‘I got a letter one day, a long letter that wasn’t signed.’

Camille reads this narration of events from pre-war France, certain that it has been sent to her by mistake. Then more letters start to arrive – They tell of a friendship struck up between a young village girl, Annie, and Madame M, a bourgeois lady. To begin with the women simply share a love of art, but when Annie offers to carry a child for her infertile friend, their lives become intimately entwined. The child is born on the eve of the German invasion of France, and the repercussions of her birth are still felt decades later.

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Jamie is loving, intelligent and, while he isn’t perfect, he’s perfect for her – in every way except one: he’s a free spirit. And after six years in one place, doing a job he despises, he is compelled to do something that will tear apart his relationship with Sam: book a one-way flight to South America.

But Sam isn’t giving up without a fight. With Jamie still totally in love with her, and torn about whether to stay or go, she has three months to persuade him to do the right thing. So with the help of her friends Ellie and Jen, she hatches a plan to make him realise what he’s giving up. A plan that involves dirty tricks, plotting, and a single aim: to win him back. But by the time the tortured Jamie finally wakes up to what he’s lost, a gorgeous new pretender has entered Sam’s life.

Which begs the question . . . does she still want him back?

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Against Cassia’s better judgement, she hands the wedding planning over to her frosty mother-in-law, and flies out to Italy to spend time with Rocco. But Rocco isn’t exactly looking forward to Cassia’s arrival. Persuaded to do the interview to help publicise his business, he has enough on his plate with his fiery girlfriend, wedding-obsessed sister and fiercely protective grandmother. And now it seems as if someone is trying to sabotage his restaurants too… Cassia’s summer in Sorrento is shaping up to be a recipe for disaster. But could it also be a recipe for love?

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Alice is18 and about to start university while Joe’s life is seemingly going nowhere. A Dorset summer, a chance meeting, and the two of them fall into step as if they have known each other forever.

But their idyll is shattered, suddenly, unexpectedly. Alice heads off to Cambridge and slowly picks up the pieces of her broken heart. Joe is gone; she cannot find him. When she catches the attention of Lukas – gorgeous, gifted, rich boy Lukas – she is carried along by his charm, swept up in his ambitious plans for a future together.

Then Joe is there, once more, but out of reach in a way that Alice could never have imagined. Life has moved on, the divide between them is now so great. Surely it is far too late to relive those perfect summer days of long ago?

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But for Rose Weaver, the day ends in tragedy when her husband Eddie is arrested on suspicion of theft. It’s only the first of several shocks as Rose discovers some unpleasant facts about the man she married eight years before, the man she thought she knew so well.

Struggling to provide for herself and her two daughters, Rose realises that she’ll need the help of family, friends and the good neighbours of Ruby Street if she’s to have any chance of pulling through.

And when a handsome salesman knocks at her door, it’s hard to resist temptation . . .

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[AMAZONPRODUCT=0857208640]

A brilliant and sparkling exploration of the extraordinary nature of romantic love ­- from the frontline of cutting-edge scientific research.

Falling in love is one of the strangest things we can do – and one of the things that makes us uniquely human. But what happens to our brains when our eyes meet across a crowded room? Why do we kiss each other, forget our friends, seek a ‘good sense of humour’ in lonely hearts adverts and try (and fail) to be monogamous? How are our romantic relationships different from our relationships with friends, family or even God?

Basing his arguments on new and experimental scientific research, Robin Dunbar explores the psychology and ethology of romantic love and how our evolutionary programming still affects our behaviour. Fascinating and illuminating, witty and accessible, The Science of Love and Betrayal is essential reading for anyone who’s ever wondered why we fall in love and what on earth is going on when we do.

Clarissa is almost seventeen when the spell of her childhood is broken. It is 1914, the beginning of a blissful, golden summer – and the end of an era. Deyning Park is in its heyday, the large country house filled with the laughter and excitement of privileged youth preparing for a weekend party. When Clarissa meets Tom Cuthbert, home from university and staying with his mother, the housekeeper, she is dazzled. Tom is handsome and enigmatic; he is also an outsider. Ambitious, clever, his sights set on a career in law, Tom is an acute observer, and a man who knows what he wants. For now, that is Clarissa.

As Tom and Clarissa’s friendship deepens, the wider landscape of political life around them is changing, and another story unfolds: they are not the only people in love. Soon the world – and all that they know – is rocked by a war that changes their lives for ever.

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A brilliant and sparkling exploration of the extraordinary nature of romantic love ­- from the frontline of cutting-edge scientific research.

Falling in love is one of the strangest things we can do – and one of the things that makes us uniquely human. But what happens to our brains when our eyes meet across a crowded room? Why do we kiss each other, forget our friends, seek a ‘good sense of humour’ in lonely hearts adverts and try (and fail) to be monogamous? How are our romantic relationships different from our relationships with friends, family or even God?

Basing his arguments on new and experimental scientific research, Robin Dunbar explores the psychology and ethology of romantic love and how our evolutionary programming still affects our behaviour. Fascinating and illuminating, witty and accessible, The Science of Love and Betrayal is essential reading for anyone who’s ever wondered why we fall in love and what on earth is going on when we do.

Robin Dunbar on The Science of Love and Betrayal from FaberBooks on Vimeo.

For Natalie, the kiss is just a gratuitous act. For the awkward, unassuming Marcus, it is the moment at which he falls hopelessly, helplessly in love. But how will he ever convince such a beautiful, intelligent but confused young woman that he is the man who can bring her back to life?

But what they do all share is a delight in great food, which they know can feed the soul and bring joy to life – often more so than love.

There’s a story for every month of the year, and if your mouth starts watering as you read, Jocelyne Rapinac has included the recipe for every dish mentioned.  Enjoy!

Read the story – try the recipes!

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