Whenever an august figure departs the world of cricket, The Daily Telegraph records a decorous tribute. There will certainly be an obituary – in days of yore penned by the doyen of cricket writers, E.W. Swanton, in recent times unafraid to be a lot more whimsical, waspish, and even extremely funny. There will often be an appreciation by one of the paper’s stable of cricket correspondents, such as Derek Pringle, Michael Henderson or Scyld Berry, most likely drawing on their memories of having played against the subject or watched his deeds. And sometimes a hero’s demise will prompt a heartfelt tribute from someone whose only qualification as an elegist is their own eloquence, as John Major displays on Denis Compton and Michael Parkinson on Keith Miller. And those cricket lives deemed worthy of memorialising need not be illustrious Test careers, though all the great names from Bradman to Bedser, Cowdrey to D’Oliviera, are here. They can also be quixotic county mavericks like ‘Bomber’ Wells, self-effacing professionals like Tom Cartwright and Derek Shackleton, or charismatic one-offs like Colin Milburn or the Nawab of Pataudi. They may not even be cricketers, but rather much-loved commentators and broadcasters like Brian Johnston and Christopher Martin-Jenkins, players-turned-umpires like David Shepherd and Bill Alley, or, like the Bishop of Liverpool who previously opened for Sussex and England, have made their name equally elsewhere. Their achievements are often hymned by their peers – Mark Nicholas on his Hampshire team-mate Malcolm Marshall, Tony Lewis on John Arlott, Colin Croft on Alf Valentine, and Simon Hughes on facing the fearsome Sylvester Clarke. Here, then, are more than eighty greats of the game – Australians and South Africans alongside Somerset yeomen and Yorkshire’s finest. For any cricket lover, this little book is an endlessly browsable testament to the sheer richness and variety of the cricketing life.

The requisite guide to Blake's ideas and symbols

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Around Derby is a collection of gruesome murders brought together by author Kevin Turton. Each chapter gives a detailed examination of some of the facts behind some of Derby's most notorious murder cases. Carefully researched the book re-counts the circumstances and consequences of each individual case. Whilst the book covers the hard facts of the brutal times the author gives insight into the social conditions prevalent at the time and the courtroom arena in which so many stood trial for their life.These are the cases that dominated the breakfast tables of households both local and national! They caused argument and debate across the whole country and often packed Derby's courtroom to the rafters. Spanning almost 150 years the book looks at the cause and effect of human emotions that led to tragedies and how both society and the legal system reacted.Cases include 'Pity the Poor Children—The Murders of Elizabeth and Martha Smith 18541'. 'With Malice Afterthought—The Murder of Phoebe Barnes 1851'. 'A Case of Starvation—The Killing of Baby Annie 1889'. 'Allotment No 48—The Murder of Maude Atkins 1922' and 'The Murder of a Corpse—The Killing of Ivy May Warner 1951'.

Lena Grey offered no defense for murdering her husband, and served fourteen long years in prison. But within months of her release his body is found in a disused morgue, recently killed. Who was the man she killed before, and why did she lie about his identity? Detective Inspector Francis Sadler and his Derbyshire team investigate, but before Lena can be questioned further she vanishes and her sister Kat begins to receive mysterious packages. As her inquiries begin to collide with the murder investigation, a link to the sisters' teenage lives emerges.