Jasper Rees has always wanted to be Welsh. But despite Welsh grandparents (and a Welsh surname) he is an Englishman: by birth, upbringing and temperament. In this singular, hilarious love letter to a glorious country so often misunderstood, Rees sets out to achieve his goal of becoming a Welshman by learning to sing, play, work, worship, think - and above all, speak - like one. On the way he meets monks, tenors and politicians, and tries his hand at rugby and lambing - all the while weavin...

A major and definitive biography of the beloved actor, full of 150 exclusive interviews with stars including Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Helen Mirren, Alan Ayckbourn, Brian Cox, Billy Nighy and Jeremy ClarksonMichael Gambon’s rise made little sense. The son of working-class Irish immigrants, he left school with no qualifications and became an apprentice toolmaker in a factory while his future contemporaries studied at drama college or...

*AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW*A major and definitive biography of the beloved actor, drawing on 150 exclusive interviews with stars including Daniel Radcliffe, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Helen Mirren, Alan Ayckbourn, Brian Cox, Bill Nighy and Jeremy Clarkson‘This book reveals the wonderful man behind some of the greatest roles on stage and screen.’ Daniel Radcliffe‘He was sublime as an actor.’ Dame Judi Dench

People may say that I couldn't sing. But no one can say that I didn't sing.'Despite lacking pitch, rhythm or tone, Florence Foster Jenkins became one of America's best-known sopranos, celebrated for her unique recordings and her sell-out concert at Carnegie Hall.Born in 1868 to wealthy Pennsylvanian parents, Florence was a talented young pianist but her life was thrown into turmoil when she eloped with Frank Jenkins, a man twice her age. The marriage proved a disaster and, ...

Trapeze audiobooks presents an extraordinary multi-voice tribute to one of Britain's most talented and most loved entertainers: Victoria Wood.This audiobook features narration from some of the extraordinary voices who worked with Victoria over her career:Susie BlakeRichenda CareyCelia ImrieDuncan PrestonAnne ReidDa...

In the days before his fortieth birthday, London-based journalist Jasper Rees trades his pen for a French horn that has been gathering dust in the attic for more than twenty-two years, and, on a lark, plays it at the annual festival of the British Horn Society.Despite an embarrassingly poor performance, the experience inspires Rees to embark on a daunting, bizarre, and ultimately winning journey: to return to the festival in one year's time and play a Mozart concerto—solo—to a larg...

Granted access to Wengers friends and family, players and rival managers, Jasper Rees has written the untold story behind this private man. He follows Wenger from childhood in Alsace, through his stints as a journeyman player, to his coaching days at Nancy, Monaco, Grampus Eight and Arsenal.

People may say that I couldn't sing. But no one can say that I didn't sing.'Despite lacking pitch, rhythm or tone, Florence Foster Jenkins became one of America's best-known sopranos, celebrated for her unique recordings and her sell-out concert at Carnegie Hall.Born in 1868 to wealthy Pennsylvanian parents, Florence was a talented young pianist but her life was thrown into turmoil when she eloped with Frank Jenkins, a man twice her age. The marriage proved a disaster and, ...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “superb [and] intensely readable” (The Washington Post) untold story of one of the greatest deceptions of World War II and the extraordinary spies who achieved it—from the bestselling author of Prisoners of the Castle“Not since Ian Fleming and John le Carré has a spy writer so captivated readers.”—The Hollywood ReporterOn June 6, 1944, 150,000 Allied troops landed on the be...

A chilling and spooky Gothic historical thriller reminiscent of Rebecca and The Turn of the Screw, dripping with the dark twists and eerie surprises that are the hallmarks of Edgar Allan Poe, from the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Citadel.In a remote village near the English coast, residents gather in a misty churchyard. More than a decade into the twentieth century, superstition still holds sway: It is St. Mark’s Eve, ...

The four Latimer sisters were famous throughout New South Wales for their beauty, wit and sisterly love. But then they left home to train as nurses, swapping their feather beds for the bunks of nursing accommodation. And now, as the Depression casts its shadow across Australia, they must confront their own secret desires. Will the sisters find the independence they crave? Or is life - like love - always bittersweet?

A naive young man, a railway enthusiast and radio buff, was caught up in the fall of the British Empire at Singapore in 1942. He was put to work on the 'Railway of Death' - the Japanese line from Thailand to Burma. Exhaustively and brutally tortured by the Japanese for making a crude radio, Lomax was emotionally ruined by his experiences. Almost 50 years after the war, however, his life was changed by the discovery that his interrogator, the Japanese interpreter, was still alive - their re...