Vivienne Ennemoser

Yolande, the Queen of Four Kingdoms is dead. Agnès Sorel, had arrived a year earlier with the court of Yolande's son, René D'Anjou. Agnès captivates everyone she meets, and finds herself firmly ensconced in the royal court. Soon though, whispers at court regarding Charles's burgeoning feelings for her begin to grow, and despite her best efforts to resist, Agnès is alarmed to discover that she too is in love.

Anna thought her marriage to Max would last forever and she was looking forward to growing old with the man she loved. But when a revelation from her husband just before their wedding anniversary shakes her entire world, she's left uncertain of what the future holds.

Bette Davis was one of the Hollywood greats, with a commanding presence and full of drive and energy. She was nominated for seven Oscars and mixed great roles with rather more mediocre ones.

John Buchan's name is known across the world for The Thirty-Nine Steps (5967). The classic thriller has inspired numerous adaptations for film, television, radio and stage, beginning with the celebrated version by Alfred Hitchcock. Ursula Buchan, his granddaughter, has drawn on recently discovered family documents to write this comprehensive and illuminating biography, which brings vividly to life this remarkable man and his times.

A classic of alienation and horror, 'The Birds' was immortalised by Hitchcock in his celebrated film. The five other chilling stories in this collection echo a sense of dislocation and mock man's sense of dominance over the natural world.

WW1 is over. As a nurse at the front, Clementine has found and lost love, but has settled for middle class marriage. Vincent had half his face blown off, and wants more than life offers now. Drawn together by their shared experiences at the Front, they have a compulsive relationship, magnetic and parasitic, played out with blackmail and ending in disaster for one of them.

Christine Marion Fraser grew up in the Govan district of Glasgow in the 1940s and 1950s, one of a large, poor family. At the age of ten she contracted a rare disease which led to months in hospital and her eventual life as a wheelchair user. Yet Christine was always resourceful and never once looked down. She knew that if you looked hard enough, there was always some blue up above the chimneys.

Frances Osborne explores the story of her great–grandmother, the Bolter of the title, who left her husband and children to pursue a life of sexual profligacy around the time of the Great War. Richard & Judy Bookclub

When eighteen-year-old Rosie Anderson disappears from the idyllic village where she lived, local gardener Kate is convinced the police are missing something. As the investigation deepens, so does Kate's obsession with solving the mystery of what happened to Rosie. Richard & Judy Bookclub

Josie Morrow and Lina Braid are the best of friends. But although Josie has an ‘understanding’ with Agnus, Lina's brother, her mother has far more grandiose plans than for her to marry a local boy. She sees civil engineer Duncan Guthrie, a lodger in their Queensferry boarding house, as a much better catch, However, it is Lina who Duncan falls for, forcing her to break her promise to her childhood sweetheart in order to marry him.

Isabel Dalhousie attends an art auction and finds two paintings attributed to the same artist appearing on the market at the same time. Both exhibit unusual characteristics and Isabel suspects they may be forgeries.  Book 5 of series.

What if you've already crossed paths with the love of your life? 

Cora and Jacob live in London's vast metropolis; he at one end of the Central Line, she at the other. Their paths have crossed a thousand times without them knowing.

When a chance encounter on the underground brings them together, it seems they're destined to fall in love. But although they live in the same city, their worlds are miles apart. Jacob's life is uncluttered, while Cora's is full of complications. And as events begin to divide them, they start to wonder: Are they meant to be together, or were they never meant to meet?

Sebastian has applied for jobs, but has been unsuccessful so far. When he is shortlisted for a very good job, his wife takes matters into her own hands, only to discover that this prestigious position is not what it seems on the surface.

When Sheila's gradual descent into blindness leaves her unable to see to find her way around the house she grew up in, she finds herself dreading her future in an 'ever darkening vacuum'. But then the remarkable guide dog, Emma, enters her life, and Sheila begins a journey that brings her the independence, love and happiness she never dreamed possible.

A captivating volume of over forty short stories, the tales in 'Encounters' illustrate the author’s extraordinary talent for capturing the spirit of a place and drawing us into the hearts and minds of her characters. Some are humorous, some thrilling, while others are unashamedly sentimental.

Oxford Spires Academy is a small comprehensive school with 30 languages - and one special focus: poetry. In the last five years, its students have won every prize going. They have been celebrated in the Guardian and the subject of a BBC Radio 3 documentary.

In this unique anthology, their mentor and teacher prize-winning poet Kate Clanchy brings their poems together, allowing readers to see why their work has caused such a stir. By turns raw and direct, funny and powerful, lyrical and heartbreaking, they document the pain of migration and the exhilaration of building a new land, an England of a thousand voices. In England: Poems from a School, you will find poetry is easy to read and hard to forget, as fresh, bright and present as the young migrants who produced it.

Oxford Spires Academy is a small comprehensive school with 30 languages - and one special focus: poetry. In the last five years, its students have won every prize going. They have been celebrated in the Guardian and the subject of a BBC Radio 3 documentary.

In this unique anthology, their mentor and teacher prize-winning poet Kate Clanchy brings their poems together, allowing readers to see why their work has caused such a stir. By turns raw and direct, funny and powerful, lyrical and heartbreaking, they document the pain of migration and the exhilaration of building a new land, an England of a thousand voices. In England: Poems from a School, you will find poetry is easy to read and hard to forget, as fresh, bright and present as the young migrants who produced it.

After years of being a loyal wife and mother, Francesca Kirwan finds her life changed irrevocably one morning, when her husband Mark forgets his mobile phone. In the space of ten minutes her comfortable, safe, uneventful life is shattered. She has a choice - sink or swim. After a shaky start, Francesca's life takes a decidedly upward turn. Then Francesca decides to throw a party, and that's when the fun really starts ...

At the age of 16 Margaret Fay Shaw left America to spend a year at a school near Glasgow. She loved Scotland and returned later to live with two sisters on South Uist. While there she made an important collection of Gaelic lore and song. Her story is a defence of Gaelic culture as well as a record of the life of a remarkable woman.

1901. Helena Walton-Cisneros, known for her ability to find the lost and the displaced, is hired by the elusive Lady Matthews to solve a twenty-year-old mystery: the disappearance of her three stepdaughters who vanished without a trace on the Norfolk Fens. But the Fens are an age-old land, where folk tales and dark magic still linger. Here, Helena finds what she was sent for, as the Fenland always gives up its secrets, in the end...

First published in 1925, Greenery Street can be read on two levels: it is a touching description of a young couple's first year together in London, but it is also a homage - something rare in fiction - to happy married life.

Ian and Felicity are shown as they arrive at 23 Greenery Street, an undisguised Walpole Street in Chelsea. Their uneventful but always interesting everyday life is the main subject of a novel that evokes the charmingly contented and timeless while managing to be both funny and profound about human relations.

When Nell Draper leaves the workhouse to care for the five-year-old son of Lord Eversham, a wealthy landowner, she has no idea of the heartache that lies ahead of her. Robert can’t speak. He can’t tell her what makes him happy or sad. Nell has to work that out for herself. Not everyone is happy about Robert’s existence. When his father’s new wife has a son of her own she plans a desolate future for him. Can Nell save him, secure his inheritance and ensure he takes his rightful place in society?

Why do:
· Dutch babies seem so content, and sleep so well?
· Dutch parents let their kids play outside on their own?
· The Dutch trust their children to bike to school?
· Dutch schools not set homework for the under-tens?
· Dutch teenagers not rebel?
· What is the secret of bringing up the happiest kids in the world?

In a recent UNICEF study of child well-being, Dutch children came out on top as the happiest all-round. Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchison, both married to Dutchmen and bringing up their kids in Holland, examine the unique environment that enables the Dutch to turn out such contented, well-adjusted and healthy babies, children and teens.
Read this book if you want to find out what lessons you can learn from Dutch parents, to ensure your kids turn out happy!

The Queen and her Maids of Honour are spending the summer at a nobleman's estate, where a new manor house is being built. But the work has to stop when a mysterious spook appears. Could the ghost of a murdered Earl be haunting the site of his death? Grace begins to investigate and finds that there are many rumours about the ghost - and uncovering the truth could be dangerous...

Exile: a risky defiance, a perilous journey, a family’s tragic choice - or an individual’s final gamble to live. Exile: voluntary or enforced, a falling-out between friends, a lost first love, a prejudiced betrayal - or the only way to survive persecution?

In this historical fiction anthology thirteen authors have written exclusive short stories on the theme of exile. Some are based on true history, others are speculative fiction. With an introduction by multi-award-winning author Deborah Swift, enjoy these tales of exile across the ages. Some are hopeful, some sad, some romantic, some tragic, but all explore the indomitable spirit of resolute, unforgettable characters.

Exile: a risky defiance, a perilous journey, a family’s tragic choice - or an individual’s final gamble to live. Exile: voluntary or enforced, a falling-out between friends, a lost first love, a prejudiced betrayal - or the only way to survive persecution?

In this historical fiction anthology thirteen authors have written exclusive short stories on the theme of exile. Some are based on true history, others are speculative fiction. With an introduction by multi-award-winning author Deborah Swift, enjoy these tales of exile across the ages. Some are hopeful, some sad, some romantic, some tragic, but all explore the indomitable spirit of resolute, unforgettable characters.

In the UK alone, over one million people are seeing therapists on a regular basis. Insightful and honest about a process often necessarily shrouded in secrecy, this is an essential read for those curious about, or considering entering, therapy.

In a desperate attempt to recover from the loss of her husband and her baby son, Rose McQuinn has returned home to Edinburgh from America. She has little time to ponder her loneliness before she unwittingly steps into the shoes of her father, the legendary Detective Inspector Faro. She agrees to help investigate the strange behaviour of the husband of her childhood friend, Alice. But when Rose starts to get too near the truth, she puts her own life in danger.

Jane Haining was undoubtedly one of Scotland's heroines. A farmer's daughter from Galloway, Jane went to work at the Scottish Jewish Mission School in Budapest in 1932, where she was in charge of around 50 orphan girls. She refused orders to flee the country in March 1944 when Hungary was invaded by the Nazis. Her courage and self-sacrifice, her choice to stay and to protect the children in her care, has made her an inspiration to many.

Hannah Lowe taught for a decade in an inner-city London sixth form. At the heart of this book of compassionate and energetic sonnets are fictionalised portraits of 'The Kids', the students she nurtured. But the poems go further, meeting her own child self as she comes of age in the riotous 80s and 90s, later bearing witness to her small son learning to negotiate contemporary London. Across these deeply felt poems, Lowe interrogates the acts of teaching and learning with empathy and humour. Social class, gender and race - and their fundamental intersection with education - are investigated with an ever critical and introspective eye. These boisterous and musical poems explore the universal experience of what it is to be taught, to learn and to teach.

On the morning of Thursday 29 June 1682, a magpie came rasping, rapping and tapping at the window of a prosperous Devon merchant. Frightened by its appearance, his servants and members of his family had, within a matter of hours, convinced themselves that the bird was an emissary of the devil sent by witches to destroy the fabric of their lives. As the result of these allegations, three women of Bideford came to be forever defined as witches. A Secretary of State brushed aside their case and condemned them to the gallows; to hang as the last group of women to be executed in England for the crime. Yet, the hatred of their neighbours endured. For Bideford, it was said, was a place of witches.

In this book, John Callow explores the remarkable tale of the Bideford Witches.

The twelve stories in Letting Go take us on a journey through landscape, language and turbulent times, from the mid-19th century to the present day, and into the future. Stevenson's array of characters from many walks of life and nationalities - including a traveller, a wood carver, chicken farm workers, a nurse, an architect and a magician - meet and part, some becoming reacquainted.

Themes exploring identity, creativity and the environment, echo and connect throughout the different narratives, sometimes carried in snatches of song. The author leads us outward from her native Scottish Borders to Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Gàidhealtachd, south to England, across the Atlantic to Apartheid South Africa and, finally, to the melting Arctic.

Destined to be a haunter of libraries, Lewis's cautious progress through life reveals to him only his own shortcomings. Estranged from his wife and daughter, he searches for an alternative lifeline which comes from an unexpected quarter.

Nan Shepherd describes her journeys into the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. There she encounters a world that can be breathtakingly beautiful at times and shockingly harsh at others. Her intense, poetic prose explores and records the rocks, rivers, creatures and hidden aspects of this remarkable landscape.

Lillian Beckwith serves up another delightful slice of Hebridean life and a collection of local characters. Meet Johnny Comic, Morag, Kirsty, Behag, Hector, Erchy and the postie - among others. Subjects for amusement include tourists, an election, blizzards and a tinkers' wedding.

The story of a movie actress whose fame lingers many years after her tragic death. In public Marilyn Monroe was feted and loved but in her private life there were controversies, conspiracies and unsolved mysteries.