Europe

'First-class. I read it with great interest and fascination.' – Jean Ritchie What drives seemingly ordinary individuals to commit unimaginable acts of evil? In the case of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, this question has haunted Britain for decades. Known as the Moors Murderers, this notorious...

In Wives, Witches, and Whirlpools: The Powerful Women of Homer’s Odyssey, Professor Jessica Blum-Sorensen helps you explore this classic work with fresh eyes, focusing not on the eponymous hero, but on the many women whose voices and motivations invite us to rethink traditional ideas of heroism. Across seven lectures, you’ll reexamine some of the foundational themes of the literary canon from a new perspective and discover why the deities, wives, maidens, witches, and monsters who populate Homer’s Odyssey are more than a match for its hero.

Globally famous and yet universally misunderstood – these are the complex and utterly engrossing stories of Britain's royal women behind the public façade. Saints or sinners? Perfect princesses or difficult duchesses? Monarchy’s saviours or its destroyers? They rank among the world’s most...

Adolf Hitler has taken a long time to die, despite the lethal efficiency of the gun he put to his head in April 1945. Although eagerly anticipated around the world, there were no available witnesses to his suicide—and his corpse was not put on display. This created the perfect vacuum for myth and survival legends, while rival intelligence agencies and propaganda further confounded the investigations of successive historians.

An authoritative biography of Offa of Mercia, revealing his importance as the king who stood at the turning point of Anglo-Saxon history Offa ruled the Mercian heartland of the west midlands from 757 to 796. But while Alfred the Great and his dynasty are seen as agents of a new beginning that...

'A rollicking, brilliant book' GARETH RUSSELL 'Hugely enjoyable' SUNDAY TIMES A rollicking narrative history set during the extraordinary summer of 1726 when Jonathan Swift arrived in London from Dublin, with a draft of Gulliver’s Travels in his bag. Jonathan Swift settled into his great...

Bloomsbury presents Lords of the Salt Road by Angus Konstam, read by David Monteath. The story of the Norse Earls of Orkney, whose lands once covered much of Scotland, and whose reach extended as far as Scandinavia, continental Europe and even the Mediterranean. Lords of the Salt Road reveals...

Bloomsbury presents So Great a Prince by Lauren Johnson, read by Matthew Biddulph. The King is dead: long live the King. In 1509, Henry VII was succeeded by his son Henry VIII, second monarch of the house of Tudor. But this is not the familiar Tudor world of Protestantism and playwrights...

The assassination of Austria-Hungary's Archduke Franz Ferdinand didn't just ignite the fuse to the tinderbox that was Europe in the early years of the twentieth century. When war was declared and the soldiers set off to fight the "war to end all wars," World War I realigned nations, sent their economies reeling, and toppled thrones and classes. Hungary was a particularly vivid example of how quickly a nation's fate could plummet from empire to supplicant.

An immersive history of our coasts and the people who have shaped them The coast means something different to everyone. It’s a place of pleasure and reckless pursuits, of fishing, fearless endeavours and a crashing, rugged beauty. The coast is, and always has been, our first line of defence...

Rome is not a city that can be understood quickly, and it is certainly not one that reveals itself fully through its most famous landmarks alone. It is a place built upon layers of time, meaning, and human activity, where the past does not sit quietly behind glass or within museum walls, but remains actively present in the streets, the buildings, and the rhythm of daily life. To encounter Rome is to engage with a city that exists across centuries at once, where ancient foundations support modern movement, and where every corner carries a sense of continuity that few other cities can match.

"With impressive scholarly sleuthing and a storyteller's eloquence, Danielle Allen has written a landmark book about the people and the ideas that changed the world. By bringing the glamorous Duke of Richmond back to life, Allen paints a panoramic portrait of how principles of human equality and...

Entre 1960 y 1975 más de tres millones de españoles salieron de su patria con destino a Europa impulsados por el atraso económico de la España franquista. El régimen aprovechó una coyuntura europea favorable para deshacerse del excedente de fuerza de trabajo y conseguir una considerable fuente de divisas con la que financiar el desarrollo económico. Los principales países de acogida fueron Francia, Alemania y Suiza, que ya entonces tenían una demografía menguante pero unas necesidades de mano de obra crecientes.

The French Revolution has fascinated, perplexed, and inspired for more than two centuries. It was a seismic event that radically transformed France and launched shock waves across the world. In this provocative new history, Peter McPhee draws on a lifetime's study of eighteenth-century France...

An enthralling account of Mary, Queen of Scots' captivity in England, revealing intrigue, plots, and political turmoil. Discover a thrilling true story of treachery, deceit, hope, and despair. From the moment Mary, Queen of Scots set foot on English soil in 1568 until her execution at...

Meet the rulers who built, ruled, and nearly destroyed the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire didn’t rise by accident. It was shaped by emperors who ruled through brilliance, brutality, vision, fear—and sometimes madness.

A provocative exploration of the life of Anne Boleyn through a feminist lens, examining her influence on the reformation and relevance for a new generation. In a story that has intrigued people for generations, this Queen of England has been portrayed as a power-hungry manipulator and as a patsy...

Lo que ocurrió realmente el 23 de febrero de 1981 está claro hoy: no fue un intento de golpe de estado, sino una operación especial para reparar el sistema político. Una operación con la que estaba de acuerdo la mayor parte de la clase dirigente, y, por supuesto, la institución monárquica. En principio su objetivo era el de solucionar los problemas surgidos con el desarrollo del proceso autonómico, reformar la Constitución en aspectos que parecían necesarios, modificar la ley y proceso electoral, y acabar con la violencia terrorista.

Often called the “Father of Geometry,” Euclid’s influence is so pervasive that his book, The Elements, was the primary math manual for over 2,000 years. It was not a “textbook” in the modern sense, as it did not have problem sets, word problems, or diagrams for practice, but it was a foundational reference and logical guide that students had to read, memorize, and demonstrate. In the Western and Islamic worlds, Euclid’s Elements was the standard geometry text for almost every educated person until the 19th century.

The Anglo Saxon Chronicle was only the first of many English histories to be compiled over many generations in the scriptoria of Britain – the chronicle hammered out by monks in Worcester in the 12th century is the only one that made any claim to be 'ultimate', or 'The Chronicle of Chronicles'.

Bloomsbury presents Into the Firestorm by Scott McGaugh, read by Jeff Harding From the hellish skies over Europe to the unforgiving terrain of the Himalayas, this is the first complete history of the C-47 aircrew who helped turn the tide of war. One of the most perilous combat roles of World War...

Constantinople, provides an updated and extended introduction to the history of Byzantium and its capital city. Accessible and engaging, the book breaks new ground by exploring Constantinople's mystical dimensions and examining the relationship between the spiritual and political in the city.

Bloomsbury presents The Land of the Green Man by Carolyne Larrington, read by Kim Hicks Beyond its housing estates and identikit high streets there is another Britain. This is the Britain of mist-drenched forests and unpredictable sea-frets: of wraith-like fog banks, druidic mistletoe and...

From the New York Times bestselling author, the incredible true story of the American archaeologists and classicists who went undercover as OSS spies during World War II to fight the Nazis and protect the world's most precious relics In 1942, as head of the newly formed OSS, Wild Bill Donovan...

Bloomsbury presents Teutoburg Forest AD 9: The destruction of Varus and his legions by Michael McNally, read by Cliff Chapman The story of the famous battle of the Teutoburg Forest, the most complete defeat of the Roman Army in the west, which saw the destruction of three Roman legions by...