Independent book and art shop on the Isle of Man with shops in Port Erin & Ramsey
New, published April 2025
Part of the Little Manx Story Collection - sharing Manx history with a younger audience.
Paperback
NEW - published 15/4/25 - pre-order now
As rebel, adventurer, and religious visionary, Gerald Gardner forged Wicca upon the Isle of Man. His powerful re-imagining of modern witchcraft as a nature religion and source of female empowerment, stripped of its demonic current, was profoundly shaped by the folklore and landscape of this rugged Celtic island, set adrift in the Irish Sea.
It found its form in his writings and in the creation of The Witches’ Mill, a Manx museum devoted to the Craft, which for more than twenty years served to challenge and change popular attitudes towards the witch and her art, and to usher in a new and surprising age of tolerance to a figure that was once so bitterly feared and despised.
This modern day ‘Prospero’ had found both his Isle and his purpose, honing and defining a form of magical practice that was capable of reviving the worship of the ‘old gods’ and of inspiring feminist and environmental movements from the late Twentieth Century through to the new Millenium.
This book provides a gateway to his ideas and achievement, an insight into the genesis of a new religion that took on the mantle of the old, and to a magic that acted to dispel fear, to give delight, and to hurt not.
John Callow
John Callow is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Suffolk, who has written widely on Witchcraft and Manx History. His books include The Last Witches of England (Bloomsbury); Embracing the Darkness: A Cultural History of Witchcraft (I.B. Tauris); and (with Geoffrey Scarre) Witchcraft and Magic in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Europe (Palgrave Macmillan).
Page Count: 282
Dustjacket: Colour printed with anti-scuff matt lamination to front on 170gsm silk (FSC certified✧);
Case (Hardback): Wicotex Brillianta Charcoal with Matt Gold foil blocking to the spine;
Endpapers: 140gsm offset (FSC certified✧);
Text: 80gsm Munken Premium Cream vol 17.5 (FSC certified✧);
Plate Sections: 48 pages 150gsm matt (FSC certified✧)
Details: Section sewn, attached printed endpapers, cased in rounded black presspahn hollow spine, Brown & Oyster head and tailbands.
Size: All editions 234x156mm UK royal portrait
NEW - April 2025
This book is a detailed history of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, from the 1880s to the 1930s, a period which led to the pinnacle of passenger ship design for the company.
Written by the publisher of Ships of Mann magazine, it is a must have for all Manx transport enthusiasts!
Paperback A4
Only a few left!
A new collection of poetry from David Callin
Published Dec 2024
Only a few left!
Published Dec 2024
Most histories of the two world wars focus on those who fought.
Little has been written to date about the dissenting voice of the courageous people who took a principled stand against war to the extent of refusing to take up arms, whatever the consequences might be..
These men have been overlooked, and their records destroyed.
This book seeks to redress the balance by portraying some of the fascinating stories of the Manx men who, because of their religious and political convictions, bravely defied conscription during both world wars.
The story of Manx First World War conscientious objectors is a very dramatic one, involving derision, abuse, isolation and long terms of imprisonment. These men were among the first conscientious objectors in Britain and their trailblazing stand against conscription came at a time when jingoism was at its height, and thousands of young British men were being slaughtered in the trenches of northern France.
The First World War conscientious objectors, and their Second World War colleagues, were vilified to an appalling extent, ostracised by family and friends, and subjected to employment and electoral discrimination.
Only now is the story of these brave men, and their extraordinary principles, being revealed.
Paperback
Only a few left!
Published Nov 2024
Authors : Miles Cowsill, Barry Edwards, Richard Kirkman
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is the oldest continually operating passenger shipping company in the world, having began operations in 1830. Today the company carry’s some 630,000 passengers annually, 196,000 cars and is the Island’s lifeline for freight. This book is an update on the history of the Isle of Man Steam Packet since our 190th Anniversary publication. The title includes a history of the company year by year, including the takeover over of the operation by the Isle of Man Government in 2019 and the introduction of the Manxman in 2023. The book includes a wealth of new photography since the last edition in 2019.
Paperback
New activity book for the Isle of Man. Published Sept 2024
By Felicity Wood, local artist, writer and teacher.
"52 Manx Things to Make and Do" is perfect for anyone to engage their little ones with fun activities around the Isle of Man.
Parents and carers, your "What shall we do today?" problems are now solved. Things to find, to see, to visit and to make can be ticked off at the back of this handy book. Available in store now.
70 pages
A5 Spiral Bound
The wallababies live wild in the Curraghs area of the Isle of Man with all their family and friends around them. They have much to learn but they get up to lots of fun and mischief along the way.
Children of all ages will love this delightful tale and will identify with each of the five wallababies as they learn the tricky business of being a wild wallaby.
Full of fascinating facts, this story will provide an insight into being a youngster, whether it be human or wallaby!
Compiled by Anita Mulvey
Designed by Julia Ashby Smyth
Format : Softback 200 x 250
For more details of this beautifully illustrated and handwritten sketch book, see the example pages and recent Isle of Man Newspapers' article here...
Published May 2024
Reprint of the popular Manx cookbook
Sue Woolley was born and raised in Peel, Isle of Man. The soda cake recipe and others in this book were handed down from her grandmother, Rebena Crellin (neé Gelling). The iron griddle shown here belonged to her paternal great-grandmother, Christian Quine and was used to bake bonnags in the traditional way.
Sue and her family lived in a simple Manx stone cottage in Maughold for nearly 18 years before moving to Ramsey in the north of the Island.
Published by Manx Inspirations
Paperback A5
'Nature is Real and So Am I' is about finding oneself in the natural world: in the languid droop of dying branches; in the choatic motion of dandelion seeds in the wind; in the hope of spring's first daffodil bloom. For isn't poetry, after all, born from a desire to see and be seen?
In their debut poetry pamphlet, Seventh Manx Bard Owen Atkinson invites you to meander through four seasons of Manx landscape; to use the tragedy, beauty and chaos of nature as a mirror; to gaze from the outside in.
You might be surprised by what you discover...
With illustrations by Grainney Sheard and support from Isle of Man Arts Council
Paperback, stapled A5
NEW : Published March 2024
Author : John Manley
Most Manx people had few entertainments before the late eighteenth century. Merry making was confined to dancing to the music of the fiddle. Then an eighteenth-century fashion for sea-bathing saw many wealthy ‘strangers’ visit Manx shores, and, as the century ended, traditional British Grand Tours of Europe became impossible because of continental wars. Further affluent English visitors travelled to the island seeking an alternative experience. The numerous new arrivals attracted musical and theatrical camp followers, who considerably broadened the available range of island entertainments. The nineteenth century Industrial Revolution expanded the island’s visitor base further by providing the British working-class with sufficient funds to afford annual holidays. As a result, island visitor numbers increased rapidly, and eager entrepreneurs quickly seized on new opportunities for profit-making. Huge entertainment halls opened, and the best of British music-hall entertainers appeared on Manx stages to entertain the visiting throng. Douglas became a premier European holiday resort, overflowing with theatres, dance halls, and cinemas. This book traces that story from start to finish.
A5 Paperback, 292 Pages
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Shop Opening HoursMonday to Saturday : 9.30 am - 5.30 pm
Sundays : 11.00 am to 4.00 pm Easter-Christmas in Port Erin only |
Telephone01624 833376 (Port Erin) or
01624 813374 (Ramsey) |
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