Tracey Chevalier
The Lady And The Unicorn

The Lady and the Unicorn tapestries are a set of six medieval works of art. Beautiful, intricate and expertly made, they are also mysterious in their origin and meaning. Weavers, patrons, designers, artists, merchants and apprentices were involved in their making - and behind them were the wives, daughters and servants who exercised influences over their men. Like the many strands of wool and silk woven together into one cloth, so these people came together in a complex dance to create the whole picture.

• The new novel from the author of the much-loved Girl with a Pearl Earring and Falling Angels. A sumptuous and mesmerising tale of 15th century France which reveals an intriguing medieval world of love and desire.

Bernard Cornwell
Sharpe's Havoc

It is the spring of 1809 and a small British army is stationed in Lisbon when Marshal Soult begins the French invasion of northern Portugal. No-one knows whether the British will fight or leave, but there is little choice for Lieutenant Richard Sharpe and his squad of riflemen, who are sent into the beleaguered city of Oporto to rescue a British mother and daughter who have chosen to stay rather than flee southwards. But what seems like a straightforward mission becomes tangled in betrayal when Kate Savage disappears.

• A delight for all Sharpe fans: Sharpe's Havoc sees Richard Sharpe reunited with Harper and back with his beloved Greenjackets in Portugal. The nineteenth novel in the bestselling Sharpe series.

Simon Schmal
A History Of Britain 2

Great Britain? What was that?' asks Simon Schama at the start of this, the second book of his epic three-volume journey into Britain's past. This volume is a compelling chronicle of the changes that transformed every strand and stratum of British life, faith and thought from 1603 to 1776. Travelling up and down the country and across three continents, Schama explores the forces that tore Britain apart during two centuries of dynamic change-transforming outlooks, allegiances and boundaries.

• Simon Schama's sweeping history of Britain examines what life was like for our ancestors and how their experiences have shaped modern British culture and identity, using a mixture of anecdote and analysis.