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The extraordinary true story behind the film Belle. The life of Dido Elizabeth Belle – the first mixed race aristocrat who was brought up as the adopted daughter of Lord Mansfield – the Lord Chief Justice of England. Now a Major Motion Picture.Beautiful, wealthy and sophisticated, Dido Belle appears, in her famous portrait alongside her ‘sister’ and companion Lady Elizabeth Murray, a vision of eighteenth-century aristocratic virtue. But Dido Belle was no normal eighteenth century Lady, and this was no common painting. Adopted and raised by Lord Mansfield – one of the most powerful men of the day – Dido Belle’s mixed race and illegitimacy became the controversy of English high society. Born to a captured slave mother and a captain in the Royal Navy, Dido’s evident grace and adoption by the Mansfield family to be raised as a daughter in Kenwood House challenged English notions of race at their highest rank.Meanwhile, as Lord Chief Justice of England, Mansfield presided over the case that would come to be known as the Zong affair – a crucial legal ruling that would galvanise a nascent abolitionist movement and radically alter attitudes towards the barbarism of the Atlantic Slave trade. From the elegant surroundings of Kenwood (reopening after extensive renovation in November), Dido Belle and Elizabeth, to the economics of the Caribbean and the horrific journeys of African slaves to the New World, Paula Byrne vividly depicts for the first time the diverse contexts of this controversial painting. The portrait shocked its contemporary viewers but also resonated with the public of the time – the name of Lord Mansfield was synonymous with the great civil rights question of the age. Today the picture is presented as an icon of black female history.Telling the story behind the major new film starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Tom Wilkinson and Miranda Richardson, this book is the real life of Dido Belle.

A sparkling collection of journalism from the critically acclaimed author of BAD BLOOD and MOMENTS OF TRUTH.This selection of the work of Lorna Sage spans the years 1972-2001, when she wrote for the London and New York literary papers and journals, and contains some of her very best pieces. From carefully worked interviews and profiles to the snappiest and deftest of weekly reviews, we can trace the often surprising development of that very distinctive voice and follow its sharpest critical reactions to the important authors and landmark publications of our times.From George Eliot, Laurence Sterne, Charles Dickens and Mary Shelley to Sylvia Plath, Angela Carter, Umberto Eco and Salman Rushdie, Sage's unmistakable voice is here: clever, hilarious, anarchic, sly, wise, kind, courageous, genial and serious.

A beautiful and practical up-to-date guide to over two thousand of Britain’s best parish churches.Although now most famous for his poetry, Sir John Betjeman’s great passion was churches. For over fifty years his guide, regularly updated, has been the eminent authority and the most distinguished guide to the best churches to visit.This edition, in full colour throughout and illustrated with over 350 specially commissioned photographs, covers over 2,500 of the very best churches in England, Scotland and Wales. Fully updated by bestselling author Richard Surman, this is the most complete and up to date guide to Britain’s church heritage.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY HERMIONE LEEThe previously uncollected occasional prose of a great English writer – full of wit, feeling and illumination.Penelope Fitzgerald was a prolific letter writer. She avoided the phone if she could, never even contemplated the possibility of going online. Her warmth, humour and supreme storytelling abilities found their best forum here. Surprising, wonderfully funny, definitive, this is a major collection of Penelope Fitzgerald’s reviews, essays and autobiographical writings.This collection includes pieces on contemporary novelists Giles Foden, Anne Enright, Carol Shields, Rose Tremain, Roddy Doyle; on classic writers Muriel Spark, A.E. Housman, Rose Macaulay, M.R. James, Stevie Smith, Dorothy L. Sayers; on remembering her grandfather E.H. Shepard; on her love of Devon and Spain and William Morris: on writers in their old age; and witty and poignant recollections of her schooldays, her life on a Thames barge, her childhood in Hampstead and the ghost who lived next door but one.This is a fantastically funny book – as much of an entertainment as the Kingsley Amis letters.

First ever critical study of Tolkien’s little-known essay, which reveals how language invention shaped the creation of Middle-earth and beyond, to George R R Martin’s Game of Thrones.J.R.R. Tolkien’s linguistic invention was a fundamental part of his artistic output, to the extent that later on in life he attributed the existence of his mythology to the desire to give his languages a home and peoples to speak them. As Tolkien puts it in ‘A Secret Vice’, ‘the making of language and mythology are related functions’’.In the 1930s, Tolkien composed and delivered two lectures, in which he explored these two key elements of his sub-creative methodology. The second of these, the seminal Andrew Lang Lecture for 1938–9, ‘On Fairy-Stories’, which he delivered at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, is well known. But many years before, in 1931, Tolkien gave a talk to a literary society entitled ‘A Hobby for the Home’, where he unveiled for the first time to a listening public the art that he had both himself encountered and been involved with since his earliest childhood: ‘the construction of imaginary languages in full or outline for amusement’.This talk would be edited by Christopher Tolkien for inclusion as ‘A Secret Vice’ in The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays and serves as the principal exposition of Tolkien’s art of inventing languages. This new critical edition, which includes previously unpublished notes and drafts by Tolkien connected with the essay, including his ‘Essay on Phonetic Symbolism’, goes some way towards re-opening the debate on the importance of linguistic invention in Tolkien’s mythology and the role of imaginary languages in fantasy literature.

A unique collection of stunning photographs and detailed portraits of over fifty of the most striking owl species around the world.The less we know about something, the more we create a mythology around it. This is especially true for owls. Mainly nocturnal, generally silent, and reliant on the element of surprise in their attacks, they seldom encounter humans, but we have still created a vast body of legend around these mysterious avians – for some, they symbolise wisdom, for others they are the agents of evil or harbingers of death.Understanding these birds is a great challenge outstandingly met by award-winning natural history author Mike Unwin and David Tipling, one of Britain’s foremost photographers. Unwin, who has watched and admired owls all over the world, captures the essence of each species, while explaining the unique natural history that has made these silent assassins the most effective feathered predators of darkness. He describes a fascinating range of breeding and hunting behaviour, the unusual calls that have given rise to so much superstition, and the cultural impact of owls around the world. The stunning range of photographs, taken and compiled by David Tipling, captures the beauty of each species and the drama of the landscapes they inhabit.At once an investigation and a celebration, A Parliament of Owls looks at over fifty species of these infinitely fascinating birds, from the Snowy Owl hunting lemmings in the Arctic tundra to the rodent-eating Burrowing Owl of the dusty hollows beneath the South American pampas.

Great value omnibus edition, containing all the very best silent adventures of the half-dressed man, whose cartoon antics showcase how much fun you can have with your trousers off.He grew from a tiny idea on the back of a napkin to a tiny idea in thousands of books.And now, after three long years and hundreds of cartoons there’s still only one ROGER – whether hanging out at work, at leisure or on his travels, he's exposed much and little of himself and lived a dressed-down life blissfully ignorant of his trouser-free predicament.With ROGER it’s always a revelation and in a lifetime made up of so many outstanding moments, these are the ones that frankly stood out the most.It’s all out there, from a man who knows no bounds or any tailors – there's something here for everyone and some things no-one will ever want to touch.We proudly present 'The Full ROGER' – The best bits of ROGER’s best bit.

The deadpan cartoon adventures of an expressionless, wordless, trouserless man, whose presence seems to go unnoticed.Enter the extraordinarily ordinary world of a half-dressed man.In the world of ROGER, silence speaks volumes, whether in the workplace, at leisure, or on his travels.In this debut collection of captionless cartoons, we share in the mundane, deadpan adventures of an expressionless, wordless, harmless man, whose full-on, half-dressed presence only we seem to notice.Tied to the workplace, but freed from the shackles of his lower garments, ROGER continues to go about his business in his own unassuming and bemused fashion.Who is he? What is he thinking? Where are his trousers? These are all questions to which perhaps only ROGER has the answer, but for now he's content to hold his peace.This textless, trouserless book opens a window on to ROGER's life at work and promises to stand out from the crowd. As ROGER might say, if only he spoke – bring it up, bring it on, bring it out…

Mike Chaplin is one of the most popular art experts on the very successful Channel 4 series Watercolour Challenge. In this book he reveals how he works and puts forward his ideas and teaching methods, offering plenty of tips and practical advice for the amateur artist.This book is intended for artists with some painting experience who wish to develop their technique, style and outlook. It is a book to make them think and to push the technical and personal boundaries of what they believe they can achieve in paint. Mike’s teaching focuses not only on techniques but also on expanding the readers’ approach to their painting as a whole.Starting with a fascinating look at the development of watercolour as an expressive art, the book then covers selective techniques, both traditional and the more unusual, and topics such as observation, drawing, colour and composition. All kinds of painting subjects are included, from the natural landscape to urban scenes, and throughout the book Mike provides plenty of practical advice and useful tips about techniques. There are also a number of special features, focusing on particular aspects of painting, as well as several full step-by-step demonstration paintings.

The book all amateur digital photographers need – learn how to take the perfect photograph every time, from the authors of the bestselling Collins Complete Photography Course.In this book, John and Graeme apply their years of experience as professional photographers and instructors to teaching you the techniques and tips for capturing your friends and family, children and pets, holidays, sports days, celebrations, parties, festivals, weddings, births and birthdays. This book will show you the best way to photograph them all – every important person, place and memory you’ll want to treasure.Using the same practical, project based course structure that helped so many amateur photographers get to grips with their cameras in their bestselling Collins Complete Photography Course, John and Graeme will give you the confidence to get out your camera and start taking photos. Includes tips and advice on how to get the best out of your iphone and other mobile and point-and-shoots cameras as well as your digital SLR.John and Graeme’s warm and encouraging style will build your confidence, inspire your creativity and get you experimenting with your photos. With specially shot case studies and projects, step-by-steps, troubleshooting and project reviews you’ll be learning as you shoot right from the get go.Collins Complete Photography Projects is the natural follow-up to the Collins Complete Photography Course, benefiting those who have worked their way through the first one, but it will stand alone with a concise technical section that will bring new readers up to speed. A must have photography book for anyone with a digital camera and a little imagination.

Not only is it the best song I ever wrote, it's the best song anybody ever wrote. Irving Berlin, 1942A biography of the single most important record in the history of popular musicA vividly written narrative about the world's best-loved popular song, White Christmas provides both the story behind the making of Irving Berlin's most memorable tune and a rich cultural history of the America that embraced it.When Irving Berlin first conceived the song «White Christmas», he envisioned it as «a throwaway» – a satirical novelty number for a vaudeville-style stage review. By the time Bing Crosby introduced the song to the world in the winter of 1942, it was a yuletide ballad that would become the world's all-time top-selling and most frequently recorded song. Berlin, the Russian-Jewish immigrant who became America's greatest pop troubadour, had written his magnum opus – what one commentator has called a «holiday Moby-Dick» – a timeless song that resonates with some of the deepest strains in American culture: yearning for an idealised New England past, belief in the magic of the «merry and bright» Christmas season, longing for the sanctuaries of home and hearth. Today the song endures not just as an icon of the national Christmas celebration but as the artistic and commercial peak of the golden age of popular song arising from the Jewish-American assimilation, and a symbol of the values and strivings of the World War II generation.‘White Christmas’ is both a period page-turner, tracing the story of the song's making amid the vibrant world of mid-century Broadway and Hollywood, and a chronicle of the song's legacy through today, when Berlin's masterpiece endures as a secular hymn.