Books & Music

Churches are all around us. Their steeples remain landmarks in our towns, villages and cities, even as their influence and authority has waned. They contain art and architectural wonders - one huge gallery scattered, like a handful of jewels, across...

The Choir of Westminster Abbey and James O’Donnell bring composer John Taverner to the fore in this new release, as they present two of the undisputed choral masterpieces from sixteenth-century England: Missa Mater Christi sanctissima and Western Wynde...

The Sonnets of William Shakespeare, a cycle of 154 linked poems, were first published in 1609. Filled with ideas about love, beauty and mortality, the sonnets are written in the same beautiful and innovative language that we have come to know from...

Subtitled 2000 years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge. Written by John O'Farrell, this is an hilarious, informative and cantankerous journey through Britain's fascinating and bizarre history.Styled as a 'Horrible History for Grown Ups', you can have a...

Getty Images Royal Photographer Chris Jackson has a unique insight into the world's most famous family, and it has never been more exciting than now, on the eve of the Coronation of a new British monarch, the first in an incredible seventy years...

A place of plague, pestilence and fire, plus the brutal Blitz and the eye-watering Great Stink. It’s loathsome London as the tourists never see it – with all the hidden horrible bits! Gruesome London takes readers on a gore-tastic tour of the streets of...

Over 2,000 years of settlement give London its unique architectural heritage. Unlike Haussmann’s Paris, neither monarch nor politician imposed their will; private ownership and enterprise shaped the city and defined its parts. Elegant West End squares...

Stanford’s eight-part Latin Magnificat was posthumously dedicated to Parry, whose own Songs of farewell are unmistakably valedictory in mood. Personal as well as musical associations run deep in this poignantly expressive programme, recorded in June 2019...

London has charmed visitors for centuries, and this collection of intricate illustrations is a celebration of the city’s unique appeal. Featuring famous London landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and the London Eye as well as beautiful scenes of...

Christopher Tye flourished as a church musician in England during the mid-sixteenth century. A direct contemporary of Thomas Tallis, he held the prestigious post of Master of Choristers at Ely cathedral and successfully managed to compose music for both...

Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, Millicent Fawcett, Emmeline Pankhurst, Constance Markievicz, Nancy Astor They terrorised the establishment. They fought for the vote. They pushed back boundaries and revolutionised our world. For the...

Westminster Abbey has been the focus of British royal occasions for centuries, and the early seventeenth century saw the most dazzling musicians of the age writing music for the Court in all its various incarnations. This fascinating disc presents a...