Books published by British Library Publishing

The Cocktail Book, first published in 1900, is the earliest book devoted purely to the art of the cocktail. This collection, in a beautiful new edition, allows a modern audience to rediscover the joy of classic cocktails, with early recipes for the Whisky Sour, Mint Julep, Manhattan, and many more.

This adventurous mystery, which combines exuberant characters with a wonderfully realised depiction of the second-hand book market, is sure to delight bibliophiles and classic crime enthusiasts alike.

In this specially-commissioned anthology, sixty accomplished authors share secrets and insights into their writing lives: on their inspirations, methods, wild ideas and daily routines; on the pleasure and the pain in achieving their literary goals; on how they started out and how they hope to continue.

The supernatural is set alongside the grim affairs of sailors scorned in the salt-soaked tales of this anthology, recovered from obscurity for the 21st century.

Excellent Intentions is a classic crime novel laced with irreverent wit, first published in 1939.

Sumptuously illustrated with eighty maps from the British Library's unrivalled collection, this gorgeous children's book whisks its reader around the globe. Fascinating snippets explore each place in more depth, revealing its history, famous people, landmarks, wildlife, culture or customs.

In 'A History of Britain in 100 Maps' Jeremy Black takes readers deep into the unparalleled collections of the British Library Map Room to tell a new story of the British Isles through acknowledged treasures and previously undiscovered and unpublished items. Presenting in detail 100 important maps Black explores major themes in British history, from settlement, environmental change, state formation and ecclesiastical development to industrialisation, urbanisation, and modern socio-political developments. In doing so he also tells the story of how a rich mapmaking tradition developed from the medieval Mappa Mundi to the work of pioneering cartographers including Matthew Paris, John Speed and Christopher Saxton and on through institutions such as the Ordnance Survey and the A-Z Company. Cartographic records of the Civil War and Great Fire, or curiosities including Emil Reich's 'Map of British Genius', are contrasted with infographic maps of recent elections and the COVID-19 epidemic. The book also considers the growing field of fine and digital artists using delineated images of Britain as their subject matter.

Accompanying the British Library's exhibit, the first ever exhibition on the storytelling around Alexander the Great, the King of Macedon, this book charts the evolution of a legend that continues to captivate audiences today. Alexander the Great acceded to the throne at the age of 20, as king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. By his death in 323 BC, he had created one of the largest empires in the world--but myth proved more powerful than historical truth, and Alexander's life remains lost in legend. These stories permeate western and eastern cultures and religions, and have endured for more than 2,000 years. Even now, Alexander continues to appeal to new generations and his image persists today in film, theatre, literature, and even video games. This book explores the stories that began shortly after Alexander's mysterious death, and that by the Middle Ages had developed into a narrative of Alexander as the all-conquering hero who fought mythical beasts and explored the unknown using submarines and flying chariots. The incredible legends of Alexander the Great are brought to life here with exquisite original illustrations in books and manuscripts from around the globe.

First published in 1941, the reader was promised an 'orchestral fantasy of detection' by the original subtitle - now the readers of today will have a new opportunity to enjoy this unusual and skilfully told classic.

This magnificent guide presents a detailed introduction and commentary alongside the highest quality, detailed illustrations which celebrate the intricate, interlaced geometrical precision of one of the finest early medieval craftsmen.

Renowned for its authentic characters and settings based partly on the author's own experiences of life in the Lune valley, E.C.R. Lorac's classic rural mystery returns to print for the first time since 1953.

Assembling ten tales and six poems âEUR" along with MachenâEUR(TM)s novella âEUR" from the boom years of Pan-centric literature, this new collection revels in themes of queer awakening, transgression against societal bonds and the bewitching power of the wild as it explores a rapturous and culturally significant chapter in the history of weird fiction.

In this body swap comedy from the 1930s, the minds of two strangers, aristocrat Lady Elizabeth and middle-class Polly Wilkinson, switch places with baffling and hilarious results.

As the prospect of driving back across Kent amid falling bombs detains the inspector for the night, a tense and claustrophobic investigation begins to determine who committed the foul deeds, and how it was possible to kill with no evidence left behind.

With a number of strange items making up the physical evidence Dr Gideon Fell, himself an old friend of Ireton's, is summoned to help with the deceptively simple - yet increasingly complex - investigation.

Beginning with the adventures of Sherlock Holmes from Edinburgh-born Arthur Conan Doyle, this new collection includes the ingenious scientific mysteries of Anthony Wynne, the dark and sardonic work of Margot Bennett and contributions from neglected yet brilliant authors such as Scobie Mackenzie and R. T. Campbell.

Sejal Sukhadwala probes the complex intersection of tradition and colonialism through the fascinating history of curry, from its association with Ayurveda - one of the world's oldest holistic healing systems to its enduring popularity in contemporary British culture.

The Book of Book Jokes includes a huge range of comic material concentrating exclusively on the themes of books, reading, libraries, bookshops, and the literary life.

Written and selected by the curatorial team, the dazzling, large-format Gold Exhibition Highlights Book showcases the British Library's exceptional collection of manuscript items incorporating gold as featured in this major exhibition.