Kirjahaku

Diego de Godoy arrives in the New World in search of treasure - he finds love, chocolate, and the elixir of life. Denied his lover, he and his dog Pedro search the world to recapture what he first experienced in Mexico. His search is a journey through time and the history of chocolate.

From the author of THE DISCOVERY OF CHOCOLATE – a romantic historical quest set in Renaissance Florence and China surrounding the search for ultramarine. THE COLOUR OF HEAVEN is a fictional account of a young man who travelled to what are now Afghanistan and China to discover lapis lazuli, the precious stone that when turned into ultramarine changed the history of painting – allowing artists to abandon gold as a background and open up depth, landscape and perspective with the most beautiful shade of blue. Along the way, Paolo suffers the torments of unfulfilled love before he returns to his anxious family in Venice, where he also plays a part in the early development of lenses and spectacles!

Diego de Godoy sets off for South America in 1518 with Cortes and the Conquistadors. During his travels he falls in love with Ignacia, a native woman who introduces him to the secrets of the most delicious drink he has ever tasted: chocolate. Tragically, their passionate affair is cut short by the chaotic conquest of Mexico. Diego later discovers that his lover had secretly added the elixir of life to his chocolate. Unable to die, he lives on through history -- Paris during the time of the Revolution, Vienna in the 19th century, late Victorian England, and Hershey, Pennsylvania -- accompanied by his trusty greyhound, Pedro. All the while, he searches to recapture the magic of Ignacia's chocolate -- and to learn to love life just as fully.Playful and intelligent, this is a romantic story about love and loss inspired by a very enchanting substance.

_______________ ‘Runcie has captured the truth about love ... he is the simple chronicler of English post-war life, using irony and understatement to lay bare the pathos of ordinary lives ... Beautifully done' - Sunday Telegraph ‘A tender, intimate account of post-war England which left me both wistful and elated ... So engaging, so well-shaped and so unsparingly, generously truthful' - Jim Crace _______________ A moving family saga and wonderfully rich portrait of post-war Britain It is 1953 in Canvey Island. Len and Violet are at a dance. Violet's husband George sits and watches them sway and glide across the dance floor, his mind far away, trapped by a war that ended nearly ten years ago. Meanwhile, at home, a storm rages and Len's wife Lily and his young son Martin fight for their lives in the raging black torrent. The night ends in a tragedy that will reverberate through their lives. This poignant novel follows the family's fortunes from the austerity of the post-war years to Churchill's funeral, from Greenham Common to the onset of Thatcherism and beyond, eloquently capturing the very essence of a transforming England in the decades after the war. It is a triumph of understated emotion, a novel about growing up and growing old, about love, hope and reconciliation. _______________ ‘Runcie's third novel is a funny, epic, moving story of Thameside folk ... a beautifully observed, tragi-comic work' - What’s On ‘Runcie writes with an excellent feeling for time and place, and, above all, the intensity of ordinary lives' - Choice

_______________ ‘He is the simple chronicler of English post-war life, using irony and understatement to lay bare the patterns of ordinary life' - Sunday Telegraph 'This gripping novel has only one major flaw - it was far too short - I wanted at least another 200 pages of these people and their lives' - Victoria Hislop ‘Wonderfully alive. James Runcie has written a rich, subtle, and often funny book' - Daily Mail _______________ From the author of the Grantchester Mysteries series Jack Henderson, estranged from his ex-wife and grown-up daughters, is involved in a horrific accident. His younger brother Douglas begins an affair with a woman he barely knows, risking everything. And Angus, the eldest of the Henderson boys, finds himself suddenly in freefall having unexpectedly been laid off from his job. As the three brothers head to their childhood home in East Fortune for their annual summer gathering, they brace themselves against sibling rivalries and parental expectations. East Fortune is a moving story about life and love, chance and hope, and how families survive.

Grantchester Mysteries 1_______________'Inspector Morse would appear to have a rival' - Scotland on Sunday'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's' - Guardian'An undiluted pleasure' - Scotsman_______________Now a major, prime-time six-part series Grantchester for ITVSidney Chambers, the Vicar of Grantchester, is a thirty-two year old bachelor. Sidney is an unconventional clergyman and can go where the police cannot.Together with his roguish friend Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney inquires into the suspect suicide of a Cambridge solicitor, a scandalous jewellery theft at a New Year's Eve dinner party, the unexplained death of a well-known jazz promoter and a shocking art forgery, the disclosure of which puts a close friend in danger. Sidney discovers that being a detective, like being a clergyman, means that you are never off duty..._______________'A charmingly effective tale of detection ... a satisfyingly old-fashioned read' - The Times'No detective since Father Brown has been more engaging than Canon Sidney Chambers' - Salley Vickers'The coziest of cozy murder mysteries' - New York Times Book Review'Full of witty phrases to delight the reader' - Peggy Woodford, Church Times'Gentle criminal entertainment with a pleasantly old-fashioned feel to it' - Andrew Taylor, Spectator

Grantchester Mysteries 2_______________'Runcie is emerging as Grantchester’s answer to Alexander McCall Smith. The book brings a dollop of Midsomer Murders to the Church of England, together with a literate charm of its own: civilized entertainment, with dog-collars' - Spectator'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimm's' - Guardian'Totally English, beautifully written, perfectly in period and wryly funny. More, please!' - Leslie Geddes Brown,Country Life_______________Grantchester is now a major, prime-time six-part series for ITV1955. Canon Sidney Chambers, loveable priest and part-time detective, is back. Accompanied by his faithful Labrador, Dickens, and the increasingly exasperated Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney is called to investigate the unexpected fall of a Cambridge don from the roof of King's College Chapel, a case of arson at a glamour photographer's studio and the poisoning of Zafar Ali, Grantchester's finest spin bowler.Alongside his sleuthing, Sidney has other problems. Can he decide between his dear friend, the glamorous socialite Amanda Kendall and Hildegard Staunton, the beguiling German widow? To make up his mind Sidney takes a trip abroad, only to find himself trapped in a web of international espionage just as the Berlin Wall is going up._______________'The series has a charming quaintness and deftly turning plot twists but what renders it unique as detective fiction is its overtly Christian content' - Arifa Akbar, Independent'It takes a first-class writer to put together a convincing storyline for such unlikely circumstances. James Runcie does it admirably … He is a good man in an imperfect world and we should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives' - Daily Mail

'There is no denying the winning charm of these artfully fashioned mysteries' - Barry Forshaw, Independent'Gentle, often funny and undeniably charming' - Readers Digest'We should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives' - Daily Mail_______________It is the 1960s and Canon Sidney Chambers is enjoying his first year of married life with his German bride Hildegard. But life in Grantchester rarely stays quiet for long.Our favourite clerical detective soon attempts to stop a serial killer who has a grievance against the clergy; investigates the disappearance of a famous painting after a distracting display of nudity by a French girl in an art gallery; uncovers the fact that an ‘accidental’ drowning on a film shoot may not have been so accidental after all; and discovers the reasons behind the theft of a baby from a hospital in the run-up to Christmas, 1963. In the meantime, Sidney wrestles with the problem of evil, attempts to fulfil the demands of Dickens, his faithful Labrador, and contemplates, as always, the nature of love. The third in ‘The Grantchester Mysteries’ series – six detective novels spanning thirty years of British history – these four longer stories are guaranteed to delight the many fans of Canon Sidney Chambers.

'Inspector Morse would appear to have a rival' - Scotland on Sunday'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimms' - Guardian'An undiluted pleasure' - Scotsman_______________Sidney Chambers, the Vicar of Grantchester, is a thirty-two year old bachelor. Sidney is an unconventional clergyman and can go where the police cannot.Together with his roguish friend Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney inquires into the suspect suicide of a Cambridge solicitor, a scandalous jewellery theft at a New Year's Eve dinner party, the unexplained death of a well-known jazz promoter and a shocking art forgery, the disclosure of which puts a close friend in danger. Sidney discovers that being a detective, like being a clergyman, means that you are never off duty..._______________'A charmingly effective tale of detection ... a satisfyingly old-fashioned read' - The Times'No detective since Father Brown has been more engaging than Canon Sidney Chambers' - Salley Vickers'The coziest of cozy murder mysteries' - New York Times Book Review'Full of witty phrases to delight the reader' - Peggy Woodford, Church Times'Gentle criminal entertainment with a pleasantly old-fashioned feel to it' - Andrew Taylor, Spectator

'Delightful ... The ongoing plots bind the stories, yet each in themselves is precise ... They are a joy' - Stuart Kelly, Scotland on Sunday'All manner of nostalgic delights. Perfect reading for a sunny English garden' - Kate Saunders, Independent'The author knows the location well and has caught its dour charm and great art treasures to perfection' - Country Life_______________Loveable full-time priest and part-time detective Canon Sidney Chambers is back, continuing his investigations. A mysterious stranger seeks sanctuary in Grantchester’s church; a shooting weekend in the country has a sinister end; a friend receives poison pen letters; a piano falls on a musician’s head; a school cricket match has an explosive finish; and on a holiday in Italy, Sidney is accused of stealing a priceless painting. On the home front, his new curate has become irritatingly popular with the parish and his daughter is starting to walk and talk.

'Grantchester’s answer to Alexander McCall Smith. The book brings a dollop of Midsomer Murders to the Church of England, together with a literate charm of its own' - Spectator'A perfect accompaniment to a sunny afternoon, a hammock and a glass of Pimms' - Guardian'Totally English, beautifully written, perfectly in period and wryly funny. More, please!' - Leslie Geddes Brown,Country Life_______________1955. Canon Sidney Chambers, loveable priest and part-time detective, is back. Accompanied by his faithful Labrador, Dickens, and the increasingly exasperated Inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney is called to investigate the unexpected fall of a Cambridge don from the roof of King's College Chapel, a case of arson at a glamour photographer's studio and the poisoning of Zafar Ali, Grantchester's finest spin bowler.Alongside his sleuthing, Sidney has other problems. Can he decide between his dear friend, the glamorous socialite Amanda Kendall and Hildegard Staunton, the beguiling German widow? To make up his mind Sidney takes a trip abroad, only to find himself trapped in a web of international espionage just as the Berlin Wall is going up._______________'The series has a charming quaintness and deftly turning plot twists but what renders it unique as detective fiction is its overtly Christian content' - Arifa Akbar, Independent'It takes a first-class writer to put together a convincing storyline for such unlikely circumstances. James Runcie does it admirably … He is a good man in an imperfect world and we should welcome him to the ranks of classic detectives' - Daily Mail

'There is no reason at all why this series should not run and run and why Sidney Chambers should not occupy the same place in the pantheon as Miss Marple or Poirot' - Catholic Herald'Perfect reading for a sunny English garden' - Kate Saunders, The Times'There is no denying the winning charm of these artfully fashioned mysteries' - Barry Forshaw, Independent_______________The sixth book in James Runcie's much-loved series, adapted for ITV’s Grantchester which stars James Norton as Sidney Chambers. Perfect for fans of M. C. Beaton.Life is never straightforward when you’re a full-time priest and part-time detective. So when a walk in a bluebell wood takes an unexpected turn, Archdeacon Sidney Chambers finds himself plunged into another murder investigation: who would want to kill a harmless old hippy - and why was the man foraging for poisonous plants? Sidney’s findings soon lead him into sunny Granchester’s dark underworld, where love is free and motives are shady. But his investigation, together with his continual inquiry into the divine mysteries of life, love and family, is blown apart by a devastating loss that will change his world forever.

_______________'If you love the TV series Grantchester, don’t miss this captivating prequel. It reveals the backstory of how a young Sidney Chambers, carefree in London just before the Second World War, came to be the charming crime-fighting clergyman we know today' - Yours'Charming, clever and warm: perfect comfort food for the soul' - Joanne Harris, Daily Telegraph'An engaging and witty prequel' - Washington Post'Hugely enjoyable … Some of the finest writing I have ever read about the sorrow and the pity of war' - Herald_______________The captivating prequel to the treasured Grantchester series follows the life, loves and losses of a young Sidney Chambers in post-war LondonIt is 1938, and eighteen-year-old Sidney Chambers is dancing the quickstep with Amanda Kendall at her brother Robert’s birthday party at the Caledonian Club. No one can believe, on this golden evening, that there could ever be another war. Returning to London seven years later, Sidney has gained a Military Cross, and lost his best friend on the battlefields of Italy. The carefree youth that he and his friends were promised has been blown apart, just like the rest of the world – and Sidney, carrying a terrible, secret guilt, must decide what to do with the rest of his life. But he has heard a call: constant, though quiet, and growing ever more persistent. To the incredulity of his family and the derision of his friends – the irrepressible actor Freddie, and the beautiful, spiky Amanda – Sidney must now negotiate his path to God: the course of which, much like true love, never runs smooth. The touching, engaging and surprising origin story of the Grantchester Mysteries’s beloved Archdeacon, Sidney Chambers, The Road to Grantchester will delight new and old fans alike.

‘A tender memoir of the challenges of bereavement ... I closed this book wishing I’d met her – but feeling that I almost had’ Daily Telegraph _______________ A memoir of a husband's grief, and an unforgettable portrait of a marriage; a profound examination of sorrow, and a great celebration of love - by the Sunday Times-bestselling author James Runcie James Runcie’s wife Marilyn Imrie died in August 2020. Their thirty-five year marriage had been miraculously happy – until, in the last two years of Marilyn’s life, she descended into the pain and humiliation of motor neurone disease. In the wake of her death, Runcie stumbled in the dark. How do you make sense of the decline and death of the most alive person you have ever met? And how do you go about building a life worth living in their absence? In Tell Me Good Things, Runcie tells the story of Marilyn’s illness and death – in all its moments of tragedy, rage, farce and surrealness – while painting a vivid portrait of her life and their marriage: a partnership defined by a shared love of beauty, conviviality and storytelling. And during that first year of loss, he awakens to the strange paradox of grief: that the way to survive Marilyn's death is to understand how very good she was at living. Tender, funny, profound and deeply true, Tell Me Good Things is an unforgettable story of life before death – and love beyond the grave. ‘A touchingly honest and tender memoir' The Times ‘A wonderful addition to the literature of bereavement’ Sunday Times

‘A tender memoir of the challenges of bereavement ... I closed this book wishing I’d met her – but feeling that I almost had’ Daily Telegraph_______________ A memoir of a husband's grief, and an unforgettable portrait of a marriage; a profound examination of sorrow, and a great celebration of love - by the Sunday Times-bestselling author James RuncieJames Runcie’s wife Marilyn Imrie died in August 2020. Their thirty-five year marriage had been miraculously happy – until, in the last two years of Marilyn’s life, she descended into the pain and humiliation of motor neurone disease.In the wake of her death, Runcie stumbled in the dark. How do you make sense of the decline and death of the most alive person you have ever met? And how do you go about building a life worth living in their absence?In Tell Me Good Things, Runcie tells the story of Marilyn’s illness and death – in all its moments of tragedy, rage, farce and surrealness – while painting a vivid portrait of her life and their marriage: a partnership defined by a shared love of beauty, conviviality and storytelling. And during that first year of loss, he awakens to the strange paradox of grief: that the way to survive Marilyn's death is to understand how very good she was at living. Tender, funny, profound and deeply true, Tell Me Good Things is an unforgettable story of life before death – and love beyond the grave.‘A touchingly honest and tender memoir' The Times ‘A wonderful addition to the literature of bereavement’ Sunday Times

The first of the Grantchester Mysteries, and inspiration for the PBS/Masterpiece television series, finds Vicar Sidney Chambers beginning his career, as both a spiritual leader and a detective. It is 1953, the coronation year of Queen Elizabeth II . Sidney Chambers, vicar of Grantchester and honorary canon of Ely Cathedral, is a thirty-two-year-old bachelor. Tall, with dark brown hair, eyes the color of hazelnuts, and a reassuringly gentle manner, Sidney is an unconventional clerical detective. He can go where the police cannot. Together with his roguish friend, inspector Geordie Keating, Sidney inquires into the suspect suicide of a Cambridge solicitor, a scandalous jewelry theft at a New Year's Eve dinner party, the unexplained death of a jazz promoter's daughter, and a shocking art forgery that puts a close friend in danger. Sidney discovers that being a detective, like being a clergyman, means that you are never off duty, but he nonetheless manages to find time for a keen interest in cricket, warm beer, and hot jazz-as well as a curious fondness for a German widow three years his junior. With a whiff of Agatha Christie and a touch of G. K. Chesterton's Father Brown, The Grantchester Mysteries introduces a wonderful new hero into the world of detective fiction.

From acclaimed bestselling author James Runcie, a meditation on grief and music, told through the story of Bach's writing of the St. Matthew Passion. In 1727, Stefan Silbermann is a grief-stricken thirteen-year-old, struggling with the death of his mother and his removal to a school in distant Leipzig. Despite his father's insistence that he try not to think of his mother too much, Stefan is haunted by her absence, and, to make matters worse, he's bullied by his new classmates. But when the school's cantor, Johann Sebastian Bach, takes notice of his new pupil's beautiful singing voice and draws him from the choir to be a soloist, Stefan's life is permanently changed. Over the course of the next several months, and under Bach's careful tutelage, Stefan's musical skill progresses, and he is allowed to work as a copyist for Bach's many musical works. But mainly, drawn into Bach's family life and away from the cruelty in the dorms and the lonely hours of his mourning, Stefan begins to feel at home. When another tragedy strikes, this time in the Bach family, Stefan bears witness to the depths of grief, the horrors of death, the solace of religion, and the beauty that can spring from even the most profound losses. Joyous, revelatory, and deeply moving, The Great Passion is an imaginative tour de force that tells the story of what it was like to sing, play, and hear Bach's music for the very first time.

A profound examination of grief and a great celebration of love by internationally bestselling author James Runcie. In early 2020, as the world sunk into the pandemic, James Runcie and his wife Marilyn Imrie were going through a different, far more personal tragedy. After 35 years of miraculously happy marriage, they learned that the painful, frustrating symptoms Marilyn had been experiencing for two years were a sign of Lou Gehrig's Disease. With this diagnosis, during the isolation and strangeness of the pandemic, James and Marilyn's lives were transformed. Now, in his startling and intimate memoir, James tells the story of Marilyn's illness and death--in all its moments of tragedy, rage, and strangeness--while painting a vivid portrait of her life, in all its color, humor, and brightness. Tender, funny, and deeply true, Tell Me Good Things is an unforgettable story of life before death and love after grief.