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Villages are full of tales: some are forgotten while others become a part of local folklore. But the fortunes of one West Country village are watched over and irreversibly etched into history as an omniscient, somewhat crabby, presence keeps track of village life.In the late sixties a Californian musician blows through Underhill and writes a set of haunting folk songs that will earn him a cult following. Two decades later, some teenagers disturb a body on the local golf course. In 2019, a pair of lodgers discover a one-eyed rag doll hidden in the walls of their crumbling home. Connections are forged and broken across generations, but only the landscape itself can link them together. A landscape threatened by property development and speckled by the pylons whose feet have been buried across the moor.Tom Cox’s masterful debut novel synthesises his passion for music, nature and folklore into a psychedelic and enthralling exploration of village life and the countryside that sustains it.

Soon to be a major movie starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor''Exquisitely crafted, deeply imagined, exhilaratingly diverse, The History of Sound places Ben Shattuck firmly among the very finest of our storytellers'' - Geraldine Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of Horse''Triumphant'' The Times''Stellar'' Daily Mail''Exceptionally accomplished'' The Scotsman''Exquisite'' Sunday PostIn twelve luminous stories set across three centuries, The History of Sound examines the unexpected ways the past returns to us and how love and loss are entwined and transformed over generations. In Ben Shattuck''s ingenious collection, each story has a companion story, which contains a revelation about the previous, paired story. Mysteries and murders are revealed, history is refracted, and deep emotional connections are woven through characters and families.The haunting title story recalls the journey of two men who meet around a piano in a smoky, dim bar, only to spend a summer walking the Maine woods collecting folk songs in the shadow of the First World War, forever marked by the odyssey. Decades later, in another story, a woman discovers the wax cylinders recorded that fateful summer while cleaning out her new house in Maine. Shattuck’s inventive, exquisite stories transport readers from 1700s Nantucket to the contemporary woods of New Hampshire and beyond—into landscapes both enduring and unmistakably modern. Memories, artefacts, paintings, and journals resurface in surprising and poignant ways among evocative beaches, forests, and orchards, revealing the secrets, misunderstandings, and love that linger across centuries.Written with breathtaking humanity and humor, The History of Sound is a love letter to New England, a radiant conversation between past and present, and a moving meditation on the abiding search for home.

Meet the woman behind the politician‘Offers a remarkable new view of a remarkable and still under-appreciated leader’ Simon JenkinsSince stepping down in 1990, Margaret Thatcher has become a cardboard cut-out hate figure or an iconic defender of freedom, depending on your politics. In The Incidental Feminist: Friend, foe, femme fatale: The truth about Thatcher, Tina Gaudoin investigates the complexities of the woman behind the tropes.Drawing upon explosive new material from the archives and interviews with her contemporaries, Gaudoin reveals how Thatcher triumphed over rampant misogyny and class prejudice to normalise female power and manipulated her femininity, sexuality, and intellect to become the most powerful woman in the world.Publishing to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher''s birth

A FINANCIAL TIMES AND THE SPECTATOR BOOK OF THE YEAR''Important'' Financial Times''Serious and thought-provoking'' The Critic''Brave'' Richard ReevesFamily life has changed dramatically over the past 60 years.Greater choice and autonomy, especially for women, and a more equal domestic sphere have brought great gains for human freedom. However, argues David Goodhart, there have been losses and unintended consequences too – in family instability, children’s declining mental health, and the ever-rising demands on the welfare state and social care system. Sharply falling birthrates also present major challenges.For many people, especially in the bottom half of the income spectrum, the costs are now too high. The Care Dilemma argues that we need a new policy settlement that supports gender equality while also recognising the importance of stable families and community life, and that sees having children as a public as well as private good.

''One of the shrewdest political commentators we have'' Andrew Marr‘Tony Blair was a giant amongst prime ministers and leaders of the Labour party: Steve Richards is a giant amongst political commentators. This riveting and persuasive book describes what happens when they meet head on’ Anthony SeldonWas Tony Blair a visionary, impatiently looking ahead, or a leader trapped by his past – Labour’s vote-losing 1980s and the dominance of Margaret Thatcher? Was the party’s move to the right under Blair necessary in order for them to win, or could they, after 18 years of Tory rule, have afforded to be more daring and more left wing than their leader wished to recognise?In Steve Richards’s short, provocative and highly engaging new biography, he argues that Blair was often the opposite of what we remember him being: perceived as a ‘moderniser’, he sought to strengthen the traditional institutions that partly define the UK, from the monarchy to the military; while to Margaret Thatcher’s public appreciation he cemented her economic legacy rather than moved on from it. And, while he was viewed as messianic over Iraq, he was, in fact, being characteristically expedient, clinging to the orthodoxy in which the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with the US in war.But the UK in 2007 was undoubtedly a different country to the one it had been in 1997: from devolution, which played its part in establishing peace in Northern Ireland, to civil partnerships and a revived NHS, Blair left Britain in a much better place. While his legacy has been overshadowed by the Iraq war, Tony Blair re-establishes a more rounded view of his time in office, and shows that the challenges facing Blair were the ones that still face Labour today.

Have you ever been curious about how people live when nobody is watching? Have you wondered whether there''s more going on than meets the eye?Eric and Carl live in Dorset in a small white cottage under the shadow of a big cliff. Eric sells old records and antiques. Carl cooks, cleans and crochets. Nearing seventy, Eric is a lifelong accumulator of obscure objects whose easygoing, chaotic approach to life masks some of the unaddressed sadness of his past. The significantly younger Carl is an old soul who has a sophisticated emotional intelligence and likes swimming, mid-century female novelists, fibre arts and Dolly Parton. If you passed them on a walk, you may not pay them much attention. Most likely you would see Carl’s long floppy ears, tail and fur and mistake him for a dog.The story of Eric and Carl''s friendship spans twenty-one years: a constant anchor in a changing world. During that time they adopt an eccentric, unlikely gang of fellow travellers. Their wanderings through South West England unfold against a backdrop of lived, local folklore and hints at future apocalypse. All the while, Carl''s true nature remains a closely guarded secret.Tom Cox''s third novel is a rare gem, centred around the importance of friendship, the power of landscape and the joy of accepting the unusual. Everything Will Swallow You will make you think deeply about the place you occupy in the grand scheme of things and give fresh perspectives on how to live and love in the present moment.

Inspired by our native landscapes, saturated by the shadows beneath trees and behind doors, listening to the run of water and half-heard voices, Tom Cox s first collection of short stories is a series of evocative and unsettling trips into worlds previously visited by the likes of M. R. James and E. F. Benson.Railway tunnels, the lanes and hills of the Peak District, family homes, old stones, shreds fluttering on barbed wire, night drawing in, something that might be an animal shifting on the other side of a hedge: Tom has drawn on his life-long love of weird fiction, folklore and nature s unregarded corners to write a collection of stories that will delight fans old and new, and leave them very uneasy about turning the reading lamp off.

Richard Holloway has been the archetypal ''turbulent priest''. Having risen to be the Primus (Head) of the Scottish Episcopal Church, he abandoned religion and ecclesiastical office to fight for the rights of minorities and to write a string of best selling books, most famously Farewell to Alexandria. He also became Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council.In this, his last book, he reflects deeply on his life, most especially as a child of desperately poor parents in Dumbartonshire in Scotland. He tells the story of how he found faith but then abandoned Christian orthodoxy after leaving office as Head of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and discovered a new life as a writer, broadcaster, journalist and public intellectual.This book opens and ends with chapters of a philosophical kind in which he explains how he lost belief in a loving God and became true to himself.

Benji is an imaginative eight-year-old boy, living with his parents in a mining village in Nottinghamshire amidst the spoil heaps and chip shops that characterise the last industrially bruised outposts of the Midlands, just before Northern England begins. His family are the eccentric neighbours on a street where all the houses are set on a tilt, slowly subsiding into the excavated space below. Told through Benji’s voice and a colourful variety of others over a deeply joyful and strange twelve-month period, it’s a story about growing up, the oddness beneath the everyday, what we once believed the future would be, and those times in life when anything seems possible.1983 is steeped in the distinctive character of a setting far weirder than it might at first appear: from robots living next door, and a school caretaker who is not all he seems, to missing memories and the aliens Benji is certain are trying to abduct him.

It isn't quite 'Don't buy any green bananas'. But it's close to 'Don't start any long books'. In his mid-40s, Simon Boas was diagnosed with incurable cancer – it had been caught too late, and spread around his body. But he was determined to die as he had learned to live – optimistically, thinking the best of people, and prioritising what really matters in life. In A Beginner’s Guide to Dying Simon considers and collates the things that have given him such a great sense of peace and contentment, and why dying at 46 really isn’t so bad. And for that reason it’s also only partly about ‘dying’. It is mostly a hymn to the joy and preciousness of life, and why giving death a place can help all of us make even more of it.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERTHE TIMES BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2025?‘A rare combination of experience and talent’ Mick Herron''His best yet ... Superb, addictively suspenseful, its politics and tradecraft coolly accurate, scary, intricate and complex ... The new maestro of espionage thrillers'' Simon Sebag Montefiore''A John le Carré level game of cat and mouse. It could have only been written by someone like David McCloskey, who has an insider’s sharp angle'' David Baldacci''This enthralling read cements McCloskey''s place in the first division of spy writers'' Financial Times?''Terrific espionage series'' New York TimesTHE THIRD NOVEL FROM FORMER CIA OFFICER, THE REST IS CLASSIFIED PODCAST CO-HOST AND THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF ***THE TIMES THRILLER OF THE YEAR***DAMASCUS STATION (''One of the best spy thrillers in years'' THE TIMES) AND ***SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR*** MOSCOW XFOURTH NOVEL THE PERSIAN AVAILABLE NOW TO PRE-ORDERALL YOUR LIFE YOU''RE CIA. THEN YOU''RE NOT.A Russian arrives in Singapore with a secret to sell. When the Russian is killed and Sam Joseph, the CIA officer dispatched for the meet, goes missing, Artemis Procter is made a scapegoat and run out of the service. Traded back in a spy swap, Sam appears at Procter’s central Florida doorstep months later with an explosive secret: there is a Russian mole hidden deep within the upper reaches of CIA.As Procter and Sam investigate, they arrive at a shortlist of suspects made up of both Procter’s closest friends and fiercest enemies. The hunt soon requires Procter to dredge up her own checkered past in service of CIA, placing her and Sam into the sights of a savvy Russian spymaster who will protect Moscow’s mole in Langley at all costs, even if it means wreaking bloody havoc across the United States.Bouncing between the corridors of Langley and the Kremlin, the thrilling new novel by David McCloskey explores the nature of friendship in a faithless business, and what it means to love a place that does not love you back.*****FIVE STAR READER REVIEWS:''Great spy thriller that is absolutely riveting in its intensity''''David McCloskey''s novels are only getting better''''The best yet ... Hard to put down''''Best work to date! No shortage of intrigue, twists, characters that are real, written by someone in the know''''A thoroughly exciting read which had me dashing to its conclusion''

Privilege, sex, scandal, and murder.The new novel from Sunday Times-bestselling author James Frey. AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER.Behind every great fortune, lies a great crime - Honoré de BalzacNew Bethlehem, Connecticut. Picture-perfect lawns, manicured hedges, multi-million dollar homes. But beneath the designer yoga gear and country club memberships lies a darker reality.In this world of excess, Devon and Belle have it all – beauty, money, status. But they want something more. Something dangerous. Something that makes them feel alive. Their solution? A party – a meticulously curated gathering of New Bethlehem’s elite, from a desperate ex-NFL quarterback to a hockey coach with a penchant for married women, and a ruthless Wall Street ‘closer’ who wields his wealth like a weapon.One night. Multiple betrayals. And a murder that will shatter New Bethlehem’s carefully constructed facade.Fans of The White Lotus and Big Little Lies will be drawn into the dark underbelly of the American Dream – a world where money can buy anything, until it ruins everything.READERS ARE THRILLED, UNSETTLED AND SEDUCED‘Sharp, provocative … Captivates with its blend of dark humour and social commentary’‘Dark, disturbing and funny’‘Transcends simple categorization - part thriller, part social satire, part moral fable - and the result is both entertaining and deeply unsettling’‘A mix of wit, mystery and dark undertone … I couldn’t put it down … Perfect pool side reading’‘I deeply loved this book … the ending slaps’‘Super fun and sexy summer read! Rich people behaving badly’

‘A masterly analysis of why Britain has much more global influence than it thinks’ Eric Schmidt, former CEO GoogleSince the global financial crisis, Britain has been through a difficult period, leading many to conclude the country is doomed to inevitable decline. Jeremy Hunt was at the top of government as both Foreign Secretary and Chancellor. In Can We Be Great Again? he persuasively rebuts those who think Britain is no longer capable of shaping the world we live in.With the election of President Trump, a world that was already becoming more dangerous has also become more unpredictable. But when it comes to the big challenges facing the world – whether on European security, the future of democracy, migration, trade or climate - the UK remains one of the most influential countries. Hunt does not shy away from our weaknesses but argues that they should be considered in perspective and without underestimating our many strengths.If we want a world that remains safe and free, now is the time for countries with influence to use it wisely.

''Iain Dale introduces Margaret Thatcher to a new generation and intelligently explodes some of the myths about her'' Simon HefferMargaret Thatcher was a woman of tremendous paradoxes: a conviction politician who was also a pragmatist; someone who delighted in her tough reputation, yet could also be emotional, and even tearful, when confronted by personal or national tragedy. Her reputation as a cabinet leader was one of being quasi-dictatorial, yet she left her ministers to get on with their jobs – far more than any of her successors ever have. She was known as a classical laissez faire liberal, yet she started out as a social conservative, and wasn’t averse to state intervention when she felt it was warranted.Iain Dale’s sparkling short biography of Margaret Thatcher brings her to life in all her paradoxes and contradictions, and shows how her election in 1979 really was a turning point in British history. Dubbed the ‘Iron Lady’ by the Soviets, she was one of the few recent prime ministers to burnish an international reputation, fighting the Falklands war, playing a leading role in defeating Communism and winning the Cold War, and through her battles with the European Economic Community. Domestically, she ushered in a period of forty years of consensus on the limited role of the state, an industrial relations settlement and the dominance of the private sector in the economy – a settlement that is only now being seriously questioned.A little over a decade after her death, Margaret Thatcher introduces her to new generations of readers who may not remember her premiership, but who are living with its consequences.

‘The Wicker Man meets Rebecca, with darkly beautiful surroundings and mysterious, brooding locals - this is the perfect summer holiday read'' - Fiona Leitch, bestselling author of the Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker cozy crime seriesOn the Feast of St John the Cornish villagers of Trevennick dance around midsummer bonfires and make offerings to the river. It''s not the sort of thing that appeals to Audrey Delaney, who is very much a city mouse. But when her (sort of, almost) boyfriend Noah whisks her away on a surprise trip to the West Country, she''s determined to do the best she can to enjoy herself, if that''s what it takes to remove the question mark from their relationship.Then their first night ends in tragedy, and Audrey finds herself stuck in the back of beyond, embroiled in a police inquiry, and unsure who to trust. Not Noah, who obviously had an ulterior motive for bringing her here. And certainly none of the villagers: brooding mussel farmer Trevor, weirdly intense vicar Lamorna, and infuriatingly cocky and omnipresent jack-of-all-trades Griffin. She''ll have to untangle the mysteries of this insular community quickly, though, because people are dying fast. The river will have its due...

Beijing in the 1970s. Lai lives with her parents, grandmother and youngerbrother in a small flat in a working-class area. Her grandmother is a formidable figure, while her ageing beauty of a mother snipes at her father, a sunken figure haunted by the Cultural Revolution. As she grows up, Lai comes to discern the realities of the country she lives in. But she also goes through the ebbs and flows of friendships; troubles and rewards at home and at school; and the first steps and missteps in love. A gifted student, she attends the prestigious Peking University; while there she becomes involved in the student protests that have been gathering speed. It is the late 1980s, and change is in the air . . .