Books published by publisher Dobson Books

As the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic approaches in April 2012, the haunting story of the doomed liner has lost none of its allure. A host of commemorative events are planned for the centenary, and with many Titanic books set to hit the market, the question arises as to how this one will stand out from the others. Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage is a fresh take on this everpopular subject through the prism of the lives of the Titanic's first class passengers - woven into a gripping account of the ship's short life. The ship has often been called a microcosm of the Edwardian era - this has never been more true than it is presented in this book. In other accounts of the Titanic the ship is the protagonist and those on board merely bit part players. Here, its leading characters are moved into the foreground and their stories intertwined with the powerful narrative arc of the doomed voyage. The book probes into the lives of those on board in a way that no other account has done. Here we find some of Britain's and America's leading society figures engaged in illicit homosexual relationships, flaunting extra-marital affairs and openly risking scandal in the ballrooms of the world's most famous ship, oblivious of the disaster that lay in the seas ahead.

A T-Rex, king of the Triceratops? As a Tyrannosaurus egg, Ron rolled into a Triceratops nest. He grew up calling Little T his brother and became king of the Triceratops with the promise: "Trixies first!" When things go sour in this dinosaur fable, Little T has to decide where his loyalty lies. Atmospheric illustrations and building tension capped off by action make King Ron of the Triceratops accessible to children considerably younger than its nominal grade level. A first-grader reading above his grade level can tackle the book (pegged at grade four) on his own. King Ron of the Triceratops includes a little explanatory ditty for those who like their parables and fables explained. The song notation includes chords for an accompanist.[For the paperback version, search for ISBN 978-3906906003.]

Did you know that it is still forbidden to run, carry an umbrella, or whistle in Burlington Arcade? That at the southeast corner of Trafalgar Square there's a tiny, working jail cell that looks like a fat lamppost that still has a direct phone link to Scotland Yard? That the entrance to Buckingham Palace that faces down the Mall is actually the back door, not the front? From the quirky to the bizarre, this is a humorous and historical dissection of London's strangest occurrences and locations.