David Dickinson

Mycroft Holmes and the Case of the Missing Popes

Mystery surrounds the death of Queen Victoria's grandson England, 1892. Victoria, Queen and Empress, is in the 54th year of her reign, when her grandson Prince Eddy, eldest son of the Prince of Wales, is found slaughtered in his bed at Sandringham. Terrified of more royal scandal, the Prince of Wales and his spindoctors decide to cover up the facts and the murder is disguised as death by influenza. Lord Francis Powerscourt, an Irish investigator, is privately asked to find the killer. His quest takes him on a journey through the prince's debauched and dissolute past, across Europe to the misty waterways of Venice where, amidst scandal and suicide, Powerscourt finally unravels themystery of the sweet prince's last goodnight. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK " 'In this excellent novel, Dickinson weaves a tale of blackmail and murder among the royals late in Victoria's reign& [his] knowledge of the arts, history and literature is nothing if not exhaustive, and adds enormously to the overall background& One hopes to see more of Lord Powerscourt and his friends in the near future.' - Publishers Weekly " 'This is detective fiction in the grand style; the characters and the plot soar upwards and carry us in their wake. Powerscourt's debut in this intoxicating book is the start of a gilded life in the archives of crime.' - James Naughtie

Goodnight Sweet Prince

William Allen

Maxwell Fry was known internationally for his research into international and domestic financial issues. This book constitutes a tribute to his pioneering work in so many areas, and draws together contributions from a range of academic and policy-making colleagues who were fortunate enough to experience the depth of knowledge and insights which Maxwell demonstrated.

Essays in Memory of Maxwell Fry

Monetary Policy, Capital Flows and Exchange Rates

Death comes to Lynchester Close

1904: Powerscourt comes out of retirement for one last time, heading for Russia in one of the strangest cases of his career. A British diplomat has been discovered, his throat cut, on one of the bridges spanning the Nevskii Prospekt in St Petersburg. It transpires the diplomat knew a secret - and that secret killed him. As Powerscourt strides through the halls of the Winter Palace and falls foul of the Okhrana - the Russian secret police - he has to attend other matters. Russia is on the verge of revolution and he must escape - before time runs out on him.

Death on the Nevskii Prospekt

‘I will tell you a story that will make you believe in God.’ No story can guarantee being able to do this. Yet novelists can tell stories that make us think about what we believe about God and why. Despite repeated predictions of the death of the novel, thousands of works of fiction are published and read in Britain each year. Although Western society is less religiously observant than it was, many 21st-century novelists persist in pursuing theological, religious and spiritual themes. Make-Believe seeks to explain why. With chapters offering analyses of novels from several genres – so-called literary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy and dystopia – David Dickinson discusses a wide spectrum of novelists. Both those who are avowedly atheistic and those who have a vested interest in perpetuating biblical stories feature. Well-known writers such as Rushdie, McEwan, McCarthy and Martell rub shoulders with some you may be meeting for the first time. Appealing to literature students and people who simply enjoy reading, whether Christian or not, this study of God in novels invites us to open our minds and allow aspects of our culture to shape our understanding of God and to change our ways of talking about the divine.

Make-Believe

Find a murderer - and save the Queen's Jubilee! It is 1897 and the London is preparing for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. But a corpse is with no head or hands is dragged out of the Thames. The dead man was old and proserously dressed, but there are no other clues to his identity and the police ask for the discreet assistance of Lord Francis Powerscourt. His investigation leads him to a mysterious mansion in Oxfordshire, with classical temples in the gardens and in the house, a second corpse killed in a fire. On the track of the murderer, Powerscourt realizes that both he and his family are in mortal danger - and the outcome could wreck the Queen's Diamond Jubilee...

Death and the Jubilee

Discover Beautiful Nebulas, Constellations, Deep Sky Objects and More with Your Telescope David Dickinson, co-author of The Universe Today Ultimate Guide to Viewing the Cosmos, has created the ultimate field guide for backyard astronomers. Whether you want to impress viewers at a star party, or learn what you can see with your new telescope, David shows you how to find the most impressive views the night sky has to offer. Broken down by month and by hemisphere to ensure you get the best possible view, David shows you how to find objects like spiral galaxies, stunning sights in the Milky Way and stars that bring the “wow factor” to astronomy. With 44 sky charts and David’s expertise, it’s like having a pro-astronomer out in the field with you.

How to Find the Best Objects the Night Sky has to Offer

The Backyard Astronomer’s Field Guide

Reading the novels of George Eliot, Arthur Quiller-Couch, Barry Unsworth, and others, as a Methodist, David Dickinson offers a colourful picture of Methodists in British fiction since the close of the nineteenth century. In the first century and a half of the denomination’s influence, many novels treated Methodist themes, settings and characters – and several authors were themselves Methodist – but as Methodism declined, its appearances in modern English literature diminished. Nevertheless, it retains a strong, if paradoxical, presence in popular imagination, fed in part by its fictional depiction. Yet Alive? argues that, despite, or perhaps because of, the process of secularisation, novels depicting Methodists play an important role in literature’s ongoing exploration of spiritual, religious and theological themes, and that Methodists have much to learn from the way authors see them.

Methodists in British Fiction Since 1890

Yet Alive? Methodists in British Fiction since 1890

In May 1901 the Salisbury Galleries announce the biggest exhibition of the Old Master Paintings ever seen in Europe. Excitement is intense. But before it opens, one of Britain's leading art experts, Christopher Montague, is found murdered in his study. When Lord Francis Powerscourt is called in to investigate he finds every book, notepad and scrap of paper has been removed from the scene of the crime. Montague had been working on something that would have rocked the art world. Did his article that claimed a number of the Old Masters had been painted recently by a single hand have anything to do with his death? Powerscourt embarks on an odyssey through a treacherous world of art dealers and picture restorers in pursuit of a master forger. He travels to Sicily where the trail goes cold, but, after the thrills and danger of that wild, lawless isalnd, in a remopte corer of England, the truth is finally revealed.

Death of an Old Master

The Definitive Resource for Viewing the Night Sky David Dickinson, Earth science teacher and backyard astronomer, and Fraser Cain, publisher of Universe Today, have teamed up to provide expert guidance on observing the night sky. The Universe Today Ultimate Guide to Viewing the Cosmos features the best tips and tricks for viewing our solar system and deep sky objects, as well as detailed charts, graphs and tables to find must-see events for years to come. This comprehensive guide is complete with stunning and exclusive photography from top night sky photographers, as well as advice on how to take your own incredible photos. Take your recreational viewing to the next level with activities like: Finding comets and asteroids Tracking variable stars Monitoring meteor showers Following solar activity Tracking satellites Timing lunar and asteroid occultations With star charts, practical background information, technological resources and telescope and astrophotography guides, this is the ultimate resource for any backyard space enthusiast.

Everything You Need to Know to Become an Amateur Astronomer

The Universe Today Ultimate Guide to Viewing The Cosmos

Master of the Hunt, the fifteenth Earl of Candlesby, has come to lead his riders once again. But this time he comes as a corpse, wrapped in blankets across his horse, a corner of his scarlet coat visible in the morning mist. Only three people see the body. One dies. Another vanishes. Now only one man knows how he was killed. Powerscourt is summoned to investigate murder in a crumbling house where the paper is peeling off the walls and the stuffed owls each only have one leg. The estate is virtually bankrupt as Powerscourt uncovers a world of jealousy, revenge and hatred, where the sons are as dissolute and dangerous as the father. The fifteenth earl had left a trail of duels, theft and adultery across the flatlands of Lincolnshire. It takes another death and a deadly chase under the crumbling estate before Powerscourt unlocks the secret of death in a scarlet coat. Praise for David Dickinson: 'Splendid entertainment' Publishers Weekly 'Detective fiction in the grand style' James Naughtie 'Beguilingly real from start to finish... you have to pinch yourself to remind you that it is fiction - or is it?' Peter Snow 'Dickinson's customary historical tidbits and patches of local colour swathed in... appealing Victorian narrative' Kirkus Reviews

Death in a Scarlet Coat

Goodnight, Sweet Prince Mystery surrounds the death of Queen Victoria's grandson England, 1892. Victoria, Queen and Empress, is in the 54th year of her reign, when her grandson Prince Eddy, eldest son of the Prince of Wales, is found slaughtered in his bed at Sandringham. Terrified of more royal scandal, the Prince of Wales and his spindoctors decide to cover up the facts and the murder is disguised as death by influenza. Lord Francis Powerscourt, an Irish investigator, is privately asked to find the killer. His quest takes him on a journey through the prince's debauched and dissolute past, across Europe to the misty waterways of Venice where, amidst scandal and suicide, Powerscourt finally unravels themystery of the sweet prince's last goodnight. Death and the Jubilee The discovery of a headless corpse jeopardises Queen Victoria's glittering Diamond Jubilee! In this second Lord Francis Powerscourt mystery, London is preparing for the 1897 Diamond Jubilee. But one morning a man's corpse with no head or hands is dragged out of the Thames. He is old, but not destitute. With no clues to his identity, the police ask for Powerscourt's assistance. His investigation leads to a mysterious mansion in Oxfordshire, with classical temples in the gardens and in the house a second corpse, killed in a fire. On the track of the murderer, Powerscourt soon realises that both he and his family are in great danger - and so is the Queen's Jubilee . . . Death of an Old Master In May 1901 the Salisbury Galleries announce the biggest exhibition of the Old Master Paintings ever seen in Europe. Excitement is intense. But before it opens, one of Britain's leading art experts, Christopher Montague, is found murdered in his study. When Lord Francis Powerscourt is called in to investigate he finds every book, notepad and scrap of paper has been removed from the scene of the crime. Montague had been working on something that would have rocked the art world. Did his article that claimed a number of the Old Masters had been painted recently by a single hand have anything to do with his death? Powerscourt embarks on an odyssey through a treacherous world of art dealers and picture restorers in pursuit of a master forger. He travels to Sicily where the trail goes cold, but, after the thrills and danger of that wild, lawless isalnd, in a remopte corer of England, the truth is finally revealed. Death of a Chancellor Compton Minster is preparing to celebrate a very special anniversary in the year 1901 - a thousand years of Christian worship. But a few weeks before the main ceremonies, a high official of the cathedral, the chancellor, dies in mysterious circumstances, and no on except the doctor and the undertaker is allowed to view the corpse. It then transpires that the chancellor was one of England's richest men. When his sister suspects foul play, Lord Francis Powerscourt is asked to investigate. As Powerscourt paces the ancient cloisters and listens to evensong from the choir stalls, he begins to suspect that a terrible secret lies hidden in the cathedral, one that may have someting to do with the anniversary. Then a chorister is strangles, his body found turning on the great spit in the Vicars Hall kitchen. Powerscourt himself escpaes death by a whisker, as does his wife, Lady Lucy, before he uncovers the astonishing secret of Compton Minster and unmasks a murderer.

Goodnight, Sweet Prince; Death and the Jubilee; Death of an Old Master; Death of a Chancellor

The Lord Francis Powerscourt Omnibus (Books 1-4)

David Dickinson's bestselling autobiography now in paperback. David Dickinson is a household name in the UK, the king of the catchphrase, undisputed darling of daytime TV and a rising star. He's a respected antiques expert and exudes a taste for the finer things in life. But the road to his success has not been as smooth as his patter and he's learnt a lot at the school of hard knocks. In his autobiography David tells how he grew up in a working class district of Manchester, and reveals how he discovered at age 12 that he was adopted. David also describes his early foray into wheeling and dealing in the garment industry in Manchester, as well as his stint in Manchesters notorious prison, Strangeways. David was first introduced to showbiz when he travelled the world as the manager of his international cabaret star wife, Lorne. In his book David describes some of the remarkable people they met on their travels, and discloses the dark and dangerous side of showbiz he had no idea existed. Finally, after building himself a reputation as an antiques dealer to the rich and famous with an eye for treasures, a chance meeting with a TV exec at a barbecue began Davids journey to primetime TV on Bargain Hunt, and in his autobiography David shares some of his experiences of sudden celebrity.

The Duke - What a Bobby Dazzler

I will tell you a story that will make you believe in God." No story can guarantee being able to do this. Yet novelists can tell stories that make us think about what we believe about God and why. Despite repeated predictions of the death of the novel, thousands of works of fiction are published and read in Britain each year. Although Western society is less religiously observant than it was, many 21st-century novelists persist in pursuing theological, religious and spiritual themes. Make-Believe seeks to explain why. With chapters offering analyses of novels from several genres - so-called literary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, fantasy and dystopia - David Dickinson discusses a wide spectrum of novelists. Authors who are avowedly atheistic and authors who have a vested interest in perpetuating biblical stories are both featured. Well-known writers such as Rushdie, McEwan, McCarthy and Martell rub shoulders with some you may be meeting for the first time. Appealing to literature students and people who simply enjoy reading, whether Christian or not, this study of God in novels invites us to open our minds and allow aspects of our culture to shape our understanding of God and to change our ways of talking about the divine.

David Dickinson

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