Here is a series of sixty-four letters, carefully preserved by Mary McIlrath in Killinchy, Co. Down, N. Ireland.

They detail the progress of Mary’s great uncles, the two McIlrath brothers who emigrated in 1860 to New Zealand, and describe their work and achievements over fifty-five years. Historically and genealogically valuable are the frequent references to other emigrants from Killinchy and surrounding district whom they frequently met there. The news, messages and greetings included in the letters of the McIlrath brothers were sure to have been read and circulated to relatives, friends and neighbours, drawing that community at home closer together as well as closer to the one on the other side of the world. Re-reading these letters today, with their deeply personal style and content, it is easy to imagine that our ancestors are writing to us from the past.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 143

Dimensions: 210 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-04-2009

First published in 1920, The Mad Toy is set in Buenos Aires in the early twentieth century. Feeling the alienation of youth, Silvio Astier’s gang tours neighbourhoods, inflicting waves of petty crime, stealing from homes and shops until the police are forced to intervene. Drifting then from one career and subsequent crime to another, Silvio’s main difficulty is his own intelligence, with which he grapples.

Writing in the language of the streets and basing his writings in part on his own experience, with his characters wandering in a modern world, Arlt creates a book that combines realism, humour and anger with detective story.
Trailblazing for Boom writers who were to follow him such as Gabriel García Márquez and Isabel Allende, Roberto Arlt is rated as one of the greatest Argentinean writers. Although astronomically famous in South America, Roberto Arlt’s name is still relatively unknown in Anglophone circles, but the rising wave of appreciation of South American literature is bringing him to the fore.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 160

Publication Date: 26-05-2013

As variegated as the American experience itself, this original treasury reflects the vibrant role of the short story in our national literature. Fourteen outstanding tales by famous American authors unfold in settings ranging from the decaying family mansion of Edgar Allan Poe's dark psychological thriller, "The Fall of the House of Usher," to the bustling modern apartment building of John Cheever's domestic drama, "The Enormous Radio." Moods and attitudes shift from the simmering menace of a lynch mob in William Faulkner's "Dry September" to the gentle optimism of an elderly couple in Ring Lardner's "The Golden Honeymoon."
Other stories include "A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty, Katherine Anne Porter's "He," "A Wagner Matinee," by Willa Cather, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz," and "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane. Additional contributors include Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mark Twain, Henry James, Edith Wharton, and O. Henry. An affordable resource for classroom use, this anthology is also a fine companion for all who appreciate well-crafted tales.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 256

Dimensions: 130 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 01-03-2013

Comedian, mod and professional grump Ian Moore has had enough.
Tired of being unable to park anywhere near his cramped house in a noisy town he doesn’t like, he hatches a plan to move his wife and young son to a remote corner of the Loire Valley in search of serenity and space.
Several years later, Ian finds himself up to his neck in bilingual offspring, feral cats, promiscuous horses, dysfunctional spaniels and needy hens; he’s wrestling with electric fences, a foreign language, a mountain of animal waste and a wife who collects livestock like there’s a biblical flood on the horizon, all while trying not to dirty his loafers.
But despite the ups, downs and increasing demands of Ian’s showbiz career, the Moore family persevere in true Brit style to create a unique, colourful and ultimately rewarding life in their new home – à la campagne and à la mod!

Bind: paperback

Pages: 320

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 06-05-2013

‘Here again, Mr Cossey?’ asked the young Spanish embryologist, shooting me a welcoming smile as I followed him down the corridor. He had recognised me by sight and that wasn’t good. I was now the one thing you don’t want to be in a fertility clinic. A regular.
Martha wanted a baby. Mark wanted a baby.
What’s the worst that could happen?
In four years of baby-making boot camp, Mark and Martha face The Calendar, the joy of sober, scheduled sex, hostile cervical mucus, IUI and IVF. Through a combination of ignorance and outrage, Mark survives ejaculating into a small jar, stabbing his wife, having his sperm turned pink and group sex with whales. Written with genuine laugh-out-loud humour and complete honesty, Trying is a noholds- barred welcome to the world of the infertile written by a man who has lived through it all and come through with his ultimate dream realised – his own family. It says a lot when you can call two years of sleepless nights a happy ending.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 288

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 06-05-2013

Nothing is cuter than a baby, but this book comes close with simple and adorable sewing projects that are almost as cute as your little one! Step-by-step instructions, how-to photographs and approachable patterns show you how to add sweetness to the nursery with darling baby clothes, stuffed animal plushies and practical accessories.

Eighteen easy-to-sew projects cover all of the basics that babies need for their first few years of growing. They feature charming appliqué faces inspired by the kawaii fashion sense-In Japanese, kawaii means cute, adorable, or loveable. Faces are one of the first things that babies are programmed to recognize, so why not surround them with lots of loving, handmade smiles?

Projects range from very easy to intermediate, so they're simple to understand and come together quickly. All you need is a sewing machine, some inexpensive fabric, and a few basic sewing tools. So go ahead and create some beautiful toys and cute little clothes to make some lasting memories with your one-of-a-kind baby!

Bind: paperback

Pages: 143

Dimensions: 215 x 280 mm

Publication Date: 01-03-2013

Lumber prices are soaring, and deforestation is a rising concern. Yet millions of pounds of perfectly usable wood are dumped in landfills every year. Wood Pallet Projects shows how anyone can upcycle salvaged pallet wood to create truly one-of-a-kind projects.

Maverick craftsman Chris Gleason combines sound woodworking techniques with a hip designer’s sensibility to unleash the limitless possibilities of the common skid. Inside you’ll find 15 of his inspired projects for rescuing and repurposing pallets. Some of his pieces celebrate the rough, edgy character of the material, while others are crafted as fine furniture. He shows how to construct both indoor and outdoor furniture in a variety of styles, along with other useful items such as a birdhouse, a toolbox, and even a ukulele.

There’s plenty of nitty gritty here on working with pallets, including where to find them, how to process them into usable lumber, fasteners, sanding, and the best finishes (if any) to use. The author provides important advice on how to make sure that your pallets are safe, and not sprayed with harmful chemicals. A colorful gallery of finished work provides further inspiration for green crafting.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 127

Dimensions: 190 x 230 mm

Publication Date: 01-03-2013

Coarse bread rubbed with tomato or garlic and then bathed in olive oil, is common to all the Mediterranean cultures. On the island of Majorca, it is known as pa amb oli, bread and oil. Tomas Graves takes this healthy peasant staple as a starting point to explore not only Mediterranean cooking, agriculture, and traditions but also the historical events that have rescued this simple dish from disappearing along with a way of life that had remained essentially unchanged since Roman times. In Bread & Oil Tomas Graves celebrates the Majorcan character as reflected in its eating habits. He makes the sights, sounds, scents and people of the Spanish island spring to life so brilliantly in this creative triumph. Part adventure, part history book, part travelogue, part restaurant guide and part cookbook, the reader is charmed throughout. Recipes reflect the indigenous ingredients; wrinkled olives made with olive oil, lemon juice and crushed garlic; fried sardines topped with sauteed onions and marinated in vinegar served cold with bread and oil, and guacamole with tomatoes and onions. Originally published as Volem pa amb oli in the native Catalan language of the Balearics, this new revised and updated English-language edition of Graves' book offers an informative guide not only to an overlooked culinary tradition, but also to the immense cultural transition that's changing the face of Europe.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 240

Dimensions: 129 x 198 mm

Publication Date: 30-05-2013

Whether you are a professional baker, a home baker who would like to turn a hobby into a career or just someone who loves Real Bread then this handbook is for you. It contains advice, recipes and insights from some of the country's most experienced bakers, millers and retailers. There are chapters on ingredients, how to make a bread starter, how to set up a community supported bakery, the bake house, equipment, courses and training and suppliers. Originally produced and published by The Real Bread Campaign, Grub Street is delighted to be adding this useful and informative book to its trade list to bring it to a wider market. The Real Bread Campaign was launched in 2009 to share the many values of real bread that have been lost in the quest for an ever cheaper loaf. It networks to bring farmers, millers, bakers and consumers closer together to create shorter food chains and support each other in making Real Bread available in their local communities and to aid bakers and other educators to share their skills, experience, passion and knowledge with children, caterers, professional and home bakers. One of the founder members of The Real Campaign is Andrew Whitley founder of the Village Bakery, in Melmerby in the Lake District and author of the best-selling Bread Matters. Since Andrew moved on from the business in 2002, he has run a training and consultancy company Bread Matters which moved to Lamancha in Scotland in 2012, where he continues sharing with people Real Bread skills, pleasures and benefits, as well as questioning the true costs of additive-laden alternatives.

Bind: paperback

Pages: 140

Dimensions: 205 x 205 mm

Publication Date: 20-05-2013

From the young airmen who took their frail machines high above the trenches of World War I and fought their foes in single combat there emerged a renowned company of brilliant aces - among them Ball, Bishop, McCuddon, Collishaw and Mannock - whose legendary feats have echoed down half a century. But behind the elite there were, in the Royal Flying Corps, many hundreds of other airmen who flew their hazardous daily sorties in outdated planes without ever achieving fame. Here is the story of one of these unknown flyers - a story based on letters written on the day, hot on the event, which tells of a young pilot's progress from fledgling to seasoned fighter. His descriptions of air fighting, sometimes against the Richtofen Circus, of breathless dog-fights between Sopwith Pup and Albatros, are among the most vivid and immediate to come out of World War I. Gould Lee brilliantly conveys the immediacy of air war, the thrills and the terror, in this honest and timeless acount. Rising to the rank of air vice-marshal, Gould Lee never forgot the RFC's needless sacrifices - and in a trio of trenchant appendices he examines, with the mature judgement of a senior officer of the RAF and a graduate of the Staff and Imperial Defence Colleges, the failure of the Army High Command to provide both efficient aeroplanes until mid-1917 and parachutes throughout the war, and General Trenchard's persistence in a costly and largely ineffective conception of the air offensive.

Bind: hardback

Pages: 256

Dimensions: 135 x 210 mm

Publication Date: 20-05-2013