Perfect for fans of Jill Mansell and Carole Matthews, Sunset Over the Cherry Orchard is a heartwarming, hilarious tale that is 'like the best kind of holiday' (Lucy Diamond). It's time for Beti Winter to dance to her own beat. After three failed engagements Beti is in desperate need of a fresh start. What better place than the sun-drenched hills of southern Spain?But it's not all sangria and siestas. Beti finds work on an old Andalusian cherry farm where there are cherries to be picked, trees to be watered and her fiery boss, Antonio, to win over. As the sun toasts her skin, Beti finds herself warming to the Spanish way of life. Embracing the art of flamenco, she discovers there is much to learn from the dance of passion. She just has to let loose and listen to the rhythm of her heart.

     Alan has no desire to move to Spain, but his sister Cathy and brother-in-law Bernie are going regardless, so he decides to tag along. Despite his initial pessimism, he soon sees that life in their new home has more to offer than he first suspected, and by befriending a pair of local oldies he finds surprising new opportunities opening up to him. A coin dealer by trade and an idler by nature, his new, dynamic attitude surprises Cathy, Bernie and, most of all, himself, as he gets to grips with the language, tries out new activities and embraces the outdoor life. When the bar in the nearby village is reopened by two enterprising ladies, he also begins to realise that bachelorhood may not be his destiny after all. Part Two is now also available.

    The 800-kilometer journey along the Camino Frances provides a scenic backdrop to ponder midlife crisis and chronic illness, an empty nest and marital woes, military service and posttraumatic stress, rage and grief, heartbreak and fear - And the way forward. El Camino de Santiago, known fondly as The Way, is a matrix of trails with starting points across Europe leading to the sacred relics of Saint James the Apostle in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Often considered a Catholic pilgrimage, this ancient route predates Christianity. The Way continues to evolve, attracting spiritual seekers with and without religion, thru-hikers, fitness junkies, history buffs, and the curious. Armed with humor and grit and a backpack named little Agnus, Lockhart tackles emotional and physical obstacles, shares adventures with pilgrims from all over the world, mothers traveling teens, endures blisters and bicycle seats and embraces the glory of Mother Nature and the intrinsic spirituality of peregrination. She finds herself transcending from a human being on a spiritual quest to a spiritual being on a human quest.

    If you loved The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah or The Island by Victoria Hislop, you’ll devour this dramatic book-club read set in a beautiful Spanish villa where the walls whisper with secrets. When Charlotte’s husband James tragically dies, he leaves her an unexpected gift – her grandmother’s beautiful villa, Marisal, on the Spanish island of Formentera. As she begins to explore her new home, and heal her broken heart in the warm golden sunshine, Charlotte discovers that her grandmother Alba has been keeping secrets about her life on the island. Intrigued by her family’s hidden history, Charlotte uncovers a devastating love affair that put many lives at risk and two sisters torn apart by loss. Can the heartbreaking truth of the island’s dark history finally be laid to rest? Or will the secrets of the past shake the new life and love that Charlotte is close to finding?

    On the Iberian Peninsula the wars of the Reconquista rage across Aragon and Castile. Once again, the Moors are gaining the upper hand. Christendom is divided.Amidst the chaos comes a young knight: Arnau of Valbona. After his Lord is killed in an act of treachery, Arnau pledges to look after his daughter, whose life is now at risk. But in protecting her Arnau will face terrible challenges, and enter a world of Templars, steely knights and visceral combat he could never have imagined.She in turn will find a new destiny with the Knights as a daughter of war… Can she survive? And can Arnau find his destiny?An explosive novel of greed and lust, God and blood, Daughter of War marks the beginning of an epic new series from bestseller S.J.A. Turney. Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell, Conn Iggulden and Matt Harffy.

    What Michael doesn’t expect, is to be put in charge of a group of offenders and sent to a remote location in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Spain to teach them survival skills as part of their rehabilitation programme. But Michael knows nothing at all about survival skills. He was sort of in the SAS, yes, but his shining record on the “Escape and Evasion” courses was more a testament to his computer skills than his ability to catch wildlife and barbecue it over an impromptu fire. Basically, he was the SAS’s techy nerd and only achieved that position as a result of a bet with a fellow hacker. Facing a stark choice between starvation or returning home to serve out their sentences, the group of offenders under Michael’s supervision soon realise that the only way to survive is to use their own unique set of skills – the kind of skills that got them arrested in the first place.

    Wonderfully crafted, El Hacho is a poignant and compelling story of struggle and hope.

    From the ferocious dog that chases him down a dark stairway to haircuts with washing machines and accidentally stripping naked during a hospital appointment, finding his feet is far from easy. Barcelona is quick to cast its spell, but will Vernon ever master Spanish? Will he eventually find romance? Or will he return to London to resume his teaching career? This is the lively first instalment in Vernon’s “Barcelona” series.

    Catlos rewrites the history of Islamic Spain from the ground up, evoking the cultural splendor of al-Andalus, while offering an authoritative new interpretation of the forces that shaped it.Prior accounts have portrayed Islamic Spain as a paradise of enlightened tolerance or the site where civilizations clashed. Catlos taps a wide array of primary sources to paint a more complex portrait, showing how Muslims, Christians, and Jews together built a sophisticated civilization that transformed the Western world, even as they waged relentless war against each other and their coreligionists. Religion was often the language of conflict, but seldom its cause--a lesson we would do well to learn in our own time.

    

     Especially if you're Elena de Arazas. Haunted by a childhood tragedy, mountain healer and midwife Elena navigates the world like a bird in flight. An unexpected romance shatters her solitary existence, giving her new hope. But when her dearest friend makes an audacious request, Elena faces an agonizing choice. Will she be drawn back into the web of violence she’s spent a lifetime trying to escape? The Promise: A Prequel Novella will transport you into the world of the Miramonde Series, which tells the dazzling story of a Renaissance-era female artist and the young scholar on her trail. Discover The Girl from Oto (book 1), Mira's Way (book 2), and the final book in the series, A Place in the World, coming in fall 2019! Praise for The Girl from Oto: "An exquisite novel." -- Martha Conway, North American Book Award-winning author of Thieving Forest "From the very beginning I was enthralled with Mira, Zari, and their entwined journeys through history and the world of art. As a curator and art historian, it's a rare treat for me to find a novel that so lovingly reflects our joys and challenges. The Girl from Oto delivers--and I can't wait to spend more time with Mira." -- Jennifer Dasal, host of the ArtCurious podcast "A powerful story and an intriguing mystery. A Red Ribbon winner and highly recommended." -- The Wishing Shelf Book Awards Praise for Mira's Way: "Mira's Way takes you on a breathless journey through Spain and France, in the company of two determined women, separated by five centuries. A brilliant read." -- Deborah Swift, author of The Lady's Slipper "A stand-alone story that grips from start to finish." -- Historical Novel Society If you enjoy strong heroines, adventure, intrigue, and romance, you'll love this thrilling tale. Download your copy today!

    In the Mediterranean, the great Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam meet, often in cooperation and peace but, at times, in bloody conflict. It is an era of migration, globalism and multiculturalism leading to a robust interchange of technology, ideas and the basic tools of international trade. But, the interests of the Christian west are on a collision course with those of the Muslim world. War is coming. The Church is rallying the nobles of Europe to embark on an ‘armed pilgrimage’ to reclaim the Holy Land. Now, Thomas and his Muslim and Jewish partners’ lucrative sugar trade is in jeopardy. Thomas’s own secret and dangerous mission, directed from Rome, will become filled with even greater peril.When Thomas’s family is annihilated in a raid, his life changes forever. Wandering for days, starving and hopeless, he is rescued by a monk and is taken to live at the abbey of Eynsham. There he receives a curious education, training to be a scholar, a merchant and a spy. His mission: to develop commerce in Muslim lands and dispatch vital information to the Holy See.His perilous adventures during the 11th century’s commercial revolution will take him far from his cloistered life to the great trading cities of Almeria, Amalfi, Alexandria and Cairo.But the world in which he lives is chaotic. Struggling with love and loss, faith and fortune, can Thomas carry out his secret mission before conflict overtakes him? Spanning the tumultuous medieval worlds of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, The Sugar Merchant is a tale of clashing cultures, massive economic change and one man’s determination to fulfill his destiny.

    Despite being opposites in both looks and personality they were drawn to each other sharing a flat, dreams and a love of animals. Through the ensuing years despite heartache and divorce, they remain as close as ever. Abby would be the first to admit her life needs an injection of fun. Middle-aged, divorced and slightly overweight she’s a mother/general dogsbody to two layabout sons, a pink-haired Amazonian on-off girlfriend and an incorrigible British Bulldog named Chester, her lifelong dream of living in Spain’s glorious sunshine has been long forgotten or has it? Lou was stuck in her own rut, never fully recovered from a tragedy in her past a long list of online dating disasters had left her wondering if she will ever find love again. Her cool ice-maiden persona is shattered along with her cat’s eardrums when she wins £400,000 on an online bingo site. Could this be the answer to both their prayers? Flip-Flops packed, they embark on their adventure but it isn’t all sun and sangria. Warring pets, new neighbours, Cooking experiments, scary wildlife and an escapee Donkey named Santos combine, to make it an unforgettable Summer. Can their friendship survive or will the Mediterranean dream become a nightmare?

    There, he is free to brood in seclusion, pacing the terrazas, and frightening away any villagers brave enough to approach his gates. But when a ship wrecks in a violent Mediterranean storm, Felipe ventures down the cliffs to aid any survivors. There is only one—an English beauty named Julia Denman. Julia begins to recover from her injuries, counting the days until she can flee the secluded, cliffside castle, but as her health grows stronger, so does her desire for the handsome, tortured Duque de Torme.

    Fully illustrated with over 130 illustrations of his famous work, as well as lesser known pieces, archive imagery, contemporary landscapes and personal photographs, the book provides uniquely accessible insight into the people and places that shaped this iconic artist and how the homes and landscapes of his life relate to his work.

    Nominated for running book of the year in The Running Awards 2019.

    It may therefore come as a surprise that 80,000 Moroccans fought at General Franco's side in the 1930s. What brought these strange bedfellows together, Eric Calderwood argues, was a highly effective propaganda weapon: the legacy of medieval Muslim Iberia, known as al-Andalus. This legacy served to justify Spain's colonization of Morocco and also to define the Moroccan national culture that supplanted colonial rule.Writers of many political stripes have celebrated convivencia, the fabled "coexistence" of Christians, Muslims, and Jews in medieval Iberia. According to this widely-held view, modern Spain and Morocco are joined through their shared Andalusi past. Colonial al-Andalus traces this supposedly timeless narrative to the mid-1800s, when Spanish politicians and intellectuals first used it to press for Morocco's colonization. Franco later harnessed convivencia to the benefit of Spain's colonial program in Morocco. This shift precipitated an eloquent historical irony. As Moroccans embraced the Spanish insistence on Morocco's Andalusi heritage, a Spanish idea about Morocco gradually became a Moroccan idea about Morocco.Drawing on a rich archive of Spanish, Arabic, French, and Catalan sources--including literature, historiography, journalism, political speeches, schoolbooks, tourist brochures, and visual arts--Calderwood reconstructs the varied political career of convivencia and al-Andalus, showing how shared pasts become raw material for divergent contemporary ideologies, including Spanish fascism and Moroccan nationalism. Colonial al-Andalus exposes the limits of simplistic oppositions between European and Arab, Christian and Muslim, that shape current debates about European colonialism.

    Tony Metcalfe, a seventy-year-old Yorkshireman and his wife Laney run Viva Espagne, a bar in a small village in the mountains beyond the Costa Blanca. Set amongst the bawdy working class expats of Spain - the por favors as the Spanish call them - the monoglot, post-war babies who retired early on good pensions, flocking to the dream of wine and rest and sun around the pool. But now their retirement paradise is shadowed by Brexit: the pound has fallen, pensions are frozen and the property crash happened long ago. Tony dreams of moving back to enjoy the remainder of his life in his childhood home, but Laney wants to stay in the happy valley and forget about England and the dark, unresolved feelings it provokes in their marriage. Tony loves his wife and keeps his dreams to himself along with the fact that Viva is losing money. He couldn't go home even if he tried - nobody would buy an ailing bar in a recession. Tony's only chance of getting home lies in puncturing the silence and blame in his marriage, and turning his bar to profit to sell. This looks impossible for passive, amiable Tony until his only son Nick arrives for an unexpectedly long stay, bringing his young wife Jo and son Fred in tow. Their arrival signals a new chapter in Tony's life, but will it be one in which his dreams are finally realised?

     This book is perfect for all beginners looking to improve their Spanish. It’s written specifically for people with a basic grasp of Spanish who want to bring up their reading comprehension. La Otra Mujer is a fun, light-hearted and entertaining alternative to boring old textbooks! The entire story is written with beginners in mind: •A1-suitable vocabulary •200+ word vocab checker •Simple grammar structures •Suggested discussion questions & answers Graded Spanish readers are a great way to see your language ability improve without feeling like you’re studying. Buy La Otra Mujer today and watch your reading confidence sky-rocket!

    Contents: The Last of the GothsThe Wave of ConquestThe People of AndalusiaA Young PretenderThe Christian MartyrsThe Great KhalifThe Holy WarThe City of the KhalifThe Prime MinisterThe Berbers in PowerMy Cid the ChallengerThe Kingdom of GranadaThe Fall of GranadaBearing the Cross

    During the post-civil war era, General Francisco Franco's fascist government forbade the people of Spain's Catalonia region from speaking, reading, and writing in Catalan, a crime punishable by imprisonment or execution. Throughout these years, the work of Catalan poets could only be found via the underground. Marlon L. Fick and Francisca Esteve traveled to meet each of the poets featured in this anthology, embarking on the long road of joy, pain, and friendship that is the work of translation. These fourteen poets, like fourteen blackbirds, provide keen angles of perception in beautiful and lyrical poetry, sometimes ecstatic, sometimes nostalgic, and always engaging, until now almost entirely unknown to U.S readers.

    This book brings together a range of leading academics and experts on social democratic politics and policy to offer an international, comparative view of the changing political landscape. Using case studies from the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand contributors argue that despite different local and specific contexts, the mainstream center-left is beset by a range of common challenges. Analysis focuses on institutional and structural factors, the role of key individuals, and the atrophy of progressive ideas as interconnected reasons for the current struggles of the center-left.

     Setting out on the famous 500 mile walk across Spain, Rich is married, seemingly happy, but with a nagging feeling something is not right. Facing a crossroads in his life, he feels drawn to the journey and excited by the adventure, following in the footsteps of generations of travellers that have gone before. As the miles crunch underfoot, issues that had been buried for a long time begin to surface. Rich meets other people with their own troubles and reasons for being on the Camino: from a man traumatised by the Iraq War to another whose parents struggle to accept his sexuality. These encounters start to make Rich seriously question why he is walking the Camino, and he’s forced to face up to some uncomfortable truths. Footsteps is an honest, personal, compelling tale, and ultimately an inspiring story of redemption.

    As a practice, design is no longer limited to the world of material objects but rather extends from carefully crafted individual styles and online identities to the surrounding galaxies of personal devices, new materials, interfaces, networks, systems, infrastructures, data, chemicals, organisms, and genetic codes.Superhumanity seeks to explore and challenge our understanding of “design” by engaging with and departing from the concept of the “self.” This volume brings together more than fifty essays by leading scientists, artists, architects, designers, philosophers, historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists, originally disseminated online via e-flux Architecture between September 2016 and February 2017 on the invitation of the Third Istanbul Design Biennial. Probing the idea that we are and always have been continuously reshaped by the artifacts we shape, this book asks: Who designed the lives we live today? What are the forms of life we inhabit, and what new forms are currently being designed? Where are the sites, and what are the techniques, to design others?This vital and far-reaching collection of essays and images seeks to explore and reflect on the ways in which both the concept and practice of design are operative well beyond tangible objects, expanding into the depths of self and forms of life.Contributors: Zeynep Çelik Alexander, Lucia Allais, Shumon Basar, Ruha Benjamin, Franco “Bifo” Berardi, Daniel Birnbaum, Ina Blom, Benjamin H. Bratton, Giuliana Bruno, Tony Chakar, Mark Cousins, Simon Denny, Keller Easterling, Hu Fang, Rubén Gallo, Liam Gillick, Boris Groys, Rupali Gupte, Andrew Herscher, Tom Holert, Brooke Holmes, Francesca Hughes, Andrés Jaque, Lydia Kallipoliti, Thomas Keenan, Sylvia Lavin, Yongwoo Lee, Lesley Lokko, MAP Office, Chus Martínez, Ingo Niermann, Ahmet Ögüt, Trevor Paglen, Spyros Papapetros, Raqs Media Collective, Juliane Rebentisch, Sophia Roosth, Felicity D. Scott, Jack Self, Prasad Shetty, Hito Steyerl, Kali Stull, Pelin Tan, Alexander Tarakhovsky, Paulo Tavares, Stephan Trüby, Etienne Turpin, Sven-Olov Wallenstein, Eyal Weizman, Mabel O. Wilson, Brian Kuan Wood, Liam Young, and Arseny Zhilyaev.

    Despite a near-zero knowledge of the language, he had three months to learn. No problem, or so Rich kept telling himself. Rich dives in at the deep end by moving in with an unintelligible Spanish landlady, and a German roommate, Nils, who insists on being called by his Spanish name, “Miguel”. Unsurprisingly, Miguel can only take Rich’s Spanish so far. Instead, he takes his chances on a journey across Spain. Follow Rich on a hilarious, life-changing trip through this fascinating and cultured country, as he travels through the vineyards of La Rioja, surfs in the Basque Country and frantically tries to speak Spanish at anyone he can find. In Granada, the last outpost of the Muslim Moors in Spain, Rich’s moment finally arrives. The microphone is on and the audience is ready, but is he?