Chaplin Books imprint: 51 books

At the graveside of Chippums - beloved pet of Mrs Tarleton - the unctuous proprietor of The Little Garden of Assisi is the model undertaker, consoling the bereaved owner and reassuring her of the dog’s happy existence in the afterlife. But when the mourners have gone, it’s a very different story....

1923. When RAF airman Jack Toulson finds a wooden box buried in the desert, he hopes to uncover a cache of jewels or even an antique sword, but all it contains is a worthless old stick with Arabic writing on it. Disappointed, he shoves it into his bag and thinks no more of it. The next day, he decides...

Every morning James Christie puts on a blue rugby shirt and jeans. His wardrobe is full of identical outfits. Every day he eats the same meal and drinks from the same mug. These are not ingrained habits, but survival strategies. For James, coping with new experiences feels like smashing his head through...

The Gosport Ferry occupies a special place in people's lives. Day in, day out, it calmly plies back and forth across Portsmouth Harbour, and though the ferries themselves may have changed over the years - from steam-boats with open decks, where passengers were exposed to the elements, to the comfortable...

A pale ray of sunlight seeps through a dusty stained glass window to light a shabby congregation - all kneeling, eyes closed in devout prayer:“Thank you, Lord. Thank you for saving us.”The scene is a Fleet Street pub at lunchtime - and, as yet, hardly a drop’s been touched. I stand up, cross myself,...

Gosport, 1860. Felix Wild has lived on the streets and on his wits for all his young life. He’s been a mudlark at The Hard, eaten tallow when there was nothing else to be had, picked oakum in Forton Gaol, and acquired a skill for ‘tup-tup-tupping’ from the women of Haslar. He has no family,...

Differently Wired is an illustrated collection of around sixty articles and blogs written by James Christie for the Huffington Post UK, the Glasgow West End Guide, Autism Eye magazine - and even the Sherlock Holmes Journal. They cover subjects as diverse as Einstein’s brain, Scottish independence,...

It's 2008 and Jeremy Stubbles (or 'Stubbsy' as he's better known) is due to turn 30. Born and bred in Cowes, Isle of Wight, he lives a bachelor existence in his Art Deco flat overlooking the Solent. He is the proud owner of a floor-shaking Wurlitzer Bubbler jukebox, a retro king-sized water-bed, last...

Felix Wild is approaching his seventeenth birthday, if the horse doctor who originally estimated his age by examining his teeth is correct. He still has the remarkable ability to memorise and draw anything he has seen, but is now looking for a fresh challenge. Studying navigation appeals to him but...