New edition of the Sunday Times bestseller 'A captivating read: beautifully written and heartrendingly sad' Telegraph 'Intense, compelling stuff' OK Magazine The Gardens of Delight brochure promises the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful gardens in the Lake Como area of Italy. For Lucy, the chance to go to Italy offers more than just gardens. Lake Como is where her father lives, and the last time she saw him was when she was just a teenager. Recently married Helen and her wealthy husband have just moved into the Old Rectory. With her husband spending so much time away from home, Helen throws herself into caring for the garden. But Helen needs help - and friends - and so decides to take the plunge and join the local Garden Club. Conrad isn't the least bit interested in gardening. Widowed for five years, his life revolves around work and humouring Mac, his elderly uncle who lives with him, and who has expressed a desire to go on the Gardens of Delight tour. Reluctantly, Conrad agrees to accompany him. 'Anything for a peaceful life,' he concedes. But a peaceful life is the last thing any of them are in for...

Meet Bertie Wiggins, a champion ear wiggler, in Bertie Wiggins' Amazing Ears. Unfortunately, no one is interested in Bertie's ear wiggling, not even his mum and dad. They would prefer Bertie to be good at sums. But one day Bertie gets a chance to show off his skill. TreeTops Fiction contains a wide range of quality stories enabling children to explore and develop their own reading tastes and interests. It contains stories from a variety of genres including humour, sci-fi, adventure, mystery and historical fiction. These exciting stories are ideal for introducing children to a wide selection of authors and illustrators. There is huge variety to ensure every reader finds books they will enjoy and can read. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with children's reading development also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk. The books are finely levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book.

Charlotte Lawrence, widowed at thirty-four, decides to return to all things pre-Peter, and that means moving back to the Cheshire village of her childhood.It also means exchanging a clinical company flat for the pretty but overgrown garden of Ivy Cottage, and the constant attentions of her interfering sister Hilary.Most of all it means Alex, Ivy Cottage's drop-dead-gorgeous tenant, with whom Hilary is determined Charlotte should find love anew, and whose charming exterior hides his own secret tragedy...

This pack is part of a structured reading programme for juniors from Oxford Reading Tree, Levels 9-16 - providing them with stories they will love to read. TreeTops Fiction, Level 11 are available in mixed packs of six different stories or class packs of 36 books. Books contain inside cover notes to support children in their reading. Help with childrens reading development is also available at www.oxfordowl.co.uk.

'A captivating read: beautifully written and heartrendingly sad' Telegraph The Gardens of Delight brochure promises the opportunity to visit some of the most beautiful gardens in the Lake Como area of Italy. For Lucy, the chance to go to Italy offers more than just gardens. Lake Como is where her father lives, and the last time she saw him was when she was just a teenager. Recently married Helen and her wealthy husband have just moved into the Old Rectory. With her husband spending so much time away from home, Helen throws herself into caring for the garden. But Helen needs help - and friends - and so decides to take the plunge and join the local Garden Club. Conrad isn't the least bit interested in gardening. Widowed for five years, his life revolves around work and humouring Mac, his elderly uncle who lives with him, and who has expressed a desire to go on the Gardens of Delight tour. Reluctantly, Conrad agrees to accompany him. 'Anything for a peaceful life,' he concedes. But a peaceful life is the last thing any of them are in for...

A long summer holiday on the beautiful island of Corfu is just what Izzy Jordan needs, but is she prepared for the romance and drama? New edition of one of Erica James' very best. Torn between struggling to live up to the expectations of being a Modern Woman and ridding herself of the effect of a repressed upbringing, Izzy Jordan would be the first to admit that it's time to take stock of her life. She's thirty-one, with a teaching career on the skids - not surprising, really, given that she harbours a strong desire to lock her pupils in the art room cupboard and throw away the key. She also has a manipulative mother and an ex-boyfriend whose parting shot was to tell her she was boring in bed! So when she's invited to spend the summer on Corfu and is offered the chance of a no-strings holiday romance with the irresistible Theo, what should she do? Go for it, or listen to the voice of Modern Woman and tell him to sling his hook? Just as she thinks she's made up her mind, along comes Mark, whose turbulent past sets in motion a series of dramatic events...

Another heartbreaking but glorious tale of secrets and love from the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James… Love grows where you least expect it… July 1981. As the country prepares to celebrate Prince Charles’ wedding to Lady Diana, Libby flees London – and her cheating fiancé Marcus – for the Suffolk countryside. At Larkspur House, she hopes to put the pieces of her life back together. And Libby’s great-aunt Bess and renowned garden designer and former socialite Elfrida are happy to help/ But for lifelong friends Bess and Elfrida, Libby’s arrival has stirred up the ghosts of the past. And before they can help her rebuild her shattered future, they must confront their own secrets, lost loves, and tragedies… From the Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James comes a captivating story that sweeps through sixty years of history, love, and family drama. Praise for Erica James: ‘A wonderfully compelling family drama… Warm, escapist and utterly uplifting’ Sunday Express ‘A brilliantly observational look at the complexities of family life’ My Weekly ‘A captivating read’ OK! ‘Glorious… a real treat’ Sunday Post ‘A beautifully written story’ Adele Parks ‘A brilliant read. A compelling family drama… Completely absorbing’ Sarah Morgan ‘Wise and warm with plenty of twists and turns, you'll love this’ Rachel Hore, bestselling author ‘You’ll be swept away… delightful!’ Veronica Henry ‘Peerless storytelling’ Miranda Dickinson ‘Deliciously immersive’ Iona Grey

Lizzie has always had bad luck. Losing her heart to her boss leads to her losing her job and with no money in the bank, Lizzie finds herself forced to move back home with her parents. Now in her nineties, Mrs Dallimore is also coming to terms with her situation. Old age is finally catching up with her. As they form the bond of unexpected friendship, Lizzie begins to realise that she's not the only person to attract bad luck, and that sometimes life has a way of surprising you...

"Democratic Insecurities" focuses on the ethics of military and humanitarian intervention in Haiti, during and after Haiti's 1991 coup. In this remarkable ethnography of violence, Erica Caple James explores the traumas of Haitian victims whose experiences were denied by U.S. officials and recognized only selectively by other humanitarian providers. Using vivid first-person accounts from women survivors, James raises important new questions about humanitarian aid, structural violence, and political insecurity. She discusses the politics of postconflict assistance to Haiti and the challenges of promoting democracy, human rights, and justice in societies that experience chronic insecurity. Similarly, she finds that efforts to promote political development and psychosocial rehabilitation may fail because of competition, strife, and corruption among the individuals and institutions that implement such initiatives.

Summer 1939: After touring an unsettled Europe to promote her latest book, Romily Temple returns home to Island House and the love of her life, Jack Devereux. But when Jack falls ill, his estranged family are called to his bedside. With war now declared, each member of the family is reluctantly forced to accept their new stepmother and confront their own shortcomings. But can Romily cope with the life that has been so unexpectedly thrust upon her?

This summer, escape to Lake Como - where the scene is set for romance, fate and second chances... 'A big hug of a novel that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy' Woman 'A tale of lost love, fate and second chances' New For Floriana, it is the place where the love of her life is getting married to another woman. And she's been invited to the wedding. Esme fell in love there for the first time - over sixty years ago. But what happened to the man who stole her heart, and changed the course of her life? Adam has buried himself in work to distract from his broken heart. A trip to Lake Como might just be the fresh start he needs... Even in the dazzling summer sun, the past casts a poignant shadow... But can the magic of the Italian lake finally set them all free? Let Erica James sweep you away... 'Glorious escapism' Sunday Express Magazine 'Joyously readable' Woman & Home 'I wanted it to go on forever' Cathy Bramley

Praise for Erica James 'A wonderfully humorous novel following the dysfunctional Baxter family' Woman's Own 'Completely absorbing' Sarah Morgan 'A brilliant and gripping family drama ... full of heart' My Weekly 'A captivating read' OK! Home is where the heart is... Paradise House, with its gorgeous views of the sea, was the perfect home for the Baxter girls to grow up in - that was, until their mother ran away to 'find herself'. Since then, it's been down to Genevieve to keep the family-owned B&B afloat - which hasn't always been easy, when her father spends most of his time hiding away from the flirtatious local women! And there's little help from her sisters, either. Nattie is too busy offending her long-term admirer and Polly spends most of her days with her head in a book. But when Genevieve hears that a nearby tumbledown barn has been sold, she's forced to take a bittersweet trip down memory lane. Because sometimes coming home means facing the secrets of the past...

It was the summer it all ended . . . It was the summer a new story began. Linston End has been the summer home to three families for several decades. The memories of their time there are ingrained in their hearts: picnics on the river, gin and tonics in the pavilion at dusk, hours spent seeking out the local swallowtail butterflies. Everyone together. But recently widowed Alastair is about to shock his circle of friends with the decisions he has made - and the changes it will mean for them all... Can these friends learn to live life to its fullest?

The beautiful city of Venice has been Lydia's home for many years, a place where she has found peace and fulfilment. Then one day she glimpses a young man's face in the crowd that threatens to change everything. He's a heart-stopping reminder of a dreadful secret she believed she had banished to the past ...As a young child, Lydia and her sister were sent to live with grandparents they'd never even met before. It was a cruel and loveless new world for them and it forced Lydia to grow up fast. She learned to keep secrets and to trust sparingly, and through it all she was shadowed by grief and guilt. Now, twenty-eight years later, Lydia is persuaded to leave behind the safe new life she has created for herself and return to England to face the past. And maybe her future.

The captivating new drama of family secrets and second chances, from Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James It's the autumn of 1962 in the idyllic Suffolk village of Melstead St Mary. Evelyn Devereux's husband Kit is planning their 20th wedding anniversary party. But as they prepare to celebrate, Evelyn receives an anonymous letter that threatens to unravel the secrets she's kept hidden for many years - secrets that reach back to the war and her days at Bletchley Park. Evelyn's sister-in-law, Hope, has brought joy to countless children with her bestselling books, but despite having a loving husband and caring family, happiness has never come easily to her. Then in an instant her fragile world is turned upside down when she too receives an anonymous letter. Across the village, up at Melstead Hall, Julia Devereux has married into a life beyond anything she could have dreamt of, not realising until it's too late that it comes with a heavy price. Meanwhile, in the sun-baked desert of Palm Springs, Romily Devereux-Temple, crime-writer and former ATA pilot, is homesick for her beloved Island House, where she's saved the day more times than she can count. On her return home, and shocked to learn what has been going on in her absence, she finds herself reluctantly confronting a secret she's kept hidden for a very long time. Once again Romily is challenged to save the day and hold the family together. Can she do it, and maybe seize some happiness for herself at the same time? From the gorgeous Suffolk countryside to the glamorous resort of Palm Springs, let Erica James sweep you away... *** Readers are enchanted by Erica's storytelling... 'A glorious summer story which sizzles with passion: idyllic location, compelling characters and lives so interwoven that their secrets have the power to change everything. I wanted it to go on forever' Cathy Bramley 'Joyously readable' Woman & Home 'The setting is almost a character in itself in this evocative tale of tears and laughter' Woman Magazine 'Erica James offers glorious escapism set in a house to die for' Sunday Express Magazine 'Full of warmth and appeal' Good Housekeeping 'A captivating read: beautifully written and heartrendingly sad' Daily Telegraph 'Absorbing and uplifting' My Weekly

A sweeping family drama of old secrets and new beginnings… ‘A satisfying treat’ Adele Parks, Platinum ‘A compelling family drama’ Sarah Morgan ‘Wise and warm with plenty of twists and turns’ Rachel Hore ‘Emotional and uplifting’ Veronica Henry ‘Captivating and vivid’ Miranda Dickinson Even happy families have their secrets… Anchor House is the coastal home where Naomi and her husband raised their two girls. Now widowed, Naomi is building a new life alone, but the arrival of Ellis next door is bringing some long-awaited fun back too. Naomi’s daughters are very different: Martha is determined and driven like her father, while Willow is a free spirit. The three women have always been close, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have secrets of their own. There are things Naomi has kept from her girls, like the fact that her marriage to their father wasn’t quite what it seemed… The Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James returns with this gloriously compelling tale of mothers and daughters, secrets and love. Praise for Mothers and Daughters: ‘A beautifully written story that examines the wonderful intimacy between mothers and daughters … a satisfying treat’ Adele Parks, Platinum ‘A brilliant read. A compelling family drama, full of twists and turns. Completely absorbing’ Sarah Morgan ‘Wise and warm with plenty of twists and turns, you'll love this engrossing family story’ Rachel Hore ‘A wonderfully compelling family drama that deftly touches upon some serious issues’ Sunday Express ‘You’ll be swept away then brought gently back to harbour in this beautiful portrait of a family and its multigenerational secrets. Emotional and uplifting, it unfolds in the most glorious coastal setting’ Veronica Henry ‘Glorious … a real treat’ Sunday Post ‘Surprising and reassuringly wise, captivating and vivid, beautiful and authentic … I adored this book’ Miranda Dickinson ‘Deliciously immersive … tracing the complex emotions and dangerous undercurrents that lie beneath the deceptively smooth surface of family life’ Iona Grey ‘A brilliant and gripping family drama … full of heart’ My Weekly ‘A captivating read’ OK!

A vibrant, often humorous tale of life, love - and infidelity - from the bestselling author of MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS and PARADISE HOUSE. Hilary had always thought she'd lived a charmed life. With a caring husband, David, and two lively children, she took an active part in both family and village life. Then, one Monday morning, Hilary's world is turned upside down. She discovers that David is having an affair. How could he? How could he put at risk their children and everything they have built together over the years? The question is, what should Hilary do? Turn a blind eye, much as neighbour Cindy has done over her own husband's various dalliances? Confront him, as her outspoken new friend Georgia suggests? Or perhaps she should throw herself at attractive newcomer to the village Nick Bradshaw... Whatever happens, it seems certain that for Hilary, life is never going to be quite the same again.

Erica James at her best - 'A very moving novel about life, families and love' Sunday Express 'James is a great storyteller - a really enjoyable read' Woman's Weekly 'A terrific tearjerker ... Humorous and sensitive' Bella 'Brilliant!' Prizes Magazine Harriet Swift thinks she has the perfect life - a satisfying career, her own flat and a new boyfriend who respects her need for her own space. But then her only sister is killed in a car crash, and Harriet is forced to give up her well-ordered life to help look after her orphaned niece and nephew. Moving back to her childhood home in Maple Drive, and sacrificing so much, doesn't come easy and before long Harriet discovers things about her family she never believed possible. Meanwhile, the shabbiest house in Maple Drive has a new occupant. Will Hart also thinks he has the perfect life. Having swapped his successful career as a lawyer for that of an antiques dealer, he believes in living for the moment and is entirely happy with his lot. Then from nowhere tragedy strikes and he faces the biggest challenge of his life. Harriet and Will have no choice but to piece together a new future for themselves, but can they see it through?

A captivating story about friendship, making changes, and learning to live life to the fullest from SUNDAY TIMES bestseller Erica James A cherished home, a circle of friends and a summer that will change everything... Linston End has been the summer holiday home for three families for many years. A rambling thatched house nestled on the water's edge on the Norfolk Broads, it's a haven of long, lazy picnics on the river, gin and tonics in the garden; a place to spend time together. But this year, the friends are rocked by unexpected news, and it seems that Linston End will never be the same again. For some, this summer feels like the end. For others, it might just be the beginning. . . 'Joyously readable' Woman & Home 'I wanted it to go on forever' Cathy Bramley

A secret that changed everything... 'A great big romantic, emotional and involving read' Woman & Home 'With marvellous writing, eccentric characters and a great plot, this has it all' Closer 'This will make you giggle and weep in equal measure' Woman Katie Lavender has always thought she was pretty unshockable, until a year after her mother's death she receives a letter from a solicitor telling her that the man she thought was her father, in fact wasn't. Her real father, a man named Stirling Nightingale, has for years been building a trust fund for her. And now she's of an age to collect it. But Katie's not interested in the money. She wants to know about the man instead. So decides to do some snooping. She tracks him down to a beautiful riverside home on the night he's hosting a birthday party for his ninety-year-old mother. And as she's hovering outside, Katie is mistaken for a replacement waitress - an opportunity just too good to miss. And so Katie discovers that the Nightingales are far from your normal family...But what makes a normal family anyway?

A superb blend of humour and emotion in this moving tale of family love and sacrifice from the bestselling author of MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS and SUMMER AT THE LAKE Mia Channing appears to have an enviable life: a beautiful home, a happy marriage, a job she enjoys and three grown-up children to whom she's devoted. But appearances can be deceptive... When the family gathers for her son's thirtieth birthday, he brings with him his latest girlfriend, who, to their surprise, has a nine-year-old daughter. Then, before the birthday cake has even been cut, Mia's youngest daughter Daisy has seized the opportunity to drop a bombshell. It's an evening that marks a turning point in all their lives, when old resentments and regrets surface and the carefully ordered world Mia has created begins to unravel.

'A genuinely heartwarming yet unsentimental tale - a perfect recipe for restoring, if only briefly, our damaged trust in humanity' SUNDAY EXPRESS In order to spend more time with her four-year-old son Ned, Clara Costello trades in her secure, well-paid job and two-seater sports car for a camper van called Winnie, and the three of them set off on a mystery tour of England. Of course, her friends and family think she's gone mad. But when they arrive in Deaconsbridge, a small market town on the edge of the Peak District, Clara and Ned become drawn into the lives of the locals. Two in particular seem destined to get under Clara's skin: Gabriel Liberty, a cranky widower who terrifies his family; and Archie Merryman, a local dealer in second-hand furniture who possesses a heart of gold. Then Clara finds herself having to confront a problem much closer to home, and one she had hoped she would never have to face...

'Erica James' sensitive story of a woman coming to terms with guilt and grief is as sparklingly fresh as dew on the village's surrounding meadows ... thoroughly enjoyable' SUNDAY EXPRESS 'Wry humour and romance ... Erica James is a breath of fresh air' DAILY MAIL Charlotte Lawrence, widowed at thirty-four, decides to return to all things pre-Peter, and that means moving back to the Cheshire village of her childhood. It also means exchanging a clinical company flat for the pretty but overgrown garden of Ivy Cottage, and the constant attentions of her interfering sister Hilary. Most of all it means Alex, Ivy Cottage's drop-dead-gorgeous tenant, with whom Hilary is determined Charlotte should find love anew, and whose charming exterior hides his own secret tragedy...

The captivating new drama of family secrets and second chances, from Sunday Times bestselling author Erica James

It's the autumn of 1962 in the idyllic Suffolk village of Melstead St Mary. Evelyn Devereux's husband Kit is planning their 20th wedding anniversary party. But as they prepare to celebrate, Evelyn receives an anonymous letter that threatens to unravel the secrets she's kept hidden for many years - secrets that reach back to the war and her days at Bletchley Park.

Evelyn's sister-in-law, Hope, has brought joy to countless children with her bestselling books, but despite having a loving husband and caring family, happiness has never come easily to her. Then in an instant her fragile world is turned upside down when she too receives an anonymous letter.

Across the village, up at Melstead Hall, Julia Devereux has married into a life beyond anything she could have dreamt of, not realising until it's too late that it comes with a heavy price.

Meanwhile, in the sun-baked desert of Palm Springs, Romily Devereux-Temple, crime-writer and former ATA pilot, is homesick for her beloved Island House, where she's saved the day more times than she can count. On her return home, and shocked to learn what has been going on in her absence, she finds herself reluctantly confronting a secret she's kept hidden for a very long time. Once again Romily is challenged to save the day and hold the family together. Can she do it, and maybe seize some happiness for herself at the same time?

From the gorgeous Suffolk countryside to the glamorous villas of Palm Springs, let Erica James sweep you away...