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The Hon. Venetia Stanley (1887– 1948) was the close friend and confidante of Prime Minister Herbert Asquith before and during the First World War. Their correspondence has been extensively studied, but this first full biography, written with the support of her family, records her unhappy marriage, affairs, flying exploits, and friendships with Winston Churchill, Lawrence of Arabia and Ernest Hemingway.

Ever energetic, Winston Churchill set about remodelling the grounds of his Chartwell estate in the 1930s, digging lakes, acquiring farmland and even taking up the bricklayer's trowel himself. This review of the statesman's residences focuses on this property but also discusses the many other houses in which he lived, including London state apartments, wartime accommodation and an ancient half-timbered farmhouse in Surrey.

As protected sacred places, churchyards provide a tranquil environment in which wild plants and animals can thrive even when their nearby natural habitats have been destroyed. With photographs, newly commissioned drawings and passages from literature, Professor Buczacki celebrates this abundance of nature among the headstones, exploring the long history of our churchyards and describing the species most commonly found there, from mighty ancient yews to woodlice (nicknamed ‘church pigs’), graveyard beetles and lichens. Foreword by Lord Harries.