What do women look for in a man? And what do men look for in a woman? And how and why has this changed over the centuries? Every week thousands of people advertise for love either in newspapers, magazines or online. But if you think this is a modern phenomenon, think again – the ads have been running for over three hundred years. From the first ad in 1695 from a young gentleman who ‘would willingly Match himself to some Good Young Gentlewoman, that has a Fortune of GBP3000 or thereabouts’ to the GSOH, WLTM and online dating of more recent years, each ad is a snapshot of its age.

The result is a startling history of sex, marriage and society over three centuries – hilarious and heartbreaking by turn.

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The wilderness is much closer than you think. Passed through, negotiated, unnamed, unacknowledged: the edgelands – those familiar yet ignored spaces which are neither city nor countryside – have become the great wild places on our doorsteps. In the same way the Romantic writers taught us to look at hills, lakes and rivers, poets Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts write about mobile masts and gravel pits, business parks and landfill sites, taking the reader on a journey to marvel at these richly mysterious, forgotten regions in our midst.

“Edgelands” forms a critique of what we value as ‘wild’, and allows our allotments, railways, motorways, wasteland and water a presence in the world, and a strange beauty all of their own.

This title is translated by TOM PAYNE. “The Art of Love” may have been written in the days of gladiators and emperors, but Ovid remains the smartest teacher on the subject of love in all of history, and his advice is enduringly useful and entertaining. Between these covers you’ll find all you need to know about where to meet a new beau, how to handle illicit affairs and how to maintain your allure.

This edition also contains the companion volume “The Cure for Love” – in case things don’t work out. This title is presented with an introduction by Hephzibah Anderson.

In this personal memoir about life at 10 Downing Street, Sarah Brown shares the secrets of living behind the most famous front door in the world. Sarah gave up a successful career in business to serve the country. A passionate campaigner for women and children, she mobilised over a million people through her early adoption of Twitter.

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to pack for a photo call with supermodels or pause a speech in front of hundreds when the autocue fails, it’s all here – from what to do when the school play clashes with a visit to the White House to what it feels like to support the man you love as he takes tough decisions to stave off global financial meltdown…Intimate, reflective, surprising and funny, “Behind the Black Door” takes us backstage to reveal what it’s like to be an ordinary woman, wife and mother in extraordinary circumstances.

Dee loves her children very much, but now they are all grown up, shouldn’t they leave home? Rosie moved out when she got married, but it didn’t work out, so now she is back with her parents. Helen is a teacher, and doesn’t earn enough for a place of her own. Anthony writes songs, and is just waiting for the day when someone will pay him for them.

Until then, all three are happy at home. It doesn’t cost them anything, and surely their parents like having a full house? When a crisis occurs, Dee decides things have to change for the whole family …whether they like it or not.