Heron Books The Celts Roberts Alice

Tara Jupp is living out all our dreams: a pop star in Sixties London, surrounded by the glitterati. But can she succeed while holding on to who she is? • Country girl Tara is whisked off to Sixties London to become a pop star; there she is dressed, she is shown off at Chelsea parties, photographed by the best. She meets songwriters, singers, designers, and records her song, and falls in love • But behind the buzz and excitement of her success, concern about her beautiful, wild sister Lucy and the bitter relationship with their friend Matilda haunts Tara. Their past friendship is broken, and among the deceptions and the strangeness of both their marriages, the buried secrets keep on reappearing • The brilliant new world of fashion and music, of mini skirts and rock ‘n’ roll, of the Marquee Club and The Palladium, is also one of love and heartache

This sweeping historical novel is shaped by the quest for a mysterious relic, guarded through generations, and by one man that might yet save the threatened Byzantine empire • In an age of clashing empires, dark forces from the east are endangering the first light of the western Renaissance. It is an age of ruthless rulers, divided churches, fractured dynasties and intrepid traders. It is an age of great cities like Venice and Constantinople; an age of conquerors like Tamerlane who will drown the world in blood; an age when only a hero of exceptional gifts can make a difference • Luke Magoris is that hero. Born the son of one of the Varangian guards who had sworn to keep the secret relic safe, he will find himself committed to a long journey to discover - and try to avoid - his destiny

A short history of one of Ancient Britain's most enigmatic civilisations • Who were the Celts? Were they a people, a civilisation, an empire, or a fiction of historical imagination? They flit as ghosts through Europe's ancient past, purported ancestors of the Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Cornish and Bretons • Yet they have never been identified with any one land, or with any one history or language • Simon Jenkins argues compellingly that the 'Celts' is a misleading concept, bundling together quite distinct peoples. The word keltoi first appears in Greek, applied generally to aliens or 'barbarians' - and theories of Celticism continue to fuel many of the prejudices and misconceptions that divide the British Isles to this day • Fascinating and increasingly relevant, who the Celts were - or weren't - goes to the heart of the ongoing argument over the future of a dis-United Kingdom

This is the secret history of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland • Wonderland is part of our cultural heritage. But beneath the fairy tale lies the complex history of the author and his subject. Charles Dodgson was a quiet academic but his second self, Lewis Carroll, was a storyteller, innovator and avid collector of "child-friends". Carroll's imagination was to give Alice Liddell, his "dream-child", a fictional alter ego that would never let her grow up • This is a biography that beautifully unravels the magic of Alice. It is a history of love and loss, innocence and ambiguity. It is the story of one man's need to make a Wonderland in a changing world

The completely updated edition of J. M. Roberts and Odd Arne Westad's widely acclaimed, landmark bestseller The Penguin History of the World • For generations of readers The Penguin History of the World has been one of the great cultural experiences - the entire story of human endeavour laid out in all its grandeur and folly, drama and pain in a single authoritative book. Now, for the first time, it has been completely overhauled for its 6th edition - not just bringing it up to date, but revising it throughout in the light of new research and discoveries, such as the revolution in our understanding of many civilizations in the Ancient World. The closing sections of the book reflect what now seems to be the inexorable rise of Asia and the increasingly troubled situation in the West

There's a leak in Wellington's army, and suspicion is falling on James Keane • The Iberian Peninsula, 1809 • French troops led by one of Napoleon's best generals are massing on the border. Wellington's outnumbered force and his unreliable Spanish allies need to pick off the smaller French units if they are to stand their ground • For that they need information: accurate intelligence on numbers, arms and whereabouts. That's where Captain Keane and his company of reformed scouting officers are invaluable tools - despite being unpopular with the regular soldiers • But it soon becomes apparent that someone high up in Wellington's headquarters is a spy for the French. Only someone able to travel widely outside the camp, someone privy to battle plans, could be the double agent - and Keane's enemies within the army are quick to point the finger

Meet James Keane of the 27th Foot: an ill-disciplined card sharp and ladies' man - and one of the finest soldiers of Wellington's army. Keane's task, assigned directly by Wellington, is the creation of an intelligence unit operating behind the French lines. He and his company are trusted with the secrets of the generals - and viewed with hostile suspicion by regular troops • In a bid to recruit men with uncommon skills, Keane springs soldiers from military jails and liberates them from their regiments. It's up to him to form this band of blackguards into an elite unit. Deep in enemy territory, they must negotiate with dangerous guerilla groups and forge new routes for their army if they are to succeed - and survive. Based on the true activities of the first British military intelligence unit, Keane's Company presents an unusual and fascinating picture of the Peninsular War: a nineteenth-century Dirty Dozen and a worthy companion to Sharpe

The Forest of Pendle used to be a hunting ground, but some say that the hill is the hunter - alive in its black-and-green coat cropped like an animal pelt • Good Friday, 1612. Two notorious witches await trial and certain death in Lancaster Castle, whilst a small group gathers in secret protest. Into this group the self-made Alice Nutter stakes her claim and swears to fight against the rule of fear. But what is Alice's connection to these witches? What is magic if not power, and what will happen to the women who possess it?

In the past, Hugh Thomson has written acclaimed books about Peru, Mexico and the Indian Himalaya. Now he returns to the most exotic and foreign country of them all – his own • Walking right across England, along ancient trackways and green grass roads, Hugh explores the way the country was and the way it is today: the legends, literature and natural world that define us, and the undercurrent of regret running throughout our history; what he calls ‘the unicorn disappearing into the trees’ • From coast-to-coast and through the heart of the countryside, he shows how older,forgotten cultures like the Celts, Saxons and Vikings lie much closer to the surface than we may think. It is a journey enriched and partly told by the characters he meets along the way

Roberta, Phyllis and Peter have their comfortable lives in London thrown into disarray by the unexpected disappearance of their father. They are forced to move to a small cottage in the countryside with their mother, who struggles to make ends meet by writing books. The children find solace in a stretch of railway track and the station nearby, and befriend the railway porter, who teaches them about running the station, and an old gentleman who takes the 9.15 train every day. Through this love of the trains they are led on many exciting adventures, including a quest to discover the secret of their father's disappearance • One of the most popular children's books ever written, E. Nesbit's tale has enchanted generations of readers since it was first released in 1906

In 1974, the homeless Miss Shepherd moved her broken down van into Alan Bennett's garden. Deeply eccentric and stubborn to her bones, Miss Shepherd was not an easy tenant. And Bennett, despite inviting her in the first place, was a reluctant landlord. And yet she lived there for fifteen years • This account of those years was first published in 1989 in the London Review of Books. The play premiered in 1999, directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Dame Maggie Smith, who reprise their roles in this new film adaptation. Shot on location at Bennett's house, Alex Jennings plays the author, alongside household names including Frances de la Tour, Jim Broadbent and Dominic Cooper

The First Mistake is the stunning second novel from The Other Woman author Sandie Jones, who delivers twist after heart-stopping twist, in this addictively readable domestic suspense about a wife, her husband, and her best friend. Perfect for fans of The Mother-in-Law and My Lovely Wife • For Alice, life has never been better • After the death of her first husband, she has remarried, has a successful business, two children and a beautiful house • In Beth, she also has the best friend she has always wanted. A friend without judgement, she is the most trustworthy and loyal person Alice knows • So when Alice begins to suspect her husband Nathan is having an affair, Alice turns to Beth to help her find the truth. She can trust Beth, can't she . . .?