It began with an outrageous press trip to New York to launch unknown rock band Brinsley Schwarz, which went disastrously wrong, and it went on to launch the careers of Ian Dury, Elvis Costello and Joe Strummer. The pub rock scene of the early 1970s was one of the most eventful and important in British music history.

_______________ 'Runcie has captured the truth about love ... he is the simple chronicler of English post-war life, using irony and understatement to lay bare the pathos of ordinary lives ... Beautifully done' - Sunday Telegraph 'A tender, intimate account of post-war England which left me both wistful and elated ... So engaging, so well-shaped and so unsparingly, generously truthful' - Jim Crace _______________ A moving family saga and wonderfully rich portrait of post-war Britain It is 1953 in Canvey Island. Len and Violet are at a dance. Violet's husband George sits and watches them sway and glide across the dance floor, his mind far away, trapped by a war that ended nearly ten years ago. Meanwhile, at home, a storm rages and Len's wife Lily and his young son Martin fight for their lives in the raging black torrent. The night ends in a tragedy that will reverberate through their lives. This poignant novel follows the family's fortunes from the austerity of the post-war years to Churchill's funeral, from Greenham Common to the onset of Thatcherism and beyond, eloquently capturing the very essence of a transforming England in the decades after the war. It is a triumph of understated emotion, a novel about growing up and growing old, about love, hope and reconciliation. _______________ 'Runcie's third novel is a funny, epic, moving story of Thameside folk ... a beautifully observed, tragi-comic work' - What's On 'Runcie writes with an excellent feeling for time and place, and, above all, the intensity of ordinary lives' - Choice

It may not be the longest, deepest or widest river in the world but few bodies of water reveal as much about a nation's past and present, or as suggestive of its future, as England's River Thames. Tales of legendary lock-keepers and long-vanished weirs evoke the distant past of a river which evolved into a prime commercial artery linking the heart of England with the ports of Europe. In Victorian times, the Thames hosted regattas galore, its new bridges and tunnels were celebrated as marvels of their time, and London’s river was transformed from sewer to centrepiece of the British Empire. Talk of the Thames Gateway and the effectiveness of the Thames Barrier keeps the river in the news today, while the lengthening Thames Path makes the waterway more accessible than ever before. Through quiet meadows, rolling hills, leafy suburbia, industrial sites and a changing London riverside, Mick Sinclair tracks the Thames from source to sea, documenting internationally-known landmarks such as Tower Bridge and Windsor Castle and revealing lesser known features such as Godstow Abbey, Canvey Island, the Sandford Lasher, and George Orwell’s tranquil grave.

The somewhat enigmatic title of this book, by one of Britain’s most distinguished scientists in collaboration with a highly respected natural history writer, belies the arresting nature of its content. Eighty years ago, Miriam Rothschild’s father, Charles Rothschild – said by some to have been the inventor of nature conservation in Britain – first proposed the establishment of a network of 280 national nature reserves throughout the country to preserve the cream of its wildlife habitats – a monumental task. In this book she and her co-author discuss the efforts that went into the selection of these reserves and compare the state then and now of 182 of the English sites and their wildlife – depressing reading in many cases. The authors hope to spur everyone interested in the survival of the British countryside to take remedial action to safeguard it before it is too late. Published by Balaban in association with Harley Books, now Apollo Books, who are sole UK and European distributors.

V. 1-11. House of Lords (1677-1865) -- v. 12-20. Privy Council (including Indian Appeals) (1809-1865) -- v. 21-47. Chancery (including Collateral reports) (1557-1865) -- v. 48-55. Rolls Court (1829-1865) -- v. 56-71. Vice-Chancellors' Courts (1815-1865) -- v. 72-122. King's Bench (1378-1865) -- v. 123-144. Common Pleas (1486-1865) -- v. 145-160. Exchequer (1220-1865) -- v. 161-167. Ecclesiastical (1752-1857), Admiralty (1776-1840), and Probate and Divorce (1858-1865) -- v. 168-169. Crown Cases (1743-1865) -- v. 170-176. Nisi Prius (1688-1867).

Growing up has never been so much fun! Join the writer on an exploration of his childhood in the Fifties and Sixties