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  Dies Irae - From their pens to...

  Kenneth Grahame

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  Kenneth Grahame was born on 8th March 1859 in Edinburgh. 
  At age 5 his mother succumbed to puerperal fever.  His father, who had a drinking problem, now sent his 4 children to live with their grandmother at her large house in Cookham, Berkshire. Here the children lived in large open grounds next to the river.  These early experiences would in later years, be retold in his writing through a myriad of characters. 
  Grahame loved being a pupil at St Edward's School, Oxford and wanted to enroll at the university there but his guardian demurred on account of the cost. 
  Instead, a banking career was chosen for him, starting in 1879 at the Bank of England, where he rose steadily to the rank of its Secretary until retiring, with a pension, in 1908 due to ill health. 
  Alongside his commercial career Grahame had written and published various stories and essays in several periodicals. Some were anthologized as ‘Pagan Papers’ in 1893, and two years later ‘The Golden Age’ and later still ‘Dream Days’ and its masterpiece ‘The Reluctant Dragon’ became part of many home libraries.  His ability to view life through the lens of a young and curious child was superb, enabling the reader to easily identify with the character.   
  Grahame married Elspeth Thomson in 1899 and they had one child; Alastair, born semi-blind and plagued by health problems.  In a heart-rending tragedy he would later take his own life whilst attending Oxford University in 1920.   
  In 1908 Grahame reworked many of the bedtime stories he had fashioned for his son into the enduring favourite; ‘The Wind in the Willows’, describing the heart-warming adventures of Mr Toad and his friends.   
  Kenneth Grahame died in Pangbourne, Berkshire, on 6th July 1932.

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  The True and the Eternal -...

  Naleea Landmann, Lars Muhl

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  The True and The Eternal is the result of the collaboration between two visionaries, Danish bestselling author and renowned mystic Lars Muhl and gifted intuitive Naleea Landmann.Together they have created a work of depth and insight, based on the testimony of Lars's decades-long spiritual exploration combined with Naleea's profound clarity, resulting in a book that is as inspiring as it is transformative.This remarkable partnership bridges Lars's life story, ancient wisdom, and modern spiritual understanding, offering timeless teachings and practical guidance. From Yeshua's (Jesus's) healing methods, the Aramaic language he spoke, and Essene wisdom to revelations about God Consciousness, Lars and Naleea share their metaphysical experiences and guide listeners on a profound journey from the world of questions into the world of answers.The True and The Eternal is about spiritual transformation and is a moving and enlightening work that reveals the mysteries of existence and the transcendental possibilities man was given in the beginning of time. Together, Lars and Naleea have created a book that will inspire, heal, and transform lives.

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  The Best of Enemies - Diaries...

  Norman Fowler

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  The tempestuous years of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. An insider's account of the rivalries and battles that eventually brought down the Conservative government.
  
  The Best of Enemies is the political diaries of Norman Fowler, one of the most significant politicians of the late twentieth century. Covering the entire Thatcher/Major era – from the former's election in 1979 to the latter's defeat in 1997 – during which time Fowler held prominent positions in the Cabinet. As Transport Secretary he was responsible for making seat belts compulsory and later, as Health Secretary, he worked to draw public attention to the dangers of Aids. He was Chairman of the party from 1992–94.
  His diaries observe both Prime Ministers, and their Cabinet colleagues, at close quarters and Fowler brings his training as a journalist to bear on them. The diaries are full of insights and anecdotes and they resonate powerfully with the situation facing the Conservative Party today, including industrial strife, waning authority and a Labour Party looking like a government in waiting.
  The entries raise other issues that remain unresolved. They range from the effect that a minister's private sexual conduct should have on their career to whether an entirely 'hands-off' approach to industrial strategy is in the national interest.
  Fowler's diaries provide a ringside seat to the struggles of their time. These are not the diaries of an ex-minister seeking to justify their own record. They are the story of how two Prime Ministers rose and fell and caused their party to split apart, told by someone who was there.

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  The Mary Pages - An Atheist’s...

  Sally Read

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  Raised in an atheist household, Sally Read nevertheless saw images of the Blessed Virgin Mary from earliest childhood—and they remained with her in the most remarkable ways. Conscious of the conflict between her feminist values and what came to be a fascination with Marian art, Read—through tumultuous relationships, loneliness, and distant places—began a unique quest to discover the true essence of Mary. These pages contain the strange, raw, and epiphany-filled stories that led to Read’s dramatic nine-month conversion from atheism to Catholicism. Focusing not only on Read’s life but also on the lives of others who, knowingly or unknowingly, encountered the Virgin, this literary memoir is a testimony of how a Mother patiently brought one child home to her Son—and slowly revealed her own heart.

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  Indian Creek Massacre and...

  Charles M. Scanlan

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  Indian Creek Massacre and Captivity of Hall Girls was written by Charles Martin Scanlan in 1915. The Indian Creek Massacre arose in 1832 at LaSalle County, Illinois, after a dispute about a settler-constructed dam that blocked fish from reaching a Native American village downstream. It’s a unique historical snapshot of early America centered around Sylvia and Rachel Hall, sisters who were the only survivors of the massacre and were abducted, as well as the story of Chief Shabona who was a member of the Ottowa and Potawatomi. 
  This audiobook is narrated by Sylvia’s great-great-great-granddaughter, Rebecca Cook, with help from her sister Gwendelyn Gilchrist. The written book itself is in public domain and can be downloaded with photos for free from Project Gutenberg at gutenberg.com. 

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  Bellerophon To Anteia - From...

  Mary Butts

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  Mary Frances Butts was born on 13th December 1890 in Poole, Dorset. 
  Her early years were spent at Salterns, an 18th-century house overlooking Poole Harbour.  Sadly in 1905 her father died, and she was sent for boarding at St Leonard's school for girls in St Andrews. 
  Her mother remarried and, from 1909, Mary studied at Westfield College in London, and here, first became aware of her bisexual feelings.  She was sent down for organising a trip to Epsom races and only completed her degree in 1914 when she graduated from the London School of Economics.  By then Mary had become an admirer of the occultist Aleister Crowley and she was given a co-authorship credit on his ‘Magick (Book 4)’. 
  In 1916, she began the diary which would now detail her future life and be a constant reference point for her observations and her absorbing experiences. 
  During World War I, she was doing social work for the London County Council in Hackney Wick, and involved in a lesbian relationship.  Life changed after meeting the modernist poet, John Rodker and they married in 1918. 
  In 1921 she spent 3 months at Aleister Crowley's Abbey of Thelema in Sicily; she found the practices dreadful and also acquired a drug habit.  Mary now spent time writing in Dorset, including her celebrated book of short stories ‘Speed the Plough’ which saw fully develop her unique Modernist prose style. 
  Europe now beckoned and several years were spent in Paris befriending many artists and writing further extraordinary stories.   
  She was continually sought after by literary magazines and also published several short story collections as books. Although a Modernist writer she worked in other genres but is essentially only known for her short stories.  Mary was deeply committed to nature conservation and wrote several pamphlets attacking the growing pollution of the countryside. 
  In 1927, she divorced and the following year her novel ‘Armed with Madness’ was published.  A further marriage followed in 1930 and time was spent attempting to settle in London and Newcastle before setting up home on the western tip of Cornwall.  By 1934 the marriage had failed. 
  Mary Butts died on 5th March 1937, at the West Cornwall Hospital, Penzance, after an operation for a perforated gastric ulcer. She was 46.

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