The Old Bank House


Book Description

'Charming, very funny indeed. Angela Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of any twentieth-century author, after Pym herself' - Alexander McCall Smith Edgewood Rectory may be set in an ancient landscape, but the Grantly family are very much of their time. Caught up in the uncertain world that has emerged since the outbreak of peace, the Rector and Mrs Grantly are bewildered by the challenges facing their eldest children: Eleanor, longing for more excitement than can be found in the Red Cross Library; and Tom, struggling to readjust to student life at Oxford after his military service. When their elderly neighbour Miss Sowerby sells her beloved Old Bank House to self-made MP Sam Adams, the one-time outsider finds himself at the heart of Barsetshire society. And while Sam may dismiss her advice that the house needs a mistress, even a contented widower can be surprised by love.




Karen Brown's Ireland


Book Description

Experience Dublin's fair city, kiss the Blarney stone, climb the Giant's Causeway and drive the Dingle Peninsula. Explore the Emerald Isle in all its glory with four detailed driving itineraries, and a walking tour of Dublin. Take time to stop at pubs, visit weavers, sample the best Irish whiskey, admire the skills of crystal cutters and traditional potters. Stay is a wide range of accommodation from traditional cottages to grand castles.




The Slayer and the Slain


Book Description

Harry Vaughan's uncle has just passed away, providing the young man with a colossal fortune. Giving up his job, Harry goes back to his roots - and to Celia, the woman he loves. But Harry Vaughan has lost part of his memory. He feels himself ten years older, suffers from headaches, meets people who know him but whom he doesn't remember. When Celia's husband is killed it becomes clear that someone is following Vaughan's life. But who is this shadow and what do they want? 'A real psychiatric shocker' The Tablet




Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion


Book Description

This sixth volume of the Buildings of Wales series covers two counties, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion (formerly Cardiganshire) in the south-west of Wales. Like the same authors' Pembrokeshire, the volume covers an architecture still little known, hut encompassing a sweep from prehistoric chambered tombs to the high technology of the world's largest single-span glasshouse. The Buildings of Wales, founded by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner (1902-83), will, when complete, document and describe the architecture of the Principality in seven regional volumes, complementing the sister series on England, Ireland and Scotland. In each one a gazetteer details all buildings of significance from megalithic tombs and Iron Age hill-forts, via grand seventeenth-century houses to Victorian domestic extravaganzas, great industrial centres and monumental public buildings. The countryside is explored to reveal churches, chapels, farmhouses, and traces of early industry. The gazetteer is complemented by an introduction which explains the broader context and builds a complete picture of the country's architectural identity. Each work is illustrated by numerous maps, plans and photographs, completed by glossaries and indexes, and gives a comprehensive and illuminating survey of the buildings of Wales.







Explorer's Guide Buffalo & Niagara Falls (First Edition) (Explorer's Complete)


Book Description

An all- new guide to the famous vacation destination The Empire State is home to some of the nation’s most astounding natural and cultural wonders. From beautiful Lake Erie to the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains mountains to historically rich Buffalo, this region has the makings for a world-class destination for any traveler. Native New Yorker and veteran travel author Christine Smyczynski shows readers the best ways to enjoy not just the awe-inspiring power and vistas of Niagara Falls, but all the attractions and lesser-known treasures of western New York as well. As with every Explorer’s Guide, you’ll get the latest, most thoroughly researched recommendations for everything from eating, sleeping, exploring, local festivals, transportation options, and much more. Full color photographs bring the destination alive, while color maps and clear, concise directions guide you in your travels. Brand new in its first edition, this guide is unparalleled in its coverage of this beautiful area.




The Inns and Alehouses of Stafford


Book Description

The Inns and Alehouses of Stafford is the first of two books by Stafford author John Connor. This first volume looks at the drinking establishments within the ancient town’s fortified walls and it presents a definitive review of the history of Stafford’s beer establishments, owners and the history behind the areas pub names and signs. The book is a mine of information that will appeal to local pub buffs and historians alike. The entry for the inns and alehouses within the book include a photo of each building, a description of the changes that have taken place to the pub over the years and the names they have been known by. A comprehensive list of licensees of each establishment is also included. This shows who the licenees were, where they came from and where they went to. A short narrative about every inn sign completes each entry – and while many of the pubs have well-known names, there are some delightfully quirky ones to discover within these pages as well. Pubs have always been the hub of a community and in The Inns and Alehouses of Stafford we can learn more about the buildings and owners that have given Stafford drinkers over 460 years of drinking pleasure!




The Duke's Daughter


Book Description

Matches are being made among the cream of postwar English society in this novel of “warmth, whimsy, quirks, and vinegar with a dash of vitriol”(The New York Times). The England of old may be fading away (it’s so hard to find good help these days!)—but that doesn’t stop the prominent families of Barsetshire from producing a new generation of genteel brides and grooms in this funny, entertaining portrait of stubbornly cherished traditions in a changing world. “It is difficult not to become charmed, amused and engrossed. [Thirkell’s] sense of the ludicrous is enchanting. Perhaps, above all, it is her basic human kindness and her remarkable insight into the delicate relationship between parents and adolescent and grown children, that endear her books to so many people.” —The New York Times “Thirkell writes with an asperity and wit and glorious clowning that are all her own.” —San Francisco Chronicle







Private Enterprise


Book Description

Amid food shortages and grumbling, Barsetshire is unsettled by the arrival of a pretty war widow in this “delicately humorous [and] entertaining” novel (The New York Times). World War II may be over, but its effects linger in the English countryside as the local ladies trade ration coupons for a paltry selection of provisions. It’s feeling like a bleak summer—but it won’t be a boring one, now that flirtatious young widow Peggy Arbuthnot and her sister-in-law, Effie, are on the scene. Peggy has quite a few admirers—including Noel Merton, which is rather unfortunate for his wife. Suspense reigns over who might win Peggy’s hand—and whether the Merton marriage will survive . . . “Where Trollope would have been content to arouse a chuckle, [Thirkell] is constantly provoking us to hilarious laughter. . . . To read her is to get the feeling of knowing Barsetshire folk as well as if one had been born and bred in the county.” —Kirkus Reviews