Best Selling Books by William Mayne

The Portuguese of Wellington''s foreign legion raiders The Loyal Lusitanian Legion was part of the British Army. Though manned principally by Portuguese troops, there were also Germans and British soldiers among its ranks and, as one might expect, its commanding officer, Colonel Robert Thomas Wilson, was British. The creation of the unit was the initiative of two Portuguese army officers who were exiled after the domination and occupation of the Iberian peninsula by Napoleon''s French Army. This light infantry regiment, with a battery of artillery attached was, of course, to fight the invading French during the Peninsular War. The ''LLL'' had a comparatively short existence, between 1808 and 1811, but it fought in both Portugal and Spain most notably in battles at Busaco and Talavera. However, battlefields were not the best places to employ troops of this kind and their services were best performed in conducting raids behind enemy lines in concert with guerrilla and other Portuguese and Spanish forces-the covert operations of the day. Upon disbandment ''LLL'' troops were transferred into Caçadore battalions of the Portuguese Army where they continued to be a highly valued and efficient part of Wellington''s Army in the field. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

Fairmount Avenue should have had 2000 houses but everytime the children counted they could only find 1999. Where was the missing house?

Set in the Yorskhire Dales the story charts the misadventures of young Dorothy and her friends Anthea and Jean. They like to go fishing in a local river and play on the stepping stones, though one day they get a little more than they bargained for.

Stories relate how courageous children rescue a lonely little girl from an enchanted island, make a dazzling discovery in a snowstorm, and witness the king''s wedding

Peggy, her brother and their friend solve the mystery of an old woman''s past, proving to her that she was never a changeling child. Grades 6-7.

A boy from another time appears in front of David and Keithand strange things begin to happen - When David vanishes Keith must search through time to find himo find him_

When Melinda and Wayne go on holiday to England with their parents, they come across a stranger with a secret, and a long-buried mystery from the past. Suggested level: primary.

Long ago a drummer boy from another time had turned David''s life upside down. Years later, he thinks all that is over. David has a new life full of opportunity, and only his younger sister to cope with. But the Jungle Stones still call him back into the past and into the future.

Tiger Malik, superintendent of railways in a small district in Eastern Europe, steals railway engines and has no compunction about doing so. His strange hobby lands him in some bizarre and amusing situations - and there is always the fear of being despatched to the salt mines.