In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.
Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.
It began as the project of a lifetime – a group of archaeologists, uncovering the remains of a Roman settlement on a beautiful hill in the glorious English countryside.
A looming threat…
But, the idyll is shattered when they begin receiving threatening letters. Former city detective Jake Jackson, now enjoying a quieter life in the local village, is pulled in to investigate.
A killer closing in…
Soon, threatening letters are the least of their problems, when a murderer strikes. And now the race is on for Jake to find them, before they kill again…
Just twenty-one years old, Sylviane arrives in Marseille to start a new life, and charms her way into a job as a waitress in a run-down bistrot. Here, under the guidance of eccentric Guy Lacarrière she discovers the joy of cooking, a secret love affair and, for the very first time, the true magic of chocolate.
Yet as she starts to dream of making a future for herself in the town, she finds herself at the centre of a growing conspiracy that will threaten everything she’s fought so hard for…
It starts with the destruction of a US Coast Guard cutter and the loss of her entire crew. But the USCG Claiborne was on an innocuous mission to open a sea lane between an oil field off the coast of Guyana and the refineries of southern Louisiana. The destruction of the ship, tragic as it is, won’t stop that mission from continuing.
So who would sacrifice twenty-two men and women just to slow down the plan? That’s the question plaguing Jack Ryan Jr. He’s in Guyana to work a deal to get his company, Hendley Associates, in on the ground floor of this new discovery, but the destruction of the Claiborne and the kidnapping of the Guyanese Interior Minister make it clear that there’s a malignant force working to destroy Guyana’s oil industry. It’s up to Jack to identify the killers before they draw a bead on him, but how can he do that when the line of demarcation between friend and foe is constantly shifting?
Lauren can’t wait to see her daughter again, to pick her up from university at the end of her first term. But when she arrives at her hall and knocks at room 309, a stranger opens the door.
For a few minutes, Lauren assumes she must have the wrong room, or the wrong floor. Maybe even the wrong building. But she soon discovers the Evie’s not there. She hasn’t been there for weeks. So where is she?
Elvie Woods Edie Lane left everything behind in Ireland for a once-in-a-lifetime job at a bakery in Paris. Except, thanks to a mistranslation, the bakery is not in Paris, and neither is Edie.
The tiny town of Compiègne, complete with its local bakery on the Rue de Paris, holds many secrets. This might not be where Edie intended to be but it’s not long before she realises it’s exactly where she needs to be…
Gabriel Zuchtriegel Pompeii reveals a whole world, frozen in time. It is a unique record of the catastrophe that destroyed the city on 24th August, 79 there are unmade beds, dishes left drying, bodies of victims encased in ash. Alongside the remnants of daily life, there are also captivating works of lifelike portraits, exquisite frescos and mosaics, and the sculpture of a sleeping boy curled up, just as children still do today when their blanket is too short. But this is only the beginning of what we know about Pompeii – remarkably a third of the site remains unexcavated.
In The Buried City, the director of Pompeii, Gabriel Zuchtriegel takes us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the city and reveals the new artefacts and remains that are now being unearthed in the biggest dig of the site in a generation. He reconstructs Pompeii as it would have been, revealing who lived here, what mattered to them and what happened in their final hours, while also reflecting on our role as keepers of this heritage.
Niall Hairbison Niall met Tina, a dog shackled on a short chain and minutes from death, one day in Thailand. Her story sparked a global movement, so Niall made a to build her hospital and treat every street dog who needs help. When Niall came across a dog shackled to a short chain and in a poor state of health, something reminded him and his personal battle with addiction. He knew he had to rescue her immediately – golden retrievers are rare in Thailand but there was just something about this one in particular that told him she was special. He just didn’t know how special she was going to be. He named her Tina and what she did next is an incredible tale of survival, hope and love.
Despite her terrible treatment at the hands of humans, she refused to distrust them and only opened her heart wider. She never once felt sorry for herself and instead made the most of every single second, showing everyone who met her how to just live in the moment. She taught Niall and everyone around her, how to be in this world, however confusing and hard we may find it. And always with her unique grin on her face – yes dogs can smile – and a reassuring wag of her shaggy yellow tail.
From the very minute Tina was freed of her chains, she got on with what needed to be done – changing the world and making it a better place for all the other dogs, whether they’re street dogs from Thailand, or rescue pups in Montana. The movement behind Tina has not stopped.
Christopher Clarey After his award-winning look at Roger Federer, Christopher Clarey, one of the world’s preeminent tennis writers, focuses his lens on Rafael Nadal, the indomitable and inspiring force of nature from Spain who has been one of the most relentless competitors in any sport. THE WARRIOR examines Nadal’s mindset and most mind-blowing 14 French Open titles.
Nadal has won big and won often on tennis’s other surfaces en route to becoming one of the greatest players of all securing two Wimbledon titles on grass and four U.S. Open titles on cushioned acrylic hardcourts. But clay, the slowest and grittiest of the game’s playgrounds, is where it all comes together best for his tactical skills, whipping topspin forehand and gladiatorial mindset. Clay is to Rafael Nadal what water is to Michael Phelps, which helps explain one of the most impressive individual sports achievements of the 21st century.
Rebecca Hazel eacher and former rugby league player Chris Dawson appeared to have it all – a loving family and a beautiful home in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. But in the summer of 1982 his wife Lynette disappeared and not long afterwards Dawson married a much younger woman a former student.Less than a decade later this young woman escaped the marriage and went to the police to record her suspicions that Dawson had been involved in Lynette’s disappearance.
A homicide investigation followed but got nowhere until 1998, when Detective Sergeant Damian Loone was handed Lynette’s file.
For nearly two decades he made it his business to honour Lynette and to find out what had happened to her. His work led to two coronial investigations, but no charges. Around this time Rebecca Hazel was working in a women’s refuge on the Northern Beaches when a colleague shared her story of enduring coercive control at the hands of Dawson, when she was his student, and then wife and she shared her suspicions about the fate of his first wife Lynette.
These revelations affected Rebecca, and eventually she decided to investigate. Over years, coroners, police and journalists all shared with Rebecca their knowledge of the case, and disappointments that it remained unsolved. Until, in May 2018, Hedley Thomas launched the Teacher’s Pet podcast, and in December 2018, Chris Dawson was charged with murder. He was convicted in August 2022.
Rebecca Hazel has spent ten years working to ensure that the stories of two women who were misused by Chris Dawson are heard, that their perpetrator is brought to justice and that Lynette’s family can properly honour their much-loved sister, aunt, cousin and mother.
