Steve Race

As the son of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the author was well placed to observe the great, the good and the not-so-good of Victorian society. He records his observations with wit and humour.

In 1714 a footbridge in Peru gave way and catapulted five people to their deaths. Brother Juniper witnessed the incident and determined to find out why these particular people died.

As a composer, pianist, conductor and the creator of the Aldeburgh Festival, Britten was a distinctive figure in twentieth century music.

Charles Dickens had a life as full of incident as any of those he created in his novels of life in Victorian England. Instead of tracing the events in his life chronologically, Jane Smiley reveals things only as Dickins did - sometimes years after the event. Thus we see him as his contemporaries would have done and get to know him intimately.

A biography of Chopin, the nineteenth century composer, pianist and teacher.

The four MacDonald sisters each married to become Alice Kipling, Georgiana Burne-Jones, Agnes Poynter and Louise Baldwin. Between them they were wife or mother to a great writer, two painters and a Prime Minister!

Fascinating and humorous account of life in a Gloucestershire parish by the Rector of Upper Slaughter, Reverend F E Witts

Quentin Bell provides a remarkable collection of pen portraits - of his parents Vanessa and Clive; of his aunt and uncle, Virginia and Leonard Woolf; of Roger Fry, E M Forster, Ottoline Morrell, Maynard Keynes, Lytton Strachey and many more. In writing about them he also tells the story of his own work: his employment as agricultural labourer, his career as artist and teacher of art, critic, writer, and as reluctant spokesman of Bloomsbury.

Arguably the greatest English composer, Elgar was a successful and typical member of the Edwardian age, but he was also a deeply private and often unhappy man. The book explores this paradox.

Delightful essays on the unspoiled corners of England experienced by the author.

A quick A to Z of parish clergymen, from the saintly to the wildly eccentric.

In this sequence of sketches, the diarist brings to life fourteen friends who, unknowingly, formed his values, framed his views and added relish to his days.

The life of the Norwegian composer of Peer Gynt and a favourite Piano Concerto.

In this inspired biography, the author brings new insight into the extraordinary life and works of writer H G Wells.

A study of Handel, whose compositions varied from oratorio (The Messiah) to no less than 46 operas, not to mention songs and orchestral works.

An interesting account of the life and work of the composer Haydn.

Working on an archaeological dig in Whitby, Sian meets a gory nightmare, a mediaeval mystery, an attractive man and a loveable dog!

A beautifully told panorama of literary Regency London which centres around a dinner party given in 1817 by the painter Haydon whose guests included Wordsworth, Keats and Lamb.

The life of one of the most acclaimed British jazz musicians, spanning virtually the entire history of jazz.

First as friends, then as bitter enemies, John Kennedy and Richard Nixon shared a rivalry that had a dramatic impact on American history.

A verbatim report on the Laurie Lee Memorial Service with a personal reminiscence of the author by Steve Race.

A child prodigy and piano virtuoso, Liszt was one of the most outrageously gifted and most controversial figures in classical music.

In May 1940 when British troops were trapped in France by the German army, an incredible armada of little ships sailed the English channel to rescue them.

How Londoners lived through World War 2, evacuation and the Blitz. It builds up a picture of a population under siege, who faced it with dignity, patience and courage.

An interesting account of the life of Lord Berners - composer, novelist, painter and diplomat.

A fortune-teller predicted, while the little girl was still an infant, that she would one day be a king's mistress. And so she was, to Louis XV.

From child prodigy to renowned composer, an account of the life and music of Mozart.

Acclaimed as the greatest comic actress of her day, Dora Jordan lived a quite different role off-stage as lover to Prince William, third son of George III. The story of how Dora moved between the worlds of the theatre and happy domesticity, of her fights for her family and her career makes a classic story of royal perfidy and female courage.

Portrait of Alice Keppel, mistress of Edward VII and her daughter Violet Trefusis, whose lesbian affair scandalised society.

For over half a century J.K. Galbraith worked closely with every American President from Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy. A very readable book.

A history of Nelson which examines the influences on him of the various women he met. It features his wife, Lady Hamilton his mistress and his illegitimate daughter Horatia.

The author moved to France with his family to study French. Their experiences bring a wealth of humorous incidents and historical information.

A collection of favourite poems of John Murray, well-loved and familiar to many.

In this strange novel dedicated to her friend and lover, Vita Sackville-West, Virginia Woolf's hero-cum-heroine lives through five centuries of English life.

The Lake Poets - Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey - give a romantic view of the Lake District. But for their sisters, wives and daughters the view was very different. Their letters and journals all contribute to an understanding of Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey as fallible human beings.

In 1936 the author became Country Houses secretary to the newly formed National Trust. Here he tells of the transfer of fourteen houses to the Trust.