In the dead of night, a farmer hears a suspicious noise. It’s everyone’s worst nightmare: a break-in. When he confronts the intruders, he has no idea that just minutes later he will be left lying in a pool of blood. But the chilling truth lies not in the act itself, but what the perpetrators were willing to kill for. At the scene of the crime, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace senses something amiss. This is no mere botched robbery; it’s the tip of the iceberg of a nationwide crime epidemic. Ruthless gangs, operating with military precision, have discovered a new black market flourishing in the shadows – an unthinkable source of wealth even more profitable than drugs. Grace’s investigation into this deadly trade pits him against some of the most ruthless people he has ever encountered; people who will kill anyone who gets in their way, because where there is greed, there is murder. The clock is ticking, and the stakes have never been higher. Out of his element, and out of time, can Roy Grace put a stop to these criminal masterminds before more innocent lives are lost?

"When Penguin released a new, unexpurgated edition of D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover in 1960 they were charged with the crime of publishing obscene material. Penguin was forced to defend the book's literary merit in a court of law -- thus beginning one of the most famous trials of the 20th century. There to take it all in, armed with her pencil and paper, was Sybille Bedford -- who wastes no time complaining about the claustrophobia of Courtroom 1 at the Old Bailey. With her trademark wit and flair, Bedford presents us with a play-by-play of the trial: from the prosecution's questioning of the novel's thirteen sexual encounters and their listing of all 66 instances of swear words, to the dozens of witnesses who testified -- including the Bishop of Woolwich and E. M. Forster. Bedford gives us a timeless and dramatic account that captures one of the most fascinating and absurd moments in both legal and publishing history, when attitudes and morals shifted forever."--Inside cover

A panoramic new history of modern Britain, as told through the story of one extraordinary family, and one groundbreaking company. In the early 1800s, Lehmann Gluckstein and his family escaped the pogroms of Eastern Europe and made their way to Whitechapel in London's East End. There, starting with nothing, they worked tirelessly to pull themselves out of poverty, creating a small tobacco factory that grew to become the largest catering company in the world: J. Lyons. For over a century, Lyons was on every high street, in every home, in every coffee and teacup. It was an ascent from rags to riches in the face of many obstacles: poverty, hatred and anti-Semitism stood between this poor immigrant family and the British Dream. Legacy charts the rise and fall of one of the most influential dynasties in British history through the lives of five astonishing generations. Both sweeping and intimate, it is a story of sacrifice and selflessness, betrayal and personal tragedy, and Empire and its cost. It is also an illuminating new exploration of Britain and its place in the world, from the bestselling author of Hanns and Rudolf and The House by the Lake.

What makes the English English? Is it their eccentricity, their passionate love (or, indeed, hatred) of Marmite - or is it something less easily defined? Beginning at the top of a muddy Gloucestershire slope at the Coopers Hill cheese-rolling contest and traversing a landscape of lawns and queues, coastlines and sporting arenas, Ben Fogle takes us on a journey through the peculiarly English: a country of wax jackets, cricket, boat races and jellied eels, by way of national treasures such as the shipping forecast, fish and chips and the Wellington boot. Not to mention the Dunkirk spirit of relentless optimism in the face of adversity, be it the heroic failure of Captain Scott's doomed Antarctic expedition, or simply the perennial hope for better weather. The archetypal Englishman - lover of labradors and Land Rovers yet holder of two passports - Ben applauds all things quintessentially English while also paying tribute to the history, culture and ideas adopted with such gusto that they have become part of the fabric of the country. Written with Ben's trademark warmth and wit, this is a light-hearted yet touching tribute to all things English.

Annie Markham's true love, nineteen-year-old Jake Mead, ran away from their relationship when meddling godmother, Susannah, stepped in. Now it's seven years later and Annie's wealthy family is heading toward bankruptcy. Susannah brings in the best consultant in England to rescue their London public relations agency and, as the Fates have decreed, the genius turns out to be Jake, who is out for revenge.

"An autobiographical narrative of the career of British author, bookseller, and book collector Colin Franklin, discussing his life and experiences in the book world. Includes essays on figures in the book trade who have influenced and fascinated Franklin. Illustrated in color and black and white"--

Of all the activities of the most neglected century in English History, England's trade has received the least attention in proportion to its importance. It was obviously in the course of the later Middle Ages, and more particularly in the fifteenth century, that there took place the great transformation from medieval England, isolated and intensely local, to the England of the Tudor and Stuart age, with its world-wide connections and imperial designs. It was during the same period that most of the forms of international trade characteristic of the Middle Ages were replaced by new methods of commercial organization and regulation, national in scope and at times definitely nationalistic in object, and that a marked movement towards capitalist methods and principles took place in the sphere of domestic trade. Yet little has been written concerning English trade in this period. First published in 1933, this classic volume goes a long way to fills this gap superbly. There is an abundance of material, and the writers have compiled a statistical analysis of the Enrolled Customs Account from 1377-1482, which provides an essential measure of the nature, volume, and movement of English foreign commerce during the period.