Elizabeth Aston
The Darcy Connection

In The Darcy Connection, Mr Collins of Pride and Prejudice is now the Bishop of Ripon, living with his wife, Charlotte, and their two daughters, who have reached marriageable age. The elder, another Charlotte, is extraordinarily beautiful, and her parents hope her looks and connections will ensure a brilliant marriage. Her sister, Eliza, while not as handsome, possesses a lively intelligence that, in Mr Collins’s opinion, is too like her godmother, Mrs Darcy. In London, Charlotte’s beauty wins her many admirers, but Eliza’s attempts to interfere infuriate her family – and Charlotte’s suitor.

‘Those who enjoy Austen without reverence will certainly enjoy Aston’s work, as will historical fiction readers who want an engaging plot and characters' – Library Journal

David Baldacci
First Family

Camp David, USA. A birthday party turns into a nightmare when a child is snatched after the celebrations. The First Lady enlists the services of Sean King and Michelle Maxwell to bring the child home safely. But she and King share a past. Years ago he saved her then senator husband from political disaster. And this may not be all that passed between them. With Michelle still battling her own demons, the two are pushed to the limit, with forces aligned on all sides against them – and the line between friend and foe impossible to define or defend.

Mary Beard
Pompeii

Pompeii explodes a number of myths – from the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought; the hygiene of the baths, which must have been hotbeds of germs; the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one; to the death count, which was probably less than ten per cent of the population. These are just a few of the strands that make up an extraordinary and involving portrait of an ancient town, its life and its continuing re-discovery, by Britain’s leading classicist.