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In 747, Saint Boniface declared that wide stripes and scarlet borders in dress were a dangerous incitement of lust and ruination of the soul. A thousand years later the Jesuit Father Bernard Vaughan, in his book The Sins of Society, claimed that immodest dress led to paganism, while the popular v-shaped necklines of fashionable tops (referred to by some doctors as 'pneumonia necklines') were denounced as immoral by religious critics, along with short skirts. For many years dress and morality have been intertwined, while moralists throughout history have raged against fashions for being too short, too long, too tight, too loose, or too costly. In this enlightening and entertaining book, Aileen Ribeiro looks at fashion extremes over the centuries – from codpieces to corsets – revealing how dress has functioned as a vehicle of righteousness or turpitude, and as an expression of sexuality, class or social status. With sharp wit and lavish illustrations, Dress and Morality offers an in-depth exploration of the comical vanities and social etiquettes associated with dress in the past. This foundational fashion classic has been re-issued with a new preface, afterword and further reading list – remaining an essential and entertaining read.

*2026 LOCUS FINALIST FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL**SHORTLISTED FOR THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST SERIES*City-by-city, kingdom-by-kingdom, the Palleseen have sworn to bring ‘Perfection’ and ‘Correctness’ to an imperfect world. But before these ruthless Tyrant Philosophers send in their legions, they despatch Outreach – the rain before the storm. Outreach is that part of the Pal machine responsible for diplomacy — converting enemies into friends, achieving through words what an army of five thousand could not, urging the oppressed to overthrow the bloody-handed priests, evil necromancers and greedy despots that subjugate them. Angilly, twelve-years-old, a child of Pal soldiers stationed in occupied Jarokir, does not know it yet, but a sequence of accidents and questionable life choices will lead her to Outreach. As she travels from Jarrokir to Bracinta, Cazarkand, Lemas, The Holy Regalate of Stouk and finally, Usmai, she’ll learn that the price of her nation’s success is paid in compromise and lost chances, and that the falling rain will always be bitter. THE TYRANT PHILOSOPHERSA world steeped in magic of all flavours: divination, demonology, necromancy, alchemy, gods, monsters, portals to other dimensions and worlds — and what happens when it collides with an implacable foe — the Tyrant Philosophers — determined to bring reason, logic and ‘perfection’ to the exuberant magical chaos. 1. City of Last Chances: portrait of Ilmar, a city under Palleseen occupation2. House of Open Wounds: portrait of the Palleseen war machine at work. 3. Days of Shattered Faith: portrait of a kingdom consumed, piece-by-piece, by Palleseen diplomatic subterfuge and espionage. 3.1 Lives of Bitter Rain: a prequel novella to Days of Shattered Faith, portrait of a life in the Palleseen diplomatic corps. 4. Pretenders to the Throne of God: portrait of a city under siege. 5. The Grave of Perfection: return to Ilmar, the 'City of Last Chances' where our story began.

Over the past three centuries, London has established itself as one of the world’s most inventive fashion capitals. Drawing on a range of sources, including paintings, street photography, maps, tourist guides, literature, and stage and press representations, Fashioning London paints a vivid and definitive portrait of London's iconoclastic style. Explore how particular styles of dress became emblematic of this leading international city, ultimately challenging the fashion dominance of Paris, Milan, and New York. Christopher Breward constructs an original history of clothing in London, through its manufacture, promotion, and cultural significance, while examining how issues of space, architecture and performance impinge on notions of fashionability. You will come away from this text understanding that although city life and fashion have always been intertwined, nowhere has this relationship been more excitingly expressed than on the streets of London.

The true story of one of the biggest bank heists in Irish and British history – and the questions that remain.On a Sunday evening in December 2004, two young men were at home with their families. Both worked for the Northern Bank’s cash centre in Belfast. They heard knocks on their front doors. Within a few minutes, masked men invaded their homes, overpowered their loved ones and disabled their electronic devices. It was made clear to the two bank officials that they had a choice: do what they were told or their families would die.Over the course of the following day, L26.5 million was stolen from the Northern Bank: the biggest cash heist in Irish and British history. The two men whose families were held hostage simply re-labelled vast amounts of cash as rubbish and wheeled huge bags to a van waiting outside in the street, yards from Belfast’s City Hall. The robbers’ knowledge of the inner workings of the bank was astonishing. They deployed a large crew of drivers, guards, watchers and gunmen.It was immediately obvious that only one organization had the ability to plan and execute such an audacious, minutely-planned robbery: the Irish Republican Army. But the IRA was supposed to be demobilized as a result of the Good Friday Peace Agreement signed six years earlier. The leaders of Sinn Féin (who were also leaders of the IRA) vehemently denied they had anything to do with it.No-one believed them. The governments in London, Dublin and Washington were outraged. Yet no one was ever been convicted of any crime relating to the heist and little more than two years later, Sinn Féin was in government in Northern Ireland.In the wake of the twentieth anniversary of this bizarre robbery, Glenn Patterson builds on his popular BBC podcast to shed new light on the story of the infamous heist, the victims, the organizers and the abortive, at times comically inept, attempts to find the people who carried it out.

A comprehensive exploration of Machiavelli’s life and thought – covering everything from his preoccupation with truth, fortune, and power, to his frequently bawdy poetry, love affairs, and friendships. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what Machiavelli really believed – and why he matters so much today. Who was Niccolo Machiavelli and why should we consider him relevant to the problems and vexations of the modern world? Stephen Bowd and Alexander Lee aim to ‘defamiliarize’ Machiavelli. Given that he is so well known, if only by name, and the subject of such grave misconceptions and prejudice, the authors set out to explain why he is not the ‘Machiavellian’ figure he is supposed to be, and that he was not just a political thinker. Examining his frequently bawdy poetry, his comedies and his love affairs and friendships, this book will lead modern readers on an exhilarating and thought-provoking journey through Machiavelli’s mind, bringing him to life and illuminating why such a seminal thinker should be of urgent interest to us today.

Explore the Stories Behind the LegendsNaked, bloody, and screaming in pain - this is the Wolverine that faced readers in the story arc Weapon X. This was more than just the tale of how Wolverine got his adamantium skeleton and claws. Legendary creator Barry Windsor-Smith challenged fans’ expectations of super hero stories and created Marvel’s most brutal and beautiful comic. In 1991, when Weapon X was first published, Wolverine was one of Marvel’s most popular super heroes. For Weapon X, creator Windsor-Smith reimagined the super hero origin story as a cyberpunk horror story. A shadowy organization abducts Wolverine in order to create “the ultimate killing machine,” and we are plunged into a story of basic, animalistic survival. As Wolverine endures more and more trauma, the lines between reality and consciousness disappear. Illustrated with full-color art from this legendary storyline, Jim Rugg’s entry in The Marvel Age of Comics takes a deep-dive into one of Marvel’s most experimental and singular comics, and what many consider to be the definitive Wolverine story.

Step into the delightful, hidden world of hedgehogs with this beautiful book. This charming book combines engaging, accessible writing with delightful line illustrations, inviting you to learn how hedgehogs live in the wild, consider how we capture their character in our own stories, and understand how we can help them thrive – in our gardens and beyond. The RSPB Pocket Book series celebrates iconic British wildlife and is produced in collaboration with the RSPB. Hugh Warwick, an expert on hedgehog biology and conservation, instils this beautiful book with his insight and enthusiasm for one of the British Isles’ most beloved wild animals, making it an ideal gift or personal keepsake. With Hugh's help, you'll enjoy quirky and lesser-known hedgehog facts, uncover the vital role hedgehogs play in garden ecosystems, and explore their place in folklore, mythology and cultural history. Hugh also highlights how making small changes in our gardens and communities can make a big difference for hedgehog survival. With beautiful artworks and an inspiring message, this is ideal for nature lovers, gift buyers, and anyone with a soft spot for our prickly friends.

In this compelling study, Daisuke Miyao explores Jean-Pierre Melville's cult 1967 thriller Le Samourai, a film that unfolds in a coolly stylised Paris where the paths of a contract killer, Jef Costello (Alain Delon), and the police commissaire pursuing him (François Périer) fatally intersect. Despite its title, Le Samourai, is not a sword-clashing tale of feudal Japan. Rather, Miyao suggests that the film's philosophical framework draws on both existentialism and the samurai moral philosophy of bushido, or 'the way of the warrior', and considers how these philosophies may help explain Jef Costello's identity crisis and his concluding act of self-annihilation. In a close analysis of Melville's technical and aesthetic decisions, Miyao highlights the film's use of close-ups to convey or mask emotion, the play of light and shadow, and the function of flashbacks and dream sequences in the narrative, as well as the meanings of Costello's pet bullfinch. Setting Le Samourai within the shifting landscape of post-war French cinema, Miyao traces its dialogue with Hollywood film noir and Japanese art cinema, particularly Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950), suggesting that both genres informed and influenced Melville's film-making. Finally, Miyao discusses the film’s enduring legacy, from Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) to Yoko M.’s 2020 novella Jef, a prequel to the film.

When Adorned in Dreams was first published in 1985, Angela Carter described the book as ‘the best I have read on the subject, bar none.’ From haute couture to haberdashery, and ‘deviant’ dress to Dior, Elizabeth Wilson traces the social and cultural history of fashion and its complex relationship to modernity. From the ‘dress reform’ movement to certain strands of feminism, Wilson delights in the power of fashion to mark out identity - or subvert it. Explore topics including fashion and city life, feminism and fashion, and oppositional dress in this authoritative scholarly text on fashion’s pivotal role in modern society.

'A thrilling story, wonderfully told by one of the great historians' KEN FOLLETT'Dazzling... This is biography of great brilliance and rare resonance' WILLIAM DALRYMPLE'A pulsating, vivid life of a true historical titan' DAN JONES'A splendid book, lively, erudite... where myth and heroism meet' RORY STEWARTA stunningly written new biography of Alexander the Great, based on a series of important new discoveries and the author’s own translations of source material from twelve ancient languages. In 336 BCE, at the age of twenty, Alexander, a wide-eyed boy from the hills of Macedon, inherited a tumbledown kingdom, a pile of debts and an army which answered to nobody. Desperate to hold on to power, he led the army east, into the heart of the vast Persian Empire, and inadvertently began the greatest military campaign in history. The young man became a king, the king became a hero, the hero became a living god, and the god died aged thirty-two, broken-hearted in Babylon. For centuries, historians have told his story, yet Alexander has remained a mystery. But now, the ruins of his cities have emerged from the bottom of the sea and the dust of Central Asian hillsides. The diaries of Babylonian astronomers who knew him have been deciphered. The tombs of his ancestors have been unearthed. For the first time, instead of the legend, we can meet Alexander the man. Based on more than a decade of cutting-edge research, Alexander allows readers to feel the desert wind and experience the full horror of battle. Richardson’s research has taken him from the catacombs of Egypt to the passes of Afghanistan. Alexander is a cinematic work of non-fiction: a revelatory retelling of one of the most famous and elusive stories in history.

A comprehensive evaluation of generalship on the most important front in World War II. The war on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945 was the largest sustained air-ground conflict in military history and played the decisive role in the defeat of the Third Reich. This new study seeks to analyse the command and generalship of the combatants. The scale of the conflict was immense. Lasting over 46 months it involved over 10 million combatants at its peak, and resulted in roughly 15 million military deaths, as well as about 20 million civilian deaths. More than 50 percent of all German military fatalities in 1941–45 occurred there, and by the time the Western Allies invaded France in June 1944, the Wehrmacht was already decimated. Who were the generals who led these campaigns on the Eastern Front? The standard historiography of World War II tends to focus on a few prominent leaders while ignoring the mass of commanders and operational-level military staffs who actually fought most of the war and this new study by renowned Eastern Front historian Robert Forczyk seeks to redress the balance. Generalship on the Eastern Front offers an objective analytic framework for assessing the senior German and Soviet commanders on the Eastern Front through the lens of generalship and battle command, examining a total of 54 German and 140 Soviet officers.

Don't miss the latest gripping thriller from INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Rebecca Heath!'Pitch perfect!' Jo Furniss, author of All the Little ChildrenA REMOTE ISLANDIt’s been eighteen years since the accidental explosion that killed The Cedrics Band lead singer Jonny Rake, and a special documentary is bringing the rest of the band back to play together for the first time. With Jonny’s daughter, Monet, stepping into her father’s role, and a private island secured as the perfect reunion backdrop, it’s set to be a special occasion. A REUNION CONCERTBut everyone remembers what happened on that fatal night differently, and as questions are asked about the band’s rise and sudden tragic fall, not everyone likes the answers. Old wounds reopen and tempers flare… Then a body is found. A KILLER ON STAGEThey’re trapped on the island together until help arrives, but that might be too late. Because Jonny’s death wasn’t an accident, and someone wants revenge. Praise for Rebecca Heath‘Unputdownable from start to finish’ THE AUSTRALIAN‘The perfect beach read’ THE HERALD SUN'Escapism at its best’ WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN‘Tense, compelling... a gripping mystery’ BETTER READING

''One of Britain''s most distinctive and trustworthy voices ... A beautiful book'' TIM WINTON''A book to lose yourself inside, and emerge from with enhanced clarity and wisdom'' FRANCES WILSON''Tender and unflinching ... A masterclass in clarity and feeling'' JIM CRACE''Cunnell writes with so much sensitivity to the sacredness of the everyday'' SARA BAUMEA beautifully written, courageous and deeply moving journey from sorrow to acceptance, from loss to hope, shimmering with coastal light and hard-won wisdom.In Sun Country, Howard Cunnell returns to the southern England beachlands of his boyhood after the death of his mother.A love letter to the changing coast and sea, Sun Country is a book alive with light and shadow, where the white spaces between words are as charged with tension and power as the words themselves. It is a reckoning with the things we inherit – silence and absence, stories told and untold – and the transgression involved in turning a life into art. At the heart of the book is Gillian, his devoted single mother, and the small yet unforgettable details of her life that are woven into a powerful meditation on impermanence, grief, class and solitude.At once intimate and expansive, this luminous memoir traces one man’s journey from loss back towards life. Through stories about the writers and painters with whom he feels a kinship – including the English Romantics, W. H. Hudson and Agnes Martin – and the history of his own Sussex working-class family, Cunnell writes his way home to a place, to a culture and to himself as an artist.Cunnell’s descriptive power, so widely praised in his first memoir, reaches a new breathtaking level, with the simplicity that only comes from the finest craft and poetry.

'Full of pace and style, just like its subject ... a vivid, nostalgic reminder of Lineker’s greatness as a player' - Leo McKinstry‘Chris Evans has done the hard yards on Lineker’s football career.. faithfully detailing the life of a hard-working footballer at the highest level’ – Roger Alton, The TimesENGLAND CAPTAIN. WORLD CUP HERO. SERIAL GOALSCORER. MATCH OF THE DAY HOST. FOOTBALL ICON. As player and pundit, Gary Lineker has been a prominent figure in English football for more than 40 years. He scored 48 goals in 80 games for England – coming within a penalty of being the country’s record goalscorer – and is the only player to have topped the goalscoring charts at three different clubs. He famously never received a red or yellow card, and hosted the BBC’s Match of the Day for 25 years. In recognition of his broadcast work, Lineker won the prestigious National Television Awards 'Best Presenter' prize in 2025. This enlightening biography – the first for 30 years – follows Lineker’s career, from his school days to his phenomenal goalscoring record and development as a media personality. Through meticulous research and interviews with teammates and opponents, coaches and commentators, journalist Chris Evans reveals the inside stories and backroom anecdotes from his early days at Leicester City; the big-money moves to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur; and the highs and lows of spells at Barcelona and Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan. Gary Lineker always played with a smile on his face and an assassin’s touch in front of goal, while his charm and playful humour won over millions on TV. This biography provides a fascinating insight into one of English football’s most popular characters.

'Riveting, timely and truly revelatory. The Organisation Todt is the Nazi-era secret that still needs to emerge from the shadows' DAMIEN LEWIS, author of SAS Brothers in Arms and The Nazi Hunters'Charles Dick has done a major service to the history of the Third Reich. The Organisation Todt exploited camp prisoners and forced labourers as ruthlessly and murderously as the better-known SS, but its responsibility has never been properly explored' RICHARD OVERY, author of Blood and RuinsDiscover for the first time the story of the Organisation Todt, a hidden and brutal organisation overseen by Hitler at the heart of the Nazi machine. Adolf Hitler described the Organisation Todt as ‘the greatest construction organisation of all time’. It was from this organisation, headed by Albert Speer, that Hitler enlisted the nation’s leading engineers and architects to build his empire of dreams. In time, it became a key partner to the SS and the Wehrmacht and led to the deaths of millions. Unknown Enemy reveals the full extent of the OT and its long arm across Europe and the Reich. In wartime, its operations relied mainly on Germany’s slave labour system, the largest exploitation of foreign labour since the end of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Charles Dick takes us inside the OT’s vast building projects throughout German-occupied Europe, from the Arctic circle to the Balkans, to tell the story of how engineers and builders – so-called ‘ordinary men’ – perpetrated some of the gravest war crimes under its banner. Despite its extensive network, the Organisation Todt largely managed to slip under the radar of war prosecutors after Germany’s defeat. Drawing on extensive new research, first-person accounts and survivor testimony, Unknown Enemy finally unearths its dark story.

The second title in a dazzlingly imaginative adventure trilogy about one girl's power to change the world through the magic of book-jumping and the strength of words. 8+ fans of Pages & Co., Amari and the Night Brothers and The Book of Stolen Dreams will be captivated. Eleven-year-old Mayowa is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime: a long-awaited trip to Nigeria to visit her family. But this isn’t just any holiday. Ever since discovering her unusual gift — passed down from her British Grandpa Edward — Mayowa has been learning to harness a strange and brilliant magic. All she has to do is leap onto a book, and the emotions inside its pages surge through her, sweeping her into wild, unpredictable experiences. When she arrives in Nigeria, Mayowa quickly realises that her British relatives aren’t the only ones with secrets. Her enigmatic great-aunt, Iya Ibeji, welcomes her to Alaafia, a peaceful haven just outside Lagos, and introduces her to esin l’oro — an ancient art that reveals the true power of spoken words. Under her aunt’s guidance, Mayowa begins to understand how language can bend, shape, and even rewrite reality itself. But magic isn’t the only thing Mayowa is trying to master. Torn between her British upbringing and her Nigerian heritage, she wrestles with the question that has followed her for years: where does she truly belon? hen oil is discovered beneath Alaafia, the paradise her aunt has built comes under threat. To protect the people she loves, Mayowa must draw on every part of herself — British and Nigerian, book-jumper and word-weaver. The battle for Alaafia will demand both kinds of magic. The real question is: can Mayowa find the courage to use them?