This is a nicely produced hardback facsimile of the actual book - often referred to as 'Bradshaw's Guide' - used in the hugely popular 'Great British Railway Journeys' television series presented by Michael Portillo. The Handbook was regularly updated, with the journeys featured and the remarks made differing between editions. This is the only available version of the 1863 edition. 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 today offers a nostalgic glimpse through the carriage window at a Britain long past. Bradshaw’s Handbook £10.00 HB

This book tells the extraordinary stories of some of those who survived when the famously “unsinkable” ship hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Britain to America in April 1912. Up until now remarkably little has been written about what happened to the survivors after the tragedy. How did the loss of the ship shape the lives of the people who survived? How did those who were saved feel about those who perished? And how did they remember that terrible night, in effect a disaster that has been likened to the destruction of a small town? Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the sinking, Shadow Of The Titanic sheds new light on this enduringly fascinating story by showing how the disaster continued to shape the lives of a cross-section of passengers who escaped the sinking ship.

Whereas Steven Spielberg's film War Horse is based on the hugely successful novel by Michael Morpurgo, this book, first published in 1934, is a true story. It is a remarkable account by Winston Churchill's heroic friend, Jack Seely, of the thoroughbred horse he took with him to France in 1914. They both survived five years of bombs and bullets in the treacherous trenches of France before leading a potentially suicidal cavalry charge in 1918. Amazingly both man and beast returned home where they continued to ride on together until 1938. This fascinating book also includes the original illustrations which the famous war artist Sir Alfred Munnings drew especially for Jack Seely both during the war and at home afterwards.

Published by the National Garden Scheme this essential annual guide has fully updated detailed listings of the 3,700 gardens open for visiting in 2012, and is packed with photographs of gardens and informed comment. Every year NGS gardens across England and Wales welcome about 750,000 visitors. Most gardens that participate in the scheme are privately owned and open just a few times each year. Some gardens open as part of a group with the whole community involved. The gardens give all the money raised directly to NGS who donate more than £2.5 million each year to nursing, caring and gardening charities, totalling more than £25 million over the last 15 years.

Setting Dickens against the city that was the backdrop and inspiration for his work, this lavishly-illustrated book takes the reader on a memorable and haunting journey, discovering the places and subjects which stimulated this great writer’s imagination. Here are more than 200 captivating archive photographs, many published for the first time, featuring famous landmarks such as the Houses of Parliament, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey, alongside coaching inns, the Thames before the Embankment was built, the construction of the Metropolitan Underground Line, the docklands that studded the river and the many villages that make up London today. Authoritatively written and beautifully illustrated, this book will appeal to anyone who loves this beguiling city and wants to explore it as it was in Dickens' day.

Elizabeth II has lived through the Abdication, the Blitz and World War Two, the sex and spy scandals of the swinging sixties, the Cold War, the nuclear threat and the fall of the Berlin Wall. She has known 11 US Presidents, and her Prime Ministers have ranged from Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher to David Cameron. Her own family experiences have been lived in the glare of tabloid headlines encompassing a mixture of happiness and crisis, weddings and divorces, and, in the case of Diana, violent death. Our world has changed more in her lifetime than in any of her predecessors and yet the Queen has remained a calm presence at the centre, earning the respect of monarchists and republicans. This book examines how she has done it.

The inimitable Zoe, her big old dog Beans and not forgetting her favourite toy Binky Boo, are all back in another crazy, fun and beautifully illustrated adventure. Zoe has found a new game to play! When Beans jumps through her hoop he is magically transformed into Beans the rabbit with floppy ears, or Beans the crocodile with snappy jaws! But could Beans the elephant be a jump too far? The hoop may be magic but it's only small - and a great big elephant could easily get stuck...

In the latest tale featuring Andy Stanton's bizarre Mr Gum, Polly and Friday O'Leary turn detective to find out whether Jake the dog can really be the fearsome Hound of the Lamoic Bibber, what causes destruction like you never did see... Or will they discover something even more sinister in this scary story full of great drawings, lots of question marks and howling noises. You can also take a look inside Friday's detective diary, see a grown man recite a poem about a double cheeseburger, and discover how to make a plum ruffian! And there's bonus stuff and 100 stickers!!