Robert Smith Literary agency » 2013

The Last Torpedo Flyers: The true story of Arthur Aldridge – Hero of the skies

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:01:59 +0000

Arthur Aldridge was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his bravery in taking out German cargo ship SS Madrid in December 1941, during which he lost a wing tip. He was lucky enough to survive his squadron’s attack on the Axis’s maritime fleet during the notorious Channel Dash, which saw 40 RAF planes shot down. ‘Arty’ was awarded a Bar to his DFC for sinking two enemy ships off Malta and rescuing a fellow pilot while wounded, as his own Beaufort took four shells. Arthur Aldridge and his loyal gunner, Bill Carroll, who also contributes his memories, are two of the last torpedo airmen left alive.

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Shamed: The honour killing that shocked Britain – by the sister who fought for justice

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:18:03 +0000

27-year-old Surjit Athwal was lured by her husband to a wedding in India, where she was murdered and her body thrown into a river. Surjit’s sister-in-law, Sarbjit Athwal, had been present at the family meeting in London, at which her mother-in-law pronounced a death sentence on the absent Surjit, for bringing dishonour to them. Risking the same fate, Sarbjit covertly sought justice for nine years, finally securing long custodial sentences for Surjit’s mother-in-law and her husband. Speaking publicly for the first time, this brave woman exposes the full extent and extreme injustices of forced marriages and honour killings in Britain today.

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Many A True Word: The joy of English

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:20:51 +0000

Written by the author of the stylebook for BBC Radio News, this former BBC producer brings his prodigious wit and learning to the way we use the English language. Should we worry about apostrophes? What are the 100 most used words? Which words are most commonly misspelt; or derived from French, German and Spanish; or are banned at the Daily Telegraph? What are the secrets of becoming a cryptic crossword genius or a master Scrabble player? Richard Baker presents these and many other weighty linguistic matters with the lightness of a fine soufflé.

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The Ghosts of Happy Valley: Searching for the lost world of Africa’s infamous aristocrats

admin — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:53:00 +0000

The Happy Valley set’s notoriety was sealed in 1941 with the still unsolved murder of the Earl of Errol. Juliet Barnes explores Happy Valley in a remarkable archaeological quest to find the homes and haunts of the extraordinary and vanished characters. With the help of African guides, and the memories of elderly expats, she brings new insights to their gilded but frantic lives, and updates the area’s traumatic history from the Mau Mau atrocities in the 50s to the forest and animal devastations of today.

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Fast Exercise: The simple secret of high intensity training

Robert Smith — Mon, 27 Jan 2014 16:09:37 +0000

Can you really get the benefits of exercise in just a few minutes a day? Michael Mosley and Peta Bee investigate the science behind a radically different approach to exercise – one that is incredibly time efficient.

Research has shown the extraordinary impact that ultra-short bursts of HIT (high intensity training) can have, whatever your age or level of fitness.

They offer practical advice and a range of workouts that take just a few minutes a day and can be done at any time, anywhere.

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The Complete and Essential Jack the Ripper

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:23:05 +0000

In this comprehensive account of the Whitechapel murders, leading crime historian, Paul Begg, establishes all the essential and verifiable information available on the case, and explores the myth of Jack the Ripper in literature, theatre, film and in our culture. His meticulous research illuminates the desperate physical and social conditions in the East End during the 1880s, ideal for the killer’s purposes. He details the real lives of the murdered women, and why they were selected to be victims; examines the evidence against the known suspects; and assesses the opinions of senior policemen at the time on the killer’s identity.

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The Food Swap Diet: Discover the food swaps that will transform your diet and your weight – permanently

admin — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 17:00:30 +0000

The health and fitness columnist of The Times, has written an easy-to-use and permanently effective guide to achieving optimum weight, not by following the latest diet trend, but by making wise food choices every day. Simply by swapping some of the foods you eat regularly for healthier options, you can shave hundreds of calories every day, along with unnecessary sugar and fat, from your diet without ‘going on a diet’. You choose which foods you want to swap, so there are no banned foods, no skipping meals and definitely no going hungry!

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– permanently appeared first on Robert Smith Literary agency.

My James: The heartrending story of James Bulger by his father

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:14:52 +0000

It is a crime, no less disturbing today than it was in 1993, when Ralph Bulger’s two- year-old son, James, was abducted and brutally murdered by two ten-year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. Ralph talks with searing honesty about the murder, the nightmares that haunted him and the grief that ripped his marriage apart. He describes his outrage at his son’s killers being sentenced to only eight years’ detention in a secure unit and how he has found the strength to sustain a twenty-year battle to achieve justice for his son. My James is a father’s loving tribute to his adorable young boy, whose bright smile brought joy to all who knew him. Deservedly No. 1 in the Sunday Times bestseller chart.

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The Best Medicine: The true story of a nurse who became a doctor in the 1950s

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:23:41 +0000

Working during the late 1940s and 1950s, Staff Nurse Georgie Edwards realised that, if she was to restore the health of her patients more effectively, she needed to diagnose and treat as well as to nurse them. She was offered a place to study medicine at the prestigious Barts Hospital in London, and in her own distinctive manner, set about becoming a doctor, who listened and cared, a far cry from the consultants ‘who sweep by’. But Georgie also fell in love and wanted a family as well as a career. Warmly evoking both the joys and the sadnesses of her work, The Best Medicine is Georgie’s engaging and often humorous memoir of her early years in the Health Service, first as a nurse, then as a doctor.

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Harry: The People’s Prince

admin — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:24:15 +0000

This is the story of Prince Harry, the popular third in line to the British throne – impulsive, deeply caring, and able to engage spontaneously with ordinary people and children. Chris Hutchins’s insightful and superbly sourced text tracks the roller-coaster trajectory of the Prince’s life, from a childhood scarred by his parents’ troubled marriage and his mother’s tragic death, to his brilliant public performances at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the 2012 London Olympics and his brother’s wedding to Kate Middleton. It sets out the remarkable journey of a young man with an extraordinary destiny, with many revelations along the way. Hutchins draws his sources from a wide range of those who know the real Harry: from the girls he has loved and lost, to the soldiers who have fought alongside him in Afghanistan.

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