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The first in Eric Hobsbawm’s dazzling trilogy on the history of the nineteenth century.

Between 1789 and 1848 the world was transformed both by the French Revolution and also by the Industrial Revolution that originated in Britain. This ‘Dual Revolution’ created the modern world as we know it.

Eric Hobsbawm traces with brilliant analytical clarity the transformation brought about in every sphere of European life by the Dual Revolution – in the conduct of war and diplomacy; in new industrial areas and on the land; among peasantry, bourgeoisie and aristocracy; in methods of government and of revolution; in science, philosophy and religion; in literature and the arts. But above all he sees this as the period when industrial capitalism established the domination over the rest of the world it was to hold for a century.

Eric Hobsbawm’s enthralling and original account is an impassioned but objective history of the most significant sixty years in the history of Europe.

THE AGE OF EMPIRE is a book about the strange death of the nineteenth century, the world made by and for liberal middle classes in the name of universal progress and civilisation. It is about hopes realised which turned into fears: an era of unparalleled peace engendering an era of unparalleled war; revolt and revolution emerging on the outskirts of society; a time of profound identity crisis for bourgeois classes, among new and sudden mass labour movements which rejected capitalism and new middle classes which rejected liberalism.

It is about world empires built and held with almost contemptuous ease by small bodies of Europeans which were to last barely a human lifetime, and a European domination of world history, which was never more confident than at the moment it was about to disappear for ever. It is about Queen Victoria, Madame Curie and the Kodak Girl, and the novel social world of cloth caps, golf clubs and brassieres, about Nietzsche, Carnegie, William Morris and Dreyfus, about politically ineffective terrorists, one of whom, to his and everyone’s surprise, started a world war.

With the AGE OF EMPIRE, Eric Hobsbawm, Britain’s leading historian of the left, brings to a dazzling climax his brilliant interpretative history of ‘the long nineteenth century’.

A magisterial account of the rise of capitalism

Eric Hobsbawm’s magnificent treatment of the crucial years 1848-1875 is a penetrating analysis of the rise of capitalism and the consolidation of bourgeois culture. In the 1860s a new word entered the economic and political vocabulary of the world: ‘capitalism’. The global triumph of capitalism is the major theme of history in the decades after 1848. The extension of capitalist economy to four corners of the globe, the mounting concentration of wealth, the migration of men, the domination of Europe and European culture made the third quarter of the nineteenth century a watershed. This is a history not only of Europe but of the world.

Eric Hobsbawm’s intention is not to summarise facts, but to draw facts together into a historical synthesis, to ‘make sense of’ the period, and to trace the roots of the present world back to it. He integrates economics with political and intellectual developments in this objective yet original account of revolution and the failure of revolution, of the cycles of boom and slump that characterise capitalist economies, of the victims and victors of the bourgeois ethos.

A controversial account of the Churchill years by a bestselling historian.
‘The best sort of history – revealing, gossipy and acidulous’ OBSERVER

This highly praised book by the Wolfson History Prize-winning author of SALISBURY tackles six aspects of Churchilliana and uncovers a plethora of disturbing facts about wartime and post-war Britain.
His revelations include:

– The case for the impeachment of Lord Mountbatten
– The Nazi sympathies of Sir Arthur Bryant, hitherto considered a ‘patriotic historian’
– The British establishment’s doubt about Churchill’s role after Dunkirk
– The appeasement of the trade unions in Churchill’s Indian summer
– The inside story of black immigration in the early 1950s
– The anti-Churchill stance adopted by the Royal Family in 1940

A dual biography of the greatest opposing generals of their age who ultimately became fixated on one another, by a bestselling historian.
‘Thoroughly enjoyable, beautifully written and meticulously researched’ Observer

On the morning of the battle of Waterloo, the Emperor Napoleon declared that the Duke of Wellington was a bad general, the British were bad soldiers and that France could not fail to win an easy victory. Forever afterwards historians have accused him of gross overconfidence, and massively underestimating the calibre of the British commander opposed to him.

Andrew Roberts presents an original, highly revisionist view of the relationship between the two greatest captains of their age. Napoleon, who was born in the same year as Wellington – 1769 – fought Wellington by proxy years earlier in the Peninsula War, praising his ruthlessness in private while publicly deriding him as a mere ‘sepoy general’.

In contrast, Wellington publicly lauded Napoleon, saying that his presence on a battlefield was worth forty thousand men, but privately wrote long memoranda lambasting Napoleon’s campaigning techniques. Although Wellington saved Napoleon from execution after Waterloo, Napoleon left money in his will to the man who had tried to assassinate Wellington. Wellington in turn amassed a series of Napoleonic trophies of his great victory, even sleeping with two of the Emperor’s mistresses.

‘His book is timely and a triumph. Roberts manages to convey all the reader needs to know about two men to whom battalions of biographies have been devoted’ EVENING STANDARD

Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill were two totally opposite leaders – both in what they stood for and in the way in which they seemed to lead. Award-winning historian Andrew Roberts examines their different styles of leadership and draws parallels with rulers from other eras. He also looks at the way Hitler and Churchill estimated each other as leaders, and how it affected the outcome of the war.

In a world that is as dependent on leadership as any earlier age, HITLER AND CHURCHILL asks searching questions about our need to be led. In doing so, Andrew Roberts forces us to re-examine the way that we look at those who take decisions for us.

Prize-winning British historian tells the story of the English-speaking peoples in the 20th century

Winston Churchill’s History of the English-Speaking Peoples ended in 1900. Andrew Roberts, Wolfson History prizewinner has been inspired by Churchill’s example to write the story of the 20th century.

Churchill wrote: ‘Every nation or group of nations has its own tale to tell. Knowledge of the trials and struggles is necessary to all who would comprehend the problems, perils, challenges, and opportunities which confront us today ‘It is in the hope that contemplation of the trials and tribulations of our forefathers may not only fortify the English-speaking peoples of today, but also play some small part in uniting the whole world, that I present this account.’

As the greatest of all the trials and tribulations of the English-speaking peoples took place in the twentieth century, Roberts’ book covers the four world-historical struggles in which the English-speaking peoples have been engaged – the wars against German Nationalism, Axis Fascism, Soviet Communism and now the War against Terror. But just as Churchill did in his four volumes, Roberts also deals with the cultural, social and political history of the English global diaspora.

A definitive portrait of one of the most compelling monarchs England has ever had: Elizabeth I.

‘We are a prince from a line of princes.’

Lisa Hilton’s majestic biography of Elizabeth I, ‘The Virgin Queen’, uses new research to present a fresh interpretation of Elizabeth as a queen who saw herself primarily as a Renaissance prince, delivering a very different perspective on her emotional and sexual life, and upon her attempts to mould England into a European state. Elizabeth was not an exceptional woman but an exceptional ruler, and this book challenges readers to reassess her reign, and the colourful drama, scandal and intrigue to which it is always linked.

Rococo makes the finest chocolates in the world. Its founder, Chantal Coady, has been a pioneer of the nouveau chocolat revolution for 30 years. She established the award-winning Rococo chocolate business and school and continues to blaze the trail for chocolate creativity. In this beautiful and indulgent book, Chantal shares her expertise and chocolate alchemy. From the perfect ganache recipe to delicious salted caramel truffles, and from a stunning chocolate roulade to extreme chocolate combinations, Rococo celebrates gastronomy’s finest, most complex and luxurious of ingredients – chocolate.

A gorgeous collection of recipes from London’s most exclusive chocolatier.

Rococo makes the finest chocolates in the world. Its founder, Chantal Coady, has been a pioneer of the nouveau chocolat revolution for 30 years. She established the award-winning Rococo chocolate business and school and continues to blaze the trail for chocolate creativity. In this beautiful and indulgent book, Chantal shares her expertise and chocolate alchemy. From the perfect ganache recipe to delicious salted caramel truffles, and from a stunning chocolate roulade to extreme chocolate combinations, Rococo celebrates gastronomy’s finest, most complex and luxurious of ingredients – chocolate.

<font SIZE="+0.5″> Cook Now. Eat Later. It’s time to re-think how to use your freezer

Take the stress out of cooking with 120 delicious freezer-friendly recipes perfect for all the family. From pies and lasagnes to curries and cakes – Fill Your Freezer shows you how to create tasty dishes everyone will love with minimal effort.

With easy-to-follow recipes, mouth-watering photographs and top tips on how to safely prep, freeze and defrost your meals, this cookbook is ideal for those looking to save money as well as time!

Recipes include:
· THAI CHICKEN AND COCONUT CURRY
· 30-MINUTE MEATBALLS
· SPICED RED LENTIL SOUP
· FABULOUS FREEZER FISH PIE
· SUPER-QUICK STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING
and many more!


The ultimate fuss-free cookbook, this indispensable freezer guide will make your life that little bit easier.


This ebook was previously published under the title Freeze.

It’s time to re-think how to use your freezer

From Fabulous Freezer Fish Pie to Best-ever Freeze Ahead Lasagne, Classic Chicken Curry and Mum’s Toad in the Hole –Freeze will take the stress out of cooking for any occasion and help you get to grips with batch cooking and meal prep. Justine Pattison will show you how to fill your freezer with fabulously tasty dishes with minimal effort.
Packed with countless innovative freezer tips such as the revolutionary flat freeze and quick strip techniques, as well as ways to defrost and reheat leftovers to ensure foolproof and tasty results every time – you can cook once and eat well all week!

Beautifully designed with easy-to-follow recipes and mouth-watering photographs, this cookbook is ideal for busy lives. With advice on buying and preparing food for yourself and your family, it will save you money as well as time!
Whether it’s meals for one, standby classics, a fuss-free family supper or a gorgeous, layered Chocolate Truffle Cake, this indispensable freezer guide will show you how – making your life just that bit easier.

Featuring Britain’s most delicious but threatened ingredients THE GREAT BRITISH FOOD REVIVAL celebrates local produce in classic recipes written by Britain’s favourite cooks

Britain is home to the tastiest fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, and honeys in the world but many of our original species and breeds are under threat by foreign invaders. British food needs us!

From West Country apples, rare breed bacon, Baldwin blackcurrants and Scottish heather honey, THE GREAT BRITISH FOOD REVIVAL is the nation’s definitive collection of British recipes. Combining traditional ingredients with modern flair, these dishes provide every reason why we should be eating and cooking local produce from the British Isles.

With big flavours and simple ingredients, the food is the star. And to celebrate with true cooking magic the Hairy Bikers, Clarissa Dickson-Wright, James Martin and many other top chefs take the reader on a gastronomic journey and rediscover the jewels of our great food heritage.

This wonderfully entertaining journey takes us from Alistair Horne’s childhood as a wartime evacuee in America to his career as a highly successful historian and biographer, via a stint as a foreign correspondent for the Daily Telegraph. We travel with him from Germany to America, from Canada to France, from Latin America to the Middle East.

A consummate biographer, the pages of Horne’s ‘Literary Vagabondage’ abound with vivid character sketches of the friends and foes that have shaped his life.

A memoir about keeping chickens from the author of THE COLOR PURPLE

When Alice Walker grew up in the deep south of America, her family always kept chickens – for meat and for eggs – and her job was to chase down the Sunday dinner! In later life, when she settled in Mexico and was growing her own food, she realised how much she missed keeping them and decided to get a brood of her own. So into her life came Gertrude Stein, Babe, Babe 2, Hortensia, Splendor, Glorious, Rufus and Agnes of God, not to mention a few others.

She discovered a deep contentment in keeping chickens, looking after them and watching them develop. This also made her think about her own life and brought back severed memories of her childhood. This book isn’t a ‘how to’ on keeping chickens, it is a warm memoir chronicling her journey and the way in which keeping chickens led her to a fuller understanding of herself.

A searingly powerful novel about passion and isolation, about the nature of belief, about love and motherhood, for fans of Ali Smith and Maggie O’Farrell

In a church in Battersea, Mary-Margaret O’Reilly sees blood on her hands and believes she has witnessed a miracle. The consequences are both profound and devastating – not just for her but for others, too: Father Diamond, the parish priest, struggling with his own faith. Stella, adrift in her marriage and aching for her ten-year old son, away at boarding school. Alice, counting the days until her soldier son comes home. And Mary-Margaret’s mother, imprisoned in a tower block with nothing but her thoughts for company… What happens to Mary-Margaret will send ripples through this tight community, raising questions about the nature of devotion – in all its forms – and the cost of loving in a confusing world.

‘Unfailingly gripping, filled with the essential ingredients – tension and emotion.‘ Patricia Duncker, LITERARY REVIEW

‘Beautifully musical sentences with carefully judged rhythms.’ Philip Womack, DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘Skillfully constructed and beautifully written.’ Peter Parker, SUNDAY TIMES

‘The ultimate frenemy thriller’ [NOW MAGAZINE] The smash critical hit from the publishers that bought you GONE GIRL.

You don’t remember her . . . but she remembers you.

Two women; two different worlds.
Emma is a struggling mother who has put everything on hold.
Nina is sophisticated and independent – entirely in control.

When the pair meet, Nina generously draws Emma into her life. But this isn’t the first time the women’s paths have crossed. Nina remembers Emma and she remembers what Emma did.

But what exactly does Nina want from her?
And how far will she go in pursuit of it?

‘As seductive as it is chilling, Her is quality literary fiction meets psychological thriller, the devil of which is in the detail’ OBSERVER

‘Harriet Lane is a deft conjurer of menacing middle class scenarios, and her second novel, a taut revenge drama with a shattering endgame’ i NEWSPAPER

‘Thriller of the year’ Amanda Craig

‘Unlike conventional thrillers, the perverse pleasure of this compelling novel is not a big reveal but the pin-sharp unpicking of personality’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘A tautly written psychological thriller … there is forensic social observation here. Her London is recognisably real. Both Emma and Nina feel like women you might pass on a leafy Islington street … Then the endgame, when it comes, is shattering’ INDEPENDENT

‘Harriet Lane keeps the reader on the edge until the last page’ GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

‘Another taut, tense psychological thriller from the author of the acclaimed 2012 debut novel Alys, Always … A compelling revenge drama that will make you think twice about getting too chummy with the neighbours’ Sebastian Shakespeare, TATLER

‘A fine mistress of suspense’ TLS

‘This exquisitely sinister psychological thriller that is going to take us all by storm this summer, Harriet Lane’s Her, has a Notes on a Scandal-type relationship between an exhausted young mother and her rich sophisticated neighbour’ DAILY TELEGRAPH

‘A marvellous novel. I absolutely adored it … So subtle, funny, tender and so miraculously observed … Utterly brilliant’ Jilly Cooper

‘Amazing . . . chillingly brilliant’ RED

‘A superbly disquieting psychological thriller … Mordantly funny, yet chilling, this tale of an ordinary woman inveigling her way into a position of power is compulsive reading’ SPECTATOR

They have everything she wants…

Frances is a thirty-something lowly sub-editor, but her routine, colourless existence is disrupted one winter evening when she happens upon the aftermath of a car crash and hears the last words of the driver, Alys Kyte.

When Alys’s family makes contact in an attempt to find closure, Frances is given a tantalising glimpse of a very different world: one of privilege and possibility. The relationships she builds with the Kytes will have an impact on her own life, both professionally and personally, as Frances dares to wonder whether she might now become a player in her own right …

‘A suspensful portrait of the outsider and a satisfyingly bitchy send-up of literary London’ GUARDIAN

‘Frances is a fascinating creation: determined, deceitful, intriguingly complex and believably drawn … This deeply unsettling but eminently readable story is one that will linger in the memory‘ OBSERVER

‘Lane’s take on contemporary class is so sharply observed that it becomes almost satirical: the perennial theme of social climbing gets a superb new treatment in her highly entertaining, slightly chilling tale of a cuckoo in the nest’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘Superbly, even poetically written with an almost feverish hyper-realism, this All About Eve for our times misses no telling detail of the difference between the entitled and unentitled classes… A brilliant idea, brilliantly realised. I loved it, I loved it. I’ve run out of superlatives and all that remains to say is that I wish I was you; I wish I hadn’t read it and had that pleasure to come’ Wendy Holden DAILY MAIL

‘Mischievous and measured, Joanna Lumley gives us a remarkable portrait of a groovy life…a life astonishingly rich in experience’ THE TIMES

‘Captures perfectly the mixture of poshness and larkiness that has captivated Joanna Lumley’s audiences…Joanna writes beautifully, managing to be both thoughtful and amusing’ DAILY MAIL

‘An actress with an extraordinarily varied life that has taken her from Kashmir to Kent, from Bond girl to Ab Fab. It’s all here in this gloriously illustrated, entertaining memoir, that’s packed with personal photos and reminiscences’ WOMAN & HOME

Joanna Lumley is one of Britain’s undisputed national treasures. A single mum, iconic actress, voiceover artist and author, best known for her roles in ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS and THE NEW AVENGERS, she is a former model and Bond girl, a human rights activist for Survival International and the Gurkha Justice Campaign, and is now considered a ‘national treasure’ of Nepal as well as the UK.

She has won two BAFTA awards, but it is the sheer diversity of her life that has made her so compelling a personality – early years in Kashmir and Malaya, growing up in Kent, then a photographic model before becoming an actress, appearing in a huge range of roles, and many documentaries including those on on the Northern Lights, Bhutan and the Nile.

‘Lumley has done it all, from sex kitten and TV star to activist for the Gurkhas. Read about it here.’ – No.2 of The Independent’s ‘Ten Best New Memoirs’ INDEPENDENT

A fascinating companion to Stieg Larsson’s bestselling MILLENNIUM series, revealing the secrets behind the phenomenon that has taken the world by storm.

From the team that brought you the bestselling SECRETS OF THE CODE comes the first literary companion to Stieg Larsson’s worldwide phenomenon, piecing together the puzzles that make Larsson’s series so outrageously popular. Through insightful commentary and revealing interviews, you enter the unique world of Lisbeth Salander, Mikael Blomkvist, and of Stieg Larsson himself – discovering the fascinating real-life characters and incidents at the heart of Larsson’s work.

– What is the truth about Stieg Larsson’s tragic death at age 50, just before publication of his novels?
– Did Larsson leave behind a fourth book manuscript and plot outlines for his planed ten-book series?
– Is Lisbeth the first true literary heroine of the 21st century?
– What changes were made in the plots and translations of the novels after Larsson’s death – and why?
– What will happen in the contentious battle between Larsson’s life partner, Eva Gabrielsson, and his father and brother over his billion dollar legacy, and more importantly, the future of his characters, plots and ideas?

These questions, and many more, will be answered in this gripping and insightful book about the man who has changed the face of crime fiction this century.

Vibrant and candid memoirs of the late, great British character actor, Pete Postlethwaite.

After training as a teacher, Pete Postlethwaite started his acting career at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre where his colleagues included Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, Antony Sher and Julie Walters. After routine early appearances in small parts for television programmes such as THE PROFESSIONALS, Postlethwaite’s first success came with the acclaimed British film DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES in 1988. He then received an Academy Award nomination for his role in THE NAME OF THE FATHER in 1993. His performance as the mysterious lawyer “Kobayashi” in THE USUAL SUSPECTS is well-known, and he appeared in many successful films including ALIEN 3, BRASSED OFF, THE SHIPPING NEWS, THE CONSTANT GARDENER, as Friar Lawrence in Baz Luhrmann’s ROMEO + JULIET, and in INCEPTION with Leonardo diCaprio.

Pete Postlethwaite was one of the best-loved and widely admired performers on stage, TV (SHARPE, THE SINS) and in cinema. In THE ART OF DISCWORLD, Terry Pratchett said that he had always imagined Sam Vimes as ‘a younger, slightly bulkier version of Pete Postlethwaite’, while Steven Spielberg called him ‘the best actor in the world’, about which Postlethwaite said: ‘I’m sure what Spielberg actually said was, “the thing about Pete is that he thinks he’s the best actor in the world.”‘ This is the story of a diverse and multi-talented actor’s eventful life, told in his own candid and vibrant words.

MAD MEN: THE ILLUSTRATED WORLD is an engaging celebration of the life and times of the ‘mad men’ of Madison Avenue in the early 1960s. This book is by turns funny, kitschy, sophisticated and wry, and this full colour miscelleny is both a memento and a stand-alone salute to the time of slim suits, prosperity, cocktails, and the golden age of advertising.

With chapters on the office, the home, fashion and beauty, mainstream and counterculture, travel and rainy day activities, this all-encompassing anthology is the only companion a fan will ever need.

The only official MAD MEN publication, this tie-in to the wildly popular and cult television series captures the spirit of the era as it might be imagined on one of Sal Ramano’s storyboards.

A dazzling speculative inquiry into the mysteries surrounding the sequel to THE DA VINCI CODE

SECRETS OF THE WIDOW’S SON is itself an unprecedented book concept. Relying on extensive investigative reporting and intellectual sleuthing, it is an explorer’s field guide to understanding the main themes, ideas, symbols and historical issues which author Dan Brown will most likely utilise in THE SOLOMON KEY – months before this much-awaited sequel to THE DA VINCI CODE is even published.

SECRETS OF THE CODE told the story of how the riddle embedded in The Da Vinci Code’s dust-cover pointed to Dan Brown’s next book: selected letters appearing on the book jacket’s flaps, slightly bolder than others, spelled out the mystically alluring question, ‘Is There No Help for the Widow’s Son?’ Research led David Shugarts and his team to understand the role of the ‘Widow’s Son’ in the history of Freemasonry, biblical apocrypha, Mormonism, and various secret societies and occult belief systems. Dan Brown has since confirmed that his next book is indeed about the Masons, and that protagonist Robert Langdon, of DA VINCI CODE and ANGELS AND DEMONS fame, would be back to lead us on a symbolic treasure hunt through the art, architecture and secret codes of the American capital, Washington DC.

This book is not a plot spoiler for THE SOLOMON KEY. It is not trying to guess who will be murdered, or which fictional mysteries, cover-ups, and conspiracies will be invented to drive the plot of this story. SECRETS OF THE WIDOW’S SON is about the ideas and issues that will form the background and context for THE SOLOMON KEY.

The first book to help you understand the mysteries and secret histories within the plot of Dan Brown’s bestselling ANGELS AND DEMONS.

SECRETS OF ANGELS AND DEMONS provides the curious reader with concise, authoritative explorations of the major themes that help propel the plot of Dan Brown’s new bestseller, ANGELS AND DEMONS.

Taking the same detailed approach as SECRETS OF THE CODE, Burstein and de Keijzer examine the provocative issues raised in the novel: the existence and scope of the Illuminati and their relationship to other ‘secret societies’; the ongoing, centuries-old debate between science and religion; the history and practices of the Vatican and pagan symbolism and its place within the Church. They also explore the world of Bernini, master artist of the Baroque era, and the secret meanings behind his symbolism; what really happened in the trial of Galileo; and the real state-of-the-art of anti-matter technology.

This book will delight and engage everyone who finished ANGELS AND DEMONS thinking, ‘I need to know more about this book’.