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Written in history celebrates the great letters of world history, creative culture and personal life. acclaimed historian simon sebag montefiore selects over one hundred letters from ancient times to the twenty-first century: some are noble and inspiring, some despicable and unsettling; some are exquisite works of literature, others brutal, coarse and frankly outrageous; many are erotic, others heartbreaking. the writers vary from elizabeth i, rameses the great and leonard cohen to emmeline pankhurst, mandela, stalin, michelangelo, suleiman the magnificent and unknown people in extraordinary circumstances – from love letters to calls for liberation, declarations of war to reflections on death. in the colourful, accessible style of a master storyteller, montefiore shows why these letters are essential reading: how they enlighten our past, enrich the way we live now – and illuminate tomorrow.

It is 1847, northern england, and charles weightman has been given the unenviable task of overseeing the flooding of the forge valley and evicting its lingering inhabitants. weightman is heartily resented by these locals, and he himself is increasingly unconvinced both of the wisdom of his appointment and of the integrity and motives of the company men who posted him there. he finds some solace, however, in his enigmatic neighbour, mary latimer. caring for her mad sister, mary is also an outsider, and a companionship develops between the two of them which offers them both some comfort and support in their mutual isolation. as winter closes steadily in and as the waters begin to rise in the forge valley, it becomes increasingly evident that the man-made deluge cannot be avoided; not by the locals desperate to save their homes, nor by the reluctant agent of their destruction, weightman himself. in a masterful new novel, edric captures powerful human emotions with grace and precision. the hauntingly resonant backdrop to this story of david and goliath marks edric’s dramatic return to historical literary fiction.

Edited by his children, giles and victoria, chocolate and cuckoo clocks is an anthology of humorous writing from the former editor of punch and radio 4 national treasure alan coren, who died in october 2007. in a prolific forty-year career alan coren wrote for the times, observer, tatler, daily mail, mail on sunday, listener, punch and the new yorker, and published over 20 books including the sanity inspector, golfing for cats and the collected bulletins of idi amin (he turned down an invitation from amin to visit uganda saying, ‘i’ll probably end up as a sandwich’). even twenty years ago he estimated that he had published six million words, or ten copies of war and peace. coren was one of britain’s most prolific and now much-missed humourists, finding the comedy of life all around him and rendering it, hilariously and compellingly, in polished and witty prose which will be eagerly devoured by his loyal fanbase.

Frances xavier kennedy, president of the united states, cousin of jfk, faces the greatest crisis of his career. his only child has been seized by terrorists, and simultaneously two unbalanced young scientists are holding the nation to ransom.

When her brother lands in jail and her sister gets pregnant, dinnie’s life changes overnight. her aunt and uncle snatch her away to switzerland where they run a boarding school. her father calls it her opportunity, but she feels she’s been kidnapped.

Annie and duncan are a mid-thirties couple who have reached a fork in the road, realising their shared interest in the reclusive musician tucker crowe (in duncan’s case, an obsession rather than an interest) is not enough to hold them together any more. when annie hates tucker’s ‘new release’, a terrible demo of his most famous album, it’s the last straw – duncan cheats on her and she promptly throws him out. via an internet discussion forum, annie’s harsh opinion reaches tucker himself, who couldn’t agree more. he and annie start an unlikely correspondence which teaches them both something about moving on from years of wasted time. nick hornby’s compelling new novel, four years after a long way down, is about the nature of creativity and obsession, and how two lonely people can gradually find each other.