Annabelle Thorpe - Böcker

"A real heartwarming portrait of Britain and our love of time off. I couldn't put it down.” – Cathy Adams, The Times travel desk"How we spend our time off tells us a lot about who we are – and Thorpe understands that." – Tom Chesshyre___Discover how our favourite holiday traditions began in this entertaining and fascinating social history.Holidays. We dream of them, plan them and savour every moment of them. But where did the concept of “the holiday” come from? How has it become so essential to who we are as Brits? And what does the future hold for our treasured time off?In The Great Escape, travel journalist Annabelle Thorpe takes us on a fascinating journey through the history of British holidays – from the 18th-century spa break to the age of the global nomad – to answer all these questions and more. Travelling the length and breadth of Britain (with a detour to the Mediterranean), Annabelle explores the wilds of Scotland, visits Bath, Blackpool and Butlins, and sets out on Victorian railway lines to uncover the stories of those who helped shape our holiday culture.Weaving together history, social change, nostalgia and personal anecdotes, and illustrated with a colour plate section, The Great Escape is its own Grand Tour – 400 years of the high days and holidays we cherish as a nation.Part travelogue, part social history, this book is a must-read for everyone who loves to travel and wants to know more about how the generations before us spent their precious free time.

Explore the very best getaways that Britain has to offer with this seasonal guide to short travel adventures. Whether it’s island-hopping in spring, wine-tasting in summer, dolphin-watching in autumn, or skiing in winter, here are 52 memorable breaks for all tastes and budgets.All the planning has been done for you, with practical information on the best places to stay and eat -- plus insights on unmissable cultural events, activities, historic sites, attractions and natural beauty sports. There are also more clever ideas for similar short trips across England, Scotland and Wales.Be inspired to get more out of your travels, with this expert advice, stunning photography and fresh ideas for discovering places you’ll love.

An intense, claustrophobic psychological novel about the dark side of expat life, and what being out of your comfort zone can do to you, set in the vibrant souks and ancient riads of MarrakechA unique friendship, built on a lieFreya, Paul and Hamad. Three friends from two different worlds; a seemingly unshakeable bond, suddenly under threat.A move that would change all their lives.The trio have stayed close since university despite Freya and Paul's marriage and Hamad's wealthy lifestyle - so different from their own. Then an incredible job offer from Hamad sees Paul and Freya move to Morocco.A city where nothing is as it seemsMarrakech soon proves a perplexing place to live. Instead of reinvigorating their marriage, Freya finds the move is driving them apart. Revelations about their shared past force her to acknowledge that neither Paul nor Hamad is quite the man she thought. When a shocking crime is committed, Freya finds herself cast adrift in the dark corners of a bewildering city, unsure who to trust or to believe.

If war is madness, how can love survive?Yugoslavia, summer 1979. A new village. A new life. But eight-year-old Miro knows the real reason why his family moved from the inland city of Knin to the sunkissed village of Ljeta on the Dalmatian Coast, a tragedy he tries desperately to forget. The Ljeta years are happy ones, though, and when he marries his childhood sweetheart, and they have a baby daughter, it seems as though life is perfect. However, storm clouds are gathering above Yugoslavia.War breaks out, and one split-second decision destroys the life Miro has managed to build. Driven by anger and grief, he flees to Dubrovnik, plunging himself into the hard-bitten world of international war reporters.There begins a journey that will take him ever deeper into danger: from Dubrovnik, to Sarajevo, to the worst atrocities of war-torn Bosnia, Miro realises that even if he survives, there can be no way back to his earlier life. The war will change him, and everyone he loves, forever.

‘A wonderful, joyous book, which really spoke to me about the indomitability of the human spirit.’ Elizabeth EnfieldItaly 1943The village trattoria, Casa Maria, is famed for its food and for Elena, the formidable matriarch who runs it. But now war has come to Umbria.Sophia di Luca cooks brilliantly and expects to take over the trattoria from Elena one day. But instead it is charismatic, unpredictable Giorgio Capaldi who has inherited it and now arrives from Rome to run it.While Sophia and Giorgio clash, the town falls under Nazi occupation. And when no one knows who to trust, it is Casa Maria that becomes the centre for secrets, dangerous passions and ultimately betrayal.** PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS THE ENEMY OF LOVE **Read THE MOONLIT PIAZZA, the next instalment in the Casa Maria series, now!Praise for Annabelle Thorpe: 'Unputdownable!' Claire Dyer, author of The Last Day 'A pacy, engaging tale of human weakness and of passion so overwhelming it can make fools of us all' Daily Express