As a child, Anthony Sampson was haunted by a family skeleton. He knew his grandfather John Sampson had been an authority on the gypsies. They had called him the Rai - the Master - and had flocked to his magnificent funeral on a Welsh mountain. But of his grandfather's private life he was told nothing, nor of the mysterious aunt who joined the family after his death. In fact only sixty years later did the truth begin to emerge. This book follows a trail of clues to uncover an extraordinary hidden life and a gypsy world now disappeared. John Sampson was a brilliant philologist who, happening to encounter a gypsy tribe in North Wales, compiled over thirty years a dictionary of the Romani language that remains the standard work. But he also became a Bohemian himself, a bigamist and the father of a child who was brought up secretly and who would in turn become a remarkable scholar. Using intimate letters, bawdy rhymes and wonderful illustrations- including many by Augustus John who was part of the circle - Anthony Sampson brings to life a group of scholars, writers and painters who escaped Victorian convention to pursue an alternative life in the Welsh hills. The Scholar Gypsy is both a detective story and a moving voyage of discovery. Ranging through finely observed contrasts and connections it illuminates many lesser-known aspects of Victorian and Edwardian Britain and vividly conveys the spell that gypsies cast on the imagination of artists and writers, and the fear that they arouse among the conventional.

Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory condition of the airways which causes coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and tightness of the chest. Asthma attacks can be triggered by exposure to allergens, physical exertion, stress, or can be aggravated as a result of common coughs and colds. Over 5 million people in the UK and over 6% of children in the US suffer from Asthma, and a recent increase in prevalence is thought to be attributed to our modern lifestyle, such the changes in housing, diet and a more hygienic environment that have developed over the past few decades. Asthma: The Facts is a practical guide to asthma, suitable for those who suffer from asthma, their families, and the health professionals that treat them. It details how a diagnosis of asthma is reached, and what treatments are available to successfully manage the condition and prevent attacks on a day-to-day basis. The book contains advice on proactive changes which can be made to lifestyles, such as avoiding allergens, as well as how to cope with an attack, and how to administer the relevant treatment effectively. The authors conclude that whilst there is currently no cure for asthma, by taking a proactive, self-directed approach to management, its impact on the patient and their lives can be significantly reduced.

The first monograph to be published on Gypsies in Britain using the perspective of social anthropology.

Urbane mystery, set in the pastoral reaches of the upper Thames, concerns the disappearance of young heir to a fortune. Insurance company investigator Miles Bredon takes on the case. Delightfully tongue-in-cheek tone, baffling clues, challenging mystery counterpointed by poetic evocation of the river and countryside. Fine novel by author of 10 celebrated "commandments" for writing detective fiction.