Showing titles in Great Britain

Brought to you by Penguin. For longer than recorded history there have been tales of spirits and of places where our hackles rise and our skin turns cold. Bestselling historian Neil Oliver travels the British Isles on a deliciously spine-chilling tour that spans several centuries and explores...

Paul Kennedy, award-winning author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers and one of today’s most renowned historians, now provides a new and unique look at how World War II was won. Engineers of Victory is a fascinating nuts-and-bolts account of the strategic factors that led to Allied victory. Kennedy reveals how the leaders’ grand strategy was carried out by the ordinary soldiers, scientists, engineers, and businessmen responsible for realizing their commanders’ visions of success.

Brought to you by Penguin. At the heart of this book is a highway. The A1; The Great North Road. A 400-mile multiplicity of ancient trackway, Roman road, pilgrim path, coach route and motorway that has run like a backbone through Britain for the last 2,000 years. In this genre-defying and...

THREE WOMEN. ONE MISSION. ENEMIES EVERYWHERE. May 1944. When spy Elisabeth de Mornay, code name Cécile, notices a coded transmission from an agent in the field does not bear his usual signature, she suspects his cover has been blown - something that is happening with increasing frequency. With...

Sir Walter Ralegh’s life is romantic, irresistible, and of central importance to our island story. His death is a convoluted and contested tale of bargaining, failure and betrayal. Through the Elizabethan golden age and Ralegh’s famous adventures to the final act, Anna Beer presents his...

‘Grimly fascinating … engrossing’ Daily Mail NINE HISTORIC CRIMES. ONE FAMILIAR OBSESSION. In early modern England, murder truly was most foul. Trials were gossipy events packed to the rafters with noisome spectators. Executions were public proceedings which promised not only gore, but...

King at 9 and dead at 15, Edward VI oversaw a brief but dramatic chapter in English history. Described by his father as his "most precious jewel", Edward’s birth in 1537 marked the end of Henry VIII’s quest to procure a son and heir to continue the Tudor dynasty. But even kings can’t choose their destiny, and the boy’s premature demise prevented the intelligent, ambitious, and strong-minded youth’s potential from being fulfilled. Reliant on councillors to govern the kingdom on his behalf, his reign was not a happy time.

A Times and Sunday Times Best Book of 2020 ‘Radical Wordsworth deserves to take its place as the finest modern introduction to his work, life and impact’ Financial Times ‘Richly repays reading … It is hard to think of another poet who has changed our world so much’ Sunday Times A...

THE LATEST BOOK FROM ITV'S ROBERT PESTON AND KISHAN KORIA ABOUT THE FRACTURED STATE OF BRITISH POLITICS - AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT. 'Excellent book that should be read by all politicians . . . The book is eminently readable and is well worth reading.' - READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I would...

'Superbly explained' Washington Post A dazzling new history of the modern world, as told through the remarkable story of population change. Every phase since the advent of the industrial revolution - from the fate of the British Empire, to the global challenges from Germany, Japan and Russia, to...

From the author of the best-selling Forgotten Voices of the Great War comes a final look at the last 21 living British veterans of the First World War. These interviews, conducted in 2004, will never be repeated, as the youngest was 106 years old, and most are now gone. These first-person accounts follow the young soldiers from their homes throughout Britain to the raging battles while in the service of the Royal Field Artillery, Black Watch, Royal Navy, and others.

In 16th-century Europe, two women came to hold all the power, against all the odds. They were Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici. One a Virgin Queen who ruled her kingdom alone, and the other a clandestine leader who used her children to shape the dynasties of Europe, much has been written about these iconic women. But nothing has been said of their complicated relationship: 30 years of friendship, competition and conflict that changed the face of Europe.

In this fresh approach to the history of the Black Death, John Hatcher, a world-renowned scholar of the Middle Ages, recreates everyday life in a mid-14th century rural English village. By focusing on the experiences of ordinary villagers as they lived - and died - during the Black Death (A.D. 1345 - 50), Hatcher vividly places the reader directly into those tumultuous years and describes in fascinating detail the day-to-day existence of people struggling with the tragic effects of the plague.

There's nothing the British love quite as much as their dogs. From hunting to our hearths, and from herding sheep to guiding humans, our dogs have accompanied us through centuries of change, and that special relationship is still evolving today. So, just what is it that makes our bond so special? In this fascinating adventure across Britain, Clare Balding explores our unique heritage of canine tradition and meets just some of the many people who live, work and innovate with their dogs.

For today's reader, who is living through our biggest social dislocation since the Second World War and witnessing a crisis of unprecedented proportions, Blitz Spirit is a book written to gently invite comparison and provoke questions about our place in history. Becky Brown has selected extracts...

On the evening of 21st November 1974, bombs planted by the IRA in two crowded Birmingham pubs exploded, killing 21 people and injuring at least 170. Within a day of the explosion, six men - Paddy Hill, Gerry Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, Billy Power, Johnny Walker and Hughie Callaghan - were arrested and charged. All were found guilty. Methodically, with total clarity and a tone that is both gripping and impassioned, then investigative journalist Mullin unpicked every detail of the case.

The Picts were an ancient nation who ruled most of northern and eastern Scotland during the Dark Ages. Despite their historical importance, they remain shrouded in myth and misconception. Absorbed by the kingdom of the Scots in the ninth century, they lost their unique identity, their language, and their vibrant artistic culture. Among their few surviving traces are standing stones decorated with incredible skill and covered with enigmatic symbols.

1936 is a fresh and compelling reappraisal of a momentous year in British history - one that saw three monarchs on the throne in the space of twelve months. An Independent Book of the Month '...a gripping tale of scandal, intrigue, a deeply dysfunctional family and a weird and almost infantile...

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. In his ambition to provide a male heir to the throne, Henry VIII married six times. Divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, caused England’s break from the Catholic church in Rome. He went on to divorce Anne of Cleves and behead...

Henry V is regarded as the great English hero, lionised in his own day for his victory at Agincourt, his piety and his rigorous application of justice. But what was he really like? In this ground-breaking book, Ian Mortimer portrays Henry in the pivotal year of his reign. Recording the dramatic...