Hugh Thomson

Jane Austen

At the age of 10, Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy uncle and aunt, Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, as her own parents do not have enough money to support their many children. Once at Mansfield Park, Fanny meets her cousins Tom, Maria, Edmund, and Julia, as well as Fanny's other maternal aunt, Mrs. Norris. Fanny does not feel welcome, as she is mistreated by all but her elder cousin Edmund. Her aunt Mrs. Norris, the wife of the clergyman at the Mansfield parsonage, makes herself particularly unpleasant, and treats her more like a servant than a relative. Edmund behaves kindly to her, and the two develop a friendship that grows as the years progress ...

Unabridged - original text of the first edition (1814) - with 40 illustrations by Hugh Thomson

Mansfield Park

George Du Maurier

Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell

Cranford is a witty portrait of small town life in early-Victorian England. The story unfolds through the eyes of Mary Smith, a young woman who observes the comedic struggles of two middle aged sisters in their efforts to maintain a level of refined dignity amid poverty. The story reveals "touches of love and kindness, of simple self-sacrifice and of true womanly tenderness... naturally and truthfully just as they are found in the current of real life." Cranford is based on the experiences of Elizabeth Gaskell's childhood upbringing in Cheshire, UK. Twelve years after publishing Cranford, Gaskell has kind words for her most prolific work. "It is the only one of my books that I can read again; but whenever I am ailing or ill, I take Cranford and - I was going to say, enjoy it! (but that would not be pretty!) laugh over it afresh!" This edition includes artwork by George Du Maurier, commissioned by Smith, Elder & Co. in 1864, and artwork by Hugh Thomson for Macmillan and Co. in 1891.

Cranford (Ad Classic)

WINNER OF THE 2014 THWAITES WAINWRIGHT PRIZE In the past, Hugh Thomson has written acclaimed books about Peru, Mexico and the Indian Himalaya. Now he returns to the most exotic and foreign country of them all âe" his own. Walking right across England, along ancient trackways and green grass roads, Hugh explores the way the country was and the way it is today: the legends, literature and natural world that define us, and the undercurrent of regret running throughout our history; what he calls âe~the unicorn disappearing into the treesâe(tm). From coast-to-coast and through the heart of the countryside, he shows how older,forgotten cultures like the Celts, Saxons and Vikings lie much closer to the surface than we may think. It is a journey enriched and partly told by the characters he meets along the way. By taking it, Hugh casts unexpected light âe" and humour âe" on the way we live now.

An Exploration of England

The Green Road Into the Trees

Robbie, a rather naive university student, is arrested at a Moratorium march in Melbourne. He becomes involved with an older man, Hamish, and a mysterious girl, Billy. Robbie becomes infatuated with Billy, but he gradually begins to suspect that there is some kind of cat and mouse game going on. Who is the cat and who are the mice? Is he being used? If so, why? The truth is hard to find. Hamish places his trust in Robbie and gradually the truth is revealed - or is it just a version of the truth? Hamish's dangerous journey from Australia to Vietnam, Laos, Japan, Hong Kong, Burma, Thailand and to Ireland is only the beginning. The danger has followed Hamish home and he needs help. The situation becomes explosive and Robbie is in the mix."

A Dangerous Journey Home

One man goes in search of the lost cities of the Amazon in the Inca heartland. The lost cities of South America have always exercised a powerful hold on the popular imagination. The ruins of the Incas and other pre-Colombian civilisations are scattered over thousands of miles of still largely uncharted territory, particularly in the Eastern Andes, where the mountains fall away towards the Amazon. Twenty-five years ago, Hugh Thomson set off into the cloud-forest on foot to find a ruin that had been carelessly lost again after its initial discovery. Into his history of the Inca Empire he weaves the story of his adventures as he travelled to the most remote Inca cities. It is also the story of the great explorers in whose footsteps he followed, such as Hiram Bingham and Gene Savoy.

An Exploration of the Inca Heartland

The White Rock

Imagine that all the great discoveries of Ancient Egypt had happened in the last few years...and you will have some conception of the great excitement over recent finds in Peru Peru wears its ancient cultures wrapped around in layers, like one of the mummified bodies so well preserved by the nitrates of its deserts. After his acclaimed book on the Incas, The White Rock, Hugh Thomson unwraps those layers to show how civilisation emerged so early and so spectacularly in this toughest and most arid of terrains. Many of the extraordinary cultures of Ancient Peru, from the lines of Nasca to the temple-cult of Chavín, buried in the mountains, and the great pyramids of the coast, have only started to give up their secrets and antiquity in just the last few years. Hugh Thomson has been at the forefront of some of these discoveries himself, having made headlines with his work near Machu Picchu. Now he takes the reader on a journey back from the world of the Incas to the first dawn of Andean civilisation, to give an immensely personal and accessible guide to the wonders that have been revealed.

Travels Through Ancient Peru

Cochineal Red

Jane Austen is perhaps the best-loved of all English novelists. Her knowledge of human nature is remarkable, and her awareness of the importance of class, money and appearances makes her a peculiarly modern author. She addresses the politics of dating, courtship and mating with an incisive intelligence that both foreshadows and outstrips romantic novels of today.

This deluxe hardcover volume features an original selection of a noted artist's illustrations for the 1894 edition of Austen's romantic classic. Each of the 58 images has been individually colored to complement the style and sensibility of the pen-and-ink drawings.

The Illustrated Pride and Prejudice Companion

'Try this tequila oil, Hugito. Just as the alcohol hits your stomach, the chilli will as well and blow it back into your brain. It will take your head off.' Explorer Hugh Thomson takes on Mexico. It's 1979, Hugh Thomson is eighteen, far from home, with time to kill - and on his way to Mexico. When a stranger tells him there's money to be made by driving a car over the US border to sell on the black market in Central America, Hugh decides to give it a go. Throwing himself on the mercy of Mexicans he meets or crashes into, Hugh and his Oldsmobile 98 journey through the region, meeting their fate in the slums of Belize City. Thirty years on, Hugh returns - older but not necessarily wiser - to complete his journey.

Getting Lost In Mexico

Tequila Oil

A follow-up to The White Rock brings readers to remote sites in the central highlands of ancient Incan Peru to trace the rise and fall of pre-Inca civilization through the story of the author's family's relocation to a Yucay valley farm.

The Search for Ancient Peru

A Sacred Landscape

Seventeen-year-old Catherine Morland, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Morland, is a tomboy with a wild imagination and a passion for Gothic novels. Family friends Mr. and Mrs. Allen, invite Catherine to spend the season in Bath and she readily accepts. At her first ball, Catherine meets and dances with Henry Tilney. Henry's sister Eleanor invites Catherine to stay with her at the Tilney's home, Northanger Abbey. Catherine accepts the invitation with pleasure, although she imagines that the Abbey will be rather like one of the gloomy castles in her books. Catherine is at first welcomed by General Tilney (Henry's father), who believes that Catherine is an heiress. When he realizes that Catherine is not rich, however, he sends her packing. Back at home, Catherine is unhappy, missing Henry and disillusioned about her precious Gothic novels ...

Northanger Abbey

In the Middle Ages, mules were used to transport goods across Britain. Strong, sturdy and able to carry a good 160lbs of weight, they made ideal walking companions – as long as you didn’t ask them to do anything they didn’t want to do! So when Hugh Thomson decides he wants to revive this ancient tradition, but with a mule who is only willing to carry sandwiches, water and a map, his father can’t quite comprehend why: “Taking a mule across England? Really? Whatever for?” Using old drovers’ roads that have largely passed into disrepair, Hugh and his trusty mule Jethro set out to travel across England, from the Lake District to the Yorkshire Moors. Along the way, they discover a landscape rich in history, and encounter the charismatic people who bring it to life.

Across England with a Pack Mule

One Man and a Mule

Miss Emma Woodhouse of Hartfield lives in the small town of Highbury, and is young, pretty, and rich. Though she has decided she will never marry, Emma takes credit for matchmaking her friend and former governess, Miss Taylor, to the widower Mr. Weston. Emma decides to organize marriages for others of her acquaintance, despite friendly warnings not to meddle from Mr. Knightley, who is both an old friend, her brother-in-law, and the wealthy owner of Donwell Abbey. Emma resolves to marry her new friend, a pretty orphan named Harriet Smith, to the young parish priest Mr. Elton. This fails once Emma realizes to her horror that Elton desires to marry her instead. New arrivals come to Highbury, including young orphan Miss Fairfax and Elton's new pretentious wife. Frank Churchill, the handsome son of Mr. Weston, also arrives generating interest and gossip. Emma, so sure of her ability to judge the feelings of others, believes that Frank wishes to marry her. Eventually the town discovers that Frank and Miss Fairfax have been secretly engaged, while Emma comes to recognize her true feelings for Mr. Knightley ...

Unabridged - original text of the first edition (1816) - with 40 illustrations by Hugh Thomson

Emma

Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and their five daughters - Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia live in rural England. As the Bennets have no sons, their estate, Longbourn, is destined to be inherited by Mr. Bennet's cousin, Mr. Collins, a pompous clergyman. Mrs. Bennet, eager to secure her daughters' futures through suitable marriages, is delighted when wealthy bachelor Charles Bingley moves into Netherfield, a nearby estate. Bingley is introduced to the local society at an assembly ball, along with his haughty sister, Caroline, and his aloof friend, the handsome and rich Mr. Darcy. Bingley is enchanted with Jane, while Elizabeth takes an instant dislike to Darcy after he coldly rebuffs her and later makes demeaning remarks about her that she overhears ...

Unabridged - original text of the third edition (1817) - with numerous illustrations by Hugh Thomson

Pride and Prejudice

The story of an amazing journey to one of the remotest, most mysterious places on earth Until 1934 the Nanda Devi Sanctuary had never been visited by human beings. Surrounded by 20,000 foot peaks which effectively seal off the mountain at their centre it is virtually impenetrable. But in 1934 Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman solved the problem in the first of their great Himalayan expeditions by forcing a way up the river gorge. The onset of war meant that the Sanctuary remained un-visited for many years and it was then closed to travellers for political reasons. After a brief period in the seventies when it was opened for expeditions the Indian Government again closed the Sanctuary. In 2000 the Sanctuary was entered for one single visit. Hugh Thomson was offered a place on this unique expedition led by Eric Shipton's son, John Shipton and the great Indian mountaineer, Colonel Kumar. This journey forms the basis of the book. Woven through it are all the amazing stories that surround the mountain - a powerful blend of myths and politics.

Hugh Thomson

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