Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - Page number 34 - September/October 2021

34 LITTLE WOMEN - THE COMPLETE, NOVEL, FEATURING THE CHARACTERS’ LETTERS AND MANUSCRIPTS, WRITTEN AND FOLDED BY HAND By Barbara Heller and Louisa May Alcott RRP: £20 Format: Hardback IBSN: 9781797208916 This special edition invites fans inside the world of the March sisters. It includes the full text of Little Women , plus gorgeous, removable replicas of the characters’ letters and other writings. For anyone who loves Little Women , or still cherishes the joy of letter writing, this book illuminates a favourite story in a whole new way. Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale follows the March sisters as they come of age, and these unforgettable characters come alive in their letters and other writings. When Laurie invites Jo to join him for a picnic and “all sorts of larks,” the unbridled joy of their friendship shines through. Each of the girls’ personalities is perfectly encapsulated in the letters they pen to Marmee. And Jo’s heart- wrenching poem “My Beth” speaks to the profound bond between two sisters. As you read this deluxe edition of the novel, you will find pockets throughout containing replicas of all 17 significant letters and paper ephemera from the story, re-created with beautiful calligraphy and painstaking attention to historical detail. Pull out each one, peruse its contents, and allow yourself to be transported to the parlour of the March family home. www.abramsandchronicle.co.uk HIDDEN HANDS By Mary Wellesley RRP: £25 Format: Hardback IBSN: 9781529400939 This stunning book charts the history of manuscripts in England, starting with the first, found in the grave of St .Cuthbert at the end of the seventh century. It then goes right up to the invention of printing, forming a line of transmission that constitute a history of England and its literary culture. Scribes, clerics, patrons and collectors are drawn with a vivid touch, while the significance of individual manuscripts is judiciously illuminated. The book is also insistent on the early role of women as authors and active, visible participants. www.quercusbooks.co.uk THE APOLLO NUMBERS By Chris Hadfield RRP: £20 Format: Hardback IBSN: 9781529406856 Chris Hadfield is one of the most experienced astronauts in the world and has taken taken this wealth of experience and woven it into his debut thriller. As Russian and American crews sprint for a secret bounty hidden away on the lunar surface, Houston flight controller Kaz must do all he can to keep the NASA crew together, while staying one step ahead of his Soviet rivals. But not everyone on board Apollo 18 is quite who they appear to be… www.quercusbooks.co.uk THE LITERARY ALMANAC By Francesca Beauman RRP: £14.99 Format: Hardback Whether echoing the changing seasons or set in a particular month, each of the books recommended in The Literary Almanac has been selected to chime with that time of year to provide a richer reading experience and open our imaginations to the different seasons and rhythms of our world. The perfect time to curl up with Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone is of course a blustery October evening, and Sarah Moss’s Ghost Wall is ideal for a sultry July afternoon. What better read for February than Tove Ditlevson’s brief and beautiful Danish classic Childhood , and November is a perfect time to pick up Toni Morrison’s searing The Bluest Eye . Beautifully illustrated throughout with original artwork, this compendium guides the reader through a trove of bookish delights. Divided into twelve sections, the Almanac suggests a pair of titles perfect to read in any given month. An overview accompanies each selected title, all of which serve to signpost the passage of the calendar year, from season to season and month to month. With further reading suggestions and seasonal literary trivia, readers will be spoilt for choice with recommendations and fascinating minutiae. www.quercusbooks.co.uk