'A truly radical book; radical in subject, radical in form. For the most tragic reasons, it could not feel more immediate; and yet it's a fluid, fast-paced, hugely enjoyable and engaging read.' - Andrew Marr
'Meticulously researched, elegantly constructed, unforgettable.' - Jonathan Freedland
'This is an extraordinarily original way of writing memoir, history and truth. An enthralling book and a wonderful new writer.' - Laura Cumming
On June 7th 1907, a ship packed with Russian Jews sets sail not to Jerusalem or New York, as many on board have dreamt, but to Texas. The man who persuades the passengers to go is David Jochelmann, Rachel Cockerell's great-grandfather. It marks the beginning of the Galveston Movement, a forgotten moment in history when 10,000 Jews fled to Texas in the lead-up to WWI.
The charismatic leader of the movement is Jochelmann's closest friend, Israel Zangwill, whose novels have made him famous across Europe and America. As Eastern Europe becomes infected by anti-Semitic violence, Zangwill embarks on a desperate search across the continents for a temporary from Australia to Canada, Angola to Antarctica. He reluctantly settles on Galveston, Texas. He fears the Jewish people will be absorbed into the great American melting pot, but there is no other hope.
In a highly inventive style, Cockerell uses exclusively source material to capture history as it unfolds, weaving together letters, diaries, memoirs, newspaper articles and interviews into a vivid account of those who were there. Melting Point follows Zangwill and the Jochelmann family through two world wars, to London, New York and Jerusalem - as their lives intertwine with some of the most memorable figures of the twentieth century, and each chooses whether to cling to their history or melt into their new surroundings. It is a story that asks what it means to belong, and what can be salvaged from the past.
'A truly radical book; radical in subject, radical in form. For the most tragic reasons, it could not feel more immediate; and yet it's a fluid, fast-paced, hugely enjoyable and…
The enthralling tale of a powerful Greek goddess maligned in both myth and ancient history, as told by Sunday Times bestselling author Jennifer Saint.
When Hera, immortal goddess and daughter of the ancient Titan Cronos, helps her brother Zeus to overthrow their tyrannical father, she dreams of ruling at his side.
As they establish their reign on Mount Olympus, Hera suspects that Zeus might be just as ruthless and cruel as the father they betrayed.
She was always born to rule, but must she lose herself in perpetuating this cycle of violence and cruelty? Or can she find a way to forge a better world?
Often portrayed as the jealous wife or the wicked stepmother, this retelling captures the many sides of Hera, vengeful when she needs to be but also compassionate and mostly importantly, an all-powerful queen to the gods.
The enthralling tale of a powerful Greek goddess maligned in both myth and ancient history, as told by Sunday Times bestselling author Jennifer Saint.
As a witch in the walled city of Chernograd, Kosara has plenty of practice treating lycanthrope bites, bargaining with kikimoras, and slaying bloodsucking upirs. There's only one monster she can't defeat: her ex, the Zmey, known as the Tsar of Monsters. She's defied him one too many times and now he's hunting her. Betrayed by someone close to her, Kosara's only choice is to trade her shadow-the source of her powers-for a quick escape.
Unfortunately, Kosara soon develops the deadly sickness that plagues shadowless witches-and only reclaiming her magic can cure her. To find it, she's forced to team up with a suspiciously honorable detective. Even worse, all the clues point in a single direction: To get her shadow back, Kosara will have to face the Foul Days' biggest threats without it. And she's only got twelve days.
But in a city where everyone is out for themselves, who can Kosara trust to assist her in outwitting the biggest monster from her past?
As a witch in the walled city of Chernograd, Kosara has plenty of practice treating lycanthrope bites, bargaining with kikimoras, and slaying bloodsucking upirs. There's only one…
How the monarchs of England and Scotland met their deaths has been a wonderful mixture of violence, infections, overindulgence and occasional regicide. In Mortal Monarchs, medical historian Dr Suzie Edge examines 1,000 years of royal deaths to uncover the plots, accusations, rivalries, and ever-present threat of poison that the kings and queens of old faced.
From the "bloody" fascinating story behind Oliver Cromwell's demise and the subsequent treatment of his corpse and whether the arrow William II caught in the chest was an accident or murder, to Henry IV's remarkable skin condition and the red-hot poker up Edward II's rear end, Mortal Monarchs captivates, grosses-out and informs.
In school many of us learned the dates they died and who followed them, but sadly never heard the varied - and oft-gruesome - way our monarchs met their maker. Featuring original medical research, this history forms a rich record not just of how these people died, but how we thought about and treated the human body, in life and in death.
How the monarchs of England and Scotland met their deaths has been a wonderful mixture of violence, infections, overindulgence and occasional regicide. In Mortal Monarchs, medical…
Albion continues to be divided by revolt and bloodshed, as alliances collapse and are made anew.
Driven obsessively for glory, the upstart Bellamus and his exiled queen Aramilla are marshalling resistance and building a powerful army.
Returning to the Hindrunn, Keturah is forced to fend for herself, battling enemies on all sides just when she is most in need of a place of safety.
And all the while, the young Black Lord must deal not only with the aftermath of a great betrayal, but the cold shadow of the Kryptea, threatening to destroy everything he has fought for...
Albion continues to be divided by revolt and bloodshed, as alliances collapse and are made anew.
Driven obsessively for glory, the upstart Bellamus and his exiled queen Aramilla…
Declan Dolan has always wanted to be a writer, turning the ideas that spiral in his head into stories on the page. He longs to emulate his hometown hero, renowned writer and actor, James Cavani. Though their lives couldn't be more different, they have a lot more in common than they think.
With his pet labrador Hector and his best friend-turned-mentor Doof Doof by his side, Declan sets out to escape his world of binge-drinking, supermarket shelf-stacking and small-time gangsters. Meanwhile Cavani finds himself drawn back into this world that he thought he had already escaped.
Could it be that fate has a way of bringing two people together when they need it the most?
Declan Dolan has always wanted to be a writer, turning the ideas that spiral in his head into stories on the page. He longs to emulate his hometown hero, renowned writer and…
With every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time.
China, 1938: Meilin and her four-year-old son, Renshu, flee their burning city as Japanese forces advance. In their perilous journey across the country seeking refuge, they find comfort and wisdom in their most treasured possession - a beautifully illustrated hand scroll, filled with ancient fables.
Years later, separated from his mother by thousands of miles, Renshu now calls himself Henry Dao. His daughter, Lily, is desperate to understand her place in the world, but Henry refuses to share with her the fear and tragedy that mar his past.
Spanning continents and generations, Peach Blossom Spring is a bold and moving story of the sacrifices we make to protect our children. It's about the power of our past, the hope for a better future, and the search for a place to call home.
With every misfortune there is a blessing and within every blessing, the seeds of misfortune, and so it goes, until the end of time.
China, 1938: Meilin and her four-year-old son,…
Lou has been murdered.
She was the fifth victim of the serial killer Edward Early. A young wife and new mother, Lou's death outraged a public breathlessly following the story of the serial murders.
Lou has been cloned.
Along with Early's other four victims, Lou has been brought back to life by the government-funded replication commission. The women gather at a weekly support group, helping each other to navigate a society obsessed with their very existence.
Lou has been lied to.
But when Lou agrees to help fellow murder victim Fern secure a visit with Edward Early, a shocking revelation causes Lou to investigate the events around her death and question everything she thought she knew about her murder.
Can she finally uncover the truth?
Lou has been murdered.
She was the fifth victim of the serial killer Edward Early. A young wife and new mother, Lou's death outraged a public breathlessly following the story…
Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her hometown, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder - a 'file and forget'.
But this is no ordinary cold case, her arrival provoking an unwelcome and threatening response from the small-town community. As more bodies are discovered, and she begins to question how well she truly knows those closest to her, Nell realises that finding the truth could prove more difficult - and dangerous - than she'd ever expected.
The nearer Nell comes to uncovering the secrets of the past, the more treacherous her path becomes. Can she survive to root out the truth, and what price will she have to pay for it?
Newly-minted homicide detective Nell Buchanan returns to her hometown, annoyed at being assigned a decades-old murder - a 'file and forget'.
But this is no ordinary cold…
When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment.
Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing mother bear and raised alongside the cubs under the protective eye of the goddess Artemis.
Swearing that she will prove her worth alongside the famed heroes of Greece, Atalanta leaves her forest to join Jason's band of Argonauts. But can she carve out her own place in the legends in a world made for men?
When a daughter is born to the King of Arcadia, she brings only disappointment.
Left exposed on a mountainside, the defenceless infant Atalanta is left to the mercy of a passing…
Sayon Hughes, a young Black man from Bristol, dreams of a world far removed from the one in which he was raised. Far removed from the torn slips outside the bookie's, the burnt spoons and the crooked solutions his community embraces; most of all, removed from the Christianity of his uncaring parents and the prejudice of law-makers.
Growing up, Sayon found respite from the chaos of his environment in the love and loyalty of his brother-in-arms, Cuba; in the example of his cousin Hakim, a man once known as the most infamous drug-dealer in their neighbourhood, now a proselytising Muslim; and in the tenderness of his girl, Shona, whose own sense of purpose galvanises Sayon's.
In return, Sayon wants to give the people he loves the world: a house atop a grand hill in the most affluent area of the city, a home in which they can forever find joy and safety. But after an altercation in which a boy is killed, Sayon finds his loyalties torn and his dream of a better life in peril.
Sayon Hughes, a young Black man from Bristol, dreams of a world far removed from the one in which he was raised. Far removed from the torn slips outside the bookie's, the burnt…
A famous broadcaster writes a forgotten love letter; a friend abruptly disappears; a lover leaves something unexpected behind; a traumatised woman is consumed by her own anxiety.
In the throes of a fever, a woman's mind casts her back to the past. In precise, vivid language, the stories of four important people who have shaped her life are revealed - a thousand little memories from across a lifetime, laid bare in vivid detail as her body temperature races.
International bestseller The Details is a luminous portrayal of all the small moments that make up a life; the little details that make us human.
A famous broadcaster writes a forgotten love letter; a friend abruptly disappears; a lover leaves something unexpected behind; a traumatised woman is consumed by her own anxiety.…
The Great Kings of Persia ruled over the largest Empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the Steppes of Asia, and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. At the heart of the Empire was the fabled palace-city of Persepolis where the Achaemenid monarchs held court in unparalleled grandeur. From here, Cyrus the Great, Darius, Xerxes, and their heirs passed laws, raised armies, and governed their multicultural Empire of enormous diversity.
The Achaemenids, however, were one of the great dysfunctional families of history. Brothers fought brothers for power, wives and concubines plotted to promote their sons to the throne, and eunuchs and courtiers vied for influence and prestige.
Our understanding of the Persian Empire has traditionally come from the histories of Greek writers such as Herodotus - and as such, over many centuries, our perspective has been skewed by ancient political and cultural agendas. Professor Llewellyn-Jones, however, calls upon original Achaemenid sources, including inscriptions, art, and recent archaeological discoveries in Iran, to create an authentic 'Persian Version' of this remarkable first great empire of antiquity - the Age of the Great Kings.
The Great Kings of Persia ruled over the largest Empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the Steppes of Asia, and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. At the heart of the Empire was…
The impossible-to-put-down, breathless new thriller from queen of the page-turner Rachel Abbott. Don't Look Away will have you reading through your fingers, unable to tear yourself from it.
From the moment I open my eyes, I know. Her bed is made, the wardrobe empty.
There was something she wanted to tell me, but I didn't listen.
Now she's gone.
Eleven years ago my sister Lola vanished from my aunt's cottage in Cornwall. Now I'm back, and I'm no closer to understanding why she ran away. What secrets was she keeping?
Memories come to me in snippets, but something is still missing. Then a body is discovered in a cave below the cliffs. No one knows how long it's been there. Is it Lola?
The next night I wake, knowing someone is there, standing by my bed. I can hear them breathing. What do they want? Am I getting too close to the truth?
Did Lola ever leave?
The impossible-to-put-down, breathless new thriller from queen of the page-turner Rachel Abbott. Don't Look Away will have you reading through your fingers, unable to tear…
Dylan Kasper is stuck. Living in self-imposed reclusion from his former life in the police, he's been in a downward spiral since his daughter's death five years ago.
All that changes when the son of an esteemed professor jumps under an inner-city train. His former colleagues call it suicide, but Kasper knows different. This has all happened before - to him, and his dead daughter.
Taking on the investigation himself, Kasper soon realises the terrible trouble young Tommy had found himself in. With nowhere to run, he thought suicide was the only way to keep his family safe.
But before long, Kasper's investigation makes him target number one. Can he keep his demons in check and stay alive long enough to bring those responsible to justice?
Dylan Kasper is stuck. Living in self-imposed reclusion from his former life in the police, he's been in a downward spiral since his daughter's death five years ago.
All…
Beatrice is the convent's librarian. For years, she has shunned the company of her sisters, finding solace only with her manuscripts.
Then, one carnival night, two women, bleeding and stricken, are abandoned outside the convent's walls. Moments from death, one of them presses something into Beatrice's hands: a bewitching book whose pages have a dangerous life of their own.
But men of the faith want the book destroyed, and a zealous preacher has tracked it to her door. Her sisters' lives - or her obsession. Beatrice must decide.
The book's voice is growing stronger.
An ancient power uncoils.
Will she dare to listen?
Beatrice is the convent's librarian. For years, she has shunned the company of her sisters, finding solace only with her manuscripts.
Then, one carnival night, two women,…
Soon you will become the thing all other beasts fear.
Treasure and her mother lost everything when Treasure's daddy died. Haggling for scraps in the market, Treasure meets a spirit who promises to bring her father back - but she has to do something for him first.
Ozoemena has an itch in the middle of her back that can't be scratched. An itch that speaks to her patrilineal destiny, to defend her people by becoming a leopard. Her father impressed upon her what an honour this was before he vanished, but it's one she couldn't want less.
But as the two girls reckon with their burgeoning wildness and the legacy of their fathers' decisions, Ozoemena's fellow students at her new boarding school start to vanish. Treasure and Ozoemena will face terrible choices as each must ask herself: in a world that always says 'no' to women, what must two young girls sacrifice to get what is theirs?
Soon you will become the thing all other beasts fear.
Treasure and her mother lost everything when Treasure's daddy died. Haggling for scraps in the market, Treasure meets a…
The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. This is the story of three women, their fates inextricably tied to this curse, and the fickle nature of men and gods.
Clytemnestra
The sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon - her hopes of averting the curse are dashed when her sister is taken to Troy by the feckless Paris. Her husband raises a great army against them and determines to win, whatever the cost.
Cassandra
Princess of Troy, and cursed by Apollo to see the future but never to be believed when she speaks of it. She is powerless in her knowledge that the city will fall.
Elektra
The youngest daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, Elektra is horrified by the bloodletting of her kin. But can she escape the curse, or is her own destiny also bound by violence?
The House of Atreus is cursed. A bloodline tainted by a generational cycle of violence and vengeance. This is the story of three women, their fates inextricably tied to this…
Ivy Lin was a thief. But you'd never know it to look at her...
Ivy Lin, a Chinese immigrant growing up in a low-income apartment complex outside Boston, is desperate to assimilate with her American peers. Her parents disapprove, berating her for her mediocre grades and what they see as her lazy, entitled attitude. But Ivy has a secret weapon, her grandmother Meifeng, from whom she learns to shoplift to get the things she needs to fit in.
Ivy develops a taste for winning and for wealth. As an adult, she reconnects with the blond-haired golden boy of a prominent political family, and thinks it's fate. But just as Ivy is about to have everything she's ever wanted, a ghost from her past resurfaces, threatening the almost-perfect life she's worked so hard to build.
Filled with surprising twists, and offering sharp insights into the immigrant experience, White Ivy is both a love triangle and a coming-of-age story - as well as a dark glimpse at what can happen when we yearn for success at any cost.
Ivy Lin was a thief. But you'd never know it to look at her...
Ivy Lin, a Chinese immigrant growing up in a low-income apartment complex outside Boston, is desperate to assimilate…
The Great Kings of Persia ruled over the largest Empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the Steppes of Asia, and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. At the heart of the Empire was the fabled palace-city of Persepolis where the Achaemenid monarchs held court in unparalleled grandeur. From here, Cyrus the Great, Darius, Xerxes, and their heirs passed laws, raised armies, and governed their multicultural Empire of enormous diversity.
The Achaemenids, however, were one of the great dysfunctional families of history. Brothers fought brothers for power, wives and concubines plotted to promote their sons to the throne, and eunuchs and courtiers vied for influence and prestige.
Our understanding of the Persian Empire has traditionally come from the histories of Greek writers such as Herodotus - and as such, over many centuries, our perspective has been skewed by ancient political and cultural agendas. Professor Llewellyn-Jones, however, calls upon original Achaemenid sources, including inscriptions, art, and recent archaeological discoveries in Iran, to create an authentic 'Persian Version' of this remarkable first great empire of antiquity - the Age of the Great Kings.
The Great Kings of Persia ruled over the largest Empire of antiquity, stretching from Libya to the Steppes of Asia, and from Ethiopia to Pakistan. At the heart of the Empire was…
