This richly illustrated book explores the huge creative endeavour behind Tolkien's enduring popularity. Lavishly illustrated with over 300 images of his manuscripts, drawings, maps and letters, the book traces the creative process behind his most fam...

This volume is an excellent introduction to the world of J. R. R. Tolkien. Recounting in images and words the story of his early years and life as a scholar and family man, the book also illustrates some of the primary items associated with "The Hobb...

When Marjory Wardrop joined her diplomat brother, Oliver, in Georgia in 1894, they found themselves witnessing the birth pangs of a modern nation. Recognising the significance of these transformative years, they actively participated in the work of I...

Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), daughter of romantic poet Lord Byron and his highly educated wife, Anne Isabella, is sometimes called the world's first computer programmer and has become an icon for women in technology. But how did a young wom...

"The Wind in the Willows" has its origins in the bedtime stories that Kenneth Grahame told to his son Alastair and then continued in letters (now held in the Bodleian Library) while he was on holiday. But the book developed into something much more s...

One day an old lady swallows a fly and the only way she can get rid of it is to swallow a wriggling, tickling spider... For over a century this subversive rhyme has delighted children and parents alike. Its galloping rhythm is perfect for reading ou...

Janet Stone's photograph albums feature informal portraits from the mid-twentieth century of many of the leading cultural figures and personalities of the day. The wife of the distinguished engraver Reynolds Stone established a kind of literary salon...

There are many things cats can do which children can't, such as lap up milk and use their tongues as combs. There are also a number of things that cats can't do, like sing children to sleep, or get down from trees... Abner Graboff combines the voice...

Oxford held a special place in Evelyn Waugh's imagination. So formative were his Oxford years that the city never left him, appearing again and again in his novels in various forms. This book explores in rich visual detail the abiding importance of O...

What can be found in the Vatican's Secret Archive? How many books did Charles Darwin's library aboard the Beagle hold? Which library is home to a colony of bats? Bursting with potted histories, quirky facts and enlightening lists, this book explores...