Thirteen doors, thirteen hauntings. News reporter Joe Baxter has a plan. His idea is simple - to use his newsroom contacts across England to find thirteen haunted places to stay, and then record his experiences in a book.

This unusual collection of short stories captures the essence of life in the theatre. Behind the superficial glamour lies a world marked by ambition, jealousy and heartache.

Europe's small islands are wonderfully varied. Some are well known: the beautiful Bled Island in Slovenia attracts tens of thousands of visitors. Others, like Snake Island, the subject of a lengthy legal dispute between Ukraine and Romania, are almost unheard of.

Qasim has everything planned out: a bright future, the love of a girl who shares his dreams, and a loving family. But all that changes in a matter of seconds.

Hieron, the tyrant of Syracuse, is struggling to chart a course between the warring empires of Rome and Carthage. His only close confidant is his eccentric cousin, the mathematician Archimedes. But Hieron is ninety years old, and his nobles are scheming in the shadows.

After the American Civil War, a young man from Maine takes a diplomatic position in Nagasaki, Japan, where he and his aide, Harada, explore the city and absorb its history and culture. There, they befriend the lovely geisha Cio-Cio and attend her wedding to the American naval lieutenant Pinkerton.

Robin Le Mesurier, the son of two of Britain's best-loved comedy actors, John Le Mesurier and Hattie Jacques, and a hugely successful musician, has penned a tell-all book about his life.