With 2014 marking the tercentenary of the Longitude Act, this eloquent celebration of the sextant tells the story of this elegant instrument and explores its vital role in man’s attempts to map the world.This is the story of an instrument that changed the world. In prose as crisp as the book’s subject, David Barrie tells how and why the sextant was invented; how offshore navigators depended on it for their lives in wild and dangerous seas until the advent of GPS – and the sextant’s...

Why has life suddenly become so complicated for affable Freddie Weston? He supplies bouncers to London clubs and always puts his family first. But his daughter’s involvement with a rock guitarist ignites an anger in him that could endanger the family home, and his life becomes ever more complicated as he seeks retribution, not only for his daughter but for a father who was killed by an East End gangster more than 40 years ago. Determined to get the truth, Freddie dives deep into London’s d...

A young man's drinking binge sets in motion a sequence of violent and lethal crimes, leading to a suicide verdict that DI Harry Lambert suspects is more likely to be foul play. Continuing his own investigations, the Swansea detective is soon warned off the case by SOCA... but leaving things be is impossible when his team begin to find links between the suicide and a different murder case they are looking into.Events take a bizarre turn when three petty criminals become involved in a deadly...

Known as a red-light district with a reputation for sleaze and crime, Soho is also a diverse area, a bohemian location which has been an adult playground for hundreds of years.This is David Barry's Tales from Soho, eighteen entertaining stories set in London's other square mile. Within the stories live countless motley characters who have inhabited or frequented the area over the decades. In The Poet in Soho, we follow a famous Welsh writer on odyssey through a number of famous pubs; in Th...

Do you know where in Edinburgh you can find a book bound in leather made from human skin? Who was Half-Hangit Maggie? What museums, theatres and concert halls can you visit in the city? And where will you find the most incredible panoramic view Edinburgh has to offer?All these questions and more are answered in this fascinating easy-to-read guide to Edinburgh. Whether you are planning a visit to Scotland’s beautiful capital or you are simply interested in the amazing history of the city, t...

First broadcast in 1968, Please Sir! is generally considered to hold a firm place in the distinguished ranks of the greatest British sitcoms. David Barry - known to millions as mummy's boy Frankie Abbott - was a fan favourite, appearing in all three series as well as both the 1971 feature film and spin-off TV show The Fenn Street Gang. In this entertaining and expertly-written memoir, David tells the whole story, from his own audition all the way through to what the gang are doing today. A...

The ever-optimistic Mr Micawber bids a fond farewell to David Copperfield and takes his family to Australia, confident their lives will change for the better. However, more than florid language and optimism is needed to survive in this brash new world that is Melbourne in 1855.Visits from the bailiffs, rent arrears and his daughter Emma's betrothal to his landlord's son already complicate poor Micawber's life, but when his own son Wilkins introduces a young man - Godfrey McNeil - with an a...

Glancing quickly over the bar, he saw the bartender lying face down in a pool of blood, senselessly gunned down simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. New York City in the prohibition era, and Bill Sutton's wife thinks he earns an honest crust as a rent collector. Instead, he leads an extraordinary double-life as 'Willie the Actor', a notorious bank robber. Based on a true story, the novel's protagonist is a gentle gunman who never once fires a shot.But it was believed...

After decades of theatrical ventures and performing together, 1957 would be the last time Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh would work together, with a European tour and London season of Shakespeare's seldom-performed Titus Andronicus. Strangely, not much has been written about one of the most prestigious touring theatre productions of all time, which visited six European capitals and became the first British Shakespearean company to perform beyond the Iron Curtain at the height of the Col...

While investigating a series of gruesome murders, Swansea police detective Harry Lambert discovers a clear link between the victims: they were all members of a paedophile ring. As the DI and his team delve further into the case, they are plunged into a seedy world of perpetrators, suspects, victims and vigilantes. Initially, the police believe the killer could well be a prior victim of the ring, or a redeemed abuser targeting former associates. But when a television producer becomes a susp...

Who can you trust when you can't trust family?Three months after her wedding day, Carol no longer trusts the man she married. Tony, a self-proclaimed entrepreneur, works as a travel agent out of a single shop, yet somehow has the means to live extravagantly: The new BMW, high-end restaurants, designer clothes - only the best for him. Whenever Carol reflects on their relationship, she realises she knows nothing of Tony's past, and there seems to be a darkness in him that scares her. Yet, ap...

Everyone likes to hang out with Freddie Weston. Charming and affable, he knows all the right people. If the showbiz types need the red carpet treatment in any of London’s West End clubs, Freddie’s the man to see – he supplies bouncers for most of the London clubs.An ex-mercenary, Freddie’s tried to keep his nose clean, but he’s still reeling from an attack on his family, perpetrated 40 years ago by an evil East End villain. When he receives proof about what really happened all thos...