Best Selling Books by Wendy Holden

''This is a remarkable book . . . Read it and use it: you may find you are doing nothing less than giving back to your children their childhood, while they still have the chance to live it'' Mark Williams, Director, University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre and author of Mindfulness: Finding peace in a frantic world ''10 Mindful Minutes can help any adult - parent, grandparent, teacher - make double use of their moments with the children they love and have a terrific time while helping shape that child''s brain for a lifetime of resilience and happiness'' Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence Bestselling author Goldie Hawn offers parents a practical guide for helping their children to learn better and live more happily. Based on the MindUP programme, supported by the Hawn Foundation, 10 Mindful Minutes outlines short, practical exercises for parents and children - taking less than 10 minutes - to help young children and teenagers reduce stress and anxiety, improve concentration and academic performance, effectively manage emotions and behaviour, develop greater empathy for others and the world, and be more optimistic and happy. Representing the culmination of years of research and programmes developed by the Hawn Foundation currently being used by schools internationally, this book will help children and parents develop mindfulness which has been proven to promote more effective learning and happier lives.

As an emotionally fragile journalist recovers from war trauma, she immerses herself in the study of the history of handmade art paper and its influence on the artist J.M.W. Turner--a scholarly project that might prove the most dangerous minefield she''s ever encountered.

A beautiful glassmaker. Two damaged men who love her. Set in exotic Bohemia and the wilderness of an English coast, this is a story of obsession and passion and fear... The Cruelty of Beauty takes the reader on a journey into glassmaking and its parallels with the fragilities and strengths of life.

Uggie offers readers his true rags-to-riches tale of one ordinary Jack Russell Terrier who made it big in Hollywood. -- In this heartwarming memoir by the star of The Artist and Water for Elephants, Uggie recounts his rise from humble beginnings as an abandoned shelter dog to being adopted by esteemed trainer Omar von Muller. He details his start working in commercials, then breaking into the film world, and eventually dazzling audiences in the Oscar-winning film The Artist -- a role that many said should have earned him an Oscar.

''Touching and distinctive . . . getting beneath the fairytale pomp and glamour'' - Rachel Hore ''Fabulous behind-the-scenes royal drama . . . Riveting, revealing, an absolute must-read'' - Imogen Edwards-Jones ''This delicate, sometimes wistful story will delight fans of historical fiction and British royalty'' - Booklist ''A fresh perspective on a woman whom many people feel they already know'' - Library Journal ___________ A deeply moving new novel about the young Princess Diana. Diana believes in love. Growing up amid the fallout of her parents'' bitter divorce, she takes refuge in romantic novels. She dreams of being rescued by a handsome prince. Prince Charles loves his freedom. He''s in no rush to wed, but his family have other ideas. Charles must marry for the future of the Crown. The right girl needs to be found, and fast. She must be young, aristocratic and free of past liaisons. The teenage Diana Spencer is just about the only candidate. Her desperation to be loved dovetails with royal desperation for a bride. But the route to the altar is full of hidden obstacles and people with their own agendas. When she steps from the golden carriage on her wedding day, has Diana''s romantic dream come true? Or is it already over?

Zuzana Ruzickova''s story stands as a remarkable testimony of Holocaust survival, as well as a joyful celebration of music and resistance.

Zeb is the darling of Brit Art; the rock n'' roll bad boy artist whose works go for bazillions. But can he keep his end up now that his powerful female patron is losing interest? Beth loves art and the traditional gallery she works in and loves her boyfriend, doctor David. But the hospital hours he keeps are putting a strain on the relationship. Marie''s pop-star husband was big in the Nineties; he''s relaunching his boy band with a vengeance. But where does this leave Marie and her dreams of being a painter? Disillusioned Ben''s reduced to living in the country and holding adult education life classes. But what happened to his life? Then Beth finds herself catapulted into the crazed world of contemporary art. Marie walks into Ben''s life class. And the picture changes completely.

When Nell is marooned at the altar, her feisty best friend Rachel says she''ll come with her on honeymoon instead. Why waste a week in a posh country hotel? So the duo, plus Rachel''s Agatha Christie-obsessed small daughter Juno, head for the hills and idyllic Edenville, on the edge of the beautiful Pemberton estate. Awaiting them is a cast of colourful characters from Jason the harassed hotel manager to the ruthless Angela, Director of HR. Not to mention the handsome Dylan, a bestselling writer on the run from his past. Nell doesn''t want to go back to London, so when a job on the estate comes up, she''s happy to stay. Even if it is arranging weddings in the Big House! As she becomes entangled in the lives of the locals and they weave their way into her heart she realises there might be a way to reach the rainbow''s end after all.

Contemporary / British English Gaz and five others decide to form a strippers'' group. none of the men have stripped before. Gaz must make sure the local women come to the show, so he tells them that the group will take their clothes off. Will these unlikely strippers dare to go for the ''full monty''? The Full Monty is a very popular and funny British film!

''Enthralling'' – Daily Mail ''Fizzing with gossip, intrigue and wit'' – Mail on Sunday If you love The Crown, you will love this fictional look inside the life of Wallis Simpson... ___________ Love can change the course of history... Arriving in 1928, Wallis was a divorced, penniless, middle-aged foreigner with average looks and no connections. Yet, just eight years later, a king renounced his throne for her. How did a woman from nowhere capture the heart of the world''s most glamorous bachelor? Wendy Holden tells the amazing story... ___________ What readers are saying about The Duchess: ????? ''A great read, fabulous story line and such a different perspective. Massive fun'' ????? ''A powerful read. Perhaps we all got Wallis Simpson wrong'' ????? ''Superb and powerful writing! I loved it'' ????? ''A great read and I''d highly recommend to anyone who wants a less stilted piece of history'' ????? ''A fascinating tale, well told'' ????? ''An amazing, fictionalised retelling of the story of Edward and Mrs Simpson''

When Mary meets Monty, heir to a stately pile, happiness seems assured. But as the mansion crumbles, passion wanes along with the heating. Banker''s wife Beth swaps Notting Hill for weekends at a bijou cottage. They only offered a smidgeon over the asking price. So why don''t the locals like them? Eco-harridan Morag is the terror of the village, with her objections to everyone and everything. Über-WAG Alexandra needs a footballer''s mansion and fast. There must be a Hello!-tastic country pile with spa, champagne bar and parking for six SUVs somewhere? Ambitions clash when the village launches an allotment project and no one escapes the bitter struggle over sex, power and money which threatens to blight more than everyone''s carrots.

From the bestselling author of Born Survivors, a novel inspired by the powerful true story of a man who risked everything to protect children in Auschwitz. Fredy built a wall against suffering in their hearts . . . Amid the brutality of the Holocaust, one bright spot shone inside the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz. In the shadows of the smokestacks was a wooden hut where children sang, staged plays, wrote poetry, and learned about the world. Within those four walls, brightly adorned with hand-painted cartoons, the youngest prisoners were kept vermin-free, received better food, and were even taught to imagine having full stomachs and a day without fear. Their guiding light was a twenty-seven-year-old gay, Jewish athlete: Fredy Hirsch. Being a teacher in a brutal concentration camp was no mean feat. Forced to beg senior SS officers for better provisions, Fredy risked his life every day to protect his beloved children from mortal danger. But time was running out for Fredy and the hundreds in his care. Could this kind, compassionate, and brave man find a way to teach them the one lesson they really needed to know: how to survive? The Teacher of Auschwitz shines a light on a truly remarkable individual and tells the inspiring story of how he fought to protect innocence and hope amid depravity and despair.

Set in Southern Ireland in the tiny coastal village ot Tulaigh Morh, Waking Ned is the comic tale of Jackie O''Shea and Michael O''Sullivan and a lottery scam that changes the lives of their community for ever.

John Downing was the pre-eminent press photographer of his generation: he led a life of adventure in wars and hotspots around the world. His memoir, Aperture, offers a unique and first hand insight into life behind the Fleet Street lens during one of the most interesting periods of world history and a golden age of photojournalism.

Laura Lake longs to be a journalist. Now she’s an unpaid intern at a glossy magazine – sleeping in the fashion cupboard and living on canapés. And she’s just got her first big break: infiltrate three society weddings and write a juicy exposé. Security will be tighter than a Kardashian pencil skirt, but how hard can it be? She’ll don a ball-gown for the aristocrats, a festival headdress for the artisan jewellery makers, and a glitter moustache for the Shoreditch hipsters. But Laura hasn’t prepared for disappearing brides and secret royal orgies. Or the fact that her jealous office enemy will do anything to bring her down...

Packed with rich anecdotes and never before published information, ''Memories Are Made of This'' is an intimate biography of a rediscovered star who represents an era.

Marion Crawford was 22 when she became governess to the young princesses Elizabeth and Margaret in 1933. A working-class girl with progressive ideas, she had intended to teach children in the Edinburgh slums. Instead, she had a ringside seat at some of the most seismic events of the 20th century. The castles and palaces housed a family frozen in time. But outside the royal gates, poverty and unemployment were breeding unrest in 1930s Britain. Hitler was on the rise in Europe. If royalty was to survive, it must draw closer to the people. And so Marion took the princesses on tubes and buses, swimming at public baths, Christmas shopping at Woolworth''s. Marion''s devotion meant personal sacrifices. Her passionate affair with a socialist ended tragically. The royals refused to let her leave to marry and start a family. But 17 years of dedication counted for nothing once she published The Little Princesses, a loving, harmless account of life as a royal governess. It earned Marion the Windsors'' lasting fury. Basing her fiction on Marion''s own accounts, plus a wide range of historical sources and her own imagination, Wendy Holden shines a captivating light into the childhood of the world''s longest reigning monarch. This is a story of conflict and contradiction, of state dinners and hunger marches, of a left-winger amongst the ultimate conservatives, of a modern woman in an ancient institution. And the divided Britain of the 1930s: the unemployment, the opportunity gap, the rise of the far right. All of this resonates with our own troubled times.

"Scheming social climber Alexa is a class-hopping cruise missile. She''s aimed at the very top of the gold-digging tree. But will she get the title, towers and tiara of her dreams? Beautiful, penniless student Polly is in love. But is there more to dashing vet Max than his animal instincts? Passionate love, eye-widening snobbery and more-than-naked ambition abound in this tale of contemporary Cinderellas"--Back cover.

Gaz et Dave sont les meilleurs amis du monde et, depuis la fermeture de l''aciérie où ils travaillaient, des compagnons d''infortune. Frappée de plein fouet par la crise économique, Sheffield, ville du nord de l''Angleterre jadis prospère, n''offre que peu de débouchés aux innombrables chômeurs qui ont tout perdu : leur travail, un but dans l''existence, et surtout leur amour-propre. Mais Gaz n''est pas de ceux qui se laissent abattre. Le passage à Sheffield des Chippendales, troupe de strip-tease masculin, lui donne une idée : si des centaines de femmes son prêtes à payer pour voir des hommes se déshabiller sur scène, pourquoi ne pas leur donner ce qu''elles veulent ? Hilarant et touchant à la fois, The Full Monty - Le Grand Jeu est un formidable moment de cinéma et un formidable moment de lecture !

D''un côté, il y a Amanda et Hugo, couple bon chic bon genre, de l''autre Jake et Alice très " bobos écolos ". Tous vont être parents pour la première fois. Le bonheur ? Pas si évident... Car rien ne se passe comme prévu et la maternité ne se révèle pas aussi glamour que dans les magazines people ! Très vite, les jeunes parents sont dépassés par les " heureux événements " et se retrouvent au bord de la crise de nerfs. Il faut dire que les surprises succèdent aux surprises dans des vies amoureuses qui vont devenir singulièrement compliquées...