Showing results by publisher "Next Chapter Audio Ltd" in History

Strange Tales of Scotland all deal with a particular aspect of Scottish mysteries. You'll learn of the ghost that appeared at the wedding of King Alexander II, and of monsters such as the Shellycoat and Water-horse that were thought to inhabit Scotland’s lochs...Finally, we have a look at the legend of the phantom armies of Scotland; soldiers who refuse to fade away even centuries after their wars have been fought, and their causes faded in history. Welcome to the Strange Tales of Scotland.

More Strange Scotland is a collection of anecdotes, facts, folklore, and legends about the strangeness of that little nation on the western fringe of Europe. From fairies to witches and the frightening water horses, Scotland has a host of legends. Add haunted castles, strange pub names, and devilish people to the mix, sprinkle with Aberlour spirits and the mists of Skye and then start listening to the audiobook. If ghostly bagpipers and unseen river monsters don’t scare you off, then you may revel in the stories from this most strange of all countries.

This small book looks at some of the strange things that make England unique, starting with the English language itself and looking at concepts such as sports, ghosts and the English love for eccentricity - like the sportsman who rode his horse naked. As well as strange people, the book looks at strange places. For example, there is the canal across Southern England that was dug to keep back Bonaparte’s hordes in the invasion that never took place. There is also the impressively masculine Cerne Abbas Giant, to which women once flocked when they wished to become pregnant.

Murders, riots, strikes, and runaway horses. Midlothian in the 18th and 19th centuries was an interesting place to live. This book introduces the listener to the hard lives of the colliers, the birth of the rural police force, and the impact the army had on life in the county south of Scotland’s capital city. Highwaymen and grave robbers, footpads and murderers, illicit distillers and murderous poachers - all lived or worked in Midlothian at a time when Scotland was changing from a rural to an industrial nation.

In Ireland, truth, folklore, mythology, and legend are indistinguishably interwoven into a Celtic knot of strangeness. From fact to fiction and the peculiar to the bizarre, unravel some of Ireland’s most curious lore: the Blarney Stone kissing ceremony, the giant behind the Giant’s Causeway, the escapades of Saint Patrick, and the myths of the 1690 battle of the River Boyne, among many others.

Get ready to experience the lore and lure of the sea with these myths, legends, and true stories. Centuries-old folklore and tales of haunted vessels. Sea monsters and ghosts. Cannibalism at sea and mysterious disappearances. Included also are tales of sailors ashore and the prostitutes and crimps that preyed on them. Find out what happened to stowaways, how they were treated, and about the myth that women were not welcome on ships.

In ancient Finland, young Vierra begins her passage to adulthood. It's a time when Viking warriors prowl the land, and riches are in reach of the powerful. The medieval north of myth is a dangerous place, and powers both natural and supernatural are ready to take away everything she holds dear. Vierra sets to overcome the odds with iron will and sharp wit, but fate has more in store for the young woman.

Women of Scotland is a thematic time trip through Scottish history, and the important part women have played in its past. From the humble to the great, Scottish women have been at the forefront and background of events. Here are the fisherwomen, the warriors, the great writers, the Jacobites, the martyrs, and the mill girls. Without them, Scotland would not have existed. Join a great journey from the Dark Ages to the 21st century, and learn about the women who have been the driving force behind this small, yet dynamic nation.

Dance If Ye Can is an introduction to the huge variety of battles fought in Scotland, or fought by the Scots in the nearly 900 years when they were an independent nation. The first part of the audiobook serves as an introduction to Scottish history, while the second section portrays the Scottish soldier throughout history. Part three gives an alphabetical guide and brief notes of the many hundred battles, skirmishes, and sieges that pepper the history of Scotland.

A mass of European and American tourists descend on an idyllic tropical island for the holiday of a lifetime. Within hours, hundreds are dead. What happened? This is the true story of one of history's most tragic and shocking disasters, in which aviation, terrorism, a sudden change in weather, and plain old bad luck made for a ruinous mix.

The Moray Firth of Scotland has a fine maritime history. This audiobook introduces the nearly forgotten sealing and whaling industry of the 19th century. It includes ships, masters, men, and anecdotes from Fraserburgh and Banff, with a year-by-year breakdown of the industry. A recognized expert on the Scottish whaling industry, Malcolm Archibald has authored a number of books on the subject, including Whalehunters (Mercat Press, 2004), Ancestors in the Arctic (Black and White, 2013), and The Dundee Whaling Fleet (Dundee University Press, 2013).

This thematic audiobook introduces the history of the Firth of Forth, the gateway to the east of Scotland and Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital city. There are whaling ships and fishing boats, great tea clippers with a Forth connection and the Leith built Sirius that was the first ship to cross the Atlantic under steam power alone. The historical background to each of the Forth islands is covered, with tales of shipwreck and holy men, pirates and lighthouses, plague victims, grim prisons and a Jacobite fortress that held out against the Scottish Navy.

In the small hours of the annual Punta Carnivale celebrations held by Central American communities of the West Bronx, residents witness flames and smoke coming from a popular nightspot known as Happy Land. Fire and rescue personnel arrive at the scene within three minutes, only to find all 87 party-goers trapped inside already dead. The victims have died at an unfathomable speed, succumbing to suffocation and the effects of lethal gases before the flames could even reach them.

The wake of war leaves marks that don’t always look dramatic from the outside. Inside, a tempest of trauma rages. Consumed by darkness and depression in the aftermath of war, Ewa Reid-Hammer’s story is the journey of a terrified child’s transformation to adulthood. With reflections on the emotional wounds left not only on herself, but those close to her, Reid-Hammer’s account depicts the complexities of survival and self-recovery in the face of distress. From horror to healing, her story reveals the truth of what it is to be a child of war.

Within four sections spanning the personalities, ships, places, and pirates of Scotland, you’ll discover an intriguing nautical history nestled among sweeping sea views and lush coastal landscapes. From tales of warrior lords and privateers to the mystery of the Maggie Smith, and the strange legend of the remote island of Rona, you’ll explore the unique seafaring history of Scotland.

Scotland has always given generously of her people to the world. This book tells the story of some of the many hundreds of thousands of Scots who have contributed to the fabric of modern world. In here are explorers and entrepreneurs, settlers and soldiers, politicians and missionaries, traders and police officers. They are a diverse lot with only two things in common: they made their home in a foreign land, and they hailed from Scotland. The world is all the richer for the part they played.