Jul
06
2010
Synopsis: Magical Cornwall, a lost garden, a love story from long ago… Lamorna Cove – a tiny bay in Cornwall, picturesque, unspoilt. A hundred years ago it was the haunt of a colony of artists. Today, Mel Pentreath hopes it is a place where she can escape the pain of her mother’s death and a [...]
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Dec
06
2009
Amazon synopsis: A look at the dark side of life, Victorian-style, when nothing was quite as it seemed and a public execution could be an entertaining family day out. Murderers, poachers, thieves, pickpockets and vagabonds all went about their business with impunity. Crime took place on the streets, on public transport, in homes, pubs, prisons, [...]
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Dec
06
2009
This is not a long book that explores Brighton’s history of alcohol and pubs. The history dates back to the first ale-houses and Collis informs us about all aspects of life that links back to alcohol. The book is full of facts and figures, and some stats did take me by surprise. I found this [...]
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Nov
30
2009
I have read this book for my dissertation and it gives a clear and concise history of Brighton, England. There is a lot of science in the book as well as history, which I found helpful. He explains how the air and the seawater were seen as a cure in great detail, and I feel [...]
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Sep
10
2009
Synopsis from Amazon: Ambitious, exotic, and a classic book club read, ‘The Piano Teacher’ is a combination of ‘Tenko’ meets ‘The Remains of the Day’. Sometimes the end of a love affair is only the beginning! In 1942, Will Truesdale, an Englishman newly arrived in Hong Kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy [...]
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Sep
09
2009
Synopsis from Amazon: A QUICK READ – part of the WORLD BOOK DAY 2009 literacy initiative for emergent readers. March 1928. Freddie Smith is on a motoring holiday in the mountains of south west France. He is caught in a violent storm and his car crashes. He is forced to seek shelter in a boarding [...]
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Sep
08
2009
Synopsis from Amazon: Remarkable. Inspiring. Heartbreaking. In the summer of 1845 Rebecca Springer and her family join the Oregon wagon train in search of land thousands of miles away. It’s a hard and dangerous journey through blizzards and searing heat, over prairies, desert plains and mountains and, at times, it seems as if it will never end. But [...]
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Sep
03
2009
Synopsis from Amazon: It’s 1946 and author Juliet Ashton can’t think what to write next. Out of the blue, she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey – by chance, he’s acquired a book that once belonged to her – and, spurred on by their mutual love of reading, they begin a correspondence. When [...]
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Jul
31
2009
Synopsis from Amazon: For 15-year-old Michael Berg, a chance meeting with an older woman leads to far more than he ever imagined. The woman in question is Hanna, and before long they embark on a passionate, clandestine love affair which leaves Michael both euphoric and confused. For Hanna is not all she seems. Years later, [...]
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May
01
2009
Synopsis from Amazon: Headstrong and independent Katherine Pamberley finds herself drawn despite herself to Captain Evan Ramsdell, a gentleman with old-fashioned ideas about women, but their growing feelings for each other must take a back seat when they stumble upon rumors of a plot to assassinate the Prince Regent. This is your typical Regency novel. [...]
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