Collector's item, landmark in the history of the tour guide, snapshot of Britain in the 1860s – Bradshaw's Handbook deserves a place on the bookshelf of any traveller, railway enthusiast, historian or anglophile. Produced as the British railway network was reaching its zenith, and as tourism by rail became a serious pastime for the better off, it was the first national tourist guide specifically organized around railway journeys, and to this day offers a glimpse through the carriage window at a Britain long past. This is a facsimile of the actual book – often referred to as 'Bradshaw's Guide' – that inspired the 'Great British Railway Journeys' television series, possibly the only surviving example of the 1863 edition. It is an exact copy with a removable belly-band.
From the author of the international bestseller Only Time Will Tell, Jeffrey Archer picks up the sweeping story of the Clifton Chronicles with The Sins of the Father. Only days before Britain declares war on Germany, Harry Clifton, hoping to escape the consequences of long-buried family secrets, and forced to accept that his desire to marry Emma Barrington will never be fulfilled, has joined the Merchant Navy. But his ship is sunk in the Atlantic by a German U-boat, drowning almost the entire crew. An American cruise liner, the SS Kansas Star, rescues a handful of sailors, among them Harry and the third officer, an American named Tom Bradshaw. When Bradshaw dies in the night, Harry seizes on the chance to escape his tangled past and assumes his identity. But on landing in America, he quickly learns the mistake he has made, when he discovers what is awaiting Bradshaw in New York. Without any way of proving his true identity, Harry Clifton is now chained to a past that could be far worse than the one he had hoped to escape.
In this brilliant crime novel from the author of Missing, Presumed, a detective investigates her most personal case yet: a high-profile murder in which her own family falls under suspicion. “[Susie] Steiner populates this hot-button narrative with achingly human characters, but no one compares to the hormonal, mordantly funny mom-cop who will stop at nothing to save her son.”—People (Book of the Week) As dusk falls, a young man staggers through a park, far from home, bleeding from a stab wound. He dies where he falls, cradled by a stranger, a woman’s name on his lips in his last seconds of life. Detective Manon Bradshaw handles only cold cases. Five months pregnant, in pursuit of a work-life balance rather than romantic love, she’s focused on being a good mother to her two children: her adopted twelve-year-old son, Fly Dent, and the new baby. But the man died just yards from the police station where she works, so Manon can’t help taking an interest. And as she sidles in on the briefing she learns that the victim, a banker from London worth millions, is more closely linked to her than she could have imagined. When the case begins to circle in on Manon’s home and her family, she finds herself pitted against the colleagues she once held dear: Davy Walker and Harriet Harper. Can Manon separate what she knows about the people she loves from the suspicion hanging over them? Can she investigate the evidence just as she would with any other case? Persons Unknown shows acclaimed author Susie Steiner writing her most intricate, suspenseful novel yet. Praise for Persons Unknown “A police procedural as concerned with the mysteries of human hearts as with who stabbed a banker to death at a park in Cambridgeshire. [Full of] winning prose, sympathetic characters and an appreciation of life’s joys as keen as a knowledge of its dangers.”—The Wall Street Journal “Susie Steiner blends the police procedural and the human drama perfectly.”—The Charlotte Observer “[Steiner] has created a masterful mystery within an engaging narrative perfect for Kate Atkinson fans. Readers will be astonished by the unexpected turns at the conclusion, which will leave fans eagerly awaiting the next book. This series needs to be snapped up by the BBC or PBS.”—Booklist (starred review) “[An] engrossing stunner, incorporating social justice issues into the narrative, along with superb plotting, dark humor, and excellent characterizations.”—Library Journal (starred review)
Recipient of the 2014 American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Foundation Award A major debut from an award-winning writer—an epic family saga set against the magic and the rhythms of the Virgin Islands. In the early 1900s, the Virgin Islands are transferred from Danish to American rule, and an important ship sinks into the Caribbean Sea. Orphaned by the shipwreck are two sisters and their half brother, now faced with an uncertain identity and future. Each of them is unusually beautiful, and each is in possession of a particular magic that will either sink or save them. Chronicling three generations of an island family from 1916 to the 1970s, Land of Love and Drowning is a novel of love and magic, set against the emergence of Saint Thomas into the modern world. Uniquely imagined, with echoes of Toni Morrison, Gabriel García Márquez, and the author’s own Caribbean family history, the story is told in a language and rhythm that evoke an entire world and way of life and love. Following the Bradshaw family through sixty years of fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, love affairs, curses, magical gifts, loyalties, births, deaths, and triumphs, Land of Love and Drowning is a gorgeous, vibrant debut by an exciting, prizewinning young writer.
Great American Railroad Journeys sees the famous brand of social-history-cum-travelogue venture to the New World. Across multiple programmes and using Appleton's General Guide To The United States & Canada as reference, Michael Portillo now undertakes an epic trip by train from New York and Boston on the East Coast down to the Deep South of Atlanta and New Orleans, then on to Chicago, Colorado, New Mexico and ultimately finishing in San Francisco. This lavishly illustrated official tie-in covers each journey Portillo makes across North America and captures the colour, beauty, history and exhilaration experienced when journeying through this incredible continent. Packed with new maps, as well as originals from Appleton's General Guide, this book explores the construction of rail routes across the continent in the 1800s, as a new nation was built by the immigrant masses. Truly this is a colourful and exciting enterprise, with vignettes of revealing social history displaying the rich tapestry of the peoples who established themselves in this vast new world. Great American Railroad Journeys is a must-have purchase for any fan of this unique and award-winning travel series.
A facsimile edition of the classic 1879 travel guide—often referred to as “Appleton’s Guide”—that inspired the Great American Railroad Journeys PBS television series with Michael Portillo. Appleton’s Railway Guide to the United States & Canada was originally published in two volumes, describing the variety of attractions offered in each North American town or city the train traveler would encounter along the railway system's numerous routes. It was the first tourist guide specifically organized around railway journeys, offering a rare glimpse through the carriage window of a continent lost to history. As with many guidebooks of the era, Appleton Guides became obsolete as routes and destinations became less popular and new guidebooks took their place. Both these volumes became collector’s items due to their rarity, until now. An unprecedented snapshot of North America in the 1870s, Appleton’s Railway Guide is a must-have for any travel and railway enthusiast, historian, and fan of Americana.
