Stephen Thorne

The pioneers of Rhodesia have staked their claims and stocked their farms on African soil they have carving as their own. But the Matabele indunas are preparing for a bloody rebellion which will scar their opponents forever.

When evangelical Dr Proudie is appointed Bishop of Barchester a struggle develops for control of the diocese. Mrs Proudie's overbearing behaviour makes matters worse.  Book 2 of series.

In 1667 the naval war between the Dutch and the English still rages. A fighting caravel commanded by Sir Francis Courtney and his son Hal, is on patrol off Southern Africa. It lies in wait for a galleon of the Dutch East India Company, laden with timber, spices and gold!

A fictional retelling of the Russian Revolution and the story of the author Arthur Ransome, who was accused of spying. He left his wife and daughter after falling in love with Russia and a Russian woman.

After struggling through adversity, the Courtney clan reach the Cape of Good Hope. The younger members of the family must now stake their claim in South Africa. To do so they travel the infamous 'Robber's Road', a journey that is both hazardous and exhilarating.

Royal biographer, Gyles Brandreth, paints a portrait of Charles, Prince of Wales, and the love of his life, Camilla Shand, now Duchess of Cornwall.

Winston Churchill towers over every other figure in 20th-century British history. By the time of his death at the age of 90 in 1965, many thought him to be the greatest man in the world. There have been over a thousand biographies of Churchill. Andrew Roberts now draws on over forty new sources, including the private diaries of King George VI, to depict him more intimately and persuasively than any of its predecessors.

For Eric DeHaan, captain of the Dutch tramp freighter Noordenam, life at sea has always been his great, but not his only, love affair. Recruited by Dutch navel intelligence while in the port of Tangier, DeHaan steers his ship, disguised as a neutral Spanish freighter, through a series of secret missions for British naval interests.

David Blunkett has overcome poverty and blindness to become an important and controversial politician. This book charts his career from local government to Westminster and examines the professional and personal difficulties he has encountered.

Long ago the Greeks and the Trojans faced each other in mortal combat and the prize was Helen. To the Greeks it seemed the city of Troy was impregnable and only a miracle could bring them success. The Doctor, Steven and Vicki soon find themselves caught up in the irreversible tide of history and legend.

Zouga and Dr Robin Ballantyne are aboard a clipper to Africa but their objectives are entirely different. She hopes to bring healing to the fever-ridden populace, whereas he is trading in human cargo.

Detective Inspector Jack Frost, assisted and annoyed by his new sidekick, is assigned to the disappearance of a missing child. In typically unorthodox style, and characteristic rashness, he launches into the case. But when they unearth an ancient skeleton and the fresh corpse of a bank employee turns up, Frost is also drawn into an unsolved bank robbery from an almost forgotten past. His method - to risk first his career, and then his life...

Thomas Gradgrind sees himself as an exponent of Utilitarianism, and uses the philosophies of facts and statistics to bring up his two children, resulting in unhappy consequences.

Mr Ellis’s class couldn’t keep their hands off the grisly exhibits at the Museum of Little Horrors. Now Michael’s feet have done a disappearing act, Ashwin’s desperate to sink his oddly sharp teeth into some schoolwork (and raw steak), and their teacher keeps howling at the moon. Can this fiendish class find a way to lift the evil curse?

Scotsman Ian Ward travels to the Antarctic to find the truth behind some notes, scribbled by a glaciologist just before his plane crashed, about a ghost ship trapped in the ice. Could a ship remain locked in the ice for centuries? Or was there a darker, more sinister secret buried in the frozen wastes?

Chief Inspector Daniel Jacquot of the Cavaillon Regional Crime Squad investigates two murders at an artist’s retreat at a luxury hilltop hotel in the south of France.

Jude Fawley, a stone-mason, has already suffered. Trapped in a loveless marriage, he is now alone but not free. He comes to love his cousin Sue who, seemingly emancipated, is herself miserably married. Together they defy conventional morality to seize a chance of happiness.

The discovery of two teenage girls' bodies and a video of a snuff movie leaves Detective Inspector Jack Frost in a race against time before the killer can strike again. Meanwhile, someone is poisoning foodstuffs at a local supermarket chain. When the owner receives threatening demands, it is up to Frost to catch the blackmailer. As Frost faces questions over the handling of the cases, he faces a threat to his professional life with the arrival of DCI Skinner. Is this the end for Jack Frost?

With Brother Mark tending the sick in the lazar house, Cadfael must train a new assistant. In the town there is concern over the proposed marriage of a young woman to a much older man. When the bridegroom is murdered, Cadfael must investigate, but can Brother Oswin be trusted as the herbalist's assistant?

John Humphrys wittily discusses the iniquities being visited upon the English language.

Michael Morpurgo is a national treasure. He has enchanted a whole generation of children, weaving stories for them in a way that is neither contrived nor condescending. Here, Maggie Fergusson tells Michael's story.

In 1138, Brother Cadfael's workshop contains medications for every kind of ailment. When Gervase Bonel is poisoned with one of them, suspicion falls on someone who Cadfael is certain is innocent. 3rd Cadfael mystery.

In the 12th-century Benedictine monastery of Shrewsbury, Brother Cadfael has settled down to a quiet life in charge of the herbarium. It is fortunate his prowess as a herbalist is matched by his detective skills - and when his prior acquires the bones of a saint, the obstacles include murder.

A serial killer is terrorizing the senior citizens of Denton, and the local police are succumbing to a 'flu epidemic. In uncertain charge of the investigations is Detective Inspector Jack Frost, crumpled, slapdash, and foul-mouthed as ever. Trying to cope, despite inadequate backup, there is never enough time; the unsolved crimes pile up and the vicious killings go on.

In the Summer of 1138, after a bloody battle between royal cousins squabbling over the English throne, Brother Cadfael, performing funeral rights, discovers an extra body. One death among so many seems unimportant to all but the good Benedictine. He vows to expose the truth and sets out to find the murderer.

Did you know that the court of Richard II spoke in broad Yorkshire? Why is one perceived to be richer, taller, and more attractive if one speaks the Queen's English? Andrew Taylor leads you through the history of British accents and how they developed.

What does Yanis really know about his new master or his mission? Can Yanis trust his new master, the beautiful and mysterious countess or the charming and dangerous rebel leader who has been sentenced to death? Lives - not just his own - will depend on his decisions.

Five interlinked mysteries from some of the finest historical writers in the UK: Simon Beaufort, Philip Gooden, Susanna Gregory, Michael Jecks, Bernard Knight and Ian Morson. Each author brings their own characters to the tale, which spans over nine hundred years.

Winter in Denton is a busy time for DI Jack Frost. A serial killer is murdering local prostitutes; an armed robbery; a ram raid at a jewellers and a buried skeleton is uncovered. But Frost's main concern is for the safety of a missing schoolgirl. The dead body of another little girl from the same school is found. . . Frost's prime suspect hangs himself in his cell, leaving a note blaming Frost for driving him to suicide. Coarse, insubordinate and fearless, DI Jack Frost is in serious trouble.

Young Temijin, of the Wolves tribe, is abandoned on the harsh Mongolian plains, but survives. He gathers together a new tribe and dreams of uniting the warring tribes together under one leader. X rated, contains graphic violence.  Book 1 of series

Set in Crete, this is the story of the relationship between an intellectual, modelled on the author, and an uneducated Greek man, Zorba, who rejects books and learning in favour of living life to the full based on experience.