England Home

Nick Turnhouse is captain of his own sloop, and increasingly aware of how rapidly he has been promoted and how much he does not know. He is reliant on the professional skill and goodwill of Master and Boatswain, both of whom are long experienced and old, coming close to the end of their seagoing days.

Brought to you by Penguin. Simultaneously heart-breaking and darkly hilarious, Leaving Home is a portrait of the artist both as a child and as an adult. Mark Haddon's parents were not really cut out for the job of having children. They were cut out, respectively, for the jobs of designing...

As every schoolboy knows, you can fit the whole of England on the Isle of Wight. Grotesque, visionary tycoon Sir Jack Pitman takes the saying literally and does exactly that. He constructs on the island 'The Project', a vast heritage centre containing everything 'English', from Big Ben to Stonehenge, from Manchester United to the white cliffs of Dover. The project is monstrous, risky and vastly successful. In fact, it gradually begins to rival 'Old' England and even threatens to supersede it.

Donald Cameron, the principal character, a young Scotsman, is commissioned to write a book on the outsider’s view of the English. He sets about his task with all the enthusiasm of an “innocent abroad” and soon gets caught up in the foibles of English social life. On the way he encounters an array of richly comical characters - including civil servants, newspaper editors, minor poets, a foul-tempered pseudo-Frenchman, a glamorous film star; and experiences some equally droll situations.

Sam Pulsifer, the hapless hero of this incendiary novel, has come to the end of a very long and unusual journey, and for the second time in his life he has the time to think about all the things that have and have not come to pass. The truth is, a lot of remarkable things have happened in...

Forget the jet set. Come back down to earth. There is another way to travel, see the world and truly be a part of it. Taking the slow road is about turning your back on the fast lane to make time for people, places and nature. And the best way to do it? In your own home from home, of course – the humble camper van or motorhome. This book is about the very best driving routes around England and Wales. It's about the best places to stay, the most delicious things to eat, fun things to do and sights to see and why it's vital that we experience them truly, madly, responsibly.

'I had not lived in the former pit village of Lynemouth since 1961 but the winding road north from Newcastle will always be the same nostalgic highway, each twist charged with vivid memories and powerful emotions...' So begins a story full of wonderful humour, emotional candour and hardy tales...

D.H. Lawrence's famous short story, set against the background of the First World War, and examining the quintessence of Englishness, relationships and paternity in an idyllic rural setting. Egbert and Winifred are deeply in love when they first marry and settle in the picturesque thatched cottage which Winifred's father has given her on his estate. But as their relationships develops and alters, and as they have children and become increasingly dependent financially on Winifred's father, the cracks in their relationship become ever deeper.

Literature's Living Room is the return invitation into the homes, architectural and natural, of classic authors whose writings we, as listeners, invite into our own homes. In this first book of the series, we explore houses (now open for public view) and natural environments of many novelists who resided throughout England.

Join us on a fascinating ramble through the towns and villages of the British Isles during the last 400 years in the company of some of its most illustrious chroniclers, including Jane Austen, William Cobbett, Daniel Defoe, Sir Walter Scott, Virginia Woolf, Francis Kilvert, Celia Fiennes, Chips Channon, Fanny Burney and many others, told entirely in their own words.

Maggie thought she knew the life she was building, until one devastating discovery turned it all upside down. Reeling from betrayal and heartbreak, she knows she can’t stay where everything reminds her of the past. Searching for a fresh start, Maggie packs up the pieces of her life and moves...

Remember when you were first married? Your spouse did or said something constantly that you thought was endearing. Now, that same habit has turned into a major irritation, and a barrier to your relationship. The Chapman Guide to Negotiating Change with Your Spouse provides a simple three-step process for negotiating change without resorting to manipulation or arguing.