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'superb... captures our Queen better than any biography' - Sunday Telegraph The moments in life of 'knowing'. On Bognor Beach, with Grandpa England, she had 'known' that he, and Papa, and she, would carry something on, something given, something bigger than themselves. Lilibet: a carefree child, a lover of horses and dogs, devoted to her family. And the girl who would be Queen. A.N. Wilson, one of England's most beloved writers, imagines the Queen on the eve of her platinum jubilee. We watch as she discovers, at the tender age of ten, that she is heir to the throne. We witness her meet the dashing Prince Phillip of Greece, who she loved steadfastly from the age of fifteen, and see their friendship blossom into passionate love. Above all, we learn of her astonishing sense of vocation and public duty, which grew during the dark years of WWII and her father's subsequent years of ill health. By turns funny, tender and tragic, Lilibet: The Girl Who Would be Queen honours our beloved monarch and her illustrious reign. Praise for A.N. Wilson's The King and the Christmas Tree: 'An unlikely hero has a master storyteller to tell his tale. The King and the Christmas Tree is a poignant Christmas treat' - Lucy Worsley 'Reads like a thriller; a tale of human courage and resistance' - Lady Antonia Fraser 'I loved this book, not read without shedding a tear, reminding us that true democracy goes hand-in-hand with true kingship' - Roy Strong
Show moreKirstie lives in exile on the small Shetland island of Yell after the end of yet another torrid affair. This time, she knows she went too far. Her desperate behavior caused the breakdown of her lover's marriage. Taking up residence in her grandparents' croft, which has lain empty since their deaths, wanting time to reflect on her life and disastrous relationships, Kirstie begins to write about her obsessive behavior. What she hasn't realized is that the island is full of relatives she never knew she had. Kirstie has spent her life feeling unloved, hurt, and angry. She wonders what part this plays in the obsessive way she is drawn into relationships. As Kirstie allows some of the local people into her life, she learns of her mother's tragic story and begins to reassess her mother's behavior. As she grapples with her past and begins to settle into her present, her mother, Morag, decides to visit, throwing Kirstie into turmoil once again-and revealing even more shocking truths.
Show moreA comforting and timely new book that feels like an instant classic, written by Philip Stead, author of the Caldecott Medal-winning A Sick Day for Amos McGee and the New York Times bestselling The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine. The limitless possibilities of the world outside our windows-and the warmth and comfort of home-are explored in this thoughtful meditation on the imagination, as seen from the point of view of a wise old dog. Any child who has ever felt uncertainty about the world outside will be soothed and enchanted by the open-ended, seemingly-unanswerable, and utterly whimsical questions this book poses: 'Will I ever be the dawdle of a penguin? Will I ever be the waddle of a snail? Will I ever be the tumble of a honeybee? Will I ever be the bumble of a whale?' Children will love asking their own imaginative questions, and thinking about their own view of the world outside their window. It's a perfect story for families to share together from the warmth and comfort of home.
Show moreBrought to you by Penguin. Pre-order the heartwarming and joyful new Wartime Midwives story of three fascinating mothers. Perfect for Mother's Day and for fans of Katie Flynn, Nancy Revell and Call the Midwife Three mothers. Three very different backgrounds, and a bond they will never forget The Lake District, 1943, and spring is in the air for the women at Mary Vale Mother and Baby Home . . . Beautiful Stella, the head-turning cook of a munitions factory, has been swept off her feet by a handsome GI. He proposes when she falls pregnant, but soon his letters stop arriving . . . Then there is Lillian, who is deeply unimpressed when she is conscripted as a Land Girl miles from her home, but then she meets a charming, married vet . . . Meanwhile, midwife Ada is getting used to being back at work after the birth of her own beautiful baby girl. But she faces the biggest challenge of her life when the home is engulfed in an outbreak of whooping cough. Though each woman is from a different walk of life only together can they help Mary Vale come through this crisis . . . Praise for Daisy Styles 'An absolute joy to read' Kate Thompson 'Will tug at the heart strings of readers everywhere!' Fiona Ford 'Truly endearing characters' Annie Murray
Show moreA powerful and intensely moving true-life account from two sisters who were among the very few children to survive Auschwitz. On 28 March 1944, Italian sisters Tati (six) and Andra (four) were roused from their sleep and taken to Auschwitz, to the infamous Kinder Block presided over by Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death. By the time Auschwitz was liberated, 230,000 children had been murdered, and the sisters were among only 70 child survivors. Throughout their ordeal in the camp and the liberation of Auschwitz, their long journey from Poland to Czechoslovakia and finally to Lingfield House in Britain, they hung on to their promise to their mother to 'always remember your name'. They never forgot they were Tati and Andra Bucci, and it was this connection to their heritage that brought them miraculously back to their parents, years later and many countries away. The sisters overcame their trauma to live long lives, bearing witness as survivors of the Holocaust. Always Remember Your Name is an unforgettable story of the power of sisterhood, and of how a mother's love triumphed over impossible odds.
Show more‘An important contribution to our recent history’ ANDREW MARR ‘Absorbing and important’ JOAN BAKEWELL ‘One of my favourite reads of 2021’ GARETH RUSSELL Poignant and inspiring, Women in the War tells the first-hand stories of ten of the last surviving female members of Britain's 'Greatest Generation'. Whether flying Spitfires to the frontline, aiding code breaking at Bletchley Park, plotting the Battle of the Atlantic or working with Churchill in the Cabinet War Rooms, each of these women made a crucial contribution to the conflict overseas and helped to buttress the home front. Here they recount their remarkable experiences during the Second World War, recalling how their formative years were shaped by danger and trauma, and how friendship and romance fortified their spirits. Drawing on the insight that comes with age, they contemplate how the conflict helped women prove their worth, transforming society and sparking the later battles for equal rights. With a reporter’s eye for detail, Lucy Fisher artfully weaves together moving contemporary interviews with gripping wartime diaries and letters. This is a vivid oral history that will stay with you long after you've put it down.
Show more“I commend this book to everyone of all ages, and let us all age joyfully.” Dame Judi Dench, actress. “This is an outstanding book….It speaks from the heart, from an author who has knowledge and experience. It is a manifesto for living better longer.” Professor Sir Muir Gray, one of the UK’s most senior medical figures. We’re living longer, and this is something to celebrate and enjoy. And research shows we can help ourselves to age better. This book will show you how. Maggy Pigott’s uplifting and practical guide explains what to do, why, and how to live a healthier, happier life in eight steps - whatever your age. They include having a purpose, connecting with others, and being physically active. Each step has easy to follow tips, over 150 in all, and inspiring, often amusing, quotations from the ancient world to the present day. You will see that you’re never too old, and it’s never too late to try something new, be of value or even achieve greatness. As the writer and broadcaster Gyles Brandreth says, it is “full of wit, wisdom - and hope!” The book is based on evidence and the author’s life experience, from working in the public sector (and honoured with a CBE) while bringing up a family, to taking up dancing, writing and volunteering after her retirement. She is Vice Chair of a charity (receiving part of her royalties from book sales) which connects older people to a fun, active and fulfilling life. This is her first book, written and published in her late 60s. The author’s website and blog is at https://howtoagejoyfully.com or join her 10,000+ followers on Twitter @AgeingBetter and @MaggyPigott.
Show more‘I went for a walk around the garden. A great tit warbled above a patch of coltsfoot. I felt a thousand discoveries awaited…' Notes from a Summer Cottage by Nina Burton is a beautifully written nature memoir about the time spent renovating her late mother’s cottage in the Swedish countryside, and all the species that she encountered her during her stay. Did you know that there are more ants altogether than the number of seconds that have passed since the Big Bang? And that in relation to their size, their anthill cities can be larger than London and New York? Or, that a bird’s migratory instinct is so strong that an injured stork once escaped captivity and was found six weeks later having walked 150 kilometres, following the migratory path of his flock on foot? What begins with a renovation of her late mother’s summer cottage swiftly turns into an exploration of nature, life and philosophy, in which Nina Burton reveals the inner lives and hitherto unknown habits of the animals with which she shares. Within the walls, the ceiling and the floor of the cottage and its surrounding garden, she encounters a host of animals—ants, honey bees, foxes, squirrels, blackbirds, badgers, pigeons, deer and many more—all of whom have made her house and garden their home, and all of whom cause Nina to reflect on their role within our world.
Show moreBrought to you by Penguin. The heartwarming and moving new Wartime Midwives story of three fascinating women fighting to keep the doors of Mary Vale Home open to mothers and their children . . . Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn, Nancy Revell and Call the Midwife Lake District, 1942, the women at Mary Vale Mother and Baby Home must pull together during their darkest hour . . . But this is not easy when three very different women walk through its doors. Sybil would rather be anywhere else. She hoped to spend the season in London but an unexpected pregnancy soon put paid to those plans. While poor Rosie arrives with her two children in tow - their lives torn apart after their house was bombed. And when new midwife Edith joins it's clear she has her own secrets to hide. Then one day Mary Vale faces the ultimate threat, requisition by the army and the mothers and midwives must find comfort and friendship in one another. But can they also find the strength to fight for their Home? Praise for Daisy Styles 'An absolute joy to read' Kate Thompson 'Will tug at the heart strings of readers everywhere!' Fiona Ford 'Truly endearing characters' Annie Murray © Daisy Styles 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021
Show moreTessa James has worked and planned tirelessly to open her own millinery shop. All she needs now is a loan from the lord who sired and abandoned her. The only problem is she doesn't know his name. What's a woman to do to find him but enter the aristocratic world by becoming a governess? Guy Whitby, the new Duke of Carlin, has returned to London after years abroad to discover that his young daughter Sophy has become a wild-child known for scaring away every governess who's crossed his doorstep. When Tessa James applies for the job, he hires her in desperation, despite his misgivings that she's too bold and beautiful-and that she might be fibbing about her qualifications. Their blooming attraction leads them on a completely unexpected path to love that neither wants to deny. But when an old enemy threatens Guy's family, their forbidden romance goes up in flames. Can they still learn to love and trust each other as forces try to tear them apart?
Show moreYour organization (and the world of work) are alive. For centuries we have behaved as though organizations were machines, treating people as parts of those machines. But your organization is a living, dynamic system, that thrives through relationships, natural growth and organic structures.  In 'Nature of Work: The new story of work for a living age', Paul Miller, CEO and Founder of Digital Workplace Group (DWG), and Shimrit Janes, DWG's Director of Knowledge, draw on patterns from forests and the natural world to illustrate a dynamic, vital and more beautiful world of work that our hearts and minds know is possible.  Through inspiring imagery and metaphors drawn from nature, Miller and Janes provide change-makers in companies and organizations of any size with the language and questions to evolve their workplaces from organizations to organisms. They explore 12 essential workplace elements, such as health, habitat, regeneration, intelligence, relationships and purpose, underpinned by real-life stories of organizations and people already on this journey to new ways of working.  As at 2019, there were 3.46 billion people working globally, representing 41% of the world's population. Any changes in work have a dramatic impact on all aspects of life. And not only do these changes affect working people, they ripple out to touch all those who receive services or products as customers too. Changes in the world of work have profound impacts on how we live on Earth, and the concept 'Nature of Work' equips us with the language to craft a new story of work for a living age.
Show moreA thrilling history of MI9-the WWII organization that engineered the escape of Allied forces from behind enemy lines When Allied fighters were trapped behind enemy lines, one branch of military intelligence helped them escape: MI9. The organization set up clandestine routes that zigzagged across Nazi-occupied Europe, enabling soldiers and airmen to make their way home. Secret agents and resistance fighters risked their lives and those of their families to hide the men. Drawing on declassified files and eye-witness testimonies from across Europe and the United States, Helen Fry provides a significant reassessment of MI9's wartime role. Central to its success were figures such as Airey Neave, Jimmy Langley, Sam Derry, and Mary Lindell, who was one of only a few women parachuted into enemy territory for MI9. This astonishing account combines escape and evasion tales with the previously untold stories behind the establishment of MI9-and reveals how the organization saved thousands of lives.
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