Phyllida Nash

A year in the life of one family, made up of: Karen, a bitter divorcee; Nan, who wavers between the past (and its secrets) and the present; and ambitious 17-year-old Charlotte. X rated, contains offensive language and explicit sex.

This is a lively regency novel - Georgette Heyer with a dash of Jane Austen - which follows the adventures of Alethea Darcy, the youngest daughter of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy.

This is the story of two very successful but very different brothers, James and Robert Agnew. Susannah is married to James and tries to maintain the façade of a perfect life, whilst Robert weaves a web of lies and fantasy to entrap women.

Michael and Stevie might have married had it not been for the Second World War. Now they are both elderly: he is in hospital and can no longer talk. Stevie is recovering from the death of her husband and is living with her daughter. They reminisce about each other, neither knowing what has has happened to the other. Richard & Judy Bookclub

Three orphaned sisters are left to fend for themselves in a decaying mansion on the edge of the woods. When the sinister Dr DeWilde appears the girls take flight ,as he will stop at nothing to get the tiny musical pipe that one of the girls has inherited.

A desperate plea from her former lover, the aristocrat Arthur DeSalle, turns Sarah Tanner's quiet life upside down. With her life at stake and her loyalty tested, Sarah sets out on a trail of murder and deceit, which stretches from the alleys of Leather Lane to the drawing-rooms of Mayfair.

Rich or poor, we have all at some time felt in despair about money and its power over our lives. Rob Parsons shows a new way forward which will change your life, focus your priorities and put you back in control.

A jewel thief is on the loose in Victorian London and is murdering his victims. Sarah O'Reilly, who works as a typesetter in a newspaper office, becomes embroiled in the mystery that will eventually lead to India and a jewel with terrifying occult powers.

The ruins of Pompeii destroyed by Vesuvius in AD 79 offer the best evidence we have of life in the Roman empire. Mary Beard's notes rise to the challenge of making sense of its remains. What kind of town was it? What can it tell us about life then - from sex to politics, food to religion, slavery to literacy?

Georgette Heyer was one of the most renowned historical novelists, yet her private life was practically inaccessible. Jane Aiken Hodge, given access to Heyer's private papers and archives, reveals the complex, energetic and stylish woman behind the novels, in this classic biography.

A fascinating biography of Queen Elizabeth II which offers a vivid window into the key moments of British and world history during the Queen's 60-year reign.

In 402 AD, after invading tribes broke through the Alpine frontiers of Italy and threatened the imperial government in Milan, the young Emperor Honorius made the momentous decision to move his capital to a small, easy defendable city in the Po estuary - Ravenna. From then until 751 AD, Ravenna was first the capital of the Western Roman Empire, then that of the immense kingdom of Theoderic the Goth and finally the centre of Byzantine power in Italy. In this engrossing account Judith Herrin explains how scholars, lawyers, doctors, craftsmen, cosmologists and religious luminaries were drawn to Ravenna where they created a cultural and political capital that dominated northern Italy and the Adriatic. As she traces the lives of Ravenna's rulers, chroniclers and inhabitants, Herrin shows how the city became the meeting place of Greek, Latin, Christian and barbarian cultures and the pivot between East and West.

The book offers a fresh account of the waning of Rome, the Gothic and Lombard invasions, the rise of Islam and the devastating divisions within Christianity. It argues that the fifth to eighth centuries should not be perceived as a time of decline from antiquity but rather, thanks to Byzantium, as one of great creativity - the period of 'Early Christendom'. These were the formative centuries of Europe. While Ravenna's palaces have crumbled, its churches have survived. In them, Catholic Romans and Arian Goths competed to produce an unrivalled concentration of spectacular mosaics, many of which still astonish visitors today. Beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned photographs, and drawing on the latest archaeological and documentary discoveries, Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe brings the early Middle Ages to life through the history of this dazzling city.

The extraordinary account of Rosemary Say - an attractive and courageous young Englishwoman whose emigration to France in the 1930s leads her to suffer the horrors of life under the Nazis.

1627. In a notorious historical event, pirates raided the coast of Iceland and abducted 400 people into slavery in Algiers. Among them a pastor, his wife, and their children. In her debut novel Sally Magnusson imagines what history does not record: the experience of Asta, the pastor's wife, as she faces her losses with the one thing left to her - the stories from home - and forges an ambiguous bond with the man who bought her.

Romance and scandal abound in this warm and witty tale of the young widow Octavia Darcy, whose attempts to secure her fortune and clear her name lead her through all manner of difficulties. At Netherfield Hall, Octavia finds an argumentative but undoubtedly intriguing new talent.

A richly entertaining recreation of regency London, as the next generation of Darcy girls have to make their way in a society that doesn't always appreciate their wit, determination and sense of fun.

A fascinating portrayal of the histories and characters of the newest royal couple, examining their intriguing romance, their engagement and the build-up to the big day itself, as well as covering the wedding in detail.