From the co-author of two previous Batsford lace titles comes a collection of 50 stunning lace patterns that showcase the delicate beauty of this ever-popular lace. Traditionally, the ornate braids that make up Milanese lace were used in long, convoluted floral patterns, but they are also easily adapted for use in more modern designs. This new book of patterns contains both traditional and modern examples, and the author experiments with different decorative styles – for example, Celtic lettering that is vibrant with the colours of original Celtic art, taken into a new dimension with the addition of Milanese braids. Exquisite miniatures in a Japanese style will be a challenge even for the most experienced lacemaker: the smallest patterns are not necessarily the easiest! Other patterns include flowers, scrolls, leaves and butterflies, plus some more unusual designs: dragons, a picture depicting the legend of Arion and the dolphin, and a spectacular piece featuring the mythical seven-headed Hydra. There is a good range of patterns, including both prickings and photographs of the finished pieces, suitable for abilities ranging from beginner to advanced.

The brilliant sequel to Bridge in the Menagerie, which won the hearts of bridge players 30 years ago. Improve your bridge the painless way with these hilarious and well-loved characters.

This comprehensive new edition of a standard work contains an exhaustive collection of stitches which have been developed in the traditional art of bobbin lacemaking since the 17th century, and is designed to aid all lacemakers in the recognition and working of each individual feature. The degree of accuracy and detail is the result of many years of research into the methods used in the lacemaking centres of Britain and Europe. Over 260 stitches and variations are described, ranging from the simplest to the most complex. The content has ben arranged so that all the information for each stitch is to be found on one page. The guide is laid out step-by-step and is aimed at both the working lacemaker and the student.

This revised introduction to Britain in the first millennium BC incorporates modifications to a story that is still controversial. It covers a time of dramatic change in Europe, dominated by the emergence of Rome as a megastate. In Britain, on the extremity of these developments, it was a period of profound social and economic change, which saw the end of the prehistoric cycle of the Neolithic and bronze Ages, and the beginning of a world that was to change little in its essentials until the great voyages of colonization and trade of the 16th century. The theme of the book is that of social change within an insular society sitting on the periphery of a world in revolution.

Milanese has a greater variety of decorative stitches within the braid than any other lace. It is this variety, added to the baroque style of its designs, that makes Milanese the most beautiful of Italian laces. New in paperback, this book is a collection of 43 new braids, including two spiral braids, and 40 original patterns, all with diagrams, photographs and full instructions.

100 Sex Scenes that Changed Cinema explores the representation of sexuality and sexual expression in cinema by tracing the key scenes that helped change, develop and influence one of the world’s most powerful medium. The 100 films are arranged thematically in the following chapters: Implicit (Not-explicit) sex scenes – the lure of sex in film noir (Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice and Gilda; suggestiveness through dialogue (‘snails and oysters’ scene in Spartacus; visual metaphors (food scene in Tom Jones); Explicit sex scenes – films that have shocked, challenged and disturbed, pushing back the boundaries of what can be shown on screen. From Hiroshima, Mon Amour through Ai No Corrida, Emmanuelle, 9 1/2 Weeks to Intimacy and The Piano Teacher. Also with details of homo-eroticism (from Caravaggio to Mulholland Drive) and Rites of passage/sexual awakening; The European Aesthetic – the five European directors whose work is marked by a frank, uncompromising approach to sexuality: Bertolucci (Last Tango in Paris, Stealing Beauty), Bunuel (Belle de Jour, That Obscure Object of Desire), Almodovar (Labyrinth of Passion, Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down), Chabrol (Les Biches), and Greenaway (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, The Pillow Book). Pleasure and Payment – the darker side of on-screen sexuality: obsessive/self-destructive behaviour (Breaking the Waves, Henry and June, The Night Porter); Bondage and sado-masochism (The Servant, The Opposite of Sex); Voyeurism/pornography (Body Double, Boogie Nights); Prostitution (My Own Private Idaho, Midnight Cowboy and American Gigolo); the role of sex in horror film (Ginger Snaps, Angel Heart); Forbidden Flesh – taboo subjects: incest (Close my Eyes, The Cement Garden, Spanking the Monkey) and necrophilia (suggested in Vertigo but explicit in Kissed).

In this, the fifth title in the Menagerie series, you meet again the Rueful Rabbit, luckiest of mortals, with an unscrupulous guardian angel at his side; Karapet, the unluckiest player on this side of the equator – and the other side too, of course; Charlie the Chimp, the black sheep of the family; and Walter the Walrus, the point-count specialist. With Papa’s arrogance, the Toucan’s humility, the Secretary Bird’s pedantry and Molly the Mule’s rampant feminism, they make every deal vibrate and sparkle. The Hideous Hog remains all but insufferable as he clashes daily with destiny, and in the final episode confronts the prince of darkness himself.

The charismatic Tony Miles has been much missed since his tragic and premature death in 2001. Regarded as one of England’s greatest ever chess players and analysts, he was also one of the wittiest writers on the game. By sheer force of example and ebullient peronality, he inspired the ‘English chess explosion’ after becoming the first UK grandmaster in the mid 70s. This Fascinating collection of over a hundred games and articles, covering Tony’s entire chess career, includes his most celebrated wins, a few losses, and in addition to the famous game against Karpov with the bizarre St George’s opening 1 e4 a6 – a less well known victory over the then world champion from a television tournament. All the games are annotated by Tony himself – in his own inimitable style. This fitting tribute is rounded off with a review of Tony’s original opening repertoire as well as personal appreciations by his Birmingham clubmates and friends Mike Fox, Malcolm Hunt and Geoff Lawton.

On The Town… High Society… From Here To Eternity… The Man With The Golden Arm… Guys and Dolls… The Manchurian Candidate… Van Ryan’s Express… The films of Frank Sinatra are startling in their diversity and sheer range. Musicals, comedies, thrillers, war films, intense dramas, sagas of small town America. In The Frank Sinatra Film Guide, Daniel O’Brien provides detailed information on all of Sinatra’s movies, co-stars, collaborators and directors – and naturally, full details on all the musical numbers from the films. As well as reassessing Sinatra’s contribution to a wide variety of screen genres, O’Brien restates the case for Sinatra as a major and innovative film actor. A true film star, even if he had never sung a note

Victor Mollo was justly famous for his satirical accounts of the antics of the Hideous Hog and the Rueful Rabbit, but he did produce a number of instructional books. This classic blend of instruction and entertainment is a combination of a textbook and a quizbook and its reissue is long overdue. Mollo presents 160 play problems of varying degrees of difficulty, from elementary technical plays in the first 50 problems to complicated endplays and scissors coups in the ten examples at the end of the book. Readers of all abilities will find the material challenging and certain to improve their game.

A completely revised and updated edition of the most comprehensive study of the genus Cyclamen ever undertaken, this book covers species both in the wild and in cultivation, along with analyses of the many culrtivars. The book is beautifully illustrated with 200 colour photographs as well as line drawings and maps showing the distribution of the various species in the wild. A chapter is specially devoted to the very important florists’ cyclamen, Cyclamen persicum, as well as detailed notes on cultivation and propagation. Cyclamen have become ever more popular as garden plants, and the number of nurseries specializing in them has increased. However, in its natural habitat, the Mediterranean region and western Asia, the 22 known species of Cyclamen are increasingly under threat from development of various sorts. As a result conservation is a major issue in the study of the genus. Cyclamen is an ideal genus for the specialist gardener, having sufficient species to make a collection worthwhile and enough variety to sustain interest throughout the year. There is great diversity in the form and colour of the flowers as well as in the shapes and patterns of the leaves. Some are hardy enough to grow unprotected in the garden, while others make excellent plants for sheltered areas and conservatories, with one or more species in flower at almost every time of the year. This book is the best available source of information for gardeners and horticulturists, and is also invaluable to botanists and taxonomists. Using a minimum of botanical jargon, it tells all those with an interest in the subject everything that they may need or want to know about this fascinating genus.

Blends actual places, events, and characters with cinematic portrayals of fictional and factual monsters.