Kirjahaku

There are some places you must return to.In the bestselling tradition of Barbara Delinsky, Jean Stone weaves an enthralling, emotionally charged novel of friendship and betrayal, forgiveness and love. Jill McPhearson leads a charmed life--with a hugely successful TV show, two beautiful children, and a fianc who just happens to be her sexy prime-time co-host. Just when all Jill's dreams seem to be coming true, her past beckons her back to her childhood home on Martha's Vineyard and to a life she wants only to forget. But returning to the island will also give this savvy reporter her biggest break--the chance to go after the story of a lifetime: her own. For a dark family secret is about to be revealed, one that could help Jill face painful memories or destroy everything she's hoped to become.

From the best-selling author of THE SUMMER HOUSE and OFF-SEASON...VINEYARD MAGIC is the latest Jean Stone novel set against the intriguing backdrop of the celebrated island of Martha's Vineyard. VINEYARD MAGIC captures the predicament of the fabulously wealthy Libby and Walter who have now lost it all: the co-op, the trust fund, the house in Belize, and maybe even their island retreat where Libby has gone into seclusion. Enter Libby's air-kissing, society friends who go to the Vineyard to offer best girlfriend support: - DEVON: After a vicious divorce, she has a great job and big goals that take a sharp detour when a sexy, ex-convict appears. - CANDACE: Whose social register standing is in jeopardy when her secret past knocks on her Park Avenue door. - EMMIE: Who has sneaked from her husband, rekindled long-lost, naughty passion, and now must make a choice. But their problems have only begun. Once on the island, the women discover that Libby is beset with amnesia, her husband is missing, and a dead body has turned up in the phlox. Through their wits and their wiles, and with no help from Libby, they must solve the murder before one of them ends up behind bars. VINEYARD MAGIC is a delicious, fun romp through the chatty, sometimes catty, ups and downs of women's friendships, and shows that there is true magic in sticking together. JEAN STONE has been applauded by Publishers Weekly for her "...graceful prose, vivid imagery, and compassionately drawn characters" and by best-selling author Sue Margolis as "...a masterful storyteller."

In Jean Stone's third Vineyard Novel, a visit from her biological mother threatens to upend bestselling novelist and island transplant Annie Sutton's new life on Martha's Vineyard. Life is usually quiet during the off-season on Martha's Vineyard, but not for island newbie and bestselling novelist Annie Sutton... Finally settled into her adopted island home, Annie is looking forward to writing her next mystery, making soap for her new business, and starting renovations on the Inn she plans to open by the summer. She's also enjoying spending more time with local police sergeant John Lyons, the man she's only just gotten comfortable calling her boyfriend. She's even starting to relish her relationship with John's teenage daughter, Lucy. It's probably not the best moment for a visit from the biological mother Annie only recently met. Still, it's high time she got to know the mysterious Donna MacNeish... But Donna's visit isn't merely a social call--she's come to share some devastating news. Seeking solace in an outing with Lucy, Annie and the teen stumble upon skeletal remains on the Inn's property, a finding that calls a halt to all construction while the police investigate. Desperate for answers, Annie starts asking questions of her own. But when secrets about her own past bring shattering revelations, suddenly everything Annie understands about love and loyalty is tested--and she wonders if the ties that bind her to her beloved community will reach a breaking point...

For fans of Debbie Macomber and Elin Hilderbrand, Jean Stone's "lovingly rendered" (Booklist) Vineyard novels are heartwarming beach reads set on beautiful Martha's Vineyard, featuring bestselling mystery author and Vineyard Inn proprietor Annie Sutton. Now Annie's wedding is just around the corner--but so is trouble that may cast a shadow over her plans, and her future. Finding love on Martha's Vineyard has been a dream come true--but for the bride-to-be, the price of happiness may be too high . . . With her long-awaited wedding to police sergeant John Lyons only weeks away, bestselling author and Vineyard Inn proprietor Annie Sutton is faced with more drama than usual. Between the hideous heirloom gown her new family expects her to wear and the challenges of bonding with John's contentious daughter Abigail, Annie's having serious doubts. But when the baby she once found on her doorstep goes missing, Annie has bigger concerns, including that the little girl's pregnant, older half-sister is in no condition to hear bad news . . . Desperate for answers, Annie combs the island, questioning friends and even her family-to-be. Because suddenly it seems as if Abigail will do just about anything to stop her father from marrying Annie--even if it means putting a child at risk. But if scaring Annie half to death is the plan, it's working. Nothing else matters now except finding the little girl. And if postponing her future with John--indefinitely--is the only way to make that happen, it's a sacrifice Annie may have to make . . .

Late 1930s. When World War II was declared, Mavis Batey, previously studying German Romanticism, abandoned her studies to do her duty for her country. At Bletchley Park, Britain’s best kept secret, she became one of the first women codebreakers, a pioneer and a star, breaking codes vital to bringing peace. Mavis Batey, a unique biography, delves into the life of one of Britain’s best female codebreakers, taking the reader through the war and to the arrival of peace, when Mavis turned her attention from breaking codes to the conservation and preservation of gardens. Mavis became an important figure in conservation, becoming President of the Garden History Society, which, under her watch, became an academic society and campaigning force for the protection of landscapes, parks, and gardens of historic interest. She also lobbied Parliament, fighting threats of encroachment and misuse of land. Acts of Parliament were passed, English Heritage was established, and grants were introduced. Historic gardens became officially recognised as essential components of European culture and her National Register of Historic Gardens came to fruition. Mavis’s passion was writing and she wrote many books. Mavis was finally awarded the RHS Veitch Memorial Medal and the MBE for Services to the preservation and conservation of historic landscapes. Mavis never did retire: her final project was to inspire an American Garden Trail for Bletchley Park which she signed off just a few months before her death in November 2013.

Tales of the Cherwell Valley

Exploration of the New World offered far reaching possibilities for the acquisition of new plants and for trees, but the impact that the introduction of plants from the New World had, and still has, on the English garden is frequently forgotten. Gardens and landscapes were transformed by an influx of American roots and through the past three centuries gardens have displayed important links with the United States of America. The ancestral homes of George Washington, the residence of the American Ambassador in London, the American Museum in Britain and Bletchley Park are of cultural and political importance. Many Dollar Princesses - American heiresses - took an active part in the aristocratic role of garden creation and ex-patriots too, continue to leave a legacy of beautiful gardens. Finally, the book includes memorial gardens of honoured Americans: Princess Pocahontas; Mohamet Weyonoman; John F. Kennedy; the Magna Carta Memorial built by the American Bar Association, and at Cambridge, the American Military Cemetery, dedicated to the American Armed Services. The American Spirit in the English Garden is unique in bringing together the story of the first influx of American plant species and an important collection of gardens influenced and/or created by Americans, reflecting social history and often overlooked links between Britain and the United States of America.