Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - Page number 24 - May/June 2021

24 Bookstand The latest releases in gift books I CAN DRAW By Peng RRP: Format: Hardback IBSN: Peng’s easy-to-follow guide inspires confidence and creativity by showing how even complete novices can quickly learn how to draw characters and develop their own individual style. Starting with the basics of figure construction and moving through to expression, movement and animals, the artist conjures up delightful cartoons with wicked humour and a lightness of touch. Simple tips and exercises reveal how anyone and everyone can master the art of drawing, encouraging the reader to experiment with a variety of techniques executed through brush, pencil and pen. Don’t be afraid of drawing, concludes Peng, in this enjoyable and addictive starter book – you make the rules www.thameshudson.co.uk THE PERFECT LIE By Jo Spain RRP: £14.99 Format: Hardback He jumped to his death in front of witnesses. Now his wife is charged with his murder. Five years ago, Erin Kennedy moved to New York following a family tragedy. She now lives happily with her detective husband in the scenic seaside town of Newport, Long Island. When Erin answers the door to Danny’s police colleagues one morning, it’s the start of an ordinary day. But behind her, Danny walks to the window of their fourth-floor apartment and jumps to his death. Eighteen months later, Erin is in court, charged with her husband’s murder. Over that year and a half, Erin has learned things about Danny she could never have imagined. She thought he was perfect. She thought their life was perfect. But it was all built on the perfect lie. www.quercusbooks.co.uk THE PLANT HUNTER’S ATLAS By Ambra Edwards RRP: £30 Format: Hardback The Plant Hunter’s Atlas is a lavishly illustrated volume telling extraordinary tales of botanical discovery, introducing astounding new plants that have shaped empires, secured (and destroyed) economies, revolutionized medicine and advanced our understanding of science. Circling the globe from Australia’s Botany Bay to the Tibetan plateau, from the deserts of Southern Africa to the jungles of Brazil, this book presents an incredible cast of characters – dedicated researchers and reckless adventurers; physicians, prisoners, lovers and thieves. Meet dauntless Scots explorer David Douglas and visionary Prussian thinker Alexander von Humboldt, the ‘Green Samurai’ Mikinori Ogisu and the intrepid 17th century entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian – the first woman known to have made a living from science. Beautifully illustrated with over 100 botanical artworks from the unrivalled archives of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this absorbing book tells the stories of how plants have travelled across the world – from the missions of the Pharaohs right up to 21st century seed-banks and the many new and endangered species being discovered every year. www.quercusbooks.co.uk WIDOW LAND By C. J. Carey RRP: £14.99 Format: Hardback London, 1953, Coronation year, but not the Coronation of Elizabeth II. Thirteen years have passed since a Grand Alliance between Great Britain and Germany was formalized. George VI and his family have been murdered and Edward VIII rules as King. Yet, in practice, all power is vested in Alfred Rosenberg, Britain’s protector. The role and status of women is Rosenberg’s particular interest. Rose Ransom belongs to the elite caste of women and works at the Ministry of Culture, rewriting literature to correct the views of the past. But now she has been given a special task. Outbreaks of insurgency have been seen across the country; graffiti daubed on public buildings. Disturbingly, the graffiti is made up of lines from forbidden works, subversive words from the voices of women. Suspicion has fallen on Widowland, the run-down slums where childless women over fifty have been banished. These women are known to be mutinous, for they have nothing to lose. Before the Leader arrives for the Coronation ceremony of King Edward and Queen Wallis, Rose must infiltrate Widowland to find the source of this rebellion and ensure that it is quashed. www.quercusbooks.co.uk