The Sunday Times bestseller'A monumental, gripping book ... Outstanding' Sunday TimesWherever there is human judgement, there is noise.

Who was the real Jane Austen? Overturning the traditional portrait of the author as conventional and genteel, bestseller Paula Byrne’s landmark biography reveals the real woman behind the books.

‘I was saying things in songs that female singers didn’t really say back then. I wasn’t submissive or begging him to come back, I was kicking his ass, kicking him out, kicking my own ass too. My Blondie character was an inflatable doll but with a dark, provocative, aggressive side. I was playing it up, yet I was very serious.’

A new, fully updated edition of David Attenborough’s groundbreaking Life on Earth.

An expert voice will turn your world upside down-literally-with this bold new international take on the myths created by our global maps and our borders

There are tales of footballing bees and Viking mice, the beginning of the thesaurus and the end of the library of Alexandria. Spend just two minutes a day with this glorious almanac of curious treasure and you'll end your year full of wonder and just that little bit wiser.