“Lordy, lordy, with all the turmoil in the world it would be great to have a reprieve, and I thought it time to celebrate a local success” – Wayne
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting, £14.99
Sophie Irwin (daughter of Mike and Louise who own Castle Gardens in Sherborne) has been snapped up by major publisher HarperCollins. Her debut novel is a delicious, sassy, Austen-tatious novel about women’s self-advancement in the 19th Century.
The season is about to begin – and there’s not a minute to lose. Our heroine, Kitty Talbot, needs a fortune. Or rather, she needs a husband who has a fortune.
This is 1818 after all, and only men have the privilege of seeking their own riches. With just twelve weeks until Kitty and her sisters are made homeless, launching herself into London society is the only avenue open to her. And Kitty must use every ounce of cunning and ingenuity she possesses to climb the ranks.
The only one to see through her plans is the worldly Lord Radcliffe and he is determined to thwart her at any cost. Can Kitty secure a fortune and save her sisters from poverty? Time is running out and no one – not even a lord – will stand in her way…
Join us for a Talk and Signing with Sophie at Castle Gardens 17th May, 6.30 for 7pm, tickets £2 available from Winstone’s
The Sheep’s Tale by John Lewis-Stemple £12.99
An important book on several levels. Read a few sentences out loud, wherever you are: ‘We take a look at the Ryeland ewes, white and fat with fecundity. Replete with contentment.’
‘Contentment is a transmissible condition. I catch it off the sheep. The old time shepherds used to sleep with their sheep, out in the fields. I do it sometimes too, on the dry nights, the sheep lying down around
me. I’m not sure on those nights who is protecting whom.’ Everybody thinks they know what sheep are like: they’re stupid, noisy, cowardly (‘lambs to the slaughter’), and they’re ‘sheep-wrecking’ the environment.’ Or maybe not.
Contrary to popular prejudice, sheep are among the smartest animals in the farmyard, fiercely loyal, forming long and lasting friendships. Sheep, farmed properly, are boons to biodiversity. They also happen to taste good and their fleeces warm us through the winter – indeed, John Lewis-Stempel’s family supplied the wool for Queen Elizabeth’s ‘hose’. Observing the traditional shepherd’s calendar, The Sheep’s Tale is a loving biography of ewes, lambs, and rams through the seasons. Lewis-Stempel tends to his flock with deep-rooted wisdom, ethical consideration, affection, and humour.
This book is a tribute to all the sheep he has reared and sheared – from gregarious Action Ram to sweet Maid Marion. In his inimitable style, he shares the tales that only a shepherd can tell.
In 2022 Winstone’s celebrates 10 years as Sherborne’s Independent Bookseller. Winstone’s has won the ‘British Book Awards South West Bookseller of the Year’ four times and was winner of the ‘Independent Bookseller of the Year’ national award in 2016. Owner Wayne Winstone was previously one of the three judges for the Costa Prize for Fiction, and in 2018 Wayne was selected as one of the top 100 people in the Bookseller’s Most Influential Figures listing.
