Bukowski’s take on the bildungsroman, an anti-coming-of-age story and his finest novel.

Lifelong misfit Henry Chinaski grows up downtrodden, stumbling through a world he has only ever known as hostile. Fights, failed romances and humiliations abound; Chinaski toughens up as he grows up, finding solace in books and in the bottle.

Savagely funny and profoundly human, Ham on Rye is essential reading for anyone who has ever been ready to quit – and chosen to laugh, drink or fight back instead.

‘SUCH a treat! Glorious, glamorous and transporting: the British answer to Taylor Jenkins Reid’ Lucy Foley

Readers LOVE River of Stars!

'I totally devoured this book in under 24 hours, grabbing it at every spare moment I had, to completely immerse myself in this beautifully written story' FIVE star review

'Will completely transport you; by the end you’ll be wanting to run away to an island to live on a houseboat under the stars!' FIVE star review

'Definitely the book to take on holiday this summer and devour in one greedy gulp lying on the beach. I find myself thinking about the characters almost as if they're my friends' FIVE star review

* * * * *

Three generations of women. One island sanctuary. Secrets that could destroy everything…

On Walnut Tree Island, the Star women have built their sanctuary. But family feuds run deeper than the river that surrounds them.

Jo Star feels that life is passing her by, and when an old flame returns to the island, he threatens to upend everything her grandmother Mary built for her family.

Sophie is married to a man at the heart of island life who wants her to settle down and have a family. So why does she secretly yearn for everything she’s left behind?

Over a long hot summer, as old secrets resurface, can love finally heal the damage that was done so many years ago?

From the Sunday Times bestselling author Georgina Moore comes a captivating new novel.

*****

Praise for River of Stars:

‘Totally enchanting…romantic and aspirational. You’ll be captivated’ Adele Parks

'River of Stars is wholly involving with a rich, emotional depth. I loved it so much. Georgina Moore is the heir to the late great Maeve Binchy’ Jennie Godfrey

'Utterly enchanting, and with richly drawn characters, this is the perfect summer read' Heat

'An epic saga full of characters that will stay with you' The Sun

'Full of rich characters and an enchanting setting, this is a gorgeous read' Fabulous

'Utterly enchanting and rich in character, River of Stars is perfect summer reading' Bella

‘A completely transporting summer read' Stylist

'Soaring, romantic, hopeful’ Daisy Buchanan

‘a beautifully written story … truly wonderful characters. With a love story at its core, it’s an absolute winner!’ Santa Montefiore

‘It’s a dream. Romantic, sexy, bittersweet’ Patrick Gale

'River of Stars will sweep you up in a glorious tide of music and art and romance and hold you in its spell till the very last page. A gorgeously escapist treat, I loved it' Louise Candlish

‘Gorgeous. A hugely rich and rewarding read … the perfect summer escape’ Emma Stonex

‘So seductive, and fiercely charming, and your brilliant sense of place – such beguiling settings’ Fran Littlewood

‘A tangle of glamourous chaos in a gorgeous setting … A wonderfully escapist emotional rollercoaster to get truly lost in’ Veronica Henry

The New York Times ‘Best Books of the Year (So Far)'

A young woman and her lover are marooned on an island in a deeply moving novel of love, faith and survival, for readers of Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist and Anthony Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See

‘This made me cry on an airplane but it was worth it! A luscious, rich and moving novel, a beautiful, careful and profound book about survival and hope’ Alice Winn, bestselling author of In Memoriam

‘An extraordinary book that reads like a thriller, written with the care of the most delicate psychological and historical fiction’ Vogue ’Best Books of 2025’ 

‘A shocking story, made all the more stunning by the fact that it has its roots in true history’ Jodi Picoult, author of My Sister's Keeper

In sixteenth-century France, as the heiress to an aristocratic fortune, Marguerite is destined for a life of privilege. Then she is orphaned, and her enigmatic and volatile guardian squanders her inheritance and insists she accompany him on an expedition to the new French colonies of North America. Isolated and afraid, Marguerite befriends her guardian’s servant and the two develop an intense attraction. But when their relationship is discovered, they are brutally punished, abandoned on a small island with no hope for rescue.

From a childhood dressed in gowns with laced pearls in her hair, Marguerite finds herself at the mercy of nature. As the weather turns, blanketing the island in ice, she discovers a faith she had never before needed…

Inspired by the real life of a sixteenth-century heroine, Isola tells the timeless story of a woman fighting for survival.
 
 

As the unlikely couple perambulate from the old Selfridge Hotel to West Hollywood by way of a park bench in Cavendish Square, their conversation interrogates and celebrates the joys of outlandish pop genius, the zealous dedication of fans and the cult of outsider disaffection given uproarious voice. As such, this is not a book about The Smiths but one that emerges from their music, their emotional register and their literary resonance.

Michael Bracewell's novella-cum-fairy tale is at once deeply romantic and laced with comedy – not unlike the band themselves – and perhaps (in fictional form) the most astute and celebratory portrait of The Smiths to date.

‘A glorious romantic retelling’ SUN

‘Delicious’ THE TIMES

‘The Jane Austen beach book fans have been waiting for' KIRKUS

1801, Sidmouth.

The Austen family descends upon a fashionable seaside resort in Devonshire for a six-week holiday. Jane's brother, Frank, is on leave from the Royal Navy, and dearly wishes to unite his sister with his friend Captain Peter Parker. But another holidaymaker, a handsome stranger, catches sight of Jane and is determined to make her acquaintance.

This rival to Captain Parker is Samuel Rose: a lawyer, literary man and abolitionist. As the weeks pass, Jane's relationship with both men brings about unexpected surprises. By the end of the summer, the course of her life will have changed forever.

‘I felt like I was reading a Jane Austen’ Kylie Pentelow, Woman’s Hour

The throne is never safe … especially in Rome

AD 60. Rome stands at the height of its power – glittering with wealth, drowning in intrigue.

On Palatine Hill, Nero Claudius Caesar rules as Emperor, a young man adored for his beauty and brilliance, feared for his temper, intoxicated by his own power. His empire stretches from the wilds of Britain to the deserts of Parthia, yet his enemies are never far: generals who command legions, senators who whisper in corridors, a people who cheer him in the circus but curse him on the streets.

Nero has learned that power is never shared, only seized. He has seen off enemies before, not least his mother, Agrippina. Yet now Boudicca, queen of the Iceni, leads a revolt in the North. Closer to home, Gaius Julius Vindex, Roman by office but Gallic by blood, denounces Nero’s corruption and declares open rebellion against the Emperor from Gaul.

Rome is a city that devours its rulers. As the first sparks of revolt alight beyond its walls, an empire built on fire begins to burn from within . . .

During WWII, a young Tuscan woman falls in love with a man from the rural depths of southern Italy. As the conflict finally draws to a close, the two travel from Rome to finally meet with his family. But very quickly a dawning realisation breaks: her in-laws and their friends are eccentric in the extreme. They barely leave the house and they rarely speak to their son, fretting instead about their ‘daughter’ – a loud little dog – and worrying constantly, incessantly, about the weather. And, worst of all, they speak with a nostalgic warmth about the region’s recently overthrown fascist regime…

Translated by Ann Goldstein, the world-renowned translator of Elena Ferrante, A House in Sicily is a brilliantly funny, razor sharp examination of family life in the shadow of the darkest period of modern Italian history, and the most exciting rediscovered European classic in decades.

'Matthew Plampin should rank with the best' Sunday Times

'Plampin is heartbreakingly good' The Times

'Gripping, immersive, at times very funny and beautifully written, this is historical fiction of the highest quality' Elizabeth Fremantle

Rome, 1650.

The streets are teeming as thousands of pilgrims flood in for the Holy Jubilee, but behind the gilded façade of the Vatican, power is unravelling.

Donna Olimpia Maidalchini has long kept Pope Innocent X under her thumb, but as loyalties shift, her enemies close in. And her most dangerous opponents may be those she deems too weak to matter.

Two destitute nuns arrive, fleeing the ruined city of Castro and each carrying secrets that could destroy them.

Meanwhile, the assistant to the famed Spanish artist Diego Velázquez is drawn into a perilous conspiracy – one that could bring Italy to its knees, and against which his own desperate ambitions seem to count for nothing.

As the sweltering summer heat rises, survival, not salvation, becomes the ultimate goal – and in this world of sin, saints almost never survive.

'Deliciously immersive . . . Think of [Haydock] as the art world’s answer to Philippa Gregory . . . I took Madame Matisse on a wet, grey holiday and it swept me into a world of startling, splashy colour' Spectator

A GUNSHOT. A BETRAYAL. THREE LIVES HANG IN THE BALANCE…

Growing up with liberal parents in Paris just before the turn of the century, Amélie is a free spirit. When she meets an enigmatic young artist, she is drawn to the life of colour and passion he seems to promise.

Together, they share struggles and triumphs, heartbreak and joy, until they arrive on France’s sun-soaked Riviera. With them comes Marguerite, Matisse’s headstrong but courageous daughter.

But there too they meet Lydia, a young Russian emigree, who has fled her homeland following the revolution. Lydia also has her dreams. Her passions. And her ambition.

As their lives entangle, each woman must ask herself: what is she willing to sacrifice to follow her heart?

'A stunning act of literary, historical and artistic reimagining, woven with incredible skill – and so beautifully written. It will stay with me for a long while' Donal Ryan

What readers say:

‘Well I adored this. Beautiful and resilient female characters that came to life off the page vividly and passionately. A sweeping story spanning the years that was addictive and intriguing.

‘Features lush, evocative prose that draws readers into the emotional depths of its characters’

‘A triumph… this novel is a must-read for fans of historical fiction, art history, and anyone captivated by the voices of women long silenced by history.’

‘This epic tale takes us from the narrow, dirty streets of Paris to the days of the Russian Revolution, with some time in China, to the hot French Riviera of the 1930s and the French Resistance of World War II. It is rich, it is beautiful and on more than one occasion it made me cry’

‘The scope of this book is terrific. The writing is superb. The characters are totally, utterly believable, with all their biases and peccadilloes’

‘An extraordinary story, about Henri Matisse and his work of course, but more-so these three remarkable, resilient women’

‘Once again, Sophie Haydock claims the lead in my Book of the Year listing. I loved it’