A showcase of Britain’s most astonishing examples of High-Tech buildings from the late twentieth century and beyond.

Like the Lotus Esprit, the Atari home computer and the sounds of the Roland TR-808 drum machine, the glossy colour, clip-on components and bristling silhouettes of High-Tech architecture provide a polaroid snapshot of 1980s modernity. High-Tech was an international style forged in Britain, taking inspiration from Victorian engineering and science fiction alike. Geraint Franklin traces its trajectory from 1960s radicalism to the global mainstream, taking in such late 20^th-century landmarks as the Lloyds building, the Sainsbury Centre, the Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre and the Eden Project in Cornwall.

High-Tech Britain revisits the work of the ‘big four’ practices of Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Michael and Patty Hopkins and Nicolas Grimshaw. From their teams emerged a younger generation of designers including Eva Jiřičná, Ian Ritchie, Richard Horden and Jan Kaplický who took the language in new directions. Alongside are profiled lesser-known stories such as the Patera kit building quietly rusting in London’s Docklands and the workshop at Hooke Park, Dorset, engineered from waste wood. Illustrated with new photography by John East, High-Tech Britain is an authoritative survey of the most groundbreaking examples of this extraordinary moment in British architecture.

‘An essential guide to the big, shiny style that ruled modern Britain.’ – Rowan Moore

‘How did buildings as bright and light as 8-bit computer games and eighties sports cars come to dominate our urban landscape? Geraint Franklin tells a fast-paced design story beside John East’s glorious images, full of fun palaces, floating canopies and facades of gleaming perfection.’ – John Grindrod

‘This is a book that is about more than nostalgia. It reminds us that there was a time when the future of architecture was full of possibilities.’ – Deyan Sudjic

‘Geraint Franklin deftly summarises the architectural and engineering revolution of high-tech, exploring its roots, and setting its British-designed examples in a global context. He explains its 21st century transition into an ecologically aware movement that remains true to its original fascination with unconventional materials and kit-of-parts construction.’ – Hugh Pearman

‘High-Tech is that most British of architectural fetishes, a collision of Victorian engineering and comic strip sci-fi, it was the UK’s major contribution to modernism.  This survey takes in the whole range of High Tech, from trad to rad, a wonderful homage to a period still surprisingly fragile and endangered.’ – Edwin Heathcote

Follow Hannah Dale’s deeply personal journey as she returns her Lincolnshire farm to nature, celebrating the return of an astonishing variety of wildlife.

Hannah Dale, the artist and founder of the award-winning nature-centric gift company Wrendale Designs, takes you through a year on her farm in rural Lincolnshire where, alongside her husband, she has undertaken an ambitious rewilding project. Together, they are attempting to return the land to nature and increase the number of species their land is able to support.

A Wilding Year explores how one family have been able to embrace the beauty to be found in untidy landscapes, heralding the return of skylarks, meadow pipits, hobbies, polecats and many more species to their farm. The land was originally claimed from marshy wetlands, and leaning into the land’s natural inclination to be wet has also yielded amazing ponds and pond life.

This rewilding journey has also provided Hannah with new sources of inspiration for her paintings. A Wilding Year is both a journal and a sketchbook, in which Hannah keeps a visual record of the incredible variety of species she finds on the farm.

This fascinating account of a year spent in nature brings to life the beauty and power of wildlife in every season.

The witch – malevolent, magical, multi-faceted – has walked among us for centuries.

Demonic and deviant or liberated and revered, in this enchantingly illustrated book, Willow Winsham explores the many guises of the witch across folklore, history and superstition.

From Hekate to Baba Yaga, from shape-shifting hares to Macbeth, the book starts with a rich dive into the ideas of the witch in myth, legend and fairytale. Next follows an exploration of popular belief and superstition during the witch trials across Europe and the United States, one of the most tumultuous and bloody of our collective history. The last section brings us to more recent times, exploring how how the image and identity of the witch has been reclaimed and reinvented, the significance of the Wheel of the Year, the advent of Wicca and modern Witchcraft and beyond.

Finally and most crucially, we are left with the vital question: what have we learned from the past and what is the best way to approach our – often terrible – shared history of the witch?

This beautifully illustrated book charts the life, works and legacy of one of the world’s most beloved authors, offering a seasonal guide to Jane Austen’s life through the objects that surrounded her, the personal letters and manuscripts that she created, and the events that shaped her life and understanding.

It is created by Jane Austen’s House – the enchanting Hampshire cottage where her genius flourished, now a museum that attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year – and reveals highlights from the museum’s collection.

Arranged over the course of a calendar year, from snowy scenes in January to festive recipes in December, specially commissioned photography of Austen’s home and possessions are brought together with extracts from her books, reproductions of her letters, and stories of her life throughout the seasons. Highlights include affectionate letters to her sister Cassandra, the story of the publication of the first edition of Pride and Prejudice, and the ‘topaze crosses’ that inspired Mansfield Park.

Read this book for a unique and intimate insight into Jane Austen’s world. Dip into it as you will, or visit each month, and enjoy a full year of Austen – her life, works and letters, people and objects she knew, and of course her idyllic, inspiring home.

A fascinating celebration of our love for all things horticultural, with a selection of garden-related entries from diaries, letters and articles for every day of the year.

Garden Voices captures the past and present of gardening with dated, daily musings organised around the calendar year bringing gardening and gardeners to life like never before. In this engaging anthology, readers are transported back in time – and often place – to witness rare horticultural glimpses. We find George Orwell, half-naked, digging his newly acquired rock-filled, ‘dry as a bone’ garden on the Isle of Jura on 25 May 1946. On 25 September 1845, Emily Dickinson picks the last flowers of summer before ‘Jack Frost’ gets them. In New Mexico, Georgia O’Keeffe reveals to her New York-based lover Alfred Stieglitz that she has just discovered the joy of gardening. 

Key figures – from Samuel Pepys to Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud, Queen Victoria to Virginia Woolf and Germaine Greer – feature alongside much-loved gardeners, such as Gertrude Jekyll, Margery Fish and Claude Monet, as well as lesser-known but no-less inspiring garden writers, including Eleanor Vere Boyle and Celia Thaxter, whose writing will be a revelation to many.

Whether tinged with emotion or filled with character and humour, strikingly evocative or thought-provoking, these daily thoughts remind us that gardeners are all connected by a timeless invisible green thread. With several selections for each day, from 1 January to 31 December, this book is a true celebration of horticulture, and is the perfect gift for the gardener or garden lover in your life. Garden Voices brings joy, comfort, a gladdening sense of affinity and – much like gardening itself – moments of awe and inspiration.

A Year of Bird Migrations discovers nature’s most extraordinary journeys through some of the most intrepid avian species on our planet.

From swallows and artic terns crossing the skies between summer and wintering grounds, great snipes making non-stop flights of up to 7000km and albatrosses circling the globe as they ride the ‘Roaring Forties’ winds on the Southern Hemisphere, the scope of our avian life’s journeys are astounding. Whether travelling for warmer climes, increased food sources or breeding grounds, migrating birds are equipped with incredible resources to help them on their way – some species even have tiny bits of magnetic material in their brains which act as an internal compass!

With several entries for each migrating bird over the course of a single year, discover the different points along each route and the incredible distances that are covered, as well as the challenges faced and the ways in which climate change is affecting these ancient routes. Also included are full colour illustrations which depict each bird as well as maps which plot the flight lines. This book is perfect for the bird-lover in your life, or anyone who is interested to find out more about the fascinating journeys of our planet’s avian life.

A beautifully illustrated architecture book showcasing some of the most stunning Modernist houses which are or have been lived in by artists.

This book is an enticing celebration of the most dynamic and unique architectural visions of artists who have designed their own houses, collaborated with or commissioned architects, or who have made major interventions into the existing architectural spaces where they live. Covering the mid to late 20th century and with some buildings from the 21st century which demonstrate a clear allegiance with Modernist aesthetics and values, architectural journalist Harriet Thorpe catalogues 50 of the most extraordinary examples as well as the stories behind the artists who lived in them, demonstrating how visual art can inform and transform built living space.

The buildings featured include Barbara Hepworth’s studio, Georgia O’Keeffe’s ranch in New Mexico, the Bauhaus Masters’ Houses in Germany, and the studio and houses of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico City. Also included are a series of feature essays on subjects such as the house in modern art and the 20th century artist’s house museum.

Illustrated throughout with striking colour photography, Artists’ Modernist Houses is a visual feast to be pored over by lovers of art and architecture alike.

Life Stories shows readers how to create textile art with a palpable sense of story, about ordinary people and everyday life.

This book delves into the three things that most inspire Ali Ferguson as a textile artist – collected stuff, words and clothing. Ali shares the stories and thinking processes behind pieces of her work, alongside the techniques that she uses, instructions for making projects and a thoughtful curation of related work from other contemporary textile artists working with similar themes.

• Part One looks at capturing inspiration, showing the many ways that Ali is continually gathering and storing ideas. This section also looks at hand stitching, and contains instructions for making a ‘Stitcher’s Sketchbook’.

• Part Two shows readers how ordinary things such as old letters and postcards, photographs, vintage magazines and old sewing paraphernalia can provide endless inspiration for creating personal textile art. This section includes projects such as creating different styles of fabric photo books and cloth collages.

• Part Three explores Ali’s love of using words as inspiration. It shows different ways of incorporating writing into stitched textiles; for example, using pencil and stencil, rusting powder, typewriters and inkjet printing, in addition to hand stitching.

• Part Four looks at clothing and accessories, an absolute treasure trove of ideas for any stitcher. This covers transforming used items of clothing into wearable story garments, as well as ideas for creating beautifully adorned decorative garments that will have the reader’s own personal stories firmly at their heart. Techniques and project ideas covered here include rust printing and creating textile jewellery and pockets.

This beautiful book is fully illustrated with photographs of finished work, processes and source materials both from Ali’s own creative practice and that of other leading textile artists, to provide a range of inspiration and different points of view.

A dynamic exploration of Mercedes, one of the world’s foremost car brands, with lively photography and witty observations about why we love them.

Karl Benz, who founded Mercedes Benz, invented the first car. So, since 1879, Mercedes Benz has been at the forefront of innovation. With their superior quality, sleek look and iconic three-pointed star logo (with the points representing land, sea and air), it’s a car brand with true global power and recognition. It has produced some of the fastest cars in the world, such as the 2022 Mercedes-AMG One Hybrid model, which can reach speeds of 219 mph.

This fun and fascinating book, written by car-enthusiast and Mercedes owner Vaughan Grylls, is a tour de force through the history of Mercedes as told by its cars. From the world’s first car, the Benz Patent Motor Car, to the most expensive car ever sold, the 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe, the story of Mercedes is a long and fascinating one, and is described in this book alongside a stunning range of photography. 

The ideal gift for every car enthusiast, whether they’re a Mercedes aficionado or just an admirer, this beautifully illustrated book perfectly conveys the joys of this classic brand.

A gorgeously photographed gift book all about cats and the beautiful interiors of their homes.

The latest book from acclaimed interiors photographer Rachael Smith is a stunning exploration of some of the quirkiest and most beautiful English homes – and the cats that rule them. Whenever Rachael is commissioned to photograph an interior, her first question is always ’Is there a cat?’, and if the answer is yes, the follow-up comes, ‘Can I photograph that too?’

Here, are the results of several years spent capturing some of the country’s best interiors and, perhaps more importantly, the cats who call them home. Meet Silkypaws who loves to lounge in his family’s eclectic home, Mittens who is a bit of a celebrity and – given her house is as glamorous as she is – has even graced the pages of high-end interior design magazines and Coco Chanel who likes nothing better than watching the world go by from the comfort of her perfect pink kitchen! Each image captures a unique moment, be it heartwarming, sweet, funny, or slightly annoying, showing exactly what it’s like to share your home with one of the planet’s most beloved pets.

Alongside these original photographs are biographies of the cats, heartwarming anecdotes and gently humorous stories describing their distinctive quirks and offering a glimpse into the special bond between cat and owner.

This is a beautifully designed book that will appeal to cat lovers and interior design lovers alike.

The latest much-anticipated book from number one bestselling illustrator Millie Marotta, featuring the tiniest but mightiest of creatures.

This stunning colouring book is packed with some of the most intriguing miniature creatures that exist on our planet. From impossibly cute mammals to industrious insects, this newest title has illustrations of pygmy rabbits, dwarf geckos, tadpoles, pink fairy armadillos, zooplankton, pygmy hoglets and more.

There are many tiny creatures we may see every day, such as snails, bumblebees, caterpillars, wrens and ladybirds, and many more which we do not, such as the elf owl, the nano chameleon or the silky anteater; you have the chance to explore them all and more in this delightful colouring book.

Watch a parade of tiny creatures come to life as you flood each of these gorgeously intricate illustrations with colour. Printed on high-quality paper suitable for a range of colouring media, this book will be a beautiful collection of your very own coloured artworks to treasure forever.

In this new addition to Scala’s Director’s Choice series, Giles Mandelbrote offers a personal survey of Lambeth Palace Library’s history through a selection of treasured objects.

Founded in 1610, Lambeth Palace Library is the historic library of the Archbishops of Canterbury and houses the national archives of the Church of England. Dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing the Church’s cultural and religious heritage, the Library’s vast collection is accessible to all. In this engaging book, former Librarian and Archivist Giles Mandelbrote guides the reader through some of the Library’s greatest treasures, from the MacDurnan Gospels and the Lambeth Bible to the Lambeth copy of the Gutenberg Bible. He also reveals the dramatic story behind some 1,400 stolen books and manuscripts and introduces the Library’s stunning new purpose-built, eight-storey building.