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Last Orders for Christmas 2011 – only 7 days Left

Due to family bereavement my website will close for the period 9th December until 15th December and as such I would advise anyone wishing to make a Christmas purchase to place their order before midnight 8th December, I will get all orders despached, that have been placed on or before the 8th December 2011, before I leave for Warsaw.

Whilst orders may still be placed on my return, Christmas delivery may not be guaranteed, although I will do my very best.

Visit www.hcbooksonline.com

Great Gift Ideas for Christmas 2011 – 3

Folio Society Books

Andrew Lang's Blue Fairy Book

The Folio Society was set up in 1947 by a young man named Charles Ede who dreamed of making beautiful books that would be affordable for everyone. We read books for what’s inside them, but there’s something inexpressibly pleasurable about the look, touch, even the smell, of a beautiful book. That’s why The Folio Society exists, to create beautiful editions of the world’s greatest books. Variety is one of the great pleasures of Folio books, and artists, craftsmen and designers clamour to work on these volumes, from famous illustrators to traditional wood engravers creating the beautiful illustrations to be found within. Typography, choice of paper, traditionally sewn spines, gorgeous binding materials and craft printers and workshops – provide the dedication and passion that goes into creating Folio books.

Luxurious and varied bindings – Buckram, cloth, leather (goat, sheep or calf), silk (crushed or moiré), cotton, printed or hand-marbled paper, gold blocking, coloured blocking, gilded or coloured edges … these varied and costly fabrics and finishes are the foundation for the designers to work with. Each binding design is unique, bringing together the talents of artists and designers with printers and craftsmen.

Dust-jackets don’t protect fine bindings and were originally invented as a marketing ploy in crowded bookshops, so Folio Society books are presented in slipcases. These are the traditional coverings for fine editions and a sturdy protector against light and dust.
Browse These Books Now at Folio Society Books

Great Gift Ideas for Christmas 2011 No.8

The Ultimate Christmas Gift for the Person Who Has Everything

The Tale Of Lundravar The Dragon

The Limited Special Edition of The Tale of Lundravar The Dragon by John Blakey

Each volume contains over 100 exquisite full colour illustrations and is printed on fine quality paper. It is beautifully hand-bound in rich Italian leather and decorated with polished turquoise set in silver and tooled and edged in gold. Each copy is certificated by the publishers (strictly 650 worldwide) and signed and numbered by the artist and author, John Blakey.

This beautiful investment can be yours for a mere £1,000
See More Details at The Tale Of Lundravar The Dragon
Also Available at Lundravar The Dragon John Blakey First Edition 2008
Also Available at Standard Edition of The Tale Of Lundravar The Dragon

Great Gift Ideas for Christmas 2011 No.1

Charles Dickens Collections

De-Luxe Centennial Edition

Somehow, Dickens and Christmas have become almost synonymous. It is the very spirit of Christmas which Dickens conjured from his fertile and so charitable mind – and this is the kind of celebration of the Yuletide Feast which over the years we have come to accept as being the archetypal Christmas.

After the massive success attained with A Christmas Carol in 1843 Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840s, maintaining what he called “the Carol philosophy” to “strike a sledgehammer blow” for the poor, uneducated, and repressed. In typical Dickens fashion he drove his message home with a mixture of humour and good cheer.

The Christmas Books were: A Christmas Carol 1843, The Chimes 1844, The Cricket on the Hearth 1845, The Battle Of Life 1846, The Haunted Man 1848.

Dickens discontinued the Christmas books after The Haunted Man, devoting his “spare” time to the publication of weekly magazines, Household Words (1850-1858) and All the Year Round (1859-1867), in which he included annual Christmas Stories. Included are fictional sketches verging on the autobiographical, recollections of childhood, reflections on past holidays and old friends, as well as tales of misunderstandings and lost opportunities. Humorous, tragic, uplifting, richly human, they reaffirm the virtue of nurturing our traditions, and offer a master storyteller’s vision of the real meaning of Christmas. These Christmas stories, together with the Christmas books, forever linked Dickens with the celebration of Christmas.

Whether you are buying just one book or a complete set you will find a huge selection on my website.

The Pickwick Papers

Or perhaps you are a fan of Dickens Illustrations as found in the Dickens Buchanan Portfolio

View The Buchanan Portfolio

For a full list of the prints click on the link below.

Buchanan Portfolio of Characters From Dickens

Browse All My Charles Dickens Books at Charles Dickens

Great Gift Ideas for Xmas 2010 No.7

Readers Digest Books

Travels & Adventures - Oceans & Stars

For years now Reader’s Digest have been producing books that are sumptuously illustrated with superb photographs and illustrations, packed with contributions from a whole host of experts. Here’s your chance to buy the books you missed!

Browse More Readers Digest at www.hcbooksonline.com

Great Gift Ideas for Christmas 2010 No.6

Biography

Laura Ashley - A Life By Design

Choose from over 400 biographies, some suggestions may be found below;

Laura Ashley, St Augustine, Marlon Brando, Charlotte Bronte, Michael Caine, G K Chesterton, Confucius, Bill Cosby, Marie Curie, Charles Dickens, Richard Dimbleby, Gracie Fields, Cary Grant, Alec Guiness, Hannah Hauxwell, Joan of Arc, Dennis Law, John Lennon, Leonardo da Vinci, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Mary Queen of Scots, Eric Morecambe, Jelly Roll Morton, Mozart, Napoleon, Nelson, Florence Nightingale, Laurence Olivier, Christina Onassis, St Patrick, Queen Mother, Albert Schweitzer, Peter Sellers, William Shakespeare, Stalin, Peter Ustinov, William Whitelaw, Virginia Woolf
Browse All My Biographies at www.hcbooksonline.com

Great Gift Ideas for Christmas 2010 No.5

Poetry

The Oxford Library of English Poetry Guild 1990

There are many different famous poetry verse forms including verses, poems, limericks, rhymes, ballades, blank verses, elegy, idylls, lays, lyrics, odes and sonnets!
Here are some of my favourite poems;

Oh! what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive! from Marmion by Sir Walter Scott

A Red Red Rose a famous poem by Robert Burns ( O my Luve’s like a red, red rose )

Rime of the Ancient Mariner a poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge ( It is an ancient Mariner, And he stoppeth one of three )

Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray ( The Curfew tolls the knell of parting day )

The Song of Hiawatha a great famous poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ( By the shore of Gitchie Gumee, By the shining Big-Sea-Water, )

Sonnet 18 by the Great, celebrated Bard, William Shakespeare ( Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate )

Ode To The West Wind a famous poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley ( O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being )

The Lady of Shallot a famous poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson ( On either side the river lie long fields of barley and of rye )

Daffodils – I wandered lonely as a cloud a famous poem by William Wordsworth ( I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o’er vales and hills )

Give someone a lasting Christmas present – A Book of Poetry!
Find Some Beautiful Poetry at Poems

Great Gift Ideas for Christmas 2010 No.4

The Works of Sir Walter Scott

Author's Pocket Edition of The Waverley Novels & Poems 1873-75

What is the value of a reputation that probably will not last above one or two generations? – Sir Walter Scott once asked Ballantyne.

Almost 200 years after Waverley was first published, a constant tide of new editions of his novels flows from the press; his plots give materials for operas and plays; he has been criticized, praised, condemned: but his romances endure amid the changes of taste, remaining the delight of mankind, while new schools and little masters of fiction come and go.

Walter Scott was justifiably the first British mass selling author, inspiring generations of authors that followed.

Whether you just want to sample the Waverley novels or even read them all then please have a look at the books I have on offer. You may even want to revisit some of the stunning poetry written by Scott, browse a number of options for Scott’s Poetical Works.
Browse Sir Walter Scott at Walter Scott Novels and Poems

Great Gift Ideas for Christmas 2010 No.3

The Works of William Shakepeare

Shakespeare’s Works Pocket Portrait Edition Thomas Yardley c1910

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is renowned as the English playwright and poet whose body of works is considered the greatest in the history of English literature. Ben Jonson anticipated Shakespeare’s dazzling future when he declared, “He was not of an age, but for all time!” in the preface to the First Folio.

Decisions to be made when buying Shakespeare are: 1) Do I want a Single Volume or Multiple Volumes?; 2) Do I want an antiquarian book or a modern book?; 3) Do I want Illustrations or Not? And as a final word of warning, there are many different versions of Shakespeare’s Plays dependant on who the editor/compiler was. Whether you are just looking for a single play or for the Complete Works, you will find a great choice in my Shakespeare Category. There you will also find an assortment of Shakespeare related books.
Browse Shakespeare Books at Shakespeare Books