Bloomsbury Publishing

Elizabeth Stavely sits in the Bodlean library with trembling hands. Before her is a fragment of parchment which has about it a dusty fragrance of roses, of sadness and great age. Here is the clue she has been looking for, to a story that has been untold for four hundred years. It is as though a voice is whispering softly to her across the centuries. Constantinople, 1599: merchants from all over Europe are vying with each other to gain trading rights in the Ottoman empire. Paul Pindar, a wealthy merchant, has been entrusted with the mission to deliver an extraordinary musical clock to the Sultan. But a disaster has befallen it on its journey from England, and the organ-maker Thomas Dallam must attempt to repair the effects of the seawater on the precious artifact. Pindar is troubled too by a secret sadness: the woman he once loved is now lost to him, drowned in a shipwreck. But there have been rumours of a new young slave with golden hair and skin like milk, sighted behind the gates of the Sultan's harem. Could this be his Celia? Deep inside the most private quarters of the Sultan's palace, a different drama unfolds: Hassan Aga, the Chief Black Eunuch, lies spreadeagled and helpless, his life slowly ebbing away. Beside him is an intricate ship made of spun sugar, perhaps carrying the poison that is about to take his life. A veiled figure stands over him, and as she moves away the light catches the huge emerald on her finger, causing it to glow like a cat's eye.The Aviary Gate is a tale of ancient alliances and intrigues, of forbidden love and dangerous secrets. Lush, magical and utterly absorbing, it is a masterful novel from one of our most acclaimed authors.

Father Christmas, a sickly Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, an elf who gets locked in the workshop, the story of the birth of Jesus... the list goes on in this wonderful volume of stories for young readers all about Christmas. Lavishly illustrated throughout by a plethora of brilliant artists, including Sue Hellard, Michael Foreman, Eleanor Taylor and Ian Beck.

When Tom Brodzinski finally decides to give up smoking during a family holiday in a weird, unnamed land, a moment's inattention becomes his undoing. Flipping the butt of his last cigarette off the balcony of the holiday apartment, it lands on the head of the elderly Reggie Lincoln, and burns him. Despite Brodzinski's liberal attitudes and good intentions, the local authorities treat his action as an assault. Soon the full weight of the courts and tribal custom is brought to bear. What follows is a journey through a fantastically distorted world, a country that is part Australia, part Iraq and part the heart of a distinctively modern darkness.

An alphabet book with a story about two children and their pet gazelle who head off, treasure map in hand, on an underground journey into a place where monsters and pirates roam. Will they find the treasure? Will they get out alive? Will the alphabet ever be the same again?

It is the 1970s in Northern California. A farmer and his teenage daughters, Anna and Claire, work the land with the help of Coop, the enigmatic young man who lives with them. Theirs is a makeshift family, until they are riven by an incident of violence — of both hand and heart. Written in the sensuous prose for which Michael Ondaatje's fiction is celebrated, Divisadero is the work of a master story-teller.

When Kate first sees Jarrod she senses that he is special and that like her, he has magical powers. But she also knows he is completely unaware of his gift and will be difficult to persuade. Kate's grandmother realises that Jarrod and his family have an ancient curse placed upon them which they must tackle before Jarrod's life, along with the lives of his parents and little brother, can become happy, peaceful and free of the troubles that have plagued them. He must learn to use his gift, and when he does, Kate and Jarrod find themselves in a time hundreds of years old, and very far from home pitched in the greatest battle of their lives. A fabulous book with the perfect combination of pace, intrigue, suspense, utterly entrancing characters and romance.

How to pay and return formal 'calls'; how to refuse a proposal of marriage; who should lead off the dancing at a country-house ball; what to wear for a morning walk. Today such social niceties are largely ignored or forgotten, but they underpin all of Jane Austen's timeless novels and are explored and dealt with in this highly original book. Written as if intended for Austen's original readers in the Regency era, and illustrated with exquisitely witty watercolours, Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners is a light-hearted, entertaining and instructive little handbook of etiquette as depicted in Jane's novels and letters. It will not only offer sound wisdom and pearls of advice, but also encourage the modern-day reader to look back at Jane's work with a new and deepened appreciation.

Arthur (Art) Mumby and his irritating sister Myrtle live with their father in the huge and rambling house, Larklight, travelling through space on a remote orbit far beyond the Moon. One ordinary sort of morning they receive a correspondence informing them that a gentleman is on his way to visit, a Mr Webster. Visitors to Larklight are rare if not unique, and a frenzy of preparation ensues. But it is entirely the wrong sort of preparation, as they discover when their guest arrives, and a Dreadful and Terrifying (and marvellous) adventure begins. It takes them to the furthest reaches of Known Space, where they must battle the evil First Ones in a desperate attempt to save each other — and the Universe. Recounted through the eyes of Art himself, Larklight is sumptuously designed and illustrated throughout.

At the age of twenty-two, Elizabeth Gilbert was doing everything she could to avoid a nine-to-five job. She worked on ranches in Wyoming, rode horses pretending to be a cowgirl, and fell for the smooth-talking cowboys who were the last vestige of the American frontier that she longed for. And then she met Eustace Conway. Eustace Conway is like no other man. At the age of seventeen, he ditched the comforts of suburbia to escape to the mountains where he lived alone in a teepee. Twenty years on, he is still there. Everything he needs he builds, grows or kills. Over the years, he has stopped at nothing in pursuit of bigger, bolder challenges: he travelled the Mississippi in a handmade wooden canoe; he walked the two-thousand-mile Appalachian Trail; he hiked across the German Alps in trainers. Dazzled by his tales of daring and adventure, Elizabeth Gilbert set off on her own adventure to discover the last American man. Written with her trademark warmth and humour that made Eat, Pray, Love an international bestseller, The Last American Man is an unforgettable story of an irrepressible life lived to the extreme.

In 1954, in the cookhouse of a logging and sawmill settlement in northern New Hampshire, an anxious twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable's girlfriend for a bear. Both the twelve-year-old and his father become fugitives, forced to run from Coos County — to Boston, to southern Vermont, to Toronto — pursued by the implacable constable. Their lone protector is a fiercely libertarian logger, once a river driver, who befriends them. In a story spanning five decades, Last Night in Twisted River — John Irving's twelfth novel — depicts the recent half-century in the United States as 'a living replica of Coos County, where lethal hatreds were generally permitted to run their course'. From the novel's taut opening sentence — 'The young Canadian, who could not have been more than fifteen, had hesitated too long' — to its elegiac final chapter, Last Night in Twisted River is written with the historical authenticity and emotional authority of The Cider House Rules and A Prayer for Owen Meany. It is also as violent and disturbing a story as John Irving's breakthrough bestseller, The World According to Garp. What further distinguishes Last Night in Twisted River is the author's unmistakable voice — the inimitable voice of an accomplished storyteller. Near the end of this moving novel, John Irving writes: 'We don't always have a choice how we get to know one another. Sometimes, people fall into our lives cleanly — as if out of the sky, or as if there were a direct flight from Heaven to Earth — the same sudden way we lose people, who once seemed they would always be part of our lives'.

When the festive season arrives at Larklight, so does some unsettling news. A sinister-looking cloud is fast approaching the outskirts of the Known Universe. The closest planet, Georgium Sidus, has but two human inhabitants: the missionary Revd Cruet and his daughter Charity. Their most recent communication read: 'Great danger... imperative that'. And so, aboard a naval gunship, Art, Myrtle and family bravely go where only one man and his daughter have gone before, to determine the nature of the menacing cloud and rescue the Cruets. But the evil which awaits them is far beyond their imagining, and it looks as though Mother may have finally Met Her Match. Lucky, then, that Jack Havock is hot on their heels to help in the battle to save the Universe (again) from an evil demigod and its army of blue lizards, who are intent on deposing none other than Queen Victoria to gain control of the Universe.

The cowboys, strippers, labourers and magicians of Pilgrims are all on their way to being somewhere, or someone, else. Some are browbeaten and world-weary, others are deluded and naive, yet all seek companionship as fiercely as they can. A tough East Coast girl dares a western cowboy to run off with her; a matronly bar owner falls in love with her nephew; an innocent teenager falls hopelessly for the local bully's sister. These are tough heroes and heroines, hardened by their experiences, who struggle for their epiphanies. Yet hope is never far away and though they may act blindly, they always act bravely. Sharply drawn and tenderly observed, Pilgrims is filled with Gilbert's inimitable humour and warmth.

Overwhelmed by the realities of first-time motherhood and disillusioned with the corporate world, Jane trades in her Manolos for nappies, nipple shields and the foot spread of a yeti: a lifestyle choice her man-eating girlfriend, Rachel, thinks is taking retro chic just one step too far. Unlike the lovely Liz, who'd give anything to be in Jane's pram shoes. Desperate to reconnect with the outside world, Jane finds salvation in her local New Mothers Group, a nonagenarian neighbour, and a royal duo of bloggers dedicated to shoes and behind-the-scenes celebrity gossip.Meanwhile, her unlucky-in-love best friend, Fi, thinks she's found THE one — Marco. Should Jane be concerned that Marco is a handsome, intelligent, Italian shoe designer with a passion for teaching his craft to bored housewifes? Or that her career-focussed husband is spending increasingly long hours at work. A heart-warming and timeless tale of the transition from working-girl to new mum, The Shoe Princess's Guide to the Galaxy is a sassy and original debut about one woman's attempts to put her best foot forward.

Recounting the life and times of one of the most respected men in the world, The Snowball is the most fascinating financial success story of our time. Warren Buffett, the legendary Omaha investor has never written a memoir, but finally has given Alice Schroeder unprecedented access to him and all those closest to his work, opinions, struggles, triumphs, follies and wisdom. The result is this personally revealing and complete biography of 'The Oracle of Omaha', indispensable reading for those who wish to know the man behind the outstanding achievements.

On a midsummer day in 1937, Boris Bibikov kissed his two daughters goodbye and disappeared. One of those girls, Lyudmila, was to fall in love with a tall young foreigner in Moscow at the height of the Cold War and embark on a dangerous and passionate affair. Decades later, a reporter in nineties Moscow, her son Owen Matthews pieces together his grandfather's passage through the harrowing world of Stalin's purges, and tells the story of his parents' Cold War love affair through their heartbreaking letters and memories. Stalin's Children is a raw, vivid memoir about a young man's struggle to understand his parents' lives and the history of the strange country in which they lived.

Art and his family are invited on a fantastic free holiday to the exotic Asteroid Belt, in a remote part of space near Mars. Taking the train, they arrive to discover that nothing is quite as it seems — the hotel slips curiously back and forth through time, and the guests behave rather strangely too. What is behind these bizarre goings on? It's up to Art, Jack Havoc and his sister Myrtle (against her will) to get to the bottom of things. But the giant sand clams and man-eating starfish which roam freely nearby are nothing compared to the True Enemy, which is cunning, sinister, and almost unstoppable, and may resemble a hat ...

On two remote islands off the coast of Maine, the local lobstermen have fought savagely for generations over the fishing rights to the ocean waters between them. Young Ruth Thomas is born into this feud, the daughter of one of the greediest lobstermen in Maine. Eighteen years old, as smart as a whip, and irredeemably unromantic, Ruth returns home from boarding school determined to throw her education overboard and join the 'stern-men'. As the feud escalates, she helps work the lobster boats, brushes up on her profanity, and eventually falls for a handsome young lobsterman. A funny, sparkling novel of unlikely friendships and family ties, Stern Men captures a feisty American spirit through this unforgettable heroine who is destined for greatness despite herself. Stern Men was a New York Times Notable Book.

For over half a century the beautiful, ruined Temple of Apollo has been in the care of the old beekeeper Gabrilis. But when the value of the land soars, he is persuaded through unscrupulous means to sign away his interests — and hours later he meets a violent, lonely death. When Hermes Diaktoros finds his friend's battered body by a dusty roadside, the police quickly make him the prime suspect. But with rapacious developers threatening Arcadia's most ancient sites, there are many who stand to gain from Gabrilis's death. Hermes resolves to avenge his old friend and find the true culprit, but his methods are, as ever, unorthodox Readers who were captivated by The Fat Man in The Messenger of Athens will be thrilled to rediscover him. Those new to the series will meet a detective who breaks the mould — a Greek Poirot, who keeps a number of unusual tools to hand to administer his unforgettable brand of justice.

In What on Earth Happened?, Christopher Lloyd tells our story from the very beginning of time to the present day, taking giant narrative leaps across millennia and continents. Along the way, he explains exactly how Muslim conquest gave Spain its paella, how the Earth's collision with another young planet created the moon, how dragonflies the size of seagulls emerged out of the prehistoric waters, and how the Big Bang can be detected in your television. Accessible and endlessly entertaining, this massive book draws on disciplines as wide-ranging as astrophysics and anthropology and will appeal to experts, amateur enthusiasts and the simply curious alike. Completed by 250 colourful photographs, maps, historic paintings, engravings and specially commissioned illustrations, What on Earth Happened? takes an entertaining and informed sideways look at the last 13.7 billion years in the life of our universe.

Includes brilliant baboon facts! Akimbo loves his life in Africa and the animals that live there. In this newest Akimbo story, a lady comes to study the baboons in the game reserve where Akimbo's father is the head ranger. Akimbo is keen to help and find out all he can about baboons — and in so doing comes closer to a much more dangerous animal.

When a beautiful princess refuses to marry the prince her father has chosen, her father is furious. So furious he locks her in a tower. She has seven long years of solitude to think about her insolence. But the princess is not entirely alone — she can take her maid, Dashti. Petulant and spoilt, the princess eats the food in their meagre store as if she were still at court, and Dashti soon realises they must either escape or slowly starve. But during their captivity, clever and resourceful Dashti discovers that there is something far more sinister behind her princesses fears of marrying of the prince, and when, finally, they do break free from the tower, they find a land laid to waste and the kingdom destroyed. They were safe in the tower, now they are at the mercy of the evil prince. But this maid is a force to be reckoned with. Thrilling, captivating, and a masterful example of storytelling at its best. The princess's maid is a feisty and thoroughly modern heroine, in this wonderfully timeless story.

'Hale's writing is beautiful, with a vivid eye for detail' Daily Telegraph Anidora-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kilindree, spent the first years of her life listening to her aunt's incredible stories, and learning the language of the birds. Little knowing how valuable her aunt's strange knowledge would prove to be when she grew older. From the Grimm's fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become a queen, Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must understand her own incredible talents before she can overcome those who wish her harm. Shannon Hale has drawn on her incredible gift for storytelling to create a powerful and magical grown-up fairy tale.

Enna and Princess Ani became fast friends in The Goose Girl, but now that Ani is married to Prince Geric, Enna returns to the forest. Then Enna's simple life changes for ever when she learns of her power to wield fire. Enna is convinced that she can use her ability for good to fight Tira, the kingdom threatening the Bayern borders. But the power of the fire grows stronger and she is soon barely able to control it. Enna becomes more and more reckless and is captured by the Tiran army. A handsome and manipulative young captain drugs and holds Enna prisoner until Ani and her old friends Finn, and Razo attempt to free her. But has the desire to burn already gone too far?

War between Bayern and Tira is finally over. To cement the peace with their old sworn enemies, a group from each kingdom will cross to the other for a 'season of friendship'. At first all is well, but mysterious events in the Tiran capital arouse suspicions and anger bubbles just beneath the surface. Enna's friend Razo must find out who is masterminding these events before it's too late and they find themselves trapped in the heart of Tira as war breaks out.