11 Feb
Sylvia Plath died 1963. An American poet, novelist, children's author, and short story author. Best known for her poetry, and her death which mirrored an attempted suicide in The Bell Jar, a semi-autobiographical novel. Read books by Sylvia Plath
Read the opening extract of the brand new Lauren DeStefano book before its publication on 16/02/2012
Tom-All-Alone's Lynn Shepherd
February 2012 Book of the Month.
Described by the author as an homage to Charles Dickens but also an incredibly well researched and re-imagined, gripping Victorian murder mystery based on his classic Format: Hardback - Released: 02/02/2012
Pantheon Sam Bourne
February 2012 Book of the Month.
A truth unearthed by Jonathan Freedland, who writes under the pseudonym Sam Bourne, is the idea at the centre of this explosive WW2 thriller. While we thought... Format: Hardback - Released: 16/02/2012
Other Featured Books this Month
Pure Andrew Miller
Winner of the Costa Book of the Year award 2011.
The author of the prize-winning, hugely acclaimed Ingenious Pain returns to the 18th century with an enthralling tale set in pre-revolutionary Paris.
Following the judging, Geordie Greig, chair of the final... Format: Paperback - Released: 05/01/2012
The Legacy of Eden Nelle Davy
February 2012 Debut of the Month.
A ‘Piece of Passion’ from Nelle’s editor, Jenny Hutton:When we first read The Legacy of Eden we were left breathless. Nelle is a phenomenal talent, writing... Format: Paperback - Released: 03/02/2012
A Book for All and None Clare Morgan
February 2012 Debut of the Month.
A beautiful, haunting literary debut from an extraordinary new talent who we can see scooping future literary prizes. When you are the Director of the Creative Writing... Format: Paperback - Released: 16/02/2012
The House of Dust and Dreams Brenda Reid
February 2012 Debut of the Month.
Set in Greece in 1936 this is a charming tale of friendship, resilience and love in the face of war seen through the eyes of Evadne, a... Format: Paperback - Released: 16/02/2012
The Sky's Dark Labyrinth Stuart Clark
February 2012 Debut of the Month.
A vivid, thrilling portrayal of the lives and work of Kepler and Galileo and their struggles with the social and political forces around them. It's the first... Format: Paperback - Released: 17/10/2011
My Sweet Valentine Annie Groves
An emotional and engrossing portrayal of the lives of four women as Valentine's day approaches, in 1941 wartime London. Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
The Winter Palace (A Novel of the Young Catherine the Great) Eva Stachniak
This 3rd novel from Eva Stachniak is a fresh fictional look at the fascinating life of Catherine the Great told through her “tongue” — a young lower-class orphan who eventually becomes a spy at the Imperial Court.
Fans of historical... Format: Hardback - Released: 19/01/2012
Labyrinth Kate Mosse
A Special Edition of Labyrinth by Kate Mosse to celebrate Orion's 20th anniversary.
Winner of the Richard & Judy Best Read of the Yearat the British Book Awards 2006.
I was privileged to visit Kate in her Carcassonne retreat and be... Format: Paperback - Released: 20/02/2012
The Sensorium of God Stuart Clark
The 2nd instalment of the exciting Sky's Dark Labyrinth Trilogy explores the life and times of the reclusive and fearsome mathematician Isaac Newton and the adventurous astronomer Edmond Halley. Working together to unravel the mysteries of the universe, they find... Format: Hardback - Released: 02/02/2012
The Midwife of Venice Roberta Rich
Hannah Levi is famed throughout Venice for her skills as a midwife but, as a Jew, the law forbids her from attending a Christian woman. However, when the Conte appears at her door in the dead of night, Hannah's compassion... Format: Paperback - Released: 16/02/2012
The Winds of Folly Seth Hunter
1796: Nathan Peake, captain of the frigate Unicorn is sent with a small squadron into the Adriatic to help bring Venice into an Italian alliance against the French. He establishes a British naval presence, harrying the French corsairs that swarm... Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
Secrets in Burracombe Lilian Harry
A seemingly sleepy Devonshire village, Burracombe is in fact full of intrigue and drama. Family secrets, budding romance, cruel twists of fate and amazing friendships all play out against the backdrop of the beautiful countryside. It's autumn 1953. The village... Format: Paperback - Released: 16/02/2012
Amy's Diary (Quick Reads) Maureen Lee
A World Book Day 2012 Quick Read.
Set during the Second World War in Liverpool, this is a brand new Maureen Lee. On 3rd September 1939, Amy Browning decided to start writing a diary.
It was a momentous day for so... Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
22 Britannia Road Amanda Hodgkinson
After living wild in the forests for years, carrying a terrible secret, all Silvana knows is that she and Aurek are survivors. Everything else is lost. While Janusz, a Polish soldier who has criss-crossed Europe during the war, hopes his... Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
Beyond the Bounty (Quick Reads) Tony Parsons
A World Book Day 2012 Quick Read.
From the number one bestselling author comes a swashbuckling tale of mutiny and murder in paradise ... Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
The Somnambulist Essie Fox
Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 12 February 2012.
This debut novelist's coming of age story uses evocative language to transport you to late 19th century Victorian England where lost love, grief, dark secrets and hidden passions take... Format: Paperback - Released: 05/01/2012
The Rose Garden Susanna Kearsley
For Eva house where she so often stayed as a child is home not only to her old friends the Halletts, but also to the people who had lived there in the eighteenth century. When Eva finally accepts that she... Format: Paperback - Released: 30/01/2012
Prince Rory Clements
Spring 1593. England is a powder keg of rumour and fear. Plague rages, famine is rife, the ageing Queen's couriers scheme: Elizabeth's Golden Age is truly tarnished. Meanwhile Spain watches and waits - and plots. Into this turmoil a small... Format: Paperback - Released: 16/02/2012
The Sealed Letter Emma Donoghue
From the bestselling author of Room comes a delicious tale of secrets, betrayal and forbidden love. Based on blow-by-blow newspaper reports of the 1864 Codrington Divorce, The Sealed Letter,
full of sparkling characters and wicked dialogue, is a
thought-provoking... Format: Paperback - Released: 03/02/2012
The Queen's Secret Victoria Lamb
This romantic, historical fiction debut is based around the real visit of Queen Elizabeth I to Kenilworth castle in 1575 that historians believe was the last chance for Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, to persuade her to marry him.... Format: Hardback - Released: 16/02/2012
Wolf Hall Hilary Mantel
February 2012 Guest Editor Joanna Trollope on Hilary Mantel...
I loved her writing, long before the mega success of Wolf Hall. She wrote the best novel (bad title – A Place of Greater Safety) I ever read about the French... Format: Paperback - Released: 04/03/2010
The Report Jessica Francis Kane
Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 11 March 2012.
An evocative and moving debut novel - based on the true story of the worst UK civilian disaster of the Second World War, when 173 people were crushed to... Format: Paperback - Released: 02/02/2012
Resistance Anita Shreve
Anita Shreve's compelling fourth novel - set in German-occupied Belgium in 1943-44. Format: Paperback - Released: 02/05/1996
The Siege of Krishnapur J.G. Farrell
February 2012 Guest Editor Joanna Trollope on J.G. Farrell...
He won the Lost Booker prize for Troubles and the real Booker – forever ago - for The Siege Of Krishnapur. I love the elegance of his writing, and the... Format: Paperback - Released: 01/07/1996
The Blue Flower Penelope Fitzgerald
One of One of Joanna Trollope's favourite books.
February 2012 Guest Editor Joanna Trollope on Penelope Fitzgerald...
Alas, dead too, but of old age. I had supper with her once, in the converted garage of her daughter’s house, where she... Format: Paperback - Released: 05/08/1996
Historical fiction is such a great way to experience the past. It’s fascinating, thrilling and you learn from it. Wonderful! The best way to make sure you’re ahead of history is through our emails, which will guide you to the latest and best so you can...
Live ancient Egypt (Christian Jacq) or real life in 18th Century London (Maureen Waller)... Experience the terrifying menace of Vesuvius (Robert Harris) or get a fix on Troy as it actually was (Michael Wood)... Play politics at the mercurial court of Henry VIII (Philippa Gregory) or watch as the Romanov dynasty self-destructs (Carolly Erickson)... Analyse Napoleon’s misguided march on Moscow (Adam Zamoyski) or share an ordinary soldier’s experience of the Great War (Richard Holmes)...
Smoke Portrait Trilby Kent
Glen has left England to live with her aunt, who runs a tea plantation in Ceylon and fills her days with good works, among them the task of writing letters...
Hannibal: Enemy of Rome Ben Kane
In the First Punic War, the Roman legions defeated and humiliated
Carthage, their only serious rival for power in the Mediterranean. Now a
brilliant young Carthaginian general, called Hannibal, is...
The Passages of Herman Melville Jay Parini
A fictionalised account of the tormented and, for the time, scandalous life of Herman Melville, author of the 19C classic Moby Dick. 1841. A young Herman Melville is yet...
The Pleasures of Men Kate Williams
It's Spitalfields, 1840. Catherine Sorgeiul lives with her Uncle in a rambling house in London's East End. She has few companions and little to occupy the days beyond her own...
West of Here Jonathan Evison
January 2012 eBook of the Month.
Though its themes are weighty, West of Here is an electrifying epic and never bogs down...
Jezebel Eleanor De Jong
Her name is iconic. Her courage extraordinary. Her story remarkable. Jezebel, a young princess of Tyre is destined to be married to King Ahab of Israel. Yet she is determined...
God of War The Epic Story of Alexander the Great Christian Cameron
The story of how Alexander the Great conquered the world - first crushing Greek resistance to Macedonian rule, then destroying the Persian Empire in three monumental battles, before marching into...
The Sisters Brothers Patrick deWitt
Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 5 February 2012.
Longlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize, deWitt's dazzlingly original second novel is a darkly funny, offbeat western about...
Rules of Civility Amor Towles
Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 26 February 2012.
For fans of Fitzgerald and Capote, a witty, elegant fairytale of New York, set in 1938. 'If you want...
Stones for My Father Trilby Kent
Corlie Roux's farm life in South Africa is not easy: the Transvaal is beautiful, but it is also a harsh place where the heat can be so intense that even...
Half of the Human Race Anthony Quinn
Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 25 March 2012.
Featured on The Book Show on Sky Arts on 17 February 2011.
Combining national drama and private tragedy, "Half of...
Girl Reading Katie Ward
Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 4 March 2012.
With each chapter inspired by a real work of art, this richly textured
debut novel transports us into a...
The Month Before's Featured Books
The Return Victoria Hislop
A tale of passion, pain and pride in war-torn Spain, written with a dual-time element. Personally I found the subject-matter of her first, The Island, far more intriguing, probably because...
The Girl at the Lion d'Or Sebastian Faulks
A beautifully controlled and powerful story of love and conscience, will
and desire which begins when a mysterious young girl arrives to take up
the post at the seedy Hotel...
The Stranger's Child Alan Hollinghurst
Winner of the Galaxy UK Author of the Year Award 2011.
Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2011.
July 2011 Book of the Month.
This...
The Legion Simon Scarrow
July 2011 eBook of the Month.
August 2011 Book of the Month.
The bestselling author of...
The Roots of Betrayal James Forrester
July 2011 eBook of the Month.
The reign of Elizabeth, the last of the Tudor dynasty, is a fascinating period of history, full...
Praetorian Simon Scarrow
December 2011 eBook of the Month.
Centurions Macro and Cato are caught up in treachery and murder in ancient Rome in the eleventh...
The Unseen Katherine Webb
December 2011 Book of the Month.
One of our Great Reads you may have missed in 2011.
A mix of the occult, murder and...
The Thread Victoria Hislop
November 2011 Book of the Month.
This is the enthralling new novel from the million-copy bestselling author of The Island and
The Promise Susan Sallis
Daisy and Marcus, sixth formers in a Gloucestershire School, are given an A Level project on the bombing of Coventry in 1940. They go to talk to May, now living...
The Killing Way Tony Hays
November 2011 Book of the Month.
A grim and gritty novel, set in 5th century Arthurian Britain, that will appeal to fans of...
Death Comes to Pemberley P. D. James
Featured on The Book Show on Sky Arts on 8 December 2011.
Inspired by a lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen, PD James masterfully recreates the world of Pride...
Categories
Books of the Month
