When Alan left school at fifteen little was expected of him. An ‘O’ level in art is not the most obvious passport to success, but in the ancient greenhouses of the local nursery Mrs T’s little lad found his spiritual home, learning his trade and the strange ways of human nature. But the comfort and familiarity of his home in the Yorkshire Dales would soon be left behind as he journeyed south to college and then to Kew Gardens where he encountered rare plants collected by Captain Cook and a varied assortment of eccentrics in the world’s most famous garden. Spells as a teacher and editor followed, until fate took a hand when he landed a job on BBC’s Nationwide as their gardening presenter. His childhood dream of inheriting the mantle of gardening god Percy Thrower was beginning to come true... From the first faltering steps in radio and television, to a career in broadcasting and writing, Knave of Spades is a wonderfully warm and self-deprecatingly honest memoir. Alan Titchmarsh shows us just why he has become not only our favourite gardener, but a popular writer and broadcaster too.

Ever since the middle of the Eighteenth Century, 'according to Hoyle' has been an expression of fair and rule-abiding play. In an age when more and more people are rejecting the inanities of electronic games and returning to the old, perennial favourites, the reissue of this great book will be welcomed by all games players of discernment. This edition of Hoyle's Games has been prepared by Lawrence Dawson, and covers more than fifty varieties of card game, as well as Backgammon, Draughts, Chess, Solitaire, Darts, Dominoes, Nine Men's Morris, Billiards, Pool, Snooker and many more.

Modern Magic by Professor Hoffmann was one of the first books published in English on the art of conjuring during the Victorian era. Hoffmann was considered to be one of the greatest authorities on the theory and practice of magic at that time. This hardcover edition is a facsimile of the 1876 edition and whist some parts of the text are faded, it perfectly readable and makes a beautiful addition to any magician or historian's library.