Ann Beach

Blues rinses, portraits of the queen and stand up bingo. Chris Shepherd delves into his past and recalls the world of his Aunty Glad and her local Conservative Club. The hues of blue that make up the Tory heartland are more than just a party - they are a state of mind.

Ruby and Garnet are identical twins, ten years old and inseparable. Since their mother's death they live with father and grandmother in the big city. When one day attractive Rose steps into father's life, Ruby and Garnet's whole life is turned upside down. They must leave their beloved granny and move to the countryside with father and that much hated "new one" because father wants to fulfill his most ardent dream to open a bookstore.

London bookstore owner William Thacker's quiet life turns upside down when a chance encounter with famous actress Anna Scott sparks an unlikely romance challenged by their vastly different worlds.

Sir Anthony Blunt, who was a Soviet agent for 25 years, is routinely questioned and gives no answers, but is knighted and works as Director of the Courtauld Institute, and presents his interrogator with a puzzle in the shape of a doubtful Titian painting. He also does art restoration work in Buckingham Palace, where he gets into an interesting conversation with HMQ.

As the only relative in line to ascend the Royal throne, a down-on-his-luck American slob must learn the ways of the English.

'Look, I'm not being horrible or nothing, Sadie, but all you've got is a body. You've got to make the most of it. It's not enough just to like the idea of being a model. You've got to be businesslike about it.' How does 16-year-old Sadie react to her friend Mary's advice? Where - in the glamour model world - will she end up?

A boy, a girl, a tramp and a piano with the most amazing effect on people, find each other in a park in a heatwave.

Brecht's company of actors tells the story of Bertolt Brecht: his theatre, plays, poetry and his life.

"Why don't you keep that missus o' yours under control? She ain't exactly doin' you a packet o' good, is she? If she was mine I'd bloody put 'er right, I'll tell yer." The marriage of an introverted Scottish army sergeant and his loving, but independent wife is threatened by military life.

The term at Osborne Naval College is not yet over. Why, therefore, has cadet Ronnie Winslow returned home? And why, moreover, is he hiding in the garden in the rain?