"For confirmation of our love and friendship, I desire your Majesty to command your merchants to bring in their ships of all sorts of rarities and rich goods fit for my palace"— The Great Moghul Jahangir: Letter to James I, King of England, 1617 A.D. more »

They got their comical name - 'Bluestockings' - when another guest, the botanist Benjamin Stillingfleet (1702-71), was welcomed at one of Elizabeth Montagu's salons even though he had arrived absent-mindedly wearing the blue woollen stockings normally worn by working men, instead of the more formal white silk." more »

Abigail & John: Portrait of a Marriage is important because it helps to regender early American history which remains overly focused on generals and male political leaders. Lori Hahnel’s collection of short fiction, Nothing Sacred, is spare, subtle and literary but not pretentious in any way, and very pleasing. Now in paperback, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Olive Kitteridge, give the reader a deep sense of the connectedness of the small town and its inhabitants, and of Olive’s place in the scheme of things. more »

For a truly unique gift, adopt a penguin and receive a gift tin with the following: After registration you will receive: •A personalised certificate displaying your name and your penguin’s name •A colour photograph of your chosen penguin. more »