The Joy of Allotments!

“What makes the allotment my place? It’s a mix of meditation, therapy and exercise, a place for me and my thoughts. That’s what I’ve tried to capture in this book – what it feels like to tend an allotment. Frankly, I view growing vegetables as a bit of a bonus.”

If you’re a keen gardener then you will no doubt recognise the highs and lows of the growing year as documented in Caroline Deput’s diary of two years on her allotment, The Joy of Allotments.

With charming, colourful illustrations throughout, fellow gardeners and allotment holders will groan in recognition at Caroline’s eternal (and often misplaced) optimism. There is always something to be done, whether it’s weeding, watering, hoeing, sowing… and that’s before you even get to the harvest, when your crop may or may not have fallen victim to insects, rodents, badgers, weeds, rabbits, pigeons, slugs or helpful children.

The Joy of Allotments is now available in hardback, and will make the perfect present either for yourself or the gardener in your life. Visit the Souvenir Press website for more information, or take a look at a couple of sample pages (you can click on them to enlarge) taken from the book.

Coming soon, we will also have for you an exclusive illustrated guest blog from Caroline Deput!

Discover Elie Wiesel – “One of the Great Writers of Our Generation”

Described by the New York Times Book Review as “one of the great writers of our generation”, winner of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize, and awarded the Grand Cross in the French Legion of Honour, Elie Wiesel has written 57 books, and been translated into 30 languages.

Now as part of our Independent Voices series, dedicated to publishing writers who provide alternative viewpoints and challenge conventional wisdom, Souvenir Press is publishing The Testament – a book that has been unavailable in the UK for two decades, although it is as relevant today as on its original publication.

Born in Romania in 1928 to Jewish parents, Elie Wiesel was deported as a child to Auschwitz where his mother and sister died. Separated from his mother and sister, Wiesel and his father were sent on to a different camp, Buchenwald, where his father died only weeks before the camp was liberated by the US Army in April 1945.

After the Second World War, Wiesel moved to France and learned French, the language he uses most frequently for writing. But for ten years after the war he refused to write about or discuss his experience of the war. It was only at the urging of François Mauriac, the 1952 Nobel Laureate in Literature, that Wiesel started to put his experiences down on paper. Now aged 85 Wiesel lives in the United States of America with his wife, Marion. His writing is considered among the most important in Holocaust literature.

The Testament, translated by Marion Wiesel, is an encompassing history of the twentieth-century. Paltiel Kossover, a “mute poet” and witness to history, travels from his Jewish childhood in pre-revolutionary Russia to Paris and Berlin in the 1930s as the Nazis take power, and then to Spain during its Civil War. He embraces Communism and returns to Russia, only to be imprisoned. In his cell he writes his ‘testament’ – a long letter to the son he will never see again, an account of his life as a man “who lived a Communist and died a Jew”.

In The Testament Wiesel pays tribute to the many writers killed by Stalin, and in Paltiel he has created one of the great Everyman characters of contemporary literature.

Souvenir Press revives Elie Wiesel’s lost classic as part of its Independent Voices series. An interesting additional feature of the new Souvenir Press edition is the cover which was obtained from The State Museum of The History of GULAG, depicting an artist’s rendering of a gulag.  Available in paperback and as an e-book, The Testament is available to a new generation of readers.

To view the full range of titles in our acclaimed Independent Voices series, click here.

 “An unusually rich, disturbing and satisfying book” – The Times

“A witness for truth and justice” – The Nobel Committee

“Not since Albert Camus has there been such an eloquent spokesman for man” – New York Review of Books

Introducing: Anthony Smith

If you live in, or commute into, London, the chances are you’ll already be familiar with Anthony Smith’s work. You may not know it, but his cartoons will jog your memory!

His ‘Learn to Speak Cat’ cartoons are published in ‘Metro’ daily, as well as on the Learn to Speak Cat Facebook page. Now Souvenir Press is publishing a collection of his ameowsing cartoons in full colour, the purrfect gift for cat lovers!

And for dog lovers, we have the companion book, ‘Bad Dog, No Biscuit’. Dog owners everywhere will recognise the trials of training a naughty pup, but this one is wilfully disobedient! Will this naughty pooch ever master sit, stay, drop and down? Check out the NEW Facebook page for Bad Dog, No Biscuit.

Both books by Anthony Smith are published today in paperback by Souvenir Press. And to whet your appetite we’ve got a selection of Anthony’s cartoons, below. Enjoy!

Taken from Learn to Speak Cat by Anthony Smith:

Taken from Bad Dog, No Biscuit by Anthony Smith:
Images copyright © Anthony Smith.

Once Upon a Flock: Life with my Soulful Chickens

Another day, another new book! Published last week, Once Upon a Flock by Lauren Scheuer already has reviews flooding in!

“Lauren’s heartwarming and amusing account of her adventures with chickens… Lauren recounts her experience with great warmth and style.” – Practical Poultry Magazine

“Tricky to put down… warm and witty… A must read for anyone who already shares their life with a flock of chickens and those contemplating the idea.” – The Garden Smallholder blog

“A really terrific book… [which] should be read by everyone.” – The Compost Bin blog

Meet the flock: Jenny, a chick who is as easy to love as she is to laugh at, Hatsy, an elegant and adventurous leader, and Lil’ White, a chicken with the respectable comportment of a Southern belle. And then there’s Marky, Lauren’s pet dog who went from chicken tormentor to their devoted protector.

Documenting the daily adventures of her chicken family with her photos and illustrations, Lauren Scheuer comes to realise that love, loss and passion are not only parts of the human experience, but essential parts of chicken life as well.

Once Upon a Flock is a heartwarming tale that will delight any animal-lover, and might even get you measuring up your garden for a brand new chicken coop! Crammed with Lauren Scheuer’s beautiful full-colour illustrations, the book brings Lauren’s little flock to life.

Once Upon a Flock by Lauren Scheuer is now available in hardcover and e-book from Souvenir Press.

New to paperback: A Natural History of the Piano

First published to wide acclaim last autumn in hardback and e-book, Stuart Isacoff’s A Natural History of the Piano is now available in paperback. It’s the perfect gift for piano-lovers, whether you like to play or listen: this book is something special for music lovers and pianists alike. At the time of publication it received rave reviews from the UK’s leading classical music magazines, as well as classical music bloggers:

“A treat for all pianists and pianophiles alike, one that leaves behind a rare glow of warmth.” – BBC Music Magazine, five stars

“Vastly entertaining and wonderfully informative. Isacoff always seems to come up with that extra piece of background or a juicy anecdote. [A] comprehensive and quite brilliant book.” – Classical Music magazine, Editor’s choice

“Richly informative book [that] should inspire piano novices to investigate the world of what the author calls ‘the most important instrument ever created’.” – Gramophone magazine

“A diverting gift for piano lovers.” – Pianist magazine

“Isacoff is adept at weaving in useful, odd and amusing facts. He rarely goes at a subject straight but wanders around seducing with yet more unusual information… Illuminating and highly readable… Generously and helpfully illustrated.” – Planet Hugill blog

“The gathering together here of so much information is an achievement in itself but to place the material in such an informative and entertaining narrative will make all lovers of the piano and, indeed, lovers of music want this book.” – The Classical Reviewer blog

Stuart Isacoff is a writer, pianist, composer and lecturer. He was the founding editor of Piano Today magazine, which he edited for almost thirty years.

Save Our Monsters!

With less than a month to go until Halloween, we are entering a critical time for our monster friends.

What if all those fearsome monsters you see in the movies or read about in books were just putting on an act for the media? What if they were simply misunderstood, living forever in the shadow of one event? It would be like forever judging Britney for the hair-shaving incident of 2007, or Prince Harry for his escapades in Vegas. Memorable, yes, but surely not their defining moment?

Did you know, for example, that Godzilla never hears from Son of Godzilla any more? And that mummies can be very body conscious in all those horizontal stripes? And that werewolves actually make great pets, once you get past the initial teething difficulties…

All these monsters we know and fear are really just looking for love and understanding. This Halloween, why not try and get to know the monster behind the name.

Join our Save Our Monsters campaign today – discover Sad Monsters by Frank Lesser, and find out the truth about Dracula, Godzilla, Bigfoot and more.

 

Introducing: Simply Gluten Free by Rita Greer

Rita Greer, the doyenne of special diet cooking, follows up Wheat-free Cooking with a brand new gluten-free kitchen bible: Simply Gluten Free: Rita Greer’s Helpful Kitchen Handbook.

One of Britain’s leading health writers, with decades of practical experience in special diet cookery, Rita Greer has created specially for this book a 100% gluten-free flour blend. Bread out of bounds? Not any more! You’ll love the special section with recipes for exciting gluten- and wheat-free breads to bake at home!

Simply Gluten Free contains recipes for every occasion, from everyday meals to food for celebrations, as well as cakes, biscuits and breads. Every recipe has a ‘healthiness’ rating out of five, making it easy to make a gluten-free diet part of a healthy lifestyle. Rita Greer even offers advice on organising and maintaining a gluten-free kitchen, to avoid contamination if, for example, only one member of your family requires a gluten-free diet.

Why not take a look at one of the recipes taken from Simply Gluten Free. Not long ago Rita dropped some of her gingersnap biscuits in to the Souvenir Press office, and they were gone within minutes! They were so tasty that we wanted to share the recipe with you, to give you an idea of what sort of goodies you could find within the pages of this gluten-free gem.

(Click to enlarge)

Simply Gluten Free by Rita Greer is now available in paperback and e-book.

Most Haunted…?

Chateau d’Hérouville*, once favoured by the biggest British recording artists including Elton John (the French chateau inspired the name of his ‘Honky Chateau’ album), The Rolling Stones, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie, has been put up for sale this month. But it wasn’t just the musical great and good that frequented this French chateau.

According to David Bowie, the Chateau d’Hérouville was haunted, and by none other than the ghost of Frédéric Chopin, who is said to have lived at Hérouville with his mistress. Bowie even refused to sleep in the master bedroom, due to the strange energy of the Chateau.

But why cross the Channel for a spot of ghost-hunting, when here in Britain we have such a wealth of spooky places for you to explore! Where the Ghosts Walk by Peter Underwood is the culmination of a lifetime’s work from the UK’s leading authority on the paranormal. The book is a thorough guide to places across Britain where ghosts have been seen outside – that is, public places, not buildings or private houses, or French chateaux.

If you’re after famous names, you can discover the ghost of Anne Boleyn in the grounds of Hever Castle in Kent and Napoleon at Lulworth Cove. You can also find screaming figures in Norfolk at Castle Rising, Kings Lynn, and at the Shrieking Pits in Aylmerton… and if you’re lucky you might even find a ghost train in Dunphail, Scotland.

So instead of heading to France, take a ghostly tour of the British Isles under the expert guidance of Peter Underwood.

*You can read more about the Chateau d’Hérouville on the Guardian website.

E-book offer: Telling Tales in Latin

As part of the Amazon Kindle Summer deals, Telling Tales in Latin by Lorna Robinson will be available for the bargain price of £1.19 throughout August.

An exciting new Latin course and storybook for children, it brings Latin to life with its captivating stories taken from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and narrated by Ovid himself, combined with the lively, fun illustrations by Soham De.

What have the reviews been saying so far?

“Really inviting and engaging, with clear explanations and beautiful and fun illustrations by Soham De… an inviting, absorbing, and embracing learning experience. Young students new to the language will enjoy themselves, and love their learning, both of Latin and classical mythology, and be inspired to learn more. It’s a beautiful beginners’ book, the like of which most of us never had in the past, and I look forward to its success and the love that its students will have for it in years to come.” – The Classics Library

“This would be an excellent choice of text to teach children aged 9 and upwards the rudiments of Latin, and as the book has all the vocabulary needed for the OCR exam, it is a very versatile text indeed.” – The Garden Window blog

“‘Telling Tales in Latin’ will delight all who read it… This little book focuses excellently on the importance of literacy and language and makes it a superb and stimulating introduction to learning Latin… It is one of the best Latin course books currently available and will undoubtedly prove to be a great success, particularly with younger children. Congratulations to Lorna Robinson who has produced a real masterpiece, which brings the subject to life.” – Stephen Addis

And as if that wasn’t exciting enough, Lorna Robinson is in the process of putting together a Teacher’s Guide to Telling Tales in Latin, which will be available for free through the Iris Project website. We’ll be letting you know when the Teacher’s Guide is available, so if you’re interested keep checking back here!

Telling Tales in Latin: A Review

Stephen Addis, a retired Classics teacher with 36 years’ experience of teaching Classics in state and independent schools, has recently reviewed Telling Tales in Latin by Lorna Robinson, and has kindly allowed us to reproduce his review in full here on our blog. Stephen taught Classics for 32 years as Head of Department, and since retiring teaches as part of the University of the Third Age. He has a  BA Honours Degree in Classics from Bristol University and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education from the School of Education, University of Bristol.

Read his review in full below, or on Amazon, where he rated it five stars out of five.

‘Telling Tales in Latin’ by Lorna Robinson is a new and exciting Latin course published by Souvenir Press. The Roman poet Ovid serves as the storyteller and his chatty, lively style will appeal to students of all ages from the outset.

A selection of mythological stories from Ovid’s Metamorphoses forms the basis of the Latin text. The grammatical material and vocabulary cover the requirements of the OCR Entry Level qualification in Latin, making this course the only one which currently caters for this prescription.

From Chapter 1, students are encouraged to see and also to work out for themselves the connections between Latin and English derivatives, some of which will prove to be rather thought provoking, but will help to extend pupils’ knowledge and understanding of English vocabulary.

Each chapter follows a similar format, namely a brief introduction, the myth itself with helpful vocabulary, a clear explanation of the new grammatical point being studied and excellent suggestions for further activities.

Pupils are introduced to the most important areas of Latin grammar so that they can see how the structure of the language works. Verb tenses which are covered include the Present, Imperfect and Perfect with clear definitions of each. The four conjugations, termed ‘groups’, with their infinitives, are outlined. If any form of a Perfect tense verb is different, it appears each time in the vocabulary. Two very common irregular verbs (sum and possum) in the Present tense only are given, which Ovid calls ‘wild verbs’. Nouns (Masculine, Feminine and Neuter) in the first three declensions are given which are again referred to as ‘groups’ with explanations of subject and object rather than the use of Nominative and Accusative, although the term the ‘Dative’ is actually used and explained and reference is also made to it being the indirect object in the clause. The agreement of adjectives is covered as are question words including – ne. Imperatives, prepositional uses, phrases of time and superlatives are all glossed in the vocabulary. Every grammatical structure is explained in a concise and lucid way in Ovid’s inimitable style.

The book contains superb colourful illustrations either on every page or double page by Soham De which will help to enhance the students’ appreciation and enjoyment of each mythological tale.

The ‘Activities’ section at the end of all the chapters will provide students and teachers alike with a wealth of opportunities to explore the appeal of mythology in many different ways. Suggestions cover such areas as thinking about how myths might contain morals, personal responses, creative writing, drama activities, artwork and illustrations and reasons why the theme of metamorphosis has captured the imaginations of artists, sculptors and writers. Readers are encouraged to consider the enduring appeal of these tales and how they can relate to important modern ideas including relationships with other people and looking after the planet. Teachers will easily be able to develop cross-curricular links with many other subjects.

There are some errors which need to be corrected before the next print, the most serious being ‘currus’ termed a group 2 noun on page 63, but these can easily be remedied and will not detract from the reader’s enjoyment of the text.

‘Telling Tales in Latin’ will delight all who read it both visually and from its rich selection of tales. This little book focuses excellently on the importance of literacy and language and makes it a superb and stimulating introduction to learning Latin. Students will be inspired to explore more of Ovid’s stories and their enjoyment of Latin will be increased greatly. It is one of the best Latin course books currently available and will undoubtedly prove to be a great success, particularly with younger children. Congratulations to Lorna Robinson who has produced a real masterpiece, which brings the subject to life.

Thank you to Stephen Addis for allowing us to reproduce his review here in full.