Nellie Bly was the pen name of Elizabeth Jane Cochrane, an American journalist. Bly was a famous reporter and a pioneer of investigative journalism. As part of an undercover assignment in 1887, Bly pretended to be insane and spent ten days in an asylum in order to observe the conditions the inhabitants had to endure. Bly wrote a memoir on the experiences and uncovered the horrible and inhumane state of the asylum.

On a summer's day in 1596, a young girl in Stratford-upon-Avon takes to her bed with a fever. Her twin brother, Hamnet, searches everywhere for help. Why is nobody at home?

Their mother, Agnes, is over a mile away, in the garden where she grows medicinal herbs. Their father is working in London. Neither parent knows that one of the children will not survive the week.

Hamnet is a novel inspired by the son of a famous playwright. It is a story of the bond between twins, and of a marriage pushed to the brink by grief. It is also the story of a kestrel and its mistress; flea that boards a ship in Alexandria; and a glovemaker's son who flouts convention in pursuit of the woman he loves. Above all, it is a tender and unforgettable reimagining of a boy whose life has been all but forgotten, but whose name was given to one of the most celebrated plays ever written.

'England Your England' is one of the most compelling and insightful portraits of the nation ever written. Shot through with Orwell's deeply felt sense of patriotism and love for his homeland, the essay is at the same time unfailingly clear-eyed about the nation's failings: entrenched social inequality, a dishonest press and a class system that only works for those at the top. Written during the Second World War, as the bombs were falling on England, the essay today speaks to the nation's current moment of crisis just as urgently as it did in Orwell's own time. It is a crucial read for anyone who wants to understand who we are, and where we've come from.

SUNNY, the proud proprietor, who needs an ingenious plan - and fast - to keep her café and customers safe.

YAZMINA, a young pregnant woman stolen from her remote village and now abandoned on Kabul's violent streets.

CANDACE, a wealthy American who has finally left her husband for her Afghan lover, the enigmatic Wakil.

ISABEL, a determined journalist with a secret that might keep her from the biggest story of her life.

And HALAJAN, the sixty-year-old den mother, whose long-hidden love affair breaks all the rules.

As these five women discover there's more to one another than meets the eye, they form a unique bond that will for ever change their lives and the lives of many others.

The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul is the heart-warming and life-affirming fiction debut from the author of the bestselling memoir The Kabul Beauty School.

Saturday, 13 January 1599.

Poet and politician Edmund Spenser is found dead in his lodgings on King Street, London.

Summoned to the corpse's bedside, Tom Musgrave – Spenser’s friend and fencing tutor - suspects murder.

Musgrave begins an investigation, only to find himself fighting to untangle a web of political backstabbing, black magic, poisoning and treason.

There are initially more questions than answers, but the trail leads Musgrave to study the poet's early work, including the notorious satire Mother Hubberd's Tale - which even now threatens to destroy some of the most powerful men in England.

As the Earl of Essex arranges the most famously extravagant funeral of the age, only three days after the poet's death, Musgrave races to unmask the man who has been so outraged by Spenser's verse that he has had the poet murdered.

And he must do so, before his own name is added to the death list.

Recommended for fans of Rory Clements, CJ Samson and SJ Parris.

Praise for Peter Tonkin:

“The Ides is a testosterone-fuelled battle roar in a world of double-dealing and betrayal, where wits must be sharp and recovery time between violent encounters is brief. Peter Tonkin has infused a familiar narrative with excitement, energy and a delicious twist right at the very end.” — Mystery People

”Riveting tale full of fast action” – Publishers Weekly

”Edge-of-the-seat terror” – Daily Post

”Good technical detail, plus an exciting climax, makes this entertaining reading” – Publishing News

“A welcome aura of old-fashioned expertise” - Publishers Weekly

“A good thriller, recommended” - Library Journal

“Tonkin is a superb storyteller who creates big, brash, swashbuckling adventures with taut suspense, fast-paced action and tough, resourceful characters.” -Booklist

”Equals the best of James Clavell” – Daily Telegraph

“A master of sea-going adventure. Enough taut suspense to satisfy any reader” - Clive Cussler

”Good technical detail, plus an exciting climax, makes this entertaining reading” - Publishing News

”Edge-of-the-seat terror on the high seas” - Daily Post

Peter Tonkin was born in 1950 in Ulster, Northern Ireland and was raised in the UK, Holland, Germany, and the Persian Gulf. The son of an RAF officer, Tonkin spent much of his youth travelling the world from one posting to another.

25BC.

Rufus Varro, former spy, is summoned back to Rome from his country villa by Marcus Agrippa.

Accompanied by his bodyguard, Manius, Varro journeys to the capital. The road proves perilous however, when Varro is targeted by assassins.

Once they reach Rome, Agrippa orders Varro to investigate the gruesome murder of a young aristocrat, Marcus Corvinus - a close friend of Tiberius and Julia, Caesar's stepson and daughter.

Could Varro's new assignment and the plot to assassinate him be linked?

The agent must tread carefully in his investigation, as well as watch his back for any further attempts on his life.

Varro eventually uncovers the truth. It is a secret which, if he doesn't bury, could send him to his grave.

At the same time the figure behind the assassination attempt is unmasked - and the hunted becomes the hunter.

Spies of Rome: Blood & Secrets is the third and final book in the acclaimed, bestselling series.

Recommended reading for fans of Steven Saylor, Robert Harris and Ben Kane.

Author Bio:

Richard Foreman is the bestselling author of numerous historical series set during the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, including the Augustus Caesar books, Sword of Empire and Sword of Rome. He is also the author Warsaw, Raffles: The Complete Innings and Band of Brothers, a series charting the story of Henry V and the Agincourt campaign. Richard writes modern thrillers too, under the pseudonym of Thomas Waugh. He is a judge for the HWA Crowns and the founder of the London History Festival. He lives in London.

Praise for the Spies of Rome series:

"A masterful and evocative depiction of a fledgling imperial Rome fraught with intrigue and at war with itself. The story and characters are as striking as the graffiti that adorns the violent city’s walls during Augustus' rise." Steven Veerapen, author of The Abbey Close.

"An arresting opening that leads into a thoroughly gripping story. Impressive research and understanding of the period allows Richard Foreman to move so seamlessly and effectively from historical epic to historical detective thriller. A must read for fans of Steven Saylor." Peter Tonkin, author of The Ides.

"Original and hard-hitting... Rome burns with intrigue in this totally unputdownable book." Antony Cutler, author of 'The Accursed'.

Praise for Richard Foreman's Books:

Augustus: Son of Rome

‘Augustus: Son of Rome forges action and adventure with politics and philosophy. This superb story is drenched in both blood and wisdom - and puts Foreman on the map as the coming man of historical fiction’. Saul David, Author of the Zulu Hart series.

Raffles: The Complete Innings.

‘Classy, humorous and surprisingly touching tales of cricket, friendship and crime.’ David Blackburn, The Spectator.

Band of Brothers: The Complete Campaigns.

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all?

This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, and peopled by a cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy, from Queen Victoria to Lenin.

To rule Russia was both imperial-sacred mission and poisoned chalice: six tsars were murdered and all the Romanovs lived under constant threat to their lives. Peter the Great tortured his own son to death while making Russia an empire, and dominated his court with a dining club notable for compulsory drunkenness, naked dwarfs and fancy dress. Catherine the Great overthrew her own husband - who was murdered soon afterwards - loved her young male favourites, conquered Ukraine and fascinated Europe. Paul was strangled by courtiers backed by his own son, Alexander I, who faced Napoleon's invasion and the burning of Moscow, then went on to take Paris. Alexander II liberated the serfs, survived five assassination attempts, and wrote perhaps the most explicit love letters ever written by a ruler. THE ROMANOVS climaxes with a fresh, unforgettable portrayal of Nicholas and Alexandra, the rise and murder of Rasputin, war and revolution - and the harrowing massacre of the entire family.

Written with dazzling literary flair, drawing on new archival research, THE ROMANOVS is at once an enthralling story of triumph and tragedy, love and death, a universal study of power, and an essential portrait of the empire that still defines Russia today.

Spies of Rome: Blood & Honour

Rome 27BC.

The civil war is over.

Augustus Caesar is the First Man of Rome.

But Marcus Agrippa has heard rumours of a coup, centred around the senator Lucius Scaurus.

He enlists the help of the poet Rufus Varro and his bodyguard Manius to help investigate.

The senator has recruited a company of actors and school of gladiators to further his ambitions. But what is his ultimate plan?

Varro must get to the heart of the conspiracy, or die trying.

Spies of Rome: Blood & Vengeance

Rome 26BC.

An infamous slave trader, Herennius, has been robbed and murdered. Stabbed in the chest.

Caesar himself has taken an interest in the crime.

Marcus Agrippa instructs one of his agents, Rufus Varro, to investigate. Varro must interview various party guests -
who were with Herennius on the night of the murder - including a corrupt advocate and an enigmatic young poet.

Everyone is a suspect, yet everyone is seemingly innocent.

In the meantime, Agrippa recruits Varro's bodyguard, the former gladiator, Manius, to infiltrate the inner circle of
Publius Carbo, a dangerous demagogue.

Intelligence suggests that Carbo and his followers are planning to launch an attack on the city's Jewish quarter.

But uncovering the truth will exact a price for the two agents.

Rome is a city full of secrets and peril. Enemies lurk in the shadows.

Blood and vengeance abound.