Books & Music

Westminster Abbey Choir, James O'Donnell (conductor), Peter Holder (organ) Throughout its history the Church of England has performed the conspicuous role of musical patron, and while this role may have changed in emphasis across the generations, it has...

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,...

Who made modern Britain the country it is today? How do we sum up the kind of people we are? What does it mean to be the new Elizabethans? In this wonderfully told history, spanning back to when Queen Elizabeth became queen in 1953, Andrew Marr traces...

In this fascinating history of Britain in bite-sized chunks – from the Roman invasion to the end of the Second World War – you will find all the important dates, people and events you should know.Lively, exciting, full of great stories and humorous...

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...

Tudor monarchs have consistently attracted more popular and scholarly attention than any other royal dynasty in British history. The peculiar origins of the Tudor family and the improbable saga of their rise and fall and rise again in the centuries...

This brilliant new book explores the lives of eight generations of the greatest kings and queens that this country has ever seen, and the worst. The Plantagenets  – their story is the story of Britain. England’s greatest royal...

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...

This new edition of the Children's Bible will be treasured and enjoyed by children and adults of all ages. It features stunning, full-page illustrations and includes maps of the ancient lands to bring stories from the Old and New Testaments to life. It...

A captivating and wildly entertaining tour of London, unearthing the capital's secrets and commemorating its rich, colourful and unusual history. Brimming with tales of London's forgotten past, its strangest traditions and its most eccentric...

In April 1956, C.S. Lewis, author of The Chronicles of Narnia, married Joy Davidman, an American poet with two small children. After four intensely happy years, Davidman died of cancer and Lewis found himself alone again, and inconsolable. In response,...

The Bible is the central book of Western culture. For the two faiths which hold it sacred, it is the bedrock of their religion, a singular authority on what to believe and how to live. For non-believers too, it has a commanding status: it is one of the...