Buy from our bookstore and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice to buy more books. *15% of eBooks.
Audiobooks Narrated by Mark Elstob
Browse audiobooks narrated by Mark Elstob, listen to samples and when you're ready head over to Audiobooks.com where you can get 3 FREE audiobooks on us
"In 1679, Samuel Pepys is Secretary to the Admiralty, in charge of the navy, and at the right hand of King Charles.
But also in 1679, England is awash with suspicion and fear. In this maelstrom of distrust, Pepys finds himself at the heart of a conspiracy, charged with treason and facing a crooked trial and potential execution.
The only person who can save him is his brother, Balthazar, and Balthazar's twin children, Betty and Sam – precociously smart and deviously determined – and the three set off on a journey to prove Pepys' innocence.
A clever and witty adventure which will make you think about Pepys in an entirely new light…
"
"From the highly acclaimed author of The Shackleford Sisters, Beverley Watts, comes an exciting new series featuring the next generation.
The Shackleford Legacies are a delightful dance of romance, humour, mystery and fun...
As the eldest daughter of the Earl of Cottesmore, Lady Mercedes Stanhope didn't expect to be still without a husband at the start of her third season. And neither did she expect to be the target of a kidnapping attempt on her journey home from Scotland.
But most of all, she didn't expect to experience such an emotional connection to the man who came to her rescue…
Horrifically scarred after a bayonet wound nearly cost him his life, Nathaniel Harding lived for fifteen years in the shadows.
He didn't expect to be cast into the role of hero in the attempted kidnap of a young gentlewoman. And neither did he expect to be offered the role of her protector to prevent it happening again.
But most of all, he didn't expect feelings he’d long believed dead and buried to come bubbling to the surface with her unexpected intrusion into his life…
When Mercy and Nate are thrown together to help defeat the kidnapper, neither of them expected to be facing their deepest, darkest fears in confronting the very essence of evil.
But most of all, neither expected that love might be found in the midst of such darkness…
And then, of course, the one thing that no one expected, was the crucial role Reverend Augustus Shackleford would end up playing in the whole proceedings…"
"'There are certain descriptions of people who, oddly enough, appear to appertain exclusively to the metropolis. You meet them, every day, in the streets of London, but no one ever encounters them elsewhere; they seem indigenous to the soil, and to belong as exclusively to London as its own smoke, or the dingy bricks and mortar.'
A brilliantly curated collection of journalistic work and essay writing from one of the most witty, solicitous and prolific writers of the twentieth century.
Although a talented novelist, Dickens was also an inventive journalist and essayist throughout his long-lasting career. The Selected Journalism and Essays of Charles Dickens illustrates his acute observational skills, masterfully exploring everything from London's cityscape to travelling abroad, his childhood in Kent to the social concerns that plagued contemporary society. Initially published in Dickens's journal Household Words, these pieces are an effortless amalgamation of humour, vivid description and serious social criticism. The result is valuable window into Dickens's personal and professional lives, showcasing his versatility as a writer and commentator beyond his fictional work. This audiobook edition is skilfully narrated by both Mark Elstob and Thomas Judd.
Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the twentieth century, critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read, performed and adapted today."
"'A superb book’ – Observer
‘Gripping, vivid and compelling’ – The Critic
‘Humane, absorbing and meticulous’ – New Statesman
Three Weeks in July is the extraordinary and definitive account of the events of the 7/7 London bombings, publishing on the 20th anniversary of the event.
Three Weeks in July delivers the definitive narrative of the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the chaos, confusion and terror that followed.
A true-crime investigation interwoven with high-stakes politics and history, it reveals untold accounts of the response to 7/7 by the government and the Metropolitan Police, as well as their efforts to prevent a second wave of attacks. Drawing on insights from key figures like Tony Blair, Peter Clarke (head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch at the Metropolitan Police) and Sir Ian Blair (Metropolitan Police commissioner), as well as victims and first responders, the book chronicles the frenzy of the first hours after the attack and the pivotal three weeks of police work, forensics and political machinations whose repercussions are still being felt to this day.
Three Weeks in July is the definitive account of one of the most tumultuous periods in modern British history, and a visceral and propulsive narrative that examines the vulnerabilities of the state and the ethical dilemmas of national security."
"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle
George McGlory - recent widower, part-time librarian, pub quiz enthusiast and lover of loud shirts witnesses a public health funeral and is deeply moved by the sight of the lonely coffin with no flowers and no mourners in attendance.
He joins forces with Elena, a florist, Edwin, an undertaker, Sid, the owner of a bric-a-brac and second-hand furniture emporium, and Roxy his library colleague to form The Light a Candle Society and banish lonely funerals for good.
As they honour the dead together, George reflects on his own life and the rifts within his family. Can he find the courage and humility to face the demons of his past and repair his broken relationships before it's too late?"
"Published over a ten-year period between the years 1933 and 1943 while the writer was in exile, Thomas Mann’s Joseph and his Brothers is an epic four-part novel that works as a retelling of chapters twenty-one to thirty of the Book of Genesis. Described as a “Mythological novel”, It took Mann over sixteen years to write the novel and was considered by the writer as his greatest ever literary achievement.
in this second volume subtitled ‘Young Joseph’, Mann shifts his focus to Joseph’s formative years, moving towards the novel’s ultimate conclusion where he is imprisoned by his brothers and sold into slavery.
Deploying Mann’s signature capacity for incredible, often mesmerising detail, Joseph and His Brothers brings to life a world of mythology and legend, set within the ancient kingdoms of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine. The result is an impressive, awe-inspiring work of psychological depth – one that is replete with historical detail, ironic humour, and breathtaking grandeur.
This recording is based on John E. Woods definitive English translation, providing an authoritative retelling that is worthy of Mann’s landmark work."
"'WHAT TO READ IN 2025' FINANCIAL TIMES
Many artists are unaware of the mathematics that bubble beneath their craft, while some consciously use it for inspiration. Our instincts might tell us that these two subjects are incompatible forces with nothing in common, but what if we’re wrong?
Marcus du Sautoy, acclaimed mathematician and Simonyi Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Oxford, looks to art, music, design and literature to uncover the key mathematical structures that underpin both human creativity and the natural world.
Blueprints takes us from the earliest stone circles to the modernist architecture of Le Corbusier, from Bach’s circular compositions to Radiohead’s disruptive soundscapes, and from Shakespeare’s hidden numerical clues to the Dada artists who embraced randomness. Instead of polar opposites we find a complementary relationship that spans a vast historical and geographic landscape.
Whether we are searching for meaning in an abstract painting or deciphering poetry, there are blueprints everywhere: prime numbers, symmetry, fractals and the weirder worlds of Hamiltonian cycles and hyperbolic geometry. Nature similarly exploits these structures to achieve the wonders of our universe.
In this innovative and delightfully bold exploration of creativity, Marcus explains how we make art, why a creative mindset is vital for discovering new mathematics and how a fundamental connection to the natural world intrinsically links these two subjects.
‘Blueprints is an extraordinary book which shows us how mathematics and art are connected through structures. Du Sautoy shows us how to bridge the divide of science and the humanities and proves that we can only face and solve the big challenges of the twenty-first century if we go beyond the fear of pooling knowledge’ Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine Galleries"
"Published over a ten-year period between 1933 and 1943, Thomas Mann’s Joseph and his Brothers is an epic four-part novel that works as a retelling of chapters twenty-one to thirty of the Book of Genesis. Described as a “Mythological novel”, It took Mann over sixteen years to write the novel and was considered by the writer as his greatest ever literary achievement.
in this first volume subtitled ‘The Stories of Jacob’, Mann begins with a meditative prelude named “Descent into Hell”, which contextualises the story against a variety of historical, mythological, and historical contexts, before moving on to the story of Joseph’s father Jacob. The following chapters follow Jacob as we learn of him stealing his brother’s birthright, before fleeing to his uncle Laban and his later marriages to Rachel and Leah.
Deploying Mann’s signature capacity for incredible, often mesmerising detail, Joseph and His Brothers brings to life a world of mythology and legend, set within the ancient kingdoms of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine. The result is an immersive, awe-inspiring work of psychological depth – one that is replete with historical detail, ironic humour, and breathtaking grandeur.
This recording is based on John E. Woods definitive English translation, providing an authoritative retelling that is worthy of Mann’s landmark work."
"As mid-winter temperatures grip the cathedral city of Ely, a man is found frozen to death in his high-rise flat. The police may think that Declan McIlroy killed himself, but journalist Philip Dryden is not convinced, and he begins digging for the truth.
All too soon, there’s another frozen corpse to consider – that of Declan’s best friend. And suddenly a routine suicide gives way to a chilling trail of cruelty and betrayal stretching back thirty years, towards a mystery from Dryden’s own childhood."
"From the highly acclaimed author of The Shackleford Sisters, Beverley Watts, comes an exciting new series featuring the next generation.
The Shackleford Legacies are a delightful dance of romance, humour, mystery and fun...
Lady Jennifer Sinclair is halfway through her second season and thoroughly disillusioned with the marriage mart. After one discretion too many, the headstrong only daughter of the powerful Duke of Blackmore finds herself on the way to Scotland in the company of her older brother Peter who’s been tasked by his father to inspect the family estate north of the border. Once at Caerlaverock, the Duke’s estate on the shores of Loch Lomond, Jennifer is surprised to discover an unexpected sense of peace.
But that peace is not to last…
Brendon Galbraith, last of the disgraced Clan Galbraith has high hopes of becoming the next steward to Caerlaverock. But though penniless and very nearly homeless, he has another, more important reason to wish for the Duke of Blackmore’s patronage.
After accidentally discovering a terrible secret, Brendon realises the only person who can possibly help him is the Duke of Blackmore himself. Desperately awaiting Nicholas Sinclair’s forthcoming visit, the discovery that the Duke has sent his son and heir instead is a bitter blow. However, it quickly becomes clear that Peter Sinclair is every bit his father’s son and has no intention of running from the challenge presented by the shocking truths Brendon is forced to reveal.
But in the end, it’s the unanticipated arrival of the Duke’s beautiful, wilful daughter that proves Brendon’s biggest headache, especially as Jennifer Sinclair very quickly disabuses him of the notion that she has any intention of running from the forthcoming challenge either…"
"The Cambridgeshire hamlet of Jude’s Ferry is a lonely, forgotten spot. Requisitioned decades earlier by the Ministry of Defence for military training, one of its few claims to fame is that in its entire thousand-year history, it never recorded a single crime.
But when a Territorial Army exercise is held amongst the ruins, a skeleton is found hanging in a bricked-up cellar, a noose round the neck. It seems that the ghostly village may hide many secrets and local newspaper reporter Philip Dryden is soon on the case.
Then a man, pulled unconscious from the river at nearby Ely, claims to have lost his memory, yet reacts with startled fear to the name Jude’s Ferry ..."
