Buckingham Palace Gardens

The Prince of Wales has asked four wealthy entrepreneurs and their wives to Buckingham Palace to discuss a fantastic idea: the construction of a six-thousand-mile railroad that would stretch the full length of Africa. But the prince’s gathering proves disastrous when the mutilated body of a prostitute turns up in a linen closet among the queen’s monogrammed sheets. With great haste, Thomas Pitt, the brilliant mainstay of Special Services, is summoned to resolve the crisis. The Pitts’ cockney maid, Gracie, is also recruited to pose as a palace servant and listen in on the guests’ conversations. If Pitt and Gracie fail to find out who brutally murdered the young woman, Pitt’s career will be over, and the scandal may just cause the monarchy to fall.

Interior designer and artist Ashley Hicks presents his photographs and description of the interior design of Buckingham Palace, home of Britain's royal family since 1837. An important representation of Regency, Victorian, and Edwardian styles, the palace is the work of such noted architects as John Nash and Sir Aston Webb. Hicks records the formal spaces with vibrancy, capturing the magnificent rooms furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection. Starting at the Grand Staircase, Hicks leads us through the state rooms, which include the White Drawing Room and the Blue Drawing Room that both overlook the palace gardens; the Ballroom, which is the setting for twenty investiture ceremonies each year; and the Throne Room, used by Queen Victoria for spectacular costume balls in the 1840s. The long, skylit Picture Gallery is hung with important works of art from the Royal Collection by Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens, Nicolas Poussin, Anthony van Dyck, Johannes Vermeer, and Canaletto, among others. Decorative furnishings from George IV's exotic Brighton Pavilion lend a fanciful turn to many of the rooms.

Presents the story of the renowned Buckingham Palace garden in London, from its beginnings as a seventeenth-century mulberry plantation frequented by Samuel Pepys to the role it plays today in the private and public life of the royal family, accompanied by photographs and historic illustrations.

The Prince of Wales has asked four wealthy entrepreneurs and their wives to Buckingham Palace to discuss a fantastic idea: the construction of a six-thousand-mile railroad that would stretch the full length of Africa. But the prince’s gathering proves disastrous when the mutilated body of a prostitute turns up in a linen closet among the queen’s monogrammed sheets. With great haste, Thomas Pitt, the brilliant mainstay of Special Services, is summoned to resolve the crisis. The Pitts’ cockney maid, Gracie, is also recruited to pose as a palace servant and listen in on the guests’ conversations. If Pitt and Gracie fail to find out who brutally murdered the young woman, Pitt’s career will be over, and the scandal may just cause the monarchy to fall.

London's gardeners are twice blessed: not only do they live in one of the world's most vibrant capitals, it is also one of the most verdant. Gardens of every imaginable style, shape and size abound on rooftops, within palaces, surrounding churches, behind walls - on every piece of dry land - even if it is floating on or lapped by the river Thames. In Great Gardens of London, Victoria Summerley and Hugo Rittson Thomas collaborate to unearth the most fascinating stories of plants and people inside London's most exciting gardens. Some of the gardens are strictly private, while others are regularly open to visitors, but all can now be savoured and enjoyed along with those who know them best. Great Gardens of London is a captivating photographic portrait of the greatest gardens of the capital which are primarily closed to the public or rarely open their gates. It will feature gardens designed by some of the leading contemporary garden designers from across the world. Accompanying the photographs will be essays on the design and planting that explain the designers' inspiration and passion.

Thomas Pitt, agent des services très secrets de la reine Victoria, la Special Branch, et son supérieur, le glacial Narraway, sont convoqués de toute urgence au palais de Buckingham. L'impensable vient de se produire : un crime barbare a été commis sur la personne d'une prostituée, retrouvée au petit matin dans un placard. La jeune femme était " invitée " à une fête très privée donnée par le prince de Galles... Le coupable doit être désigné et l'affaire étouffée au plus vite, avant que le scandale ne s'ébruite hors du palais, au risque de mettre le Couronne en péril...