Böcker utgivna av Hodder & Stoughton

'I was living in a world where a priest who spoke the words of God used me for sex, and there was no-one to tell. The world where this horror happened didn't exist for anyone else.' As a boy in Ireland where everyone -- from among his own neighbours to the powers of church and state -- chose to deny that a priest could sexually assault a child, Colm O'Gorman felt only shame, guilt and fear at the regular rape and abuse he suffered. But Colm would go on to make history, successfully suing the Roman Catholic Church, asking questions of the Pope himself and creating a watershed in history as hundreds more victims found the courage to report their abuse. Beyond Belief is a powerful story of a young man's shame turning to outrage, and demonstrates that -- whatever our past hurts -- there is hope for the future if we are prepared to stand for truth.

Dora Preston has guts, but it will take more than that for her to break free from Hedderby and make a life for herself on the stage. Then she meets Gideon - and pursuing her ambitions becomes even harder. Gideon has returned from the fighting in India only to discover that an impostor has stolen his inheritance. He has vowed he will claim his birthright but his enemies are ruthless and desperate.Arson attacks, crime and drunkenness have beset the Lancashire mill town, but the forces of good are rallying and are determined to prevail - whatever it takes.*********************What readers are saying about HEART OF THE TOWN'A great story' - 5 stars'Excellent as is the whole series and all of the Anna Jacobs books' - 5 stars'A fantastic read' - 5 stars'Brilliant to read - I wish that there was another book in the series' - 5 stars'Outstanding' - 5 stars

Marjorie is the pretty one of the Preston sisters. So pretty that when a performer at her sister's music room breaks her leg, Marjorie is asked to fill in as the assistant to famous singer Denby Sinclair. He offers to take her with him, away from Lancashire and into the exciting world of London theatres. But Denby is not what he seems. He has a dangerous secret which, if it were to be revealed, would ruin her. Marjorie, however, is reckless and will take any risk for a chance to perform on the stage. And when disaster strikes, she finds herself alone and feels further from home than she's ever been.Can she regain her heart's desire and find happiness once more? And what can she do about another danger that arises in Hedderby that threatens her and her entire family?**********************What readers are saying about STAR OF THE NORTH'Once again, a great read. Anna Jacobs has a way of writing that draws you into the characters and makes you feel that you are living the story' - 5 stars'I couldn't put it down' - 5 stars'Excellent!' - 5 stars'I did not want to put this book down. Brilliant and enthralling to lose yourself completely' - 5 stars'Another Fab read from Anna Jacobs' - 5 stars

They say you only regret the things you don't do . . .Lizzie Kershaw is an independent spirit; ever since her father's death she has had to be a survivor. Home life is harsh, though, and desperate to escape it, she makes an ill-advised marriage. But she discovers all-too-quickly that she's married a selfish and violent man. His beatings never seem to stop and she soon comes to a decision: she must run far, far away.With the help of some suffragettes she escapes to Manchester, where she finds work in a munitions factory - she is finally the independent woman she has always longed to be. But her husband, whose cruelty knows no bounds, tracks her down and drag her back home to more beatings than ever.But when his violence causes her to lose the one thing she's always wanted, Lizzie knows she must find the strength to make the changes in her life that are so sorely needed.*******************What readers are saying about OUR LIZZIE'I'd recommend this book to all saga lovers' - 5 stars'Another fantastic read . . . It made me laugh and it made me cry . . . Another page turner' - 5 stars'Brilliant series of books. Lovely stories. Lovely characters' - 5 stars

'Another riveting book from Anna Jacobs' - 5-star reader reviewSeventeen-year-old Liza is happy working as a lady's maid - until her employers decide to emigrate and her father makes up his mind that she is to wed an older widower whom she detests. Determined to avoid a loveless marriage, Liza plans to run away. But when the widower rapes her to force her to marry him, she flees back to the family for whom she worked. She feels she has no choice but to go with them to Australia, and they all set out on the long voyage.On board ship, Liza discovers to her horror that she has fallen pregnant. Even if she can survive the journey, the demanding life of a settler in 1850s Western Australia will be made even harder by an illegitimate child. But Liza is to find that in addition to deprivation of the worst sort, Australia will offer her opportunities she could never have dreamt of back home in Lancashire.*******************What readers are saying about LANCASHIRE LASS'As ever, great!' - 5 stars'A lovely book' - 5 stars'Great from start to finish' - 5 stars'Brilliant again!' - 5 stars'I just love these books - once you start you will find it hard to put down' - 5 stars

Carrie Preston is used to hard work - oldest of ten, with an incompetent mother and a drunken father, she struggles daily to find food for her siblings. But nothing could have prepared her for the day fate deals her family the cruelest of hands, rendering them more desperate than ever.So when Eli Beckett offers Carrie a job at the Dragon pub, she grabs the opportunity with both hands. Things finally seem to be looking up for the Preston family, especially when they find out that Eli's nephew is planning on building a brand new music room in the town. With the great cities of England alive to the sound of music halls, the locals of Hedderby are soon looking forward to their own place of celebration and merriment.Yet not everyone shares this excitement, and some will stop at nothing in the pursuit of selfish gain . . .******************What readers are saying about PRIDE OF LANCASHIRE'A brilliant book' - 5 stars'Another fab book - thank you Anna Jacobs!' - 5 stars'Really exciting, could not put it down. You feel the people are so real and you are there with them' - 5 stars'Brilliant, I just love her books' - 5 stars'Excellent, as always' - 5 stars

'This is an important book. It needs to be ... we are coming to realise that a life well lived might decently conclude with a death well and timely died' TERRY PRATCHETT'Impassioned and impressive' SUNDAY TIMES'A powerful, compassionate book' FT ON SUNDAY* * * * * * *From presenter of Radio 4's Today & national treasure John Humphrys, one of the first books to deal unflinchingly with death and dying well, written in conjunction with a high-profile GP.Death is a subject modern society shies away from. Even doctors avoid the word. But if we regard death as a failure in our desire to prolong life, can we ever arrive at a humane approach to those whose lives have lost meaning? Are we keeping people alive simply because we can?Inspired by his own experience with his father's death from Alzheimer's, John Humphrys and co-author Dr Sarah Jarvis take a wider look at how our attitudes to death have changed as doctors have learned how to prolong life beyond anything that could have been imagined only a few generations ago, and confront one of the great challenges facing the western world today. There are no easy answers but the first step must surely be to accept that death can be as welcome as it is inevitable.The Welcome Visitor is a book which brings genuine knowledge and insight to a taboo subject, while asking the difficult questions that need to be asked about our attitudes and approach to the realities of end-of-life care.

Take a trip through New York City this ChristmasHolly O'Neill knows that every charm bracelet tells a story.Many years ago she was sent one with just a single charm attached. The charms have been appearing ever since, often at challenging times, as if her mysterious benefactor knows exactly when she needs a little magic in her life.As a result, Holly's bracelet is her most prized possession. So when she finds someone else's charm bracelet, she feels she has to try to reunite it with its owner. Even if the only clues she has to follow are the charms themselves.On a search that will take her all over New York City at Christmas, Holly becomes ever more determined to piece together the details of this other charmed life. But what she doesn't know is that her quest may also lead her somewhere she never, ever expected . . .

Our lives are precious. Never more so than for 19-year-old Alexander Stobbs who has been a cystic fibrosis sufferer from birth. For him, each day could be his last. But as he says in the BAFTA-nominated documentary - A Boy Called Alex - 'you can't do stuff if you're afraid'.A truly inspiring story of a young musician determined to live his dreams, Alex takes us on his journey to survive a daily round of drugs and treatments as he also prepares for his yearning ambition to conduct Bach's three-hour-long St Matthew Passion. Everything we take for granted is a struggle for Alex - eating, sleeping, even breathing. His determination to live life to the full, constantly striving for perfection in his musical performance, is set against the exhausting every day rigours of medication and treatment simply to keep him alive. Yet he has already achieved some extraordinary goals. An Eton scholar, he has now won a further music scholarship to King's College, Cambridge. Introduced here by his mother Suzanne, Alex's account of living with no certainty about his future is a spur to all of us to make every day count.

List item 2: Never speak German on the upper decks of London buses.Jack Rosenblum is five foot three and a half inches of sheer tenacity. He's writing a list so he can become a Very English Gentleman.List item 41: An Englishman buys his marmalade from Fortnum and Mason.It's 1952, and despite his best efforts, his bid to blend in is fraught with unexpected hurdles - including his wife. Sadie doesn't want to forget where they came from or the family they've lost. And she shows no interest in getting a purple rinse.List item 112: An Englishman keeps his head in a crisis, even when he's risking everything.Jack leads a reluctant Sadie deep into the English countryside in pursuit of a dream. Here, in a land of woolly pigs, bluebells and jitterbug cider, they embark on an impossible task...

'Some may call me a vigilante. I think I've just got problems to fix.' Right now, Hunter's big problem is a missing little brother, last seen fleeing the site of a gruesome killing. Hunter needs the help of an old army buddy, a whole lot of hardware and a trip to Little Rock, Arkansas, to fix this particular problem. A brutal encounter with some very nasty criminals leaves Hunter fighting for his life. And that's before he comes up against America's most feared serial killer, 'The Harvestman' and his grisly souvenirs of death. But blood is thicker than water. And a lot of blood will be spilt ...

The phenomenal international bestseller FISH! told the story of a fictional company that transformed itself by applying lessons learned from Seattle's Pike Place Fish Market. The follow-up FISH! TALES told of real-life companies that boosted morale and improved results by implementing these same principles. Now, following the huge success of these motivational titles, comes the latest inspiring addition to the series: FISH! STICKS. In this new, stimulating volume, the authors teach us how to effect change in our business and make it stick through tough and changing times such as turnover in management and staff. With the appealing, readable style which makes the FISH philosophy so accessible, FISH! STICKS shows us how to keep our work vital, alive and fresh, while maintaining those innovations that really work for your company.

Winner of the 2017 Edgar Award for Best NovelSelected by The Sunday Times as one of the top page-turners of summer 2017FROM THE CREATOR OF THE AWARD WINNING FARGO AND LEGION TV SERIES'Hawley's sublime prose glows on every page in this literary thriller of the highest quality' Daily MailTHE RICH ARE DIFFERENT. BUT FATE IS BLIND.A private jet plunges into the sea.The only survivors are down-on his luck artist Scott Burroughs and JJ Bateman, the four year old son of a super-rich TV executive.For saving the boy, Scott is suddenly a hero.And then, as the official investigation is rapidly overtaken by a media frenzy, it seems he may also be a villain. Why was he on the plane in the first place, and why did it crash?

The royal family's darkest secret and the establishment cover-up. Half a century before Dodi and Diana, another Prince of Wales would be involved in a deadly love triangle with a fabulously wealthy Egyptian "e;prince."e; Prince Edward was the future King of England, a destiny he would famously forsake over his love for Wallis Simpson. But two decades prior he was involved in another love affair that threatened to jeopardize the royal family. The story took place in maisons de rendezvous, luxurious chateaux in the French countryside providing hospitality for the British upper classes, the richest food, the finest wines and the most beautiful women, the violent and dangerous Paris demi-monde - where many of the women came from - and the Savoy hotel in London, where a murder was committed. This major royal scandal, superbly covered up by the Royal family, the government and the judiciary has remained secret ever since.This is the story of a passionate and deadly love affair set against the dramatic backdrop of the Great War. Edward was enthralled by the 'crazy physical attraction' of Marguerite Alibert, queen of the Paris demi-monde. When he broke off their hidden relationship, Edward thought that he was free of Marguerite. He was wrong. After the war, as a violent thunderstorm raged outside the luxurious Savoy Hotel in London Marguerite fired three shots from a semi-automatic pistol. Her husband, and Egyptian multimillionaire and playboy, was shot dead at point blank range. Marguerite stood trial for murder at the Old Bailey. As Prince Charming and poster boy of the British Empire, Edward now risked exposure as a degenerate wastrel, partying behind the lines while thousands were blown away on the Western Front.Andrew Rose, using his long experience as a barrister and judge, has uncovered a royal scandal carefully airbrushed from history. Edward never quite escaped from Marguerite who had taught the arts of love to a once and future King.The Prince, the Princess and the Perfect Murder is the product of several years' research, accessing unpublished documents held in the Royal Archives and private collections in England and France.

Oliver Barrett IV found his true soulmate when he met and fell in love with Jenny Cavilleri. Their love was magical, exhilarating . . . though heartbreakingly brief, it was enough to last a lifetime. Or so Oliver told himself. Two years have passed since Jenny was taken from him, and Oliver truly believes he will never love again. Then one day Marcie - beautiful and mysterious - enters his world . . . and suddenly the future holds a golden new promise. With all the excitement and emotion that made LOVE STORY a worldwide bestseller, here is a stirring romantic novel that sweeps from New York's fashionable East Side to a snowy Christmas in Massachusetts to a shattering moment of truth in exotic Hong Kong - the story of one young man's journey out of sadness and into love.

In the turmoil and confusion of London's East End between the wars, young Nelly Kelly soon learns that life may never match her expectations. Forced to keep house for her charming, yet autocratic, father, Nelly toils in a sweatshop to keep her family clothed and fed.But though life is hard, Nelly still has friendship, dancing and her early dreams to cling to. Dreams which slowly crumble as marriage, the war and a lost baby are followed by the heartache of a lost love.Fortune may crush her proud spirit but when faced with a crisis which will test her courage to the limit, no tragedy can change Nelly Kelly's determination to be her own woman.

THE NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'She is a master of her craft . . . and humanity is what Picoult does best' Sunday TelegraphAfter a tragic accident which left her deeply scarred, Sage Singer retreated into herself, allowing her guilt to govern her life. When she befriends kindly retired teacher Josef, it seems that life has finally offered her a chance of healing. But the gentle man Sage thinks she knows is in fact hiding a terrible secret. Josef was an SS officer during the Holocaust and now he wishes to die - and he wants Sage to help him.As Josef begins to reveal his past to her, Sage is horrified. Does this past give her the right to kill him? 'An emotional and compelling tale' SunTHE BOOK OF TWO WAYS, Jodi's stunning new novel about life, death and missed opportunities is available to pre-order now.

The perfect follow-up for readers of Dunkirk, Hidden Britain, Finest Hour and other gripping, personal accounts of life during the Second World War.In late summer 1940, Hitler told his army to prepare to invade England. The nation waited, breathless with tension, for the Nazi threat to become real.Acclaimed author Midge Gillies gathers together the personal accounts of those who still remember this time, with written sources from contemporary press reports, to diaries and letters, to illustrate and recreate the fear, suspense and even excitement of living in England in the shadow of the Nazis. A pair of sisters, determined that life should go on as normally as possible, carry on swimming and playing tennis - only to find themselves under suspicion of being sympathisers because of their seemingly carefree attitude. A group of former poachers and gamekeepers huddle in a woodland hideout, newly trained and prepared to blow up bridges and slit German throats. Citizens hide their most treasured possessions from the Nazis in biscuit tins, or bury them in graveyards.Over the weekend of September 7th, the code word for high alert flashed round the country, and with tensions at their height many assumed it to mean that the Nazis had already landed. Sunday September 8th was declared a National Day of Prayer - and seemed to many to be the beginning of the end.This is a compelling and evocative account of what it was like, for that short period in 1940, to be waiting for Hitler.

Martin Watts, a bookseller, is captured by Royalists. Jane Afton's brother Nat is taken too. They suffer inhumane treatment as prisoners-of-war. In Oxford Castle jailor William Smith tortures, beats, starves and deprives his helpless victims. Can Jane rescue her sick brother before he dies of neglect? Will Martin dare to escape? Based on real events in the English Civil War, Lindsey Davis retells the grim tale of Captain Smith's abuse of power in Oxford prison - where many died in misery though a lucky few survived.

An extraordinary wartime memoir, combining the best kind of adventure story with a coming of age testimony of unforgettable resonance and poignancy. September 2011, Halkidiki, Northern Greece. A solitary 86 year-old man gazes across an Aegean headland, knowing that he must finally confront his past. He begins to write... September 1939, Nieppe, Northern France. 14 year-old Stephen is living with his family, 25 kilometres from Ypres. His French mother battles with her encroaching blindness. Failing to escape the advancing German army, his English father can no longer look after the war graves that cast so heartbreaking a shadow across the region. Stephen and his friend Marcel embark upon their great adventure: collecting souvenirs from strafed convoys and crashed Messerschmitts. But their world turns dark when arrested and imprisoned for sabotage and threatened with deportation or the firing squad. Upon his release, and still only 16, Stephen is recruited by the French Resistance. Growing up under the threat of imminent betrayal, he learns the arts of clandestine warfare, and - in a moment that haunts him still - how to kill... Such was the impact of Stephen Grady's work for the French Resistance, (especially during the countdown to D-Day and its bloody aftermath) that he was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the American Medal of Freedom.

A Sunday Times '100 best crime novels and thrillers since 1945' pick!A British cabinet minister is gunned down on a London street by an IRA assassin. In the wake of national outcry, the authorities must find the hitman. But the trail is long cold, the killer gone to ground in Belfast, and they must resort to more unorthodox methods to unearth him. Ill prepared and poorly briefed, undercover agent Harry Brown is sent into the heart of enemy territory to infiltrate the terrorists.But when it is a race against the clock, mistakes are made and corners cut. For Harry Brown, alone in a city of strangers, where an intruder is the subject of immediate gossip and rumour, one false move is enough to leave him fatally isolated...

'Robert Peston's compelling account of global financial meltdown is a must-read..' - The ObserverFormer economics editor of BBC news explains the recent global economic mess and how to escape it - in his characteristically straightforward way. 'How do we fix this mess? I don't know. But don't stop reading now. Perhaps if we have a clearer understanding of what went wrong, we'll have a better idea of what needs to be done. This book is a map of what needs to be fixed.'The record-breaking unbroken growth between 1992 and 2008 wasn't the economic miracle that it seemed. It was based on a number of dangerous illusions - most notably that it didn't matter that the UK and US year after year consumed more than they earned.But we couldn't go on increasing our indebtedness forever. The financial crash of 2007/8 and the subsequent economic slump in much of the west was the moment when we realised we had borrowed more than we could afford to repay.So who got it wrong? Bankers, investors and regulators? And were they greedy, stupid or asleep? What was the role of government? And what part did we, as consumers, play in all this?How do we get through this difficult period of transition to a more sustainable economy, one based on investment and exports, rather than on borrowing and consumption? With the same probing lucidity he brought to WHO RUNS BRITAIN?, Robert Peston takes us step-by-step towards a common sense way to fix this mess.

War has come to London once more and Holly Beckman, now a widow, is forced to find new depths of courage in the face of adversity. David Aspinall, her first lover, has come back after twenty years abroad. He still holds a fatal charm for Holly but only time will tell if she can finally trust him. A new generation defies convention in the face of death, as Holly's RAF pilot son Chris and David's niece embark on a whirlwind affair. Across the channel, Ritchie Beckman - his lucrative art business crumbling as the Germans advance on Paris - risks everything to outwit the Nazis, but his plan could mean tragedy for the whole Beckman family... 'She writes in bright colours with bold, confident strokes' Glasgow Herald

When Holly Beckman inherits a quarter share of James Aspinall's antique shop, his dissolute son David and snobbish daughter Andrea are outraged. But the girl from the back streets of Lambeth has already faced enemies more daunting than the Mayfair smart set.Aided by her grandfather, Holly defies her father's drunken rages, her brother's criminal plans and David Aspinall's seductive charms. But she has one weakness. Christopher Deems, a handsome poet scarred by the Great War, drives Holly to a fateful decision between love and ambition. She cannot know that tragedy waits down each shadowed path . . .'She writes in bright colours with bold, confident strokes.' Glasgow Herald

A cosy Dandy Gilver mystery set in 1930s Scotland. For fans of PG Wodehouse, Alexander McCall Smith and Agatha Christie.'McPherson is an exemplary crime writer' Scotsman BAD LUCK? BAD TIMING? OR GOOD OLD-FASHIONED MURDER? When a circus comes to spend the winter at the neighbouring estate to Gilverton, Dandy Gilver's two sons are cock-a-hoop and they are not alone in their excitement. The allure of Tumbling Topsy Turvy, Tiny Truman and the Troupe Prebezhensky also draw the attention of the fast set, who would never normally be seen dead with the nouveau riche Mr & Mrs Albert Wilson. 'The name, darling, tells you everything you need to know.'But when Dandy Gilver is asked to investigate a series of nasty tricks taking place in the circus she discovers, under the colourful charms on the surface of circus life, a hotbed of passion and resentment she cannot begin to understand. But, when one of the artistes suddenly dies, Dandy must somehow get behind the smoke and mirrors to find answers in a world where nothing is as it seems. 'Dry wit . . . sparkling dialogue and meticulous description.' Herald 'The most engaging and ingenious crime-cracker I've met in ages' Scotland on Sunday Dan Brown meets Barbara Pym . . . Dandy is brisk, baffled, heroic, kindly, scandalised and - above all - very funny - GuardianCatriona McPherson's latest novel in the series, Dandy Gilver and a Spot of Toil and Trouble is now available for pre-order.

Mordred is the son of King Arthur, bastard child of his union with his half-sister Morgause. Prophesied by Merlin to kill Arthur, Mordred is stolen away from his mother and raised in secrecy by a kind couple on an isolated Orkney island in the hopes that he will defy his fate.Mordred, known to history as a traitor and a murderer, is no villain, but a quick-witted young man, with hopes and dreams of his own. But try as he might, Mordred cannot escape Merlin's prophecy.For his mother, Morgause, has plans of her own. She tracks her son down and takes him back, then feeds the flames of Mordred's ambition, setting into motion a chain of events that will go down in history - and legend - as father and son are finally forced to confront each other one last time: on the wicked day of destiny, when Arthur's final battle will be fought.Mary Stewart's stunning Arthurian Saga began with The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment and The Wicked Day. It concludes with The Prince & the Pilgrim.

Alexander the Fatherless: nephew of the villainous King March of Cornwall, who murdered his father. Burning with vengeance, Alexander sets out on a journey to Camelot to seek justice from King Arthur. His path will lead him to the Dark Tower, where the sorceress Morgan le Fay lies in wait. Morgan seduces Alexander and sends him on a quest to Jerusalem to recover the Holy Grail - which she believes will help her take the throne.Alice the Pilgrim: daughter of a man who has sworn to journey to Jerusalem every three years, Alice grows to womanhood on the pilgrim's trail. And then she meets a boy who carries a cup - which he claims is the Holy Grail. Alice and her father will move heaven and earth to bring the Grail back to Britain. And Alexander will do anything to find it. Their quests will bring them together, and the day that Alexander and Alice meet will go down in legend. The Prince & the Pilgrim is the final installment of Mary Stewart's classic Arthurian Saga, a must-read for all fans of history, fantasy and great literature alike.

By land and water shall it go home, and lie hidden in the floating stone until by fire it shall be raised again.Arthur has raised the sword and claimed his birthright as High King of Briton, determined to unite the many tiny kingdoms that make up his country. Now he sits upon his throne at Camelot with Merlin by his side, his most trusted adviser.But Merlin is growing old, and his sight is dimming. He knows that Mordred, child of Arthur's unknowing union with his half-sister Morgause, will be Arthur's downfall. But he cannot see the future clearly enough to know why, or how - or when.And he's distracted: his gifted young apprentice, Niniane, is more than meets the eye. As Merlin teaches her to control her powers, he seems to lose his own.Merlin has secured Arthur's place in history. Now he must take his own.The Arthurian Saga, begun in The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment continues in The Wicked Day, the story of Arthur's last battle...

This is what happened. I saw it, and it is a true tale.So begins the story of Merlin, born the illegitimate son of a Welsh princess in fifth century Britain, a world ravaged by war. Small and neglected, with his mother unwilling to reveal his father's identity, Merlin must disguise his intelligence - and hide his occasional ability to know things before they happen - in order to keep himself safe.One beautiful afternoon, while exploring the countryside near his home, Merlin stumbles across a cave filled with books and papers and hiding a room lined with crystals. It is the home of Galapas, who becomes Merlin's tutor and friend, and who teaches Merlin to understand the world around him... and to harness the power of the crystal cave to see the future.Merlin will rise to power and enter history - and legend - as advisor to King Arthur. But all stories must begin somewhere. And this is his. The Crystal Cave is the first of Mary Stewart's brilliant Arthurian Saga, telling the story of King Arthur from the perspective of the extraordinary, mysterious Merlin.

Born on Christmas Eve, Arthur Pendragon is the illegitimate son of the married duchess Ygraine and Uther Pendragon, brother of a great king: a union Merlin arranged. But Arthur's birth is not welcomed by everyone: his father demands he be hidden until a legitimate son can be born, and Merlin is forced to give the babe to his own childhood nurse for safekeeping and go into hiding. In a dream, Merlin learns of a sword of unparalleled beauty and extraordinary craftsmanship, hidden in a long-deserted Roman temple. Merlin retrieves the sword and hides it in a cave on an island in the centre of a lake, where it remains for years.But what is hidden must be revealed. For it is foretold that the irrepressible young man named Arthur will find a sword and claim his birthright: as heir to Uther Pendragon and king of the Britons.