William Boyd's An Ice-Cream War was published in 1982, an auspicious debut by a young writer who would go on to be recognised as 'the finest storyteller of his generation' (Sebastain Faulks). It follows the fortunes of several wildly different characters - including an expat farmer and a young English aristocrat - as they are swept up in the fighting in German East Africa during the First World War, their lives converging amid battle, betrayal, love, comedy and tragedy.

80's: The 1980s was the decade when Thatcher reigned and money talked. It was a time of boom and bust, yuppies, New Romantics, riots, miners' strikes, Live Aid and the Falklands, ending with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of Communism and the triumph of shopping.

Cover Artwork: John Squire was born in Manchester in 1962. Originally a member of The Stone Roses and later a solo musician, he gave up his music career to concentrate on his painting. He has since been exhibited widely, and many of his works have featured on major album covers.