People have always made art and people have always collected art. But it is only recently that collecting became possible for everyone, not just the very rich. Indeed, collecting has never been more popular, as the rise of art fairs, antique fairs, television programmes devoted to finding treasures in your attic and much more attests. And not only is collecting fun, it could be potentially very profitable, too. But where to start? These days everything is collectable, from Old Masters to 1950s kitchenalia and it can be bewildering when you start out. And not just when you start out. Even experienced collectors need some help and guidance and How To Collect Art provides exactly this. Author and collecting expert Virginia Blackburn takes you through everything you need to know, tackling not only mainstream fields such as paintings, furniture, china and statuary, but through antiquities, modern sculpture, Sailors' Valentines, street art and much, much more. This is a comprehensive look at many and varied fields of collecting, for amateur and professional alike. Virginia also explains how to educate yourself in your chosen field, and where to go to find the art you buy, covering galleries, auctions, degree shows and more. She explains how, when and where to bargain, looks at ways of displaying your collection and helps you get into the mindset of a collector. Art may be for art's sake, but it provides the rest of us with a lot of pleasure too.

Only the second woman to hold office at 10 Downing Street, Theresa May inherits the most difficult political mandate of recent times: to negotiate Britain's exit from the European Union and re-establish its place in the wider world. She is known as an uncompromising and fiercely moral political operator who has risen through the ranks through profound competence, instead of cronyism. Her premiership promises to overthrow what she calls the "Nasty Party" image the Conservative Party has brought upon itself through infighting, career-politicking, and dishonesty, and restore a steady hand to the tiller of a nation in turmoil. But there is much more to her story than has emerged in the wake of the Brexit vote. Here, experienced journalist and political observer Virginia Blackburn examines the astonishing career, the politics, and the quite remarkable life of the woman who is tasked with changing not just the public face of the Conservatives, but the very fabric of the United Kingdom itself.