Showing results by narrator "Charles Armstrong" in All Categories

The genetic history of the dog is a sensational example of the co-evolution of two species, man and wolf, to each other’s mutual benefit. But how did this ancient partnership begin? To answer this question, Professor Bryan Sykes identifies tantalising clues in the recently mapped genetic...

In Agatha Christie’s short story, “The Lost Mine,” Poirot investigates the suspicious disappearance of a Chinese businessman in London. Suspicion is focused on two Englishman, one of whom has an alibi and another who was in an opium den the night of the disappearance. A clear-cut case for Poirot soon becomes murky however. This short story originally appeared in the November 21, 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine.

Sharks are one of the most dangerous sea animals on the planet. With fearsome jaws and an insatiable appetite, they are often feared by humans and animals alike. However, sharks are also completely fascinating! Learn all about the different types of shark and their habitats and what makes them such deadly predators! Amazing facts and awesome stories bring the world of sharks to life wherever you are.

Perfect for fans of Jane Harper, the beautifully written, evocative and pulse-pounding new novel from Sam Lloyd. A family pushed to its limits, set against the backdrop of the most unforgiving of landscapes. The news doesn't strike cleanly, like a guillotine's blade. Nothing so merciful. This...

In early 2013, whilst working as the Borough Commander for Southwark in South London, John suffered a major breakdown and a consequent battle with crippling depression. After a career spent policing the streets and racing to be first at the scenes of crimes and catastrophes, he found himself in pieces, unable to put one foot in front of the other. Blue is a memoir of crime and calamity, of adventure and achievement, of friendship and failure, of laughter and loss, of the best and the worst of humanity, of serious illness and slow recovery.

Immerse yourself in more than 400 years of the world's most celebrated operas and discover the fascinating stories behind them. Explore the lives of singers such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Jonas Kaufmann. Meet composers like Mozart, Wagner, and Britten, and the librettists with whom they collaborated to create the magical blend of words and music that make up opera.

Nature took on a new importance for thousands of people when the coronavirus pandemic arrived in Britain, providing solace in a time of great anxiety - not least because the crisis struck at the beginning of spring, the season of hope and renewal, and furthermore, in an extraordinary conjunction, the spring of 2020 turned out to be the loveliest spring ever recorded in Britain. Three nature writers, living like everyone else under lockdown, but walking out each day to exercise, resolved to record their experiences of the coronavirus spring, in widely contrasting parts of the country.

No one has a better perspective on life on both sides of the channel than Julian Barnes. In these exquisitely crafted stories spanning several centuries, he takes as his universal theme the British in France: from the last days of a reclusive English composer, the beef consuming 'navvies' labouring on the Paris-Rouen railway to a lonely woman mourning the death of her brother on the battlefields of the Somme.

This is a book for those that want to learn to scan the beach for fossils, who love the simple pleasure of getting outside or those who want to develop their relationship with the world around them. From the Jurassic Coast to the Antrim Coast, our nation is home to some of the most incredible fossil sites in the world. Weaving an intricate tapestry of knowledge on the landscape of our own prehistoric planet, palaeontologist and education officer of the Bristol Dinosaur Project, Rhys Charles communicates the joy of fossil hunting and where best to hunt for them in the country.

Lucy has everything she could wish for: a beautiful home high on the clifftops above the Devon coast, a devoted husband and two beloved children. Then one morning, time stops. Their family yacht is recovered, abandoned far out at sea. Lucy's husband is nowhere to be found, and as the seconds tick by, she begins to wonder - what if he was the one who took the boat? And if so, where is he now? As a once-in-a-generation storm frustrates the rescue operation, Lucy pieces together what happened on board.

Ella Stuart has worked hard to achieve the perfect work-life balance: a high-flying career as a paediatric doctor, a charming husband, charity fundraiser Jackson Garrett–and in urbane PR consultant William Ashfield, a passionate, worldly lover. William is equally devoted to Ella, his mistress of eight years, and to his faded, troubled wife, Beth. He knows he could never choose between them; and is eternally grateful he’s never been asked. When tragedy strikes out of the blue, Ella’s carefully ordered life is abruptly derailed.

The Lion and The Dragon reveals the part that Britain played in the awakening of China, then covers relations between the two countries during the period when an aroused China did indeed shake the world. Lawrence James also follows the parallel trajectories of four competitive empires - the British, the Chinese, the Russian and the Japanese - during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and then the fortunes of a fifth imperial power, the United States.

Appealing to a range of audiences, it covers more than 650 years of momentous history through the use of both famous and lesser known events which shaped Britain. Using original documents and detailed research undertaken by The National Archives' record specialists, it will cover moments in history which led to fundamental changes in eras. It will also include unique discoveries from these archives, uncovering mysteries and stories of how dealing with treason have brought about the changes which have influenced and shaped Britain throughout the centuries.

From Brexit to Covid, parties to pig culling, the Conservative government has lurched from crisis to crisis. With a front-row seat on the, erm, backbenches, the Secret Tory has picked up on all the petty rivalries, bad decision-making and scandalous affairs that Whitehall has to offer. And he’s got no qualms about sharing it. All. Join the mystery MP as he drunk-texts Liz Truss after a crate of WKD, accompanies Jacob Rees-Mogg (and his kids) to picket a foodbank, takes on the French in the ‘Trawler Wars’, and euthanises Rishi Sunak’s dog—and that’s just October.

Comedy and romance, history, and tragedy, Shakespeare's canon has it all. Some 400 years after they were written and first performed, his works still remain fresh and relevant today. Shakespeare: His life and Works is an accessible and lavish celebration of the Bard himself and his 39 plays, great sonnets and narrative poems. Themes, plots, characters and language are brought to life with act-by-act plot summaries, resumes of main characters and in-depth analysis of Shakespeare's use of, and influence on, the English language. 

The first in-depth biography of the American actress and humanitarian campaigner who will marry Prince Harry in May 2018, written by the world's best-known royal biographer. When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were set up by a mutual friend on a blind date in June 2016, little could they know that just 16 months later the resulting whirlwind romance would lead to their engagement in November 2017 and marriage in May 2018.

In 1841, the 'peasant poet' John Clare escapes from an asylum in Epping Forest, where he had been kept for four years, and walks over 80 miles home to Northamptonshire. Suffering from poor mental health, Clare was attempting to return to his idealized first love, Mary, unaware that she had died three years earlier. In 1995, with his life in crisis and his own mental health fragile, Robert decides to retrace Clare's route along the Great North Road over a punishing four-day walk.

In little more than a century of cinema - Birth of a Nation was 100 years old in 2015 - our sense of what a film director is, or should be, has shifted in fascinating ways. A director was once a functionary; then an important but not decisive part of an industrial process; then accepted as the person who was and should be in charge, because he was an artist and a hero. But the world has changed.

Before he is called to bless the body of a woman at the nearby asylum, Father Gabriel receives a strange, troubling confession: hidden under the woman's dress, he will find the notebooks in which she confided the abuses she suffered and the twisted motivations behind them. And so Rose's terrible story comes to light: sold as a teenage girl to a rich man, hidden away in an old manor house deep in the woods and caught in a perverse web, manipulated by those society considers her betters.

Including an introduction read by the author, Max Hastings. 'Much excellent gossip, some of it wildly indiscreet . . . Hastings is a brilliant reporter' – Sunday Telegraph 'The acuity of his insights make this book a wholly compelling read' – Observer In February 2002 Max Hastings retired...