling biography is rich in detail about England's most infamous monarch in matters concerning women. Meticulously researched, it brings both the women and their era alive. This is just one of many, many volumes on British royal history by the acclaimed author. (GBR21, $16.95)
South East England Map, including London • Ordnance Survey MAP The map the locals depend on for traveling in the south of England, including London. Cambridge and Oxford. Nicely detailed at a scale 1:250,000. One Side. 37x50 inches. (GBR27, $14.95)
Southwest England & South Wales Map • Ordnance Survey MAP The map the locals depend on for traveling in the south of England. Nicely detailed at a scale of 1:250,000. One Side. 37x50 inches. (GBR26, $14.95)
Stonehenge Complete • Christopher Chippindale ARCHAEOLOGY • 2012 • PAPER • 320 PAGES An excellent introduction to Europe's most mysterious ancient site. Written by a curator in the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and fully illustrated, this award-winning book includes everything important, interesting or odd ever written, painted, discovered, or felt about Stonehenge since its rediscovery in A.D. 1130. With 266 maps, illustrations and photographs. (GBR13, $24.95)
The Story of Britain • Roy Strong HISTORY • 2002 • PAPER • 596 PAGES A beautifully illustrated and rousing history of Britain from prehistory until the 1990s -- a balanced, well written overview of a huge subject. (GBR71, $49.95)
The Story of England • Christopher Hibbert HISTORY • 1992 • PAPER • 224 PAGES Beautifully illustrated with color pictures, chronological charts, royal genealogies, and maps, this popular history of English politics, economics, and culture from the Neolithic to the 1990s is an excellent traveler's companion. Hibbert, a masterful storyteller, relates anecdotes that bring history to life in this concise, highly readable introduction to England's past. (GBR02, $19.95)
The Story of Greenwich • Clive Aslet HISTORY • 2001 • PAPER • 288 PAGES Greenwich has a rich and tumultuous history and not just as the home of time and longitude zero. This is an illustrated history of the place and its importance, organized chronologically and with a focus on historical landmarks. (GBR145, $22.95)
Strong Poison • Dorothy L. Sayers MYSTERY • 1995 • PAPER • 272 PAGES • COMING IN Lord Peter Wimsey finds himself falling for the main suspect in the murder he's investigating in this Dorothy Sayers mystery, the first to feature Harriet Vane. (GBR410, $7.99)
Talking It Over • Julian Barnes LITERATURE • 1992 • PAPER • 272 PAGES The source material for a recent movie, the characters in this novel grapple with love and deception and Francophilia, many of the author's signature themes. After Gillian throws over safe and secure Stuart for artistic Oliver they retreat from gray England to make their home in the French Countryside. (GBR118, $16.00)
The Tempest • William Shakespeare LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 258 PAGES Shakespeare's magical play begins with Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, summoning a raging storm that leaves his enemies shipwrecked (reminiscent of a shipwreck on Bermuda during Shakespeare's time). Hard to define within his canon, this play combines Shakespeare's comedic sensibilities with the drama of his greatest tragedies. The character of Caliban, the bestial servant of Prospero, is still mentioned in modern discussions of slavery and colonialism. (BRM07, $7.95)
Tess of the D'Urbervilles • Thomas Hardy LITERATURE • 2003 • PAPER • 592 PAGES This classic heartbreaker traces heroine Tess Durbyfield's attempts to overcome social definitions and double standards in late 19th-century Dorset. (GBR676, $9.00)
The Theatre, A Concise History • Phyllis Hartnoll • Enoch Brater ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1998 • PAPER • 304 PAGES A fully illustrated survey of the theater from the days of the ancient Greeks to today, part of the "World of Art" series. Theater historian Phyllis Hartnoll does an admirable job covering such a large subject with clarity and brevity. (GEN213, $21.95)
Their Finest Hour (The Second World War, Volume 2) • Winston S. Churchill HISTORY • 1986 • PAPER • 683 PAGES An account of the Battle of Britain from Winston Churchill himself, volume two in his six part series on World War II. (WAR29, $20.00)
Therapy: A Novel • David Lodge LITERATURE • 1996 • PAPER • 321 PAGES (GBR64, $16.00)
Three Men in a Boat and Three Men on the Bummel • Jerome Jerome • Jeremy Lewis TRAVEL NARRATIVE • 2000 • PAPER • 361 PAGES • FAVORITE Written in 1889, "Three Men in a Boat" (to say nothing of the dog!) is a masterpiece of British wit. It's a laugh-out-loud account of a man-powered voyage along the River Thames, full of detail on life and lore. As a bonus, this edition includes a sequel, where Jerome is reunited with George, Harris and the dog Montmorency on a bicycle tour of Germany. With an introduction by Jeremy Lewis, which provides the biographical and social context for these two tales. (GBR28, $12.00)
To the Lighthouse • Virginia Woolf LITERATURE • 1989 • PAPER • 209 PAGES Childhood, distilled. Woolf drew on memories of family holidays in Cornwall to write this wonderful, clear-sighted novel, in which the Ramsay family goes on holiday in the Hebrides. First published in 1927 -- and full of light and air, comings and goings, fulfillment and unfulfillment -- it's a modernist classic which is also, quite simply, a pleasure. (SCT41, $13.95)
Tom Jones • Henry Fielding LITERATURE • 2005 • PAPER • 975 PAGES This great comic adventure novel, whose hero is thought to be illegitimate, was so shocking in its time that it was held responsible by some for two earthquakes that hit London soon after its publication in the 18th century. Even Dr. Johnson warned against its ribaldry! Tom's adventures in overcoming the obstacles separating him from his beloved take him galloping over the English countryside, providing a perfect landscape painting of his era. (GBR84, $16.50)
Towards a Modern Art World • Brian Allen ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1995 • HARD COVER • 240 PAGES A scholarly look at the often neglected British art world in terms of modern art and how it has evolved over the past two centuries. (GBR174, $55.00)
A Traveller's History of England • Christopher Daniell HISTORY • 2008 • PAPER • 320 PAGES This is a good compact history of England. It covers the sweep of English history from the Roman occupation to the Anglo-Saxon, Viking, and Norman invasions, through the power struggles of the medieval kings, the Reformation, Renaissance, Industrial Revolution, and the establishment of the empire and its transformation into the British Commonwealth. It continues through the world wars, the welfare state, and membership in the European Economic Community. A gazetteer highlights places of historical interest. With maps and line drawings. (GBR38, $14.95)
A Traveller's History of Oxford • Richard Tames HISTORY • 2003 • PAPER • 224 PAGES A compact history of Oxford from settlement to the present, including its importance in medieval England, founding of the different colleges and brief period as Royalist capital. Tames (who was educated at Cambridge) also discusses the architecture of the colleges and includes biographies of illustrious alumni. With suggested walking tours, day trips and chronology. (GBR374, $14.95)
Treasures of British Art, Tate Gallery • Robert Upstone ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1996 • HARD COVER • 320 PAGES A comprehensive collection of British art over the past five centuries that reveals a lot about the British character. (GBR175, $11.95)
Turner • Graham Reynolds ART & ARCHITECTURE • 1988 • PAPER • 216 PAGES Published alongside anecdotes, criticism, and illuminating text, this collection of Joseph Turner's major works of art offers an interesting glimpse into the London artist and his initial reception. (GBR176, $18.95)
The Victorians • A.N. Wilson HISTORY • 2004 • PAPER • 724 PAGES Wilson's dazzling, panoramic history of the Victorians -- the horrifying disparity in wealth (think of Dickens) and British imperial endeavors -- which runs to 724 pages, is nonetheless well worth the effort. He tackles the personalities, obsessions and follies of an age with drama, humor and telling detail. With 32 pages of illustrations, some in color. (GBR396, $24.95)
Wales & West Midlands Map • Ordnance Survey 2001 • MAP A handsome locally grown map of Wales and the West Midlands of England, at a scale of 1:250,000 (which is one inch to four miles). It includes tourist information, place names index, roads, waterways, topography and natural areas. One Side. 37x50 inches. (GBR122, $14.95)
Wales-West Country-Midlands • Michelin Travel Publications MAP A colorful map of southwestern England and Wales from Oxford to Penzance and north to Liverpool, at a scale of 1:400,000. One Side. 40x54 inches. (GBR194, $12.95)
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew • Daniel Pool CULTURAL PORTRAIT • 1994 • PAPER • 416 PAGES This is an entertaining, instructive guide to daily life in nineteenth century England. With excellent good humor and an eye for telling detail, Pool clarifies the social customs, class distinctions and obsolete vocabulary of the Georgians and Victorians. (GBR320, $16.00)
Wildflowers of Britain and Europe • Margaret and Roland Spohn FIELD GUIDE • 2008 • PAPER • 320 PAGES This indispensable guide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Europe in Black's Nature Guide series covers 450 species, each beautifully illustrated with detailed paintings and clear photographs. The images not only show you what the plant looks like in its habitat, but also focus in on specific features such as the leaves or flower head, to aid identification. (EUR46, $21.95)
William the Conqueror, The Norman Impact Upon England • David C. Douglas HISTORY • 1964 • PAPER A classic account of the Norman invasion of England and its aftermath. By focusing on William the Conqueror, Douglas illustrates the monumental impact a man and his army had on the course of medieval history. (GBR249, $27.95)
Wine Country Europe, Touring, Tasting, And Buying At European Regional Wineries • Ornella D'Alessio • Marco Santini FOOD • 2005 • HARD COVER • 324 PAGES Part how-to, part guidebook, part picture book, this charming coffee table treat covers sprawling French vineyards as well as lesser-known hidden treasures in Austria and Hungary. The authors, both Italian journalists and wine connoisseurs, provide helpful tips alongside the hundreds of magnificent color photographs. (EUR191, $35.00)
Winston Spencer Churchill, The Last Lion: Alone, 1932-1940 • William Manchester BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1989 • PAPER • 684 PAGES This second volume in the fascinating three-part biography of Winston Churchill further illuminates the character of one of the largest human beings of our time. War clouds had once again gathered, and the storm of World War II was beginning. (GBR78, $23.00)
Winston Spencer Churchill, The Last Lion: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 • William Manchester BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR • 1983 • PAPER • 973 PAGES This impressive volume, which covers the first 58 years of the monumental figure who guided England from the pinnacle of world empire through the catastrophe of World War II, ends in 1932. It's an engrossing account of the man and his times, and is the first of several volumes by the popular historian William Manchester. (GBR18, $25.00)
A World Lit Only By Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance, Portrait of an Age • William Manchester HISTORY • 1993 • PAPER • 322 PAGES In this wide-ranging study, Manchester evokes in vivid detail the great figures and daily life of the 16th century, with information on Henry VIII, Magellan, Borgia, da Vinci and Martin Luther. This is his 18th book and Manchester knows how to tell a great story. It's divided into three sections: Renaissance, Reformation and Discovery. (EUR06, $15.99)
Wuthering Heights • Emily Bronte LITERATURE • 2002 • PAPER • 416 PAGES The Yorkshire moors have never been wilder or more conducive to tragedy than in this great romantic novel by Emily Bronte, which concerns an illicit and ill-fated love affair. (GBR307, $7.00)

www.longitudebooks.com (800) 342-2164 115 West 30th St., Suite 1206 New York, NY 10001