Dorset, Somerset &amp; Bristol


<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="906" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-toppings-bath-exterior-906x1000.png" alt="toppings bath " class="wp-image-91305" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-toppings-bath-exterior-906x1000.png 906w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-toppings-bath-exterior-725x800.png 725w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-toppings-bath-exterior-362x400.png 362w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-toppings-bath-exterior-768x848.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-toppings-bath-exterior-476x525.png 476w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-toppings-bath-exterior.png 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 906px) 100vw, 906px" /></figure>



<p>Where else but Bath would you find a brilliant independent bookshop located in a former 19th century Quaker meeting house complete with neo-classical portico, Ionic columns and roof light domes?  It gets even better inside; <em><a href="https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/">Topping &amp; Company</a></em> AKA Toppings, is a bibliophile&#8217;s dream with thousands of books of every kind, wooden book ladders, a walkway gallery – and fantastically knowledgeable staff, who&#8217;ve put together this hit list for Christmas. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-great-uncle-harry-by-michael-palin"><em>Great-Uncle Harry</em> by Michael Palin</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1545" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-palin.jpg" alt="palin" class="wp-image-91315" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-palin.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-palin-518x800.jpg 518w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-palin-647x1000.jpg 647w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-palin-259x400.jpg 259w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-palin-768x1187.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-palin-994x1536.jpg 994w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-palin-340x525.jpg 340w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>An utterly compelling account of an ordinary man &#8211; Palin&#8217;s great-uncle &#8211; who led an extraordinary life. A blend of biography, history, travelogue and personal memoir, this is Palin at his finest.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-politics-on-the-edge-by-rory-stewart"><em>Politics On the Edge</em> by Rory Stewart</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1538" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-stewart.jpg" alt="rory stewart on the edge" class="wp-image-91316" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-stewart.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-stewart-520x800.jpg 520w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-stewart-650x1000.jpg 650w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-stewart-260x400.jpg 260w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-stewart-768x1181.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-stewart-999x1536.jpg 999w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-stewart-341x525.jpg 341w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Uncompromising, candid and darkly humorous,<em> </em>this is Rory Stewart&#8217;s story of the challenges, absurdities and realities of political life and a remarkable portrait of our age. It traces a decade through which Stewart went from being a political outsider to standing for prime minister &#8211; before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shakespeare-the-man-who-pays-the-rent-by-judi-dench"><em>Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays The Rent </em>by Judi Dench</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1546" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dench.jpg" alt="judi dench " class="wp-image-91308" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dench.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dench-517x800.jpg 517w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dench-647x1000.jpg 647w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dench-259x400.jpg 259w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dench-768x1187.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dench-994x1536.jpg 994w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dench-340x525.jpg 340w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Judi Dench opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. Witty, provocative and inspiring, this is Judi’s love letter to Shakespeare, or rather, The Man Who Pays The Rent.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-listen-on-music-sound-and-us-by-michel-faber"><em>Listen: On Music, Sound and Us</em> by Michel Faber</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1538" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-listen.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-91313" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-listen.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-listen-520x800.jpg 520w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-listen-650x1000.jpg 650w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-listen-260x400.jpg 260w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-listen-768x1181.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-listen-999x1536.jpg 999w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-listen-341x525.jpg 341w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>This curious and celebratory book reflects award-winning author Michel Faber’s lifelong obsession with music.&nbsp; He interrogates how and why we listen to music, the notion of ‘cool’, commerce, the dichotomy between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ taste and, through extensive interviews with musicians, unlocks some surprising answers.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mythos-the-stunningly-iillustrated-story-by-stephen-fry"><em>Mythos: The stunningly iIllustrated story</em>&nbsp;by Stephen Fry</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1307" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-mythos.jpg" alt="stephen fry mythos book" class="wp-image-91314" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-mythos.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-mythos-612x800.jpg 612w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-mythos-765x1000.jpg 765w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-mythos-306x400.jpg 306w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-mythos-768x1004.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-mythos-402x525.jpg 402w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>No one loves and quarrels, desires and deceives as boldly or brilliantly as Greek gods and goddesses &#8211; and here Stephen Fry captures these extraordinary myths for our modern age in striking colour &#8211; in all their dazzling and deeply human relevance. From wise Athena born from the cracking open of the great head of Zeus, to doomed Persephone heading the dark and lonely realm of the Underworld.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-good-material-by-dolly-alderton"><em>Good Material </em>by Dolly Alderton</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1609" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dolly.jpg" alt="dolly alderton" class="wp-image-91310" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dolly.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dolly-497x800.jpg 497w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dolly-622x1000.jpg 622w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dolly-249x400.jpg 249w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dolly-768x1236.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dolly-955x1536.jpg 955w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-dolly-326x525.jpg 326w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>From the bestselling author of <em>Everything I Know About Love:</em> a sharply funny, beautifully observed and exquisitely relatable story of heartbreak and friendship, and how to survive both. Set adrift on the sea of heartbreak at a time, Andy clings to the idea of solving the puzzle of their broken relationship. Because if he can find the answer to that, then maybe Jen can find her way back to him.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-fraud-by-zadie-smith"><em>The Fraud</em> by Zadie Smith</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1509" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-fraud.jpg" alt="The Fraud Zadie Smith" class="wp-image-91311" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-fraud.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-fraud-530x800.jpg 530w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-fraud-663x1000.jpg 663w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-fraud-265x400.jpg 265w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-fraud-768x1159.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-fraud-348x525.jpg 348w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Kilburn, 1873. The ‘Tichborne Trial’ has captivated the widowed Scottish housekeeper Mrs Eliza Touchet and all of England. Readers are at odds over whether the defendant is who he claims to be &#8211; or an imposter. Based on real historical events, <em>The Fraud </em>is a dazzling novel about how in a world of hypocrisy and self-deception, deciding what’s true can prove a complicated task.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-beyond-the-door-of-no-return-by-david-diop"><em>Beyond the Door of No Return</em> by David Diop</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1596" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-diop.jpg" alt="The door of no return david diop book" class="wp-image-91309" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-diop.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-diop-501x800.jpg 501w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-diop-627x1000.jpg 627w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-diop-251x400.jpg 251w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-diop-768x1226.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-diop-962x1536.jpg 962w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-diop-329x525.jpg 329w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>This is the captivating new novel from David Diop, winner of the International Booker Prize.&nbsp;Tragic and tender, alive with feeling, this is a story of adventure, revenge and impossible desires, one which subverts our every expectation about who we are and who we love.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-glutton-by-a-k-blakemore"><em>The Glutton</em> by A. K. Blakemore</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1548" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-glutton.jpg" alt="The glutton book" class="wp-image-91312" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-glutton.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-glutton-517x800.jpg 517w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-glutton-646x1000.jpg 646w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-glutton-258x400.jpg 258w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-glutton-768x1189.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-glutton-992x1536.jpg 992w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-glutton-339x525.jpg 339w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>One man with an insatiable hunger: a novel of desire and destruction in Revolutionary France, based on a true story, from the Desmond Elliott Prize-winning author of <em>The Manningtree Witche</em>s. &#8220;She has heard the stories of his hunger, which defy belief: that he has eaten all manner of creatures and objects&#8230;&#8221;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-weirdo-by-sara-pascoe"><em>Weirdo </em>by Sara Pascoe</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1622" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-weirdo.jpg" alt="sara pascoe weirdo" class="wp-image-91317" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-weirdo.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-weirdo-493x800.jpg 493w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-weirdo-617x1000.jpg 617w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-weirdo-247x400.jpg 247w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-weirdo-768x1246.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-weirdo-947x1536.jpg 947w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/dorsetsomerset/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2023/12/00-weirdo-324x525.jpg 324w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>The debut novel from the bestselling and award-winning comedian, writer and actor Sara Pascoe. Sophie has a chance at creating a new ending and paying off her emotional debts (if not her financial ones). All she has to do is act exactly like a normal, well-adjusted person and not say any of her inner monologue out loud.&nbsp;</p>



<p><em><a href="https://www.toppingbooks.co.uk/">Topping &amp; Company</a>, York Street, Bath BA1 1NG. 01225 428111.</em></p>



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Top of the tomes at Toppings in Bath

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