Merlin Unwin Books

17/01/2025

In the current issue of Fallon's Angler you can hear from fishing author and journalist, Dominic Garnett, on his passion for fishing and how the sport can alter your sense of time. Reflecting on special moments fishing when it feels like time stands still, vs. those other times when it feels like an uphill battle just getting to the water in the first place. A great read with lovely photography.

16/01/2025

Feeling under the weather, a bit cold and run down? There might be a remedy closer to home... in your kitchen cupboard. These natural remedies hold medicinal benefits that can boost immunity and wellness.

The products for these remedies include herbs and spices, fruit and vegetables, oils and vinegars, and many other familiar items.

In Kitchen Medicine the authors of the successful Hedgerow Medicine now move indoors to describe the wealth of healing and emergency remedies that sit unused and idle in the kitchen. Illustrations and photographs adorn a lively text.

15/01/2025

Cleaning Myths Debunked: Green Clean your Home by Manfred Neuhold

When it comes to keeping our homes clean, many of us have grown up believing that the stronger the chemical, the better the clean. We’ve been conditioned to think that the smell of bleach is the hallmark of a truly sanitised space. Much of this information stems from the marketing campaigns of many of the mainstream organisations selling plastic packaged cleaning products.

1) A powerful scent is associated with a deeper clean

Did you know that there are green cleaning agents that clean just as effectively as the synthetic fragrances and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) added to cleaning products. You can naturally keep your home smelling good by neutralising odours at their source, or adding natural essential oils to eco-products from Green Clean Your Home.

2) Chemical Cleaners Kill Germs Better

Having lived through the pandemic many people have become more aware of the idea that you need strong chemicals to kill germs. Whilst this is not untrue, they can cause skin irritation and environmental harm. An eco-friendly alternatives, such as vinegar, can do exactly the same job without the irritants.

3) The amount of product you need to 'deep clean'

Often in the home we tend to use more product to achieve a 'deeper' clean. Manfred shows that sometimes you just need a bit of elbow grease! You can save the pounds and pennies at the same time!

4) Green Cleaning is a compromise

You can keep your home just as clean whilst also saving money, time shopping, and reduce plastic waste with Green Cleaning Your Home. You don’t have to compromise effectiveness for sustainability. The book covers every room in the house, eco-friendly alternative products are created to deliver a deep and effective clean with minimal environment impact. Feel empowered to make better choices for your home and your health in 2025.

Green Clean Your Home by Manfred Neuhold (£16.99)
https://merlinunwin.co.uk/products/green-clean-your-home

14/01/2025

This is Budweiser, he is one of the dogs featured in Anna Levin's book about dogs. The book is full of photographs of people's pet dogs, each picture accompanies a line of her poem that gets to the crux of what it means to own and love a pet dog. Something that friends who don't have dogs might not fully understand.

This book is a lovely alternative gift for any occasion, for a dog-lover, or a friend who doesn't have a dog....yet, this could be the book to convince them!

My Friends who don't have Dogs by Anna Levin (jacketed hardback £9.99)

13/01/2025

Look out for the latest issue of Flyfishing and Flytying magazine in the January issue you can read about Hans van Klinken's new book The Klink, and Barry Ord Clarke's new book, The Featherbender's Advanced Flytying Techniques.

If you are not already, you can sign up to a subscription via this link 👉 https://bit.ly/SubscribeFFFT

Take a look at what's coming up in our new issue!

Join us for less in 2025 when you sign up to a subscription 👉 https://bit.ly/SubscribeFFFT

10/01/2025

Extraordinary Villages across the UK are celebrated in Tony Francis' book, not the traditional honeypots we’ve all seen before, but extraordinary places with bizarre tales to tell.

the secrets behind the windows of Woburn, the manor house of Badby, the quintessentially English village of Turville? What problems simmer between neighbouring communities Trefor and Froncycsyllte, Hallerton and Medbourne and West and East Purton?

If you are looking for inspiration on where to visit in 2025 this book is for you!

https://merlinunwin.co.uk/products/extraordinary-villages

09/01/2025

The Daily Mail's Marcus Berkmann shares his selection of the 'Most Dazzling Picture Books of the Year'. Including Living with Greys by Tarquin Millington-Drake.

Living With Greys by Tarquin Millington-Drake Merlin Unwin £50, 160pp

A sweet and hopeful tale of grey partridges, one of the country’s most endangered bird species. Tarquin Millington-Drake is a photographer, fly-fisher and travel expert who found, to his luck, that there was a grey partridge restoration project at George Ponsonby’s farm down the road. He spent many happy hours stalking, learning about and photographing the birds, and then wrote this book about them. Grey partridges originally fell foul of intensive farming methods but now, thanks to habitat renewal with lots of nice tasty insects for them to eat, their numbers are on the up, from 17 pairs in 2017 on Ponsonby’s farm to 135 pairs now.

Millington-Drake’s book is a slow-burning labour of love, and his photography is luminescent.

https://merlinunwin.co.uk/products/living-with-greys

4pm sunsets getting you down? Lose yourself in these stunning picture books featuring Versailles, Indian jungles and the glories of Lauren Bacall's style.

09/01/2025

This book is a treasure trove of forgotten information about the plants that helped heal and cure people from the time of John Parkinson (Herbalist to King Charles I) to modern day remedies using the same plants, herbs and spices, from the authors Julie and Matthew Bruton-Seal.

Never underestimate the power of plants, this book will appeal to herbalists, gardeners, historians and anyone with curiosity about plants and their uses.

Back by popular demand, this revised edition is available online or support your local bookshop where it is stocked or can be ordered in.
Hedgerow Medicine Kitchen Medicine

07/01/2025

Three very different books, all about people and horses.

England’s Equestrian review of The Byerley Turk:
'By the end of the first chapter I was hooked. Set in a forgotten time, the book draws you into the life of this magnificent horse, you feel yourself willing him to survive, forcing him to battle on through adversity'.

Scottish Field review of Death of a Dealer:
'Great for anyone interested in horses or a good mystery. Hart-Davis creates an intricate web of characters, many of whom come under suspicion….'

Racing Post’s Chris Cook's review of Ashforth's Curiosities of Horseracing:
'Immensely readable, entertaining and informative from beginning to end'.

Have a look at our website as we have many more equestrian books, from practical guides on tack and saddlery, to John Masefield's racing ballad.

https://merlinunwin.co.uk/collections/equestrian

06/01/2025

January is a great time to invest in a new book that lays the foundations for a new skill and lifelong enjoyment.

Fishing doesn't need to be complicated or expensive, and everyone has a pond, fishery, lake, river, ocean or canal near them to give it a go.

This book by Allan Sefton has very clear visual instructions for the novice angler to learn all they need to know, from equipment and bait to licences and locations.

Why not start something today... Get Fishing!
Angling Trust Canal & River Trust Get FishingFly Fishing Forums Flyfishing and Flytying

06/01/2025

Find out more about these amazing dogs in a beautiful hardback photographic celebration of the species. The book by Jocelin Kagan explains why the dogs fighting for survival and the threats they face, but also shows the close knit family dynamics, personalities of each dog, and hunting success.

https://merlinunwin.co.uk/products/africas-wild-dogs

The adorable face of Africa's most feared hunter 🐶🐾

03/01/2025

The holidays might have left you with a lot to tidy, clean and refresh as we enter the NEW YEAR.

Have you thought about being more eco-friendly in 2025? With Green Clean Your Home by Manfred Neuhold you can save time, effort and money - making your own eco cleaning products for every room in the house.

160 simple, nature-friendly recipes that really work and are easy to follow (hardback book £16.99)

https://merlinunwin.co.uk/products/green-clean-your-home

03/01/2025

Thank you to all our customers who bought our books over Christmas and into the New Year.

Our books are stocked or can be ordered to your local bookshop. Here is how to support them:

🛍️ Shop local
💬 Follow, like, share and comment on social media
💌 Sign up to their newsletter
📚 Pre-order a book
🎫 Purchase a gift card
📝 Share a positive review
📢 Spread the word!

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20/12/2024

An interview with Peter May on match fishing and his book on the subject, End Peg. click below to enjoy this interview with Rich and Peter.

Hi Peter, thank you so much for agreeing to answer my questions; I’ve just finished reading your book, ‘End Peg’ and I have to say I loved it, can you tell us a

20/12/2024

Spotlights on the main personalities of the sport fishing, boating and outdoor sector. Born in England, Barry Ord Clarke is an internationally acclaimed and much published photographer, author and fly tyer. He has written, c0-written and contributed to more than 35 books about flytying. He attended the recent Pescare Show in Rimini, Italy. Barry was tying patterns from his latest book: The Feather Benders Advanced Techniques. You can read the full feature below:

https://www.pescareshow.it/en/special-guest/2025/barry-ord-clarke

20/12/2024

You can listen again to Barry being interviewed by Fly Culture Magazine in episode 249 via the link below. If you are enjoying a moment of quiet, wrapping presents, driving, or preparing food, this is a excellent podcast to enjoy listening to.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/402997/episodes/15759976-barry-ord-clarke-on-fly-tying-fishing-culture-and-his-new-book

20/12/2024

19/12/2024

https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/books-written-by-members-of-the-association-of-foragers

We spotted a few books by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal in this shortlist of books by members of Association of Foragers.
Kitchen Medicine, Hedgerow Medicine, Eat your Weeds, Wayside Medicine... all books are available to order now via Bookshop.org UK and the Herbalist Bible which is coming back in print in February 2025.

A group of foragers subscribing to a code of practice, and working as foragers The Association of Foragers has many members who have written books. AI written books have poisoned people, so its important to know that your book has been written by a human.