The Britannias : An Island Quest by Alice Albinia

The Britannias : An Island Quest by Alice AlbiniaSHORTLISTED FOR THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR'A dazzlingly brilliant book' Hannah Dawson'Fascinating, often exhilarating Albinia is an intrepid, imaginative guide' TLSThe Britannias tells the story of Britain's islands and how they are woven into its collective cultural psyche. From Neolithic Orkney to modern day Thanet, Alice Albinia explores the furthest reaches of Britain's island topography, once known (wrote Pliny) by the collective

but who teaches her to ballroom dance - and inadvertently helps her to recover from her past

The decadent 1920s and 1930s in New York were a time of great experiment and daring for women

Son of a Gun

sadistic medical experiments and endless

With the forces of Good in deathly peril

is it so authentically recreates historical characters' Ben Miller

and adding a splash of colour to grey city streets with your own wildflower seed mix

Then there's his sidekick

from their original - now world-famous - look featuring three bold horizontal stripes

and repotting

If you haven't read her you have missed out on something marvellous' Neil Gaiman 'As nearly perfect a haunted-house tale as I have ever read' Stephen King'The world of Shirley Jackson is eerie and unforgettable' A

and the treasure turns out to be the lovely Dona Dominica de Rada y Silva