Books & Music

A tour de force of wit and sparkling dialogue, Pride and Prejudice shows how the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet and the aristocratic Mr Darcy must have their pride humbled and their prejudices dissolved before they can acknowledge their love for each other...

Is the self-trust that leaders need to rule borne out of a lack of of self-knowledge? How can the virtues of honesty, humility, compassion, and competence help to rebuild trust in our institutions? Is trust in each other, between groups that make up ‘the...

‘Great teachers use dance, music and art to inspire young people and build their confidence, and none of us are ever too old to learn. I can thoroughly endorse the vital message of this important book that the arts are central to public service – and in...

Injustice makes us angry, and rightly so, yet there can be no perfectly just person, institution, or society. In three timely essays, Justice in Public Life shows us why and how we must strive together towards justice, even though this work is always a...

On the Origin of Species outlines Charles Darwin's world-changing theory that life on Earth had not been brought into being by a creator, but had arisen from a single common ancestor and had evolved over time through the process of natural selection...

Journalism has the vital function to defend and promote truth in public discourse. And yet the news media has never been under so much pressure to move away from this critical role into more partial campaigns or commercial public relations. Here four of...

The Power of Politicians is an account of Tessa Jowell’s experience of entering politics and making effective sense of her role. Here, with Frances D’Souza, she gives fascinating insights into the workings of Parliament, the successful development of...

Essays on the state of democracy from those who occupied positions at the heart of British politics Democracy operates on consent. That means politicians have to argue their causes and win consensus. But democracy has its flaws, not least in the lack of...

A stunningly beautiful clothbound hardback edition of one of the most famous Christmas stories in English literature. Ebenezer Scrooge is a mean, miserable, bitter old man with no friends. One cold Christmas Eve, three ghosts take him on a scary journey...

The Nazi Blitzkrieg was unlike any invasion the world had ever seen. It hit Europe with a force and aggression that no-one could counter. Within weeks the German armies were at the French coast and looking across at Britain, a country still reeling from...

Edward the Confessor was the son of King Aethelred the Unready of the House of Wessex. The family was exiled to Normandy when the Danish invaded England in 1013 but, with the nation in crisis on the death of King Harthacnut twenty-nine years later,...

Gorgeous, strange and magical, A Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps the best loved of Shakespeare's plays. A young woman flees Athens with her lover, only to be pursued by her would-be husband and her best friend. Unwittingly, all four find themselves in...