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Fantastic

By Alenka Birk

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ABOUT A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW From the New York Times bestselling author of Rules of Civility, Amor Towles – a transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel. After the Communists sentence Count Alexander Rostov to house arrest, he makes a rich life for himself in a grand hotel near the Kremlin. Amor Towles’ new historical novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, is so many things, but basically a hotel-window view of Russia from the time of their civil war following the Bolshevik Revolution, through unification under the USSR, through the long harsh era of Stalin, and on into the middle of the Cold War. A masterly encapsulation of modern Russian history, this book more than fulfils the promise of Towles’ stylish debut, Rules of Civility (2011). www.amazon.com

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T H E O N LY L O T U S M O T O R C Y C L E EVER HEADS TO AUCTION If you think this motorcycle just jumped off a movie screen, you’re half right. The Lotus C-01 was penned by Daniel Simon, who not only used to work for Bugatti, but was also the lead designer for the movie Tron Legacy. It’s the closest you’ll get to owning a functional movie prop and one lucky bidder seized the opportunity in Pebble Beach, where it was auctioned. First introduced in 2013 as a 3D model, only 100 of these motorcycles were produced, and they went for a staggering 122,000 € when new. Now, three years later, its price has skyrocketed. According to the seller this particular example has never been ridden. Hiking up the price to a pre-auction estimate of 330,000 € - 400,000 €. It looks absolutely spectacular, so if all else fails, you can look at a desperately pretty bike. www.lotus-motorcycles.com

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LIMITED EDITION SUMO BENCH Sumo encapsulates the inherent strength and low centre of gravity of the Japanese wrestler but also his seemingly incongruous delicacy and grace. The Sumo is a limited edition, handcrafted storage bench conceptualised as a statement entrance-hall piece with a powerful aesthetic and strong functionality. Crafted from solid American black walnut throughout, every board of timber is hand-selected for its colour, tone, and figure and for being clean of any knots, shakes or defects. This substantial piece (2.2 m in length) incorporates two wool-upholstered seats, each with its own side table, that lift to reveal storage areas for shoes and boots beneath. The quality in this piece lies in the precision of its geometric form which, in solid wood, requires great skill and attention to keep all angles perfectly aligned and the edges crisp. www.treecouture.co.uk