Some recent titles by our members

Penelope Devereux was the brightest star who ever shone at the court of Queen Elizabeth I, and Sally Varlow has uncovered her remarkable story in The Lady Penelope (André Deutsch). Forced into marriage with the appropriately named Lord Rich at the age of 18, she was the most beautiful woman of her generation and the muse of countless musicians and poets – among them Sir Philip Sidney. She had five children by her lover, Lord Mountjoy, greatest of the Elizabethan generals. She also plotted against the government with her brother, the Earl of Essex. He was executed, but Penelope walked free. This dramatic, visual, emotional and ultimately tragic story has been well received in the world of historical biography.
Sally has written for The Times, Daily Telegraph, Observer and the Sunday Express. This is her first full-length book.

Few of the 6000 species of bird on the planet are as recognisable and as admired as the swan. Peter Young celebrates its grace and beauty in this illustrated guide, which covers not only ornithology but poetry, science, philosophy and even the movement of markets. The many illustrations in Swan (Reaktion Books) include the bird’s portrayal in painting, sculpture, porcelain, furniture and heraldry, as well as in Greek myth. The book also examines the uses and abuses of swans; conservation; the swan as food; and its widespread use in logos and brand-names.
Peter’s previous books include Tortoise, in the same series, and Person to Person, a social history of the telephone.

Rudyard Kipling spent the last half of his life in Sussex, and David Arscott's selection from his poetry, prose, letters and autobiography reveal how thoroughly the county got under his skin. A Sussex Kipling (Pomegranate Press) begins with the Rottingdean years, covers the writer’s love affair with the motor car and shows how Kipling and his wife Carrie turned their home at Bateman's in Burwash into at once a kind of rural idyll and a fortress against the world outside.
David is the author of more than 30 books on aspects of Sussex history, wildlife and culture.