Andrew Brown

The Alfa Romeo 105 series Spider is one of the most admired drop-head sports cars to come out of Italy. Launched in 1966, its radical new look was not immediately welcomed. As prospective buyers gradually warmed to the model, enhancements were introduced including more powerful engines and higher-spec body and interior fittings. Despite its inauspicious start, production of this much-admired car lasted for twenty-seven years, finally stopping in 1993. Jim Talbott and Andrew Brown pay homage to the 105/115 series Alfa Spider. With over 330 photographs, many specially commissioned, this new book describes the Alfa Romeo company history including its philosophy of incorporating driver appeal into all of its products, resulting in some of the most desirable vehicles of their age; it details the evolution of the 105/115 series through four distinct body styles; lists the technical design specifications and every major version of the Spider and finally, discusses the issues and challenges of finding and owning a classic Spider.

When the immoral libertine Monsieur de Franval marries and fathers a daughter, he decides to inculcate in her a sense of absolute freedom, an unconventional education that involves the two becoming secret lovers. But Franval's virtuous, God-fearing wife becomes suspicious and confronts him, setting off a tragic chain of events. Part of Sade's The Crimes of Love cycle, this shocking tale – which was among the writings banned for publication until the twentieth century – tests the limits of morality and portrays the disastrous consequences of freedom and pleasure.