‘Finding Albion’ by Zakia Sewell Hbk, Hodder Press, £25

Zakia uncovers an alternative spirit of Britain that is vividly alive.

It is found in otherworldly folk songs, ancient legends, Celtic seasonal rites and mystic stone circles that punctuate our landscape.

Her journey begins as the sun rises on the spring equinox over Glastonbury Tor, where she meets neopagans reclaiming traditions from our pre-Christian past.

At summer's peak at Notting Hill Carnival she hears cultural echoes that passed along the slave trade routes from the Caribbean.

On All Hallow's Eve she encounters the ghosts of Empire that are still haunting the nation, and in the depths of a Cornish winter she asks if today's new folk revival could unite an increasingly divided Britain?

Finding Albion brings a hopeful story from the shadows, giving us a deeper sense of identity, and heralding the promise of a brighter future.

The book was inspired by the broadcaster’s four-part Radio 4 series ‘My Albion’.

A stunning and deeply moving literary debut of grief, loss and female friendship, set against the backdrop of two cataclysmic natural events.

When six-year-old Marissa loses her mother, her father takes her to live on a small Thai island.

There, she forms a deep friendship with Arielle and together they explore the fragile wonders of its forests, reefs and beaches.

They learn to dive into the deep, as effortlessly synchronized as the manta rays they come to know by name.

Then, on Boxing Day 2004, when the Indian Ocean tsunami makes landfall, they are swept up and separated.

Eight years later, Marissa is living in New York. As the city prepares for a devastating storm, Marissa reflects on her past and learns how to sustain herself in a precarious world.

A meditation on loss, a tribute to our dying oceans and forests, and a love letter to the disappearing coral reefs.