Claire Masset – författare

The way we shop has undergone many transformations over the years - and a pioneer of one such change was the department store. Selling everything from clothes to cosmetics, furniture to food - the department store was a one-stop shop for consumers. Claire Masset charts the history of the department store, the innovations in retailing, advertising and technology, and the developments in fashion, design and working practices. Using evocative adverts, prints, memorabilia and photographs, the highs and lows of the high-street giants are discussed, including the golden age of department stores in the 1920s and 1930s, and their future in a modern world. Filled with amusing anecdotes, this lively book brings the fascinating world of department stores to life.

If ever the idea of Britishness could be distilled into liquid form it would be into the quintessential cup of tea; whether a builder's morning brew or an afternoon earl grey sipped by the Queen. Claire Masset guides us through the evolution of tea from its beginnings as an exclusive imported luxury found only in up market coffee houses to its firm current establishment in every household of Britain. So put the kettle on and warm the pot while you enjoy this often surprising journey with the nation's favourite 'cuppa'.

Some of Britain's surviving orchards are almost six hundred years old, and whether laden with summer fruit or stripped bare by the winter are places of great beauty. Throughout history, they have played an important role in life both rural and urban, providing not just food and drink but also a haven for wildlife and a setting for age-old customs and social gatherings. But when did orchards first appear? What is wassailing and who did it? Why has England lost almost two-thirds of its orchards since 1950 – and what is being done about it today? This beautifully illustrated book reveals the engaging story and rich diversity of Britain's apple, pear and cherry orchards.

A fascinating celebration of our love for all things horticultural, with a selection of garden-related entries from diaries, letters and articles for every day of the year.Garden Voices captures the past and present of gardening with dated, daily musings organised around the calendar year bringing gardening and gardeners to life like never before. In this engaging anthology, readers are transported back in time – and often place – to witness rare horticultural glimpses. We find George Orwell, half-naked, digging his newly acquired rock-filled, ‘dry as a bone’ garden on the Isle of Jura on 25 May 1946. On 25 September 1845, Emily Dickinson picks the last flowers of summer before ‘Jack Frost’ gets them. In New Mexico, Georgia O’Keeffe reveals to her New York-based lover Alfred Stieglitz that she has just discovered the joy of gardening. Key figures – from Samuel Pepys to Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud, Queen Victoria to Virginia Woolf and Germaine Greer – feature alongside much-loved gardeners, such as Gertrude Jekyll, Margery Fish and Claude Monet, as well as lesser-known but no-less inspiring garden writers, including Eleanor Vere Boyle and Celia Thaxter, whose writing will be a revelation to many.Whether tinged with emotion or filled with character and humour, strikingly evocative or thought-provoking, these daily thoughts remind us that gardeners are all connected by a timeless invisible green thread. With several selections for each day, from 1 January to 31 December, this book is a true celebration of horticulture, and is the perfect gift for the gardener or garden lover in your life. Garden Voices brings joy, comfort, a gladdening sense of affinity and – much like gardening itself – moments of awe and inspiration.

Explore the mystery of what makes us love gardening, via history, science, art and philosophy.Whether you seek sanctuary in your potting shed, find paradise amongst your patio plants or enjoy the simple solace of your hands in the soil, there is beauty, peace and happiness to be found for every gardener in this thoughtful and entertaining collection.Both a hymn to gardening and a call to action, this down-to-earth guide is worth a hundred 'how-tos'. Wander the gardens of Giverny with Monet to create your own 'beautiful masterpiece' or, like George Orwell, reap the joy to be found in the work of a vegetable plot. Discover the soothing symmetry in the spiral of sunflower seeds, or, like William Morris, provide a wild abundance for the natural visitors to your garden.Drawing inspiration from gardening greats – from the ancient Greek and French philosophers Epicurus and Voltaire, via the wisdom of Margery Fish and Gertrude Jekyll, to Monty Don and modern-day guerrilla gardeners – this beautifully illustrated compilation is a thoughtful gift for any gardener.