Book

Lady Almina and the Story of the Real Downton Abbey by Lady Fiona Carnarvon, Hodder & Stoughton, $32.99 The perfect gift for lovers of the television series Downton Abbey, a show filmed at magnificent Highclere Castle, home of Lady Almina, Countess of Carnarvon, from 1895 until 1923. The much loved but illegitimate daughter of a […]

Shannon Bennett’s France: A Personal Guide to Fine Dining in Regional France by Shannon Bennett and friends, Miegunyah Press, $44.99 This pretty little hardback is more than a guide for those fabulous few who summer in the South of France. It’s a mouth-watering armchair holiday in itself, complete with gorgeous recipes, expert tips on wine […]

Powderfinger Footprints, by Powderfinger with Deno Scatena, Hachette, $45 For twenty years Australian band Powderfinger topped music charts and rocked packed venues. For most of that time they let their music do the talking. But now they’ve teamed up with author Dino Scatena to tell the story of the band, from its beginnings at Brisbane […]

11.22.63 by Stephen King, Hodder & Stoughton$32.99 Perhaps only seasoned storyteller Stephen King could accomplish changing the course of history, in his vast time-travelling debut masterpiece 11.22.63 — the date of John F. Kennedy’s assassination — while effortlessly weaving political and social detail, human behavioural observation and abundant humour. “I knew where I was… the […]

Australia Story of A Cricket Country edited by Christian Ryan, Hardie Grant $89.95 Melbourne journalist Christian Ryan has created the ultimate cricket book in this incredible tome which is certain to thrill any cricket fan. It’s not just another almanac, this is an homage to the Australian game with eulogies and deep thinking discussions from […]

What Bird Is That? By Neville W Cayley, Australia’s Heritage Publishing, $69.95 First published in 1931, What Bird Is That? became a standard for budding Australian bird watchers. Author Neville Cayley’s impetus was to encourage and inspire people to appreciate and recognise our natural bird life and what started as his “little bird book” fast […]

The Freudian Slip by Marion Von Adlerstein, Hachette, $32.99 It’s being pitched as Australia’s answer to Mad Men in novel form and while Marion Von Adlerstein’s debut novel is not nearly as multi-layered as the hit US TV show about the advertising industry in the 50s and 60s, it oozes the aura of the era […]

Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens, Allen & Unwin, $23.99 Sara has never felt she really fitted in with her adoptive family. It’s not that she’s not loved or nurtured, just that she’s different and deep down believes she could never really match up to her parents’ birth children — her two sisters. So in the […]

The Thread by Victoria Hislop, Headline, $29.99. There’s a lot of history in The Thread, but Victoria Hislop’s lightness of touch and warm lyrical style make it a lesson you genuinely relish. This is the author’s third novel set in Greece and here, in the multicultural city of Thessaloniki, she delves much deeper into the […]

Di Morrissey has 19 best-selling books under her belt and another one on shelves now — but despite her success she still feels nervous about every new release. Here, Di discusses her fear of failure, her cadetship at The Weekly and why she once wished she wrote sex books instead of novels. AWW: Did you […]