In Stock Arts & Culture Books

The quick way to watercolour success is here! If you have ever wanted to learn to paint animals, then this is for you. Step-by-steps and clearly explained techniques will guide beginners through the methods needed to easily and effectively paint a variety of domestic and wild animals. Matthew expertly demonstrates how to paint realistic eyes, mouths, noses, fur markings and...

The Joy of Modern Calligraphy is a complete guide to modern calligraphy with Artsynibs. Joyce Lee first picked up a calligraphy pen when she started making stationery for her wedding. For her, it is now a way of life, her career, and what she calls a 'calligraventure'. In this practical and inspiring book, Joyce introduces modern calligraphy, including the tools...

Everything you need to know about how to crochet granny squares. The humble granny square is more popular than ever, whether you are making clothes, blankets or accessories. This practical guide has everything you need to become a crochet granny square expert. It is the ultimate sourcebook for crocheting granny squares, including full step-by-step instructions and photography for all the...

A magnificent new collection of 60 sculptural paper models from a mathematical origami master! Master origami folder and author Jun Maekawa is known for developing innovative new methods of folding origami based on fundamental mathematical principles. In The Art & Science of Geometric Origami, he shows you how to fold over 60 different geometric shapes through clear, easy-to-follow instructions and...

Revamp your wardrobe and maximise its usage with this comprehensive practical guide to maintaining and altering your clothes. Acclaimed costumier and expert tailor J Francois-Campbell guides you through ten tailoring techniques, covering everything from replacing buttons to changing a garment's shape. If you're looking for better fitting clothes or simply to prolong the life of your garments, this book will...

Paper airplane aficionados watched in awe when Takuo Toda launched his Zero Fighter and set the current Guinness World Record for longest flight duration. This landmark kit marks the first time this celebrity paper airplane designer's models have been published outside of Japan—and his fans have been waiting! Toda is a legend with his own museum, where he exhibits his...

This paper pack contains 1,000 high-quality, extra small 2.75-inch origami sheets printed with beautiful chiyogami designs. These origami papers were developed to enhance the creative work of origami artists and paper crafters. The pack contains 12 unique chiyogami designs and is ideal for experienced artists working on modular origami, origami jewellery or mini models. This origami paper pack includes: 1,000...

This paper pack contains 500 high-quality, 6-inch origami sheets printed with colourful and elegant marbled patterns. These stunning origami papers were developed to enhance the creative work of origami artists and paper crafters. The pack contains 12 unique patterns, and all of the papers are printed with coordinating colours on the reverse to provide aesthetically pleasing combinations in origami models...

This pack contains 500 high-quality origami sheets printed with colourful and traditional Japanese Washi Patterns. These paper patterns were developed to enhance the creative work of origami artists and paper crafters. The pack contains 12 designs unique to this pack, and all of the papers are printed with coordinating colours on the reverse to provide aesthetically pleasing combinations in origami...

Dragon lovers rejoice! This new kit by master origami artist Marc Kirschenbaum shows you how to fold 10 incredible paper dragons! This unique collection contains a wide range of Asian and Western dragons—both winged and serpentine. It contains everything you need to fold them, including 48 high-quality patterned paper folding sheets. The clear step-by-step instruction book shows you how to...

This volume contains all Sylvia Plath's mature poetry written from 1956 up to her death in 1963. The text is preceded by an introduction by Ted Hughes and followed by notes and comments on individual poems. There is also an appendix containing fifty poems from Sylvia Plath's juvenilia. For me, the most important literary event of 1981 has been the...

Turn simple shapes into stylish makes and crochet your own colourful collection of 15 granny-square garments and accessories! With 15 contemporary and fun designs to suit all shapes and sizes, My Granny Square Wardrobe is the ultimate guide to crocheting your own granny-square clothing, from expert crochet teacher Sam Sabido. From snuggly statement cardigans and jumpers to festival-worthy shorts, dungarees...

Jelly Roll Sampler Quilts features five incredible quilt designs, each shown in two different colourways. It includes a 'pick-and-mix' quilt gallery that provides ideas for combining favourite blocks to create even more quick quilt designs. Learn how to make quick and easy sampler quilts using the world's favourite pre-cut fabric pack, the Jelly Roll! Jelly Roll Sampler Quilts is packed...

If you've always wanted to take up sewing but didn't know where to start, How to Sew is the perfect guide for the absolute beginner. This simple-to-follow project-based book takes you through the basic techniques of this fun and creative craft. You'll learn everything you need to get started, including how to do the necessary stitches, how to make seams,...

From delightful daffodils to cheerful cherry blossoms, Flower Embroidery introduces readers to a range of fundamental embroidery techniques and best practices through easy-to-follow instructions, tips, and step-by-step guides. Projects in this book are suited to both beginners and intermediate embroiderers, offering something for every enthusiast to enjoy, with flowers featured from every season. Projects include: Daffodils and Hyacinth Tea Cosy...

Relax into the creative world of colouring. Containing a beautiful and diverse collection of illustrations, this fantastic book will allow the artist within you to shine! Fantasy Colouring contains a selection of fantasy artworks for you to complete in your chosen colour scheme. You can make your finished artworks as simple or as complex as you like—whichever you choose, you'll...

Draw Manga is the complete guide to creating your own manga characters. Manga, a Japanese graphic novel and comic strip art form based on line drawings of characters noted for their highly stylised facial features, is one of the most popular forms of comic illustration today. This book is for anyone interested in drawing manga, from beginners who want to...

Using the Japanese art of amigurumi, learn how to crochet 20 cute heroes and heroines! Not only will they become beloved keepsakes, they will also celebrate the lives of icons such as Jane Austen, Frida Kahlo, Maya Angelou, Pablo Picasso, Muhammad Ali, and Bruce Lee. From World War 2 heroes such as Josephine Baker to talented musicians and actors including...

Chip Carving is the art of removing small sections of wood from a single piece of timber, usually to form geometric patterns. Finished pieces can be very intricate and complex, but amazing results can be achieved surprisingly easily with the right guidance. Unlike many types of woodworking, chip carving requires very few tools, usually just two knives, and is a...

Chinese Silk Gift Wrapping Papers - 12 Sheets features fine-quality tear-out wrapping sheets with twelve traditional and modern prints, suitable for craft projects as well as for gift wrapping. The tasteful designs are ideal for any occasion, offering a diverse range of colour schemes and patterns to choose from. An introduction details the history and meaning behind the designs, providing...

Create your Japanese work of art with this new, comprehensive title on the intricate skill of Japanese netsuke carvings. Traditionally created for practical reasons, these fantastic, miniature carvings are now highly collectible works of art. Carving Japanese Netsuke for Beginners is packed with information on the history, techniques, tools, and skills needed to master the art. Written in an approachable,...

Creating your own jewellery doesn't need to involve complicated techniques and expensive tools. With just a few steps, The Big Book of Jewelry Making shows you how to make simple, fun items in no time at all. All the projects are easy to customise or adapt to your own particular style. With a dazzling array of earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and...

Granny squares can be made by crocheters of all skill levels and used to create a variety of items. They are perfect for using up leftover yarn, can be found in stores from vintage to high street, and are featuring on runways worldwide. In this book, A Year of Granny Squares, Kylie Moleta teaches the reader how to create 52...

Create and customise your own colourful beaded jewellery! Simple to make and right on trend, these fun beaded projects add the perfect finishing touch to any outfit and make wonderful personalised gifts. Start off with simple projects such as elasticated friendship bracelets and hoop earrings, then move on to making stunning charm necklaces, tassel earrings, and rings. Make coordinating pieces,...

52 Assignments: Landscape Photography is a mission brief, a portfolio of photographic workshops, a personalised journal, and an inspirational guide to putting the creativity back into your craft. Small enough to fit your camera bag, it is filled with a year's worth of weekly commissions and concepts for composing and creating eye-catching landscape photography in all its forms. From adding...

What is the difference between literal and figurative writing? Is there really a secret set of tricks used by top authors to make their writing even better? Why not use these tricks all the time? This excellent little book, by English literature and creative writing tutor Amy Jones, provides a vital introduction to the essential literary devices used by writers...

You want to learn to crochet, but somehow you always end up in a tangle of yarn and baffled by complicated advice. This beginner's guide goes back to basics, with clear step-by-step illustrations demonstrating how to tie a slipknot, chain stitch, increase and decrease your rows, and crochet in the round, plus many more skills and techniques. Once you've aced...

Use this tactile, age-old craft to make your own unique and modern leather items. The Leathercraft Handbook guides you through all the skills, tools, and techniques you need to make beautiful and durable pieces, from elegant accessories to stylish homewares – without the need for expensive equipment. Try your hand at more than 20 step-by-step projects, complete with easy-to-follow tutorials...

How to Draw Almost Everything teaches you to draw pretty much everything. With over 2,000 images, this visual reference book offers instructions for drawing a wide range of subjects, including animals, people, plants, food, everyday objects, buildings, vehicles, and clothing. Each entry is broken down with step-by-step illustrations, making this book perfect for beginners or experienced artists in need of...

A beautifully presented, practical gift guide to the age-old art of tying knots. The next title in Pavilion’s exciting new series for adventurers, Forty Knots and How to Tie Them follows on from the success of 50 Things to Do with a Penknife. The book features step-by-step instructions on how to tie 40 fundamental knots, and then shows you how...

With Christopher Tolkien as your guide, take a tour through this colourful gallery of enchanting art by J.R.R. Tolkien, as published originally in the first groundbreaking Tolkien Calendars of the 1970s. This collection of pictures, with text by Christopher Tolkien, now reissued after almost 30 years, confirms J.R.R. Tolkien’s considerable talent as an artist. It provides fascinating insight into his...

A superbly engaging guide to music around the world, from prehistory to the present Music excites and moves us perhaps more than any other art form. From a Neanderthal's bone flute to the festivals of Glastonbury and Coachella, human beings have always made and enjoyed music. Covering a remarkable range, including Indian raga, Javanese gamelan, medieval chant, jazz and K-pop,...

The Knitting Stitches Bible is a complete beginner's guide to knitting, offering 100 inspiring swatches to choose from, along with a stunning patchwork blanket project to consolidate your skills. Fully illustrated and packed with inspiration, this comprehensive guide is perfect whether you're looking to learn the basics, build your skills, or complete a satisfying knitting project. Starting with a thorough...

Unlock your inner artist and create a stunning, everlasting floral arrangement with The Bouquet in a Book: Winter. This innovative book offers ready-to-use press-out paper pieces and step-by-step instructions to craft an exquisite paper bouquet that will never wilt, bringing seasonal colour into your home to brighten the dark winter days. Inside this book, you'll find: Vibrant Floral Designs: From...

When looking at a painting of the Madonna with the Christ Child, do you know why Jesus is clutching a goldfinch? Or why a peacock often appears in paintings of the Annunciation? Can you use your knowledge of Greek and Roman mythology to interpret what is going on in Botticelli's Primavera? Are you so steeped in the Bible that you...

Master craftsmen offer detailed information about handmade Japanese woodworking tools! This unique guide to traditional handmade Japanese tools offers hobbyists, woodworkers, and craftspeople an essential introduction to the artistry of Japanese tools. Their structure, mechanics, use, and care are described in loving detail as only master Japanese craftsmen and tool experts are able to do. This unique book features: Detailed...

An original exploration and celebration of Taylor Swift, the world's biggest music star, as taught at the world's most prestigious university. One of the biggest stars in the world, Taylor Swift became so popular for many reasons - but first and last thanks to her songs. In Taylor's Version, award-winning literary critic Professor Stephanie Burt charts the extraordinary journey from...

Questlove radiates passion, knowledge, wit and profundity as he reflects on this ever-evolving art form GUARDIAN For a young Black kid growing up in a musical family in 1970s Philadelphia, hip-hop was everything. He stayed up late to hear the newest songs on the radio. He saved his money to buy vinyl as soon as it landed. He even started...

The Art of Princess Mononoke explores the artistic journey from conception to release of the classic Hayao Miyazaki film, Princess Mononoke. This comprehensive book includes a look at Miyazaki’s original art and the innovative use of computer graphics technology in the film. Part of the perennially popular line of Studio Ghibli art books, this edition features interviews, concept sketches, and...

A lot can happen between the first sip of coffee and the last taste of whiskey. Coffee Days, Whiskey Nights is a collection of poetry, prose, and aphorisms that juxtaposes the hopefulness a brand new day can bring with the lingering thoughts that keep us up into the late-night hours. This book takes a look at the way a single...

Weaves together the definitive story of the Seattle music scene through a series of interviews with the people who were there. Taking the form of an oral history, Grunge is Dead contains over 130 interviews along with essential background information from acclaimed music writer Greg Prato. Digging deeper than the average grunge history, Grunge is Dead starts in the early...

Fifty new books at £1 each, celebrating the pioneering spirit of the Penguin Modern Classics series, from inspiring essays to groundbreaking fiction and poetry. Sadder than salad. From apples to artichokes, these glittering, fragmented, painterly portraits of food by the avant-garde pioneer Gertrude Stein are redolent of sex, laughter, and the joy of everyday life.

A classic encyclopaedia of symbols by Catalan polymath Joan Cirlot that illuminates the symbolic underpinnings of myth, modern psychology, literature, and art. A Dictionary of Symbols by Juan Eduardo Cirlot is a feat of scholarship, an act of the imagination, and a tool for contemplation, as well as a work of literature. It serves as a reference book that is...

A beautiful, skilfully crafted work of chivalric romance. Written by an unknown author in the twelfth century, this powerful tale of murder and revenge reaches back to the earliest epochs of German antiquity, transforming centuries-old legend into a masterpiece of chivalric drama. Siegfried, a great prince of the Netherlands, wins the hand of the beautiful princess Kriemhild of Burgundy by...

A collection of Bacon's vibrant, intelligent essays covering subjects ranging from ambition to the vicissitude of things. One of the major political figures of his time, Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) served in the court of Elizabeth I and ultimately became Lord Chancellor under James I in 1617. A scholar, wit, lawyer and statesman, he wrote widely on politics, philosophy, and...

A collection of previously unpublished letters from America's cult icon on the art of writing. Charles Bukowski was one of our most iconoclastic, raw and riveting writers, one whose stories, poems and novels have left an enduring mark on our culture. On Writing collects Bukowski's reflections and ruminations on the craft he dedicated his life to. Piercing, unsentimental, and often...

From global literary superstar Karl Ove Knausgaard, Autumn is a love letter about the world, written in short, dazzling pieces by a father to his unborn daughter. The Sunday Times bestseller from literary phenomenon Karl Ove Knausgaard, it is a love letter about the world written by a father to his unborn daughter. "Inspiring, surprising... Autumn will warm and enlighten...

The plays in this volume, each written a decade apart, demonstrate different sides of Henrik Ibsen's genius, but all deal with themes of alienation from society and the breaking down of convention. A Doll's House portrays a woman questioning her duty to her husband and seeking to escape from the stifling confines of her marriage—a theme that shocked contemporary audiences...

An intimate conversation about music and creativity, between the internationally bestselling writer Haruki Murakami and world-class conductor, Seiji Ozawa. Haruki Murakami's passion for music runs deep. Before turning his hand to writing, he ran a jazz club in Tokyo, and the aesthetic and emotional power of music permeates every one of his much-loved books. Now, in Absolutely on Music, Murakami...

The story of the year that rock music exploded, featuring almost every star who defined the decade. THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER As seen on Apple TV - 1971- The Year That Music Changed Everything The Sixties ended a year late - on New Year's Eve 1970, when Paul McCartney initiated proceedings to wind up The Beatles. Music would...

An immersive collection of poetry to open your world, curated by the host of Poetry Unbound. This inspiring collection, edited by Pádraig Ó Tuama, presents fifty poems, each accompanied by its own commentary and personal anecdotes, alongside insights into the content of the poem. The poems gathered in this selection are from many walks of life, many experiences, and many...

From his allegiance to punk rock in his adolescence to becoming an essential voice on music and culture, Kelefa Sanneh makes a deep study of how popular music unites and divides us. Distilling a career's worth of knowledge, he explores the tribes music forms, and how its genres, shape-shifting across the years, give us a way to track larger forces...

Seamus Heaney had the idea to form a personal selection from across the entire arc of his poetry, small yet comprehensive enough to serve as an introduction for all comers. He never managed to do this in his lifetime, and no edition exists which has such a broad range, drawing from first collection to last. But now, at last, the...

Global sensation and internationally renowned author, Rupi Kaur’s milk and honey celebrates the challenges and triumphs facing the modern woman. In strikingly personal, yet widely relatable poems accompanied by original illustrations, Kaur challenges the idea that women should be quiet, gentle, and submissive and instead encourages women to be strong, powerful, and proud. Each of the four chapters (“the hurting,”...

A superb translation of one of the greatest nineteenth-century poems—the libretto to Wagner's Ring cycle. The scale and grandeur of Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung has no precedent and no successor. It preoccupied Wagner for much of his adult life and revolutionised the nature of opera, the orchestra, the demands on singers, and on the audience itself. The four...

First time in Black Classics Nonsense is the breath of my nostrils, wrote Edward Lear (1812-88), and this collection demonstrates the wonderfully varied ways in which he pursued his philosophy of life. He created an extraordinary world filled with bizarre creatures - from the Dong with a luminous nose to the Pobble who has no toes - who misbehave with...

A collection of political speeches from the greatest orator of Rome Amid the corruption and power struggles of the collapse of the Roman Republic, Cicero (106-43BC) produced some of the most stirring and eloquent speeches in history. A statesman and lawyer, he was one of the only outsiders to penetrate the aristocratic circles that controlled the Roman state, and became...

Greek Tragedy brings together the masterpieces of classical tragedy in one volume, making it the ideal single-volume introduction for theatre-goers, actors, general readers, and students of Classics, English Literature, and Drama. Agememnon is the first part of Aeschylus's Orestian trilogy, where the leader of the Greek army returns from the Trojan War only to be murdered by his treacherous wife,...

One of the great figures of English Romanticism, Coleridge's poems show diversity and imaginative genius. One of the major figures of English Romanticism, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) created works of remarkable diversity and imaginative genius. The period of his creative friendship with William Wordsworth inspired some of Coleridge's best-known poems, from the nightmarish vision of the Rime of the Ancient...

A new edition of the finest poems by Tennyson Tennyson's poetry epitomises the Victorian age, for which he became a spokesman. His finest poems are often steeped in a sensuous melancholy, as in Maud, or are chivalric, heroic and allegorical, as in The Lady of Shalott and Morte d'Arthur.

A selection of Baudelaire's explicit and unsettling poems The poems of Charles Baudelaire are filled with explicit and unsettling imagery, depicting with intensity everyday subjects ignored by French literary conventions of his time. Tableaux parisiens portrays the brutal life of Paris's thieves, drunkards, and prostitutes amid the debris of factories and poorhouses. In love poems such as Le Beau Navire,...

The technical information is clear and conci se, starting with deisinging and euqipping a darkroom and co ntinues through making the first print, ending with all sort s of professional tips and tricks for achieving that special image. '

Two of Virginia Woolf's most striking essays are published together in a new Black Classics edition. A Room of One's Own, based on a lecture given at Girton College, Cambridge, is one of the great feminist polemics. It ranges in its themes from Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë to the silent fate of Shakespeare's gifted (imaginary) sister, and the effects...

The witch: supernaturally powerful, inscrutably independent, and now—indestructible. These moving, relatable poems encourage resilience and embolden women to take control of their own stories. Enemies try to judge, oppress, and marginalise her, but the witch doesn’t burn in this one.

The Road Not Taken and Other Poems presents Robert Frost's most-beloved early poems, selected by award-winning poet David Orr. This collection serves as a companion to the centennial celebration of "The Road Not Taken." This Penguin Classics Deluxe edition includes Frost's early works, thoughtfully selected by David Orr, to mark the centennial of the iconic poem, "The Road Not Taken."...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery. Two sets of identical twins, separated at sea as children, find themselves in the same city for the first time as adults. Soon, their friends mistake the twins for one another and bewilderment abounds, as the wife of one man declares the other...

A generous selection from the most charismatic and infamous of the Romantic poets. Described as 'Mad, bad and dangerous to know' by one of his lovers, Lady Caroline Lamb, Lord Byron was the quintessential Romantic. Flamboyant, charismatic and brilliant, he remains almost as notorious for his life—as a political revolutionary, sexual adventurer and traveller—as he does for his literary work....

After Inferno and Purgatorio, here is the last cantica (part) of the Divine Comedy, in a new translation by acclaimed translator Robin Kirkpatrick. Having plunged to the uttermost depths of Hell and climbed the Mount of Purgatory in parts one and two of the Divine Comedy, Dante ascends to Heaven in this third and final part, continuing his soul's search...

Part of the authoritative and acclaimed Penguin Shakespeare series, now rejacketed in the celebrated Penguin Classics livery. An ageing king makes a capricious decision to divide his realm among his three daughters according to the love they express for him. When the youngest daughter refuses to take part in this charade, she is banished, leaving the king dependent on her...

Faust, Part I by Goethe reworks the late-medieval myth of Dr Faust, a brilliant scholar so disillusioned he resolves to make a contract or wager with the devil, Mephistopheles. The devil will do all he asks on Earth and seek to grant him a moment in life so glorious that he will wish it to last for ever. But if...

A landmark collection from one of contemporary poetry's most highly regarded names 'A source of uncompromising elemental warmth' - Ali Smith By turns moving, playful and wise, the poems gathered in Dearly are about absences and endings, ageing and retrospection, but also about gifts and renewals. They explore bodies and minds in flux, as well as the everyday objects and...

Published as a classic for the first time, this is Anne Carson's modern epic poem, an unconventional recreation of an ancient Greek myth and a wholly original coming-of-age story set in the present. This is a volcanic journey into the soul of a winged red monster named Geryon. It is a queer coming-of-age love story, a Greek myth retold, and...

The first collected and annotated edition of Carroll's brilliant, witty poems, edited by Gillian Beer. 'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe...' wrote Lewis Carroll in his wonderfully playful poem of nonsense verse, Jabberwocky and Other Nonsense. This new edition collects together the marvellous range of Carroll's poetry, including nonsense verse, parodies, burlesques,...

Colour and complete this special 10th anniversary edition celebrating Enchanted Forest, featuring brand-new illustrations from Johanna Basford on a fold-out poster. This bestselling colouring book by Johanna Basford takes readers on an inky quest through an enchanted forest to discover what lies in the castle at its heart. As well as drawings to colour and embellish, there are hidden animals...

An engaging collection of stories and essays by the celebrated author of the internationally bestselling Guido Brunetti series, infused with her ever-present and delightful senses of humour and irony. Donna Leon's memoir, Wandering Through Life, gave her legions of fans a colourful tour through her life, from childhood in New Jersey to adventures in China and Iran, to her love...

How do you divide a line into three? Or five? Or seven? Is there a simple way to marry harmony and geometry? What is the secret diagram alluded to by writers of antiquity? In this groundbreaking book, philosopher Adam Tetlow reveals the long lost Helicon, the master diagram of the ancient arts and crafts. Watch in astonishment as this magical...

Nothing says 'I love you' quite like a handmade blanket, so grab your hook and discover the joy of crocheting stripes in this beautiful book by the author of the bestselling Mandalas to Crochet, Haafner Linssen. Inside, Haafner takes her readers on a journey into the world of crocheting stripes. These patterns are relaxing to create (taking readers into a...

The craze for crocheting cute characters was born in Japan, and now everyone can discover its appeal. Japanese legends are full of animals and humans transforming into something bizarre, and this tradition has inspired the authors to create 12 weird and wonderful creatures to amuse and delight. The instructions are simple to follow and are accompanied by innovative, easy-to-read charts....

Knit a glorious Moomin sock collection for the whole family with 29 unique, intricately designed Fair Isle sock patterns, complete with charts. Inspired by Tove Jansson's Moomin books, each pattern is a loving homage to Jansson's beloved characters, brought to life by the artistry of top Finnish knitwear designers. You're invited on an enchanting knitting adventure deep into the heart...

How to Cross Stitch is the perfect starting point for all those wanting to learn this rewarding and accessible craft. This simple-to-follow project-based book takes you through the basic techniques of how to cross stitch. Each technique is clearly explained and accompanied by a stylish project to make, with clear step-by-step instructions. The straightforward explanations combined with desirable projects means...