Historical

  • …And What Do You Do?: What the royal family don’t want you to know

    05

    The royal family: the quintessential British institution or an antiquated, overindulged drain on the taxpayer?

    For all their foibles and idiosyncrasies, the royal family wield considerable influence and yet rather than facing the scrutiny their position merits, they enjoy sickeningly obsequious coverage which reports their activities with breathless awe.

    And What Do You Do? is a provocative and hard-hitting analysis, exposing the royals extravagant use of public money and the highly dubious behaviour of some among their number. Former Minister of State and current Privy Counsellor Norman Baker breaks ranks to explore the wider role the royals play in society, including the link with House of Lords reform and the constitutional position of the monarch.

    Now fully updated to include new material on Prince Andrew, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, this irreverent and uncompromising account asks urgent questions about the future of the world s most famous royal family.

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    £9.60£10.40
  • 10 Scotland Street

    This is a triumph. A love letter to the ghosts of Edinburgh. I feel its hand upon my shoulder. -Sara Sheridan

    As a writer of fiction, I found myself itching to lift some of these characters from the page into the fertile fields of my own imagination. -Val McDermid

    About the book

    10 Scotland Street – the story of an Edinburgh home and its cast of booksellers, silk merchants, sailors, preachers, politicians, cholera and coincidence and its widespread connections over two centuries across the globe.

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    £24.79
  • 50 LGBTQI+ who changed the World

    01
    Marsha P. Johnson, Keith Haring, Harvey Milk, Audre Lorde, RuPaul… the names of pioneers and trailblazers who have advanced the LGBTQI+ cause and helped bring about new human rights. This book pays tribute in 50 portraits to the activists, personalities, writers and artists who have advanced the LGBTQI+ movement and celebrates those who have fought and are fighting every day to create a more inclusive and tolerant world.

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    £14.20£17.10
  • A Brief History of the British Monarchy: From the Iron Age to King Charles III

    01
    The British monarchy is at a turning point. Concise and engaging, this book charts the very beginnings of British reign through to the longest serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II – and looks forward to the reign of King Charles III.

    Much more than a linear history, this is the intertwined story of royalty and state, of divisions, invasions, rivalries, death and glory; the story of nation fates deeply tied with the personal endeavours of monarchs through the ages. Black expertly weaves together thematic chapters from the origins of monarchy, medieval times and sixteenth-century developments, to the crises of the seventeenth-century, settlement and imperialism, and the challenges of the modern age. Exploring the House of Wessex, the Norman Conquest, Henry VIII and the Tudors, Victorianism and key events such as abdication of Edward VIII, this book is a necessary and comprehensive guide to the British Monarchy and how it has shaped history – and our lives today.

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    £10.40£16.10
  • A Gambling Man

    03

    Charles II was thirty when he crossed the Channel in fine May weather in 1660. His Restoration was greeted with maypoles and bonfires, like spring after long years of Cromwell’s rule. But there was no going back, no way he could ‘restore’ the old. Certainty had vanished. The divinity of kingship fled with his father’s beheading. ‘Honour’ was now a word tossed around in duels. ‘Providence’ could no longer be trusted. As the country was rocked by plague, fire and war, people searched for new ideas by which to live. Exactly ten years later Charles II would stand again on the shore at Dover, laying the greatest bet of his life in a secret deal with his cousin, Louis XIV.

    The Restoration decade was one of experiment: from the science of the Royal Society to the startling role of credit and risk, from the shocking licence of the court to the failed attempts at toleration of different beliefs. Negotiating all these, Charles II, the ‘slippery sovereign’, played odds and took chances, dissembling and manipulating his followers. The theatres were restored, but the king was the supreme actor. Yet while his grandeur, his court and his colourful sex life were on display, his true intentions lay hidden.

    A Gambling Man is a portrait of Charles II, exploring his elusive nature through the lens of these ten vital years – and a portrait of a vibrant, violent, pulsing world, racked with plague, fire and war, in which the risks the king took forged the fate of the nation, on the brink of the modern world.

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    £12.20£14.20

    A Gambling Man

    £12.20£14.20
  • A Teenager’s War: The true story of an 18 year old lad from Huddersfield fighting during WW2 in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany with the 5th … the Liberation of Europe…

    08
    This book is a tribute to my Uncle Jim, Private James Watson 14428202 5th Black Watch, 51st Highland Division. All the stories are true as they are based on War Records, Soldiers Diaries, conversations with Veterans of 51st Highland Division and family and friends. You can learn more about the Black Watch at www.theblackwatch.co.uk. The Black Watch Museum is housed in the dramatic and historic Balhousie Castle. The Castle is set in its own beautiful gardens and grounds. A visit to this ancestral home of The Black Watch brings this glorious Regiment’s past vibrantly to life.

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    £9.50
  • A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Edition: 1926-2022 The Life and Reign of Her Majesty (Fox Chapel Publishing) Articles, Stunning Photos, Family Tree, Timelines,…

    01

    The most complete collection of in-depth content regarding Queen Elizabeth II.

    • A commemorative keepsake and tribute to the childhood, life, royal family, and reign of Queen Elizabeth II
    • Fascinating articles detailing historical events, major milestones, the royal family tree and timeline, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, her legacy, the modern monarchy, and more
    • Never-before-seen photographs, stunning illustrations, timelines, family trees, and other insightful visuals
    • Profiles of George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Prince Philip, and other members of the royal family and line of succession

    With these pages, we remember a queen who devoted herself to her country and the people within it.

    In 1926, a princess was born in Mayfair, London. Named Elizabeth after her mother, she was third in line to the throne, but expected to be pushed further down the line of succession when her uncle had his own children. From the meeting and wedding of her parents in 1923 to her birth in 1926 and details of her childhood, upbringing, and education, read about the young princess who was originally third in line to the throne.

    Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne in 1952 at 25 years old after the death of her adored father. This tribute carefully details the monumental events that followed, including her coronation that took 18 months to plan, the birth of the Commonwealth, her influential role as one of the most experienced heads of state in the world, pivotal moments such as her iconic state visit to China in 1986 that improved relations between the two countries, and more.

    In this touching tribute to one of Britain’s most loved monarchs, we explore the woman who has ruled over generations, her legacy, the history of her royal family, and more, with expertly written articles by the most knowledgeable historians and royal family experts, including Scott Reeves, June Woolerton, Jon Wright, and others.

    A Tribute to Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Edition is the ultimate, jam-packed resource for history lovers and admirers of Queen Elizabeth II.

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    £9.50
  • A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Life

    03

    In this delightful and engagingly eccentric treasury of life lessons, redoubtable Victorian Elspeth Marr (1871-1947) reflects on the fundamental topics of life as well as the nuts and bolts of everyday living.

    Part journal, part commonplace book, among many gems you will find enlightenment and advice on everything from Dreams to Garlic; Patriotism to Wrinkles.

    Written throughout her life but only discovered after her death, by her great-great nephew, Christopher Rush, Elspeth’s (known as Aunt Epp) journal was never intended for publication but her style of writing and the subject matter she covers nonetheless reaches a universal audience. Not afraid to put forth views on the big topics – religion, evolution, and ethical issues – she also tackles the nuts and bolts of living – food, sex and health.

    Vital, refreshingly frank and always amusing, A Victorian Lady’s Guide to Life provides a wealth of sound advice.

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    £1.60
  • A Young Englishman in Victorian Hong Kong: The Diaries of Chaloner Alabaster, 1855-1856

    In August 1855, 16-year-old Chaloner Alabaster left England for Hong Kong, to take up a position as a student interpreter in the China Consular Service. He would stay for almost 40 years, climbing the rungs of the service and eventually becoming consul-general of Canton. When he retired he returned to England and received a knighthood. He died in 1898. Throughout his adult life, Alabaster kept diaries.

    In the first four volumes of these diaries, collected here by Benjamin Penny, the teenage Alabaster recorded his thoughts and observations, told himself anecdotes, and exploded in outbursts of anger and frustration. He was young and enthusiastic, and the everyday sights, sounds and smells of Hong Kong were novel to him. He describes how the Chinese people around him ironed clothes, dried flour and threshed rice; how they gambled, prepared their food and made bean curd; and what opera, new year festivities and the birthday of the Heavenly Empress were like. Like many a young Victorian, he was also a keen observer of natural history, fascinated by fireflies and ants, corals and sea slugs, and the volcanic origins of the landscape.

    Alabaster’s diaries are a unique, vibrant and riveting record of life in the young British colony on the cusp of the Second Opium War. With A Young Englishman in Victorian Hong Kong, Penny sheds new light on the history of the region.

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    £15.50£19.00
  • Admiral of the Narrow Seas: The Life of Bertram Ramsay

    Bertram Ramsay has acquired almost mythical status in the history of the Second World War, firstly as the principal organizer of the Dunkirk evacuation and then as naval commander of the Allied invasion of Normandy – in the eyes of many, ‘the organizer of victory’. But because Ramsay was killed in January 1945 and never wrote his own memoirs, his life has until now been difficult to pin down.

    Andrew Gordon, prize-winning author of The Rules of the Game: Jutland and British Naval Command, writing with the help of Ramsay’s descendants, now describes the career of this intense and territorial man in full, for the first time establishing his true role in the two great tests of his life and conveying his very particular personality. This is a superb biography of a naval officer, which also illuminated afresh British history in the first half of the twentieth century.

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    £26.20£28.50
  • Among the Braves: Hope, Struggle, and Exile in the Battle for Hong Kong and the Future of Global Democracy

    Hong Kong was an experiment in governance. Handed back to China in 1997 after 156 years of British rule, it was meant to be a carve-out between hostile systems: a bridge between communism and capitalism, authoritarianism and liberal democracy. “One country, two systems” kept its media free, its courts independent and its protests boisterous, designed also to convince Taiwan of a peaceful solution to Beijing’s desire for reunification.

    Yet this formulation excluded Hong Kong’s own people, their future negotiated by political titans in faraway capitals. In 2019, an ill-conceived law spear-headed by a sycophantic leader pushed a third of the city to take to the streets in one of the most enduring protest movements the world has ever seen. Xi Jinping responded with a draconian national security law that sought not only to end the demonstrations but quash the “problem” of Hong Kongers’ identity and desire for freedom.

    Reverend Chu, who believed Hong Kong had to carry the spirit of students at Tiananmen Square, saw his silver-haired comrades who birthed the city’s modern pro-democracy movement handcuffed and taken from their homes. Tommy, an art student radicalized into throwing Molotov cocktails, watched “braves” like him brutalized by police before his own arrest prompted him to flee. Finn epitomized the decentralized nature of the movement and its internet-fuelled victories, but online anonymity couldn’t stop his life from unravelling. Gwyneth could predict her eventual fate when she chose to give up her career as a journalist to stand for election as an opposition candidate, and did it anyway.

    In Among the Braves, Shibani Mahtani and Timothy McLaughlin tell the story of Hong Kong’s past, and what the sacrifices of its people mean for global democracy’s shaky foundation.

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    £17.70£23.80
  • Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation

    08

    The First Graphic Adaptation of the Multi-Million Bestseller

    ’12th June, 1942: I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.’

    In the summer of 1942, fleeing the horrors of the Nazi occupation, Anne Frank and her family were forced into hiding in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse.

    Aged thirteen when she went into the secret annexe, Anne Frank kept a diary in which she confided her innermost thoughts and feelings, movingly revealing how the eight people living under these extraordinary conditions coped with the daily threat of discovery and death.

    Adapted by Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonsky, and authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, this is the first graphic edition of the beloved diary of Anne Frank.

    ‘Faithful to the spirit and often the language of the diary… Mr Polonsky’s beautiful artwork offers a charming and convincing view of Anne on the page’ THE ECONOMIST

    ‘Folman and Polonsky have reclaimed Anne Frank in all of her humanity, and they allow us to witness for ourselves her beauty, courage, vision and imagination. And, in doing so, they have elevated the tools of the comic book to create an astonishing work of art.’ JEWISH JOURNAL

    ‘The illustrations [. . .] retell Anne’s diary with great compassion, wit and ebullience’ StANDPOINT

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    £12.00£14.20
  • Arthur Gould: Rugby’s First Superstar

    01
    Arthur Gould is the definitive biography of the record-breaking Welsh international player who is widely acknowledged as the first superstar of rugby. Such was his fame and renown, that upon his tragic, early death in 1919, aged just 54, Gould’s funeral in Newport was reported as the biggest Wales had ever seen. Nicknamed ‘Monkey’ due to his childhood fondness for climbing trees, Gould played the majority of his club rugby for Newport RFC and won a then-record 27 Welsh caps; 25 of which were at centre (a record only bettered by Steve Fenwick in 1980); and captained his country 18 times (a record only beaten in 1994 by Ieuan Evans). A true sporting sensation, when he retired in 1899 Gould had played more first-class matches and scored more tries and drop goals than any other player. Gould’s superstar status was illustrated late in his career when a testimonial appeal received widespread public support and resulted in the Scottish and Irish unions cancelling their fixtures with Wales in protest at the apparent breach of the game’s strict amateur ethos. The controversy deepened when the Welsh Football Union (now the WRU) stood firmly behind their iconic player and withdrew from the International Rugby Board. Fearing that lucrative fixtures with Welsh clubs might be lost and that Wales might join forces with the newly established Northern Union of professional rugby, England’s Rugby Football Union brokered a ‘one-off’ dispensation which enabled Gould to benefit from the testimonial while retaining his amateur status, and ensured that international fixtures were resumed. Comprehensively researched and written by acclaimed rugby historian, Gwyn Prescott, with the full support and encouragement of the Gould family, Arthur Gould – Rugby’s First Superstar includes over 100 illustrations and will be enjoyed by all who love rugby and treasure its sporting and cultural heritage.

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    £14.80£17.10
  • At Home with the Queen: Life Through the Keyhole of the Royal Household

    08

    Behind the scenes of the private world at the heart of royalty, as revealed by a distinguished royal commentator.

    This is the real story of what goes on inside the royal palaces, as witnessed by members of the royal staff and household past and present. Buckingham Palace is effectively an independent kingdom with its own rules and customs, now explained by Brian Hoey. Hundreds of anecdotes reveal the conditions in which the staff live and work and also their relationship with the Royals they serve.

    How does one get a job as personal footman to the Queen? Why does Prince Charles still have to send a note to her Page of the Backstairs requesting a meeting with his mother? How much do members of the household earn? Why does the Queen hate men in three-piece suits? Why are the Queen’s bedsheets six inches longer than Prince Philip’s? Why do her maids have to vacuum walking backwards? Why doesn’t the Queen allow square ice-cubes to be put in her drinks?

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    £6.20£8.50
  • BACK STREET KID: Growing up in Royal Leamington Spa

    Part memoir and part local history, this book tells the story of a little girl who was born and raised in one of Leamington’s back-street slums during the middle years of the twentieth century.

    Most of the books written about the Spa tend to be of a more serious nature, concentrating on its history, its buildings, and the lives of the great & the good who provided the wealth that built the town; but little is written about the lives of the hard-working folk who lived in poverty behind the elegant facades.

    Those who lived in the back-streets, or former pupils of St. Peter’s School, Leamington Girls College or Clapham Terrace Senior School may find the book of particular interest.

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    £12.30
  • Battle of Brothers: You’ve heard from one side – now read the full, true story of the royal family in crisis

    05

    The Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller

    ‘THE ROYAL BOOK OF THE YEAR … You’ve read their side of the story, now read the real story’ Daily Mail

    THIS CRISIS IS AS BIG AS THE ABDICATION – SAYS LACEY, HISTORICAL ADVISOR TO THE CROWN.

    The world has watched Prince William and Prince Harry since they were born. Raised by Princess Diana to be the closest of brothers, how have the boy princes grown into very different, now distanced men?

    From royal expert and bestselling author Robert Lacey, this book is an unparalleled insider account of tumult and secrecy revealing the untold details of William and Harry’s early closeness then estrangement. It asks what happens when two sons are raised for vastly different futures – one burdened with the responsibility of one day becoming king, the other with the knowledge that he will always remain spare.

    How have William and Harry each formed their idea of a modern royal’s duty and how they should behave? Were the seeds of damage sowed as Prince Charles and Diana’s marriage painfully unraveled for all the world to see? In the previous generation, how have Prince Charles and Prince Andrew’s lives unfolded in the shadow of the Crown? What choices has Queen Elizabeth II made in marshalling her feuding heirs? What parts have Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle played in helping their husbands to choose their differing paths? And what is the real, unvarnished story behind Harry and Meghan’s dramatic departure?

    In the most intimate vision yet of life behind closed doors, with the family’s highs, lows and hardest decisions all laid out, this is a journey into royal life as never offered before.

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    £5.70£19.00
  • Bazball: The inside story of a Test cricket revolution

    01

    WATERSTONES’ BEST BOOKS OF 2023: SPORT
    ‘Gripping’ Roger Alton, Sunday Times
    The inside story of how England transformed the way Test cricket is played.

    After one win in 17 by the start of the summer of 2022, England needed something new. For 145 years, Test cricket was played mainly in one way: batters laid a foundation before daring to attack – and, even then, only if circumstances were favourable. Bowlers tried to bowl maidens, calculating that they would eventually force an error. But the old ways weren’t working.

    Then came ‘Bazball’, driven by new head coach in Brendon (‘Baz’) McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. What followed was one of the most thrilling revolutions in any sport, as a rudderless and ridiculed England Test team became – almost overnight – cricket’s most talked-about phenomenon. They embarked on a brand of Test cricket that breathed life into an ailing format, breaking records as they went on to win 11 out 13 Tests before taking on world champions Australia in a dramatic Ashes contest that ended 2-2.

    Lawrence Booth and Nick Hoult, two of the game’s most respected writers, had a ringside seat for all the action. Their book will reveal how Bazball swept the England dressing room and transformed the team’s fortunes. Told via a mixture of interviews with the protagonists and insights gathered by the authors during their own close-up reporting, Bazball is an unmissable read. As Rob Key said after he appointed McCullum: ‘Buckle up and get ready for the ride.’

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    £15.20£20.90
  • Before and After: The incredible and heartbreaking true stories of victims of a notorious adoption scandal

    08

    ‘Captivating and emotional’ 5* reader review

    ‘A riveting and heart wrenching read’ 5* reader review

    From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a corrupt baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents – hiding the fact that many weren’t orphans at all, but stolen sons and daughters of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies had died.

    In Before and After, many survivors set out to trace their roots and find their birth families. Before and AFter includes moving and shocking accounts of the ways in which adoptees were separated from their first families. Often raised as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. There are stories of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed, and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace brothers, sisters, and cousins.

    *Inspired by the No.1 bestselling novel Before We Were Yours*

    WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BEFORE AND AFTER

    ‘What a truly amazing book’ 5* reader review

    ‘Riveting’ 5* reader review

    ‘A real tear-jerker’ 5* reader review

    ‘Powerful’ 5* reader review

    ‘Beautifully written and so absorbing’ 5* reader review

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    £4.70
  • Behind the Silver Fern: Playing Rugby for New Zealand (Behind the Jersey)

    08

    Go behind the scenes with the world’s most successful sports team. This is a complete history of rugby’s most famous yet enigmatic team, the New Zealand All Blacks, told by the men who have had the honour of wearing the iconic black jersey. From the legendary 1905 ‘Originals’ all the way through to Richie McCaw’s record-breaking back-to-back World Cup champions of 2015, this is a history of the All Blacks like you have never experienced it before. Thanks to exhaustive archival research and exclusive new material garnered from a vast array of interviews with players and coachesfrom across the decades, Behind the All Blacks unveils the compelling truth of what it means to play for the team that has dominated Test match rugby for over a century – all the trials and tribulations behind the scenes, the glory, the drama and the honour on the field, and the passionate friendships and bonds of a brotherhood off it. Absorbing and illuminating, this is the ultimate history of New Zealand rugby – told, definitively, by the men who have been there and done it.

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    £7.60£19.00
  • Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the Royal Household

    08

    Behind the Throne is, above all, a history of family life.

    They ate, entertained their friends and worried about money. Henry VIII kept tripping over his dogs. George II threw his son out of the house. James I had to cut back on the drink bills.

    The great difference is that royal families had more help with their lives than most.

    Charles I maintained a household of 2,000. Victoria’s medical establishment alone consisted of thirty doctors, three dentists and a chiropodist. Even today, Elizabeth II keeps a full-time staff of 1,200.

    A royal household was a community, a vast machine. Everyone, from James I’s Master of the Horse down to William IV’s Assistant Table Decker, was there to smooth the sovereign’s path through life while simultaneously confirming their status.

    Here, Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking you on a remarkable journey, exploring life as it was lived by clerks and courtiers and clowns and crowned heads.

    Behind the Throne is a true domestic history of the royal household, a reconstruction of life behind the throne.

    ‘The most interesting and informative book on British royalty for many years’ Literary Review

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    £19.80£23.80
  • Belgium in the Second World War

    05
    When the Nazis invaded neutral Belgium in May 1940, defeat and occupation were inevitable but Belgian armed forces held out against a vastly superior enemy for 18 days. The elected Government went into exile in London but King Leopold III controversially remained with his people as a prisoner. As described in this authoritative book, Belgians continued the fight both outside and inside their country. There were eventually two complete Belgian RAF squadrons. The Colonial Army defeated the Italians in East Africa and the Belgian Brigade fought from Normandy to Germany. The Belgian Resistance organized escape routes, sabotaged their occupiers activities and spied for the Allies. 17,000 died or were executed and a further 27,000 survived detention. Meanwhile others collaborated and fought for the Nazis and large numbers were tried post-war for war crimes and treason. About half the Jews in Belgium in 1940 died in the Holocaust and there are many stirring stories of courage, as well as tragic ones. This is an overdue and honest account of one Nations very varied experiences during five years of Nazi occupation and oppression.

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    £12.60£14.20
  • Billington: Victorian Executioner

    08

    ‘An insightful and gripping account that will take you into the dark but fascinating world of a Victorian executioner.’ – Stewart P. Evans

    Between 1884 and 1905 James Billington and his three sons, Thomas, William and John, were responsible for 235 executions in Victorian Great Britain and Ireland. They hanged many notorious murderers, but equally fascinating is the story of the family. Did James really feel he served society and justice, or did this position satisfy something more personal?
    Billington: Victorian Executioner provides a complete account of the stories behind James Billington’s executions, as well as the real man behind the rope – a man whose business was death. This enthralling biography is an exciting addition to any true crime bookshelf.

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    £11.60£12.30
  • Black and British: An Illustrated History

    08

    This beautiful hardback gift book is a stunning visual journey through Black British history for younger readers by award-winning historian and broadcaster David Olusoga and illustrated by Jake Alexander and Melleny Taylor.

    The essential starting place for anyone who wants to learn about Black British History. David Olusoga’s thought provoking text charts the forgotten histories of Black people in Britain from Roman times right through to the present day.

    From Roman Africans guarding Hadrian’s Wall, to an African trumpeter in the court of Henry the Eighth, Black Georgians fighting for the abolition of slavery, Black soldiers fighting for Britain in the First World War, Windrush and right up today. These are the stories that brought us all together in this country.

    When did Africans first come to Britain?

    Who are the well-dressed black children in Georgian paintings?

    Why did the American Civil War disrupt the Industrial Revolution?

    These and many other questions are answered in this essential introduction to 1800 years of the Black British history.

    This children’s edition of the bestseller Black and British: A Forgotten History is beautifully illustrated in full-colour with maps, portrait galleries, timelines, photos and portraits.

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    £10.40£16.10
  • Black Victorians: Hidden in History

    06

    A landmark history exploring and celebrating the lives of Black Victorians.

    Beyond the patrician vision of Victorian Britain traditionally advanced in our textbooks, there always existed another, more diverse Britain, populated by people of colour marking achievements both ordinary and extraordinary.

    In this deeply researched and dynamic history, Woolf and Abraham reach into the archives to recentre our attention on marginalised Black Victorians, from leading medic George Rice to political agitator William Cuffay to abolitionists Henry ‘Box’ Brown and Sarah Parker Remond; from pre-Raphaelite muse Fanny Eaton to renowned composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. While acknowledging the paradoxes of Victorian views of race, Black Victorians demonstrates, with storytelling verve and a liberatory impulse, how Black people were visible and influential, firmly rooted in British life.

     

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    £11.40£12.30
  • Britain’s Royal Families: The Complete Genealogy

    06

    Fascinating and authoritative of Britain’s royal families from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I to Queen Victoria, by leading popular historian Alison Weir

    ‘George III is alleged to have married secretly, on 17th April, 1759, a Quakeress called Hannah Lightfoot. If George III did make such a marriage…then his subsequent marriage to Queen Charlotte was bigamous, and every monarch of Britain since has been a usurper, the rightful heirs of George III being his children by Hannah Lightfoot…’

    Britain’s Royal Families provides in one volume, complete genealogical details of all members of the royal houses of England, Scotland and Great Britain – from 800AD to the present. Drawing on countless authorities, both ancient and modern, Alison Weir explores the crown and royal family tree in unprecedented depth and provides a comprehensive guide to the heritage of today’s royal family – with fascinating insight and often scandalous secrets.

    ‘Staggeringly useful… combines solid information with tantalising appetisers.’ Mail on Sunday

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    £9.60£10.40
  • Britain’s Royal Heritage: An A to Z of the Monarchy

    This book is more than a biography of kings and queens; it is an encyclopaedic work on every aspect of monarchy in Britain from semi-legendary times to the present day. Arranged in an A-Z format, it includes mini biographies on each of the forty-two kings and queens who have ruled since the Norman Conquest, details of the royal lines in Scotland before the Act of Union, the background to the royal houses of Britain and the consorts – largely foreign – who have married into the monarchy. Royal scandals, wars, ceremonies, households, tombs and insignia make fascinating reading, and this book is the ideal reference work for all those who want to know more about individual monarchs and the impressive legacy of myths, traditions, beliefs and practices that have grown up around the institution of the monarchy.

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    £9.50
  • British Royal Tombs

    06
    • The classic guide to all burials of the kings, queens and lords protector of England, Scotland and the United Kingdom, with photographs, drawings and detailed appendices

    Aidan Dodson’s British Royal Tombs covers all the burials of the kings, queens (and lords protector) of England, Scotland and the United Kingdom, from the occupant of the great Sutton Hoo ship burial, to George VI, last Emperor of India, including of course the long-lost Richard III. This fully revised edition of a book that became an immediate classic of its kind will be equally interesting to the interested visitor and the student. The career of each ruler is briefly described, followed by what is known about his or her burial arrangements and the subsequent history of the tomb and its contents. Each tomb is illustrated as far as possible by at least one photograph or drawing.

    The posthumous fate of royal spouses is also included, together with information on each of the cathedrals, churches, chapels and other structures that house or once housed royal tombs; there are detailed diagrams for the major sites. A list of monarchs, family trees and an extensive bibliography complete the book.

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    £10.40£16.10

    British Royal Tombs

    £10.40£16.10
  • Chronicle of the Royal Family

    05
    Reports the events from 865 to 1991 with accounts and illustrations from contemporary documents relating to the British monarchy

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    £0.60
  • Elizabeth: An intimate portrait from the writer who knew her and her family for over fifty years

    08

    THE NO 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER NOW FEATURING EXCLUSIVE MATERIAL ABOUT CHARLES III’s CORONATION WITH ADDED PHOTOGRAPHS

    A personal account of the life and character of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, from the writer who knew her family best

    ‘Compelling . . . Fascinating’ DAILY MAIL
    ‘The writer who got closest to the human truth about our long-serving senior royals’ THE TIMES
    ‘The book overflows with nuggets of insider knowledge’ TELEGRAPH
    Paints a unique picture of the remarkable woman who reigned for seven decades. Fascinating insights’ HELLO!
    __________

    Gyles Brandreth first met the Queen in 1968, when he was twenty.

    Over the next fifty years he met her many times, both at public and at private events. Through his friendship with the Duke of Edinburgh, he was given privileged access to Elizabeth II.

    He kept a record of all those encounters, and his conversations with the Queen over the years, his meetings with her family and friends, and his observations of her at close quarters are what make this very personal account of her extraordinary life uniquely fascinating.

    From her childhood in the 1920s to the era of Harry and Meghan in the 2020s, from her war years at Windsor Castle to her death at Balmoral, this is both a record of a tumultuous century of royal history and a truly intimate portrait of a remarkable woman.

    Enjoy this special edition now featuring an exclusive postscript about King Charles III’s Coronation with photographs.
    __________

    Praise for Gyles Brandreth’s bestselling royal writing:

    ‘Beautifully written book. I have read many other books about Philip but this is the best’ DAILY EXPRESS

    ‘Brilliant, totally inspiring . . . It’s a joy to read a book that comes from a perspective of fondness’ KIRSTIE ALLSOPP, THE TIMES

    ‘As a sparkling celebration of Prince Philip, the book will be hard to beat’ TELEGRAPH

    ‘So readable and refreshing even after the millions of words that have been written about Prince Philip in the past couple of weeks’ THE TIMES

    ‘Brilliant . . . There is so much in this book you won’t find anywhere else’ LORRAINE

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    £17.90£23.80
  • Emperor of Rome: The Sunday Times Bestseller

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    THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
    THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
    BLACKWELL’S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
    SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

    ‘[Mary Beard] has always had the sharpest eyes for telling detail and colourful anecdote’ Sunday Times

    ‘Britain’s most famous classicist … at the peak of her powers’ The Times

    ‘Extraordinary … a deliciously varied tapestry of detail drawn from across nearly three centuries’ Telegraph

    ‘The reigning Queen of Classics’ Spectator

    What was it really like to rule and be ruled in the Ancient Roman world?

    In her international best-seller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now, she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE).

    Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Beard asks bigger questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained?

    Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.

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    £21.00£30.00
  • Emperors, Kings & Queens: The History of Connections, Marriages and Feuds Between the Royal Families of Great Britain and Europe

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    Drama, plotting and intrigue – the history of Europe’s rulers plays as well as any soap opera or film. Now learn all about the history of connections, marriages and feuds between the royal families of Great Britain and Europe. The book is presented chronologically, with accessible text, stunning illustrations and key ‘stats’ (royal connections, marriages and children of rulers), to clearly untangle the complicated relationships and events.

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    £1.00
  • Endgame: 2023’s new biography from the bestselling author telling the true story of the royal family and looking to the future for King Charles III after the death of Elizabeth II

    The explosive new book from longtime royal journalist Omid Scobie and author of the international blockbuster Finding Freedom, Endgame a penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy.

    An unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to great lengths to preserve her image, and a prince forced to start a new life after being betrayed by his own family.

    Queen Elizabeth II’s death ruptured the already-fractured foundations of the House of Windsor – and dismantled the protective shield around it. With an institution long plagued by incidents involving antiquated ideas around race, class and money, the monarchy and those who prop it up are now exposed and at odds with a rapidly modernizing world.

    Relying on his vast experience as a royal reporter and over a decade of conversations and interviews with current and former Palace staff, trusted friends of the royals and even the family members themselves, Scobie pulls back the curtain on an institution in turmoil to show what the monarchy must change in order to survive.

    This is the monarchy’s endgame. Do they have what it takes to save it?

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    £10.50£20.90
  • Endgame: 2023’s new biography from the bestselling author telling the true story of the royal family and looking to the future for King Charles III after the death of Elizabeth II

    The explosive new book from longtime royal journalist Omid Scobie and author of the international blockbuster Finding Freedom, Endgame a penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy.

    An unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to great lengths to preserve her image, and a prince forced to start a new life after being betrayed by his own family.

    Queen Elizabeth II’s death ruptured the already-fractured foundations of the House of Windsor – and dismantled the protective shield around it. With an institution long plagued by incidents involving antiquated ideas around race, class and money, the monarchy and those who prop it up are now exposed and at odds with a rapidly modernizing world.

    Relying on his vast experience as a royal reporter and over a decade of conversations and interviews with current and former Palace staff, trusted friends of the royals and even the family members themselves, Scobie pulls back the curtain on an institution in turmoil to show what the monarchy must change in order to survive.

    This is the monarchy’s endgame. Do they have what it takes to save it?

    Read more

    £11.00£22.00
  • Endgame: 2023’s new biography from the bestselling author telling the true story of the royal family and looking to the future for King Charles III after the death of Elizabeth II

    08

    The explosive new book from longtime royal journalist Omid Scobie and author of the international blockbuster Finding Freedom, Endgame a penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy.

    An unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to great lengths to preserve her image, and a prince forced to start a new life after being betrayed by his own family.

    Queen Elizabeth II’s death ruptured the already-fractured foundations of the House of Windsor – and dismantled the protective shield around it. With an institution long plagued by incidents involving antiquated ideas around race, class and money, the monarchy and those who prop it up are now exposed and at odds with a rapidly modernizing world.

    Relying on his vast experience as a royal reporter and over a decade of conversations and interviews with current and former Palace staff, trusted friends of the royals and even the family members themselves, Scobie pulls back the curtain on an institution in turmoil to show what the monarchy must change in order to survive.

    This is the monarchy’s endgame. Do they have what it takes to save it?

    Read more

    £6.60
  • Executioner: The Chronicles of a Victorian Hangman

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    James Berry, a dour and somewhat pious ex-policeman who hailed from Yorkshire, was Britain’s hangman from 1884 to 1892 and was responsible for carrying out 200 executions. As an amateur criminologist he built his own black museum and kept scrapbooks relating to his activities. He was also something of a showman, and not averse to publicity, whose press coverage caused the government acute embarrassment. Capable of cold, even callous detachment, Berry’s sensitivity meant that he was often too upset before and after one of his 200 executions to be able to speak.There were also a few horrific incidents on the gallows and his job evidently had its effect on him as, in retirement, Berry became so depressed that he took steps to commit suicide. In this biography, Stewart Evans here takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the world of Victorian crime and punishment. Evans is a leading crime historian, widely considered one of the Victorian era. His previous books include Jack the Ripper, Letters From Hell and Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel Murders. He lives in Cambridgeshire.

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    £11.60£17.10
  • Extraordinary Nurses Throughout History: In Honour of Florence Nightingale

    Extraordinary Nurses Throughout History is a fascinating collection that includes insightful writings on eight notable nurses of the past and celebrates their brilliant contributions to medicine.

    Many incredible women made invaluable improvements to modern nursing and this collection celebrates their lives and achievements through a series of essays. This volume sheds a light on the women who have helped create and improve the modern nursing we are familiar with today and demonstrates how the practice has evolved. Collated in honour of Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday, this collection is an enlightening exposition of eight notable nurses including:

      – Dorothea Dix

        – Mary Seacole

          – Florence Nightingale

            – Clara Barton

              – Sarah Emma Edmonds

                – Linda Richards

                  – Edith Cavell

                    – Violetta Thursten

                    Republished Read & Co. Books as part of the Brilliant Women series, this beautiful volume features an introductory essay entitled ‘Representative Women – The Free Nurse’, by Ingleby Scott. An ideal book for those with an interest in the history of nursing, this collection is not one to be missed.

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                    £14.20
                  1. Fleet Air Arm Boys Volume Three: Helicopters – True Tales From royal Navy Men and Women Air and Ground Crew (Fleet Air Arm Boys, 3)

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                    Helicopters have been going to sea with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm for over 70 years. Initially used for search and rescue (SAR) duties from aircraft carriers, the rapid development of both the helicopters and service experience resulted in them taking on the vital anti-submarine (and later anti-ship) attack roles.

                    The 1956 Suez campaign saw the first operational use of Whirlwind helicopters for the insertion of troops by air into a battle zone, a capability which was expanded with more helicopters such as the Wessex, Sea King and today’s Merlin. Through their vital role in the 1960s Indonesian Confrontation, the Commando helicopter force became universally referred to as the ‘Junglies’, by which name they are still known today.

                    It is often said that if either of the 1982 Task Force aircraft carriers had been lost the Falklands War could not have been won. The same would surely have been true without helicopters. Their vital tasks, including inserting Special Forces behind enemy lines, protecting the Task Force from Exocet missile attack and recovering wounded troops whilst under enemy fire, are rightly hailed as being instrumental.  At home, the essential SAR effort by both the Royal Navy and their RAF counterparts has resulted in incredible stories of saving lives against the odds.

                    Royal Navy destroyers and frigates have also long since benefitted from having their own helicopter Flight aboard. Frequently operating in extremes of weather, flying a Wasp, Lynx or today’s Wildcat from and back to a heaving deck is every bit as risky as flying fixed-wing aircraft off the carriers of old using the cat and trap system.

                    Once dismissed as a novelty, the helicopter has more than proved itself. Indeed, for ten years until the arrival of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, the Fleet Air Arm’s operational force was entirely rotary-wing. Today’s Merlins and Wildcats, with their dedicated aircrew, maintenance and support staff continue to demonstrate just how vital an asset the helicopter has become.

                    Here are the words of the men and women themselves, skilfully brought to life by Steve Bond and profusely illustrated in colour and b/w.

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                    £19.00£23.80
                  2. From the Mill to Monte Carlo: The Working-Class Englishman Who Beat the Monaco Casino and Changed Gambling Forever

                    08
                    This is the story of a man who went from Yorkshire mill worker to Monte Carlo millionaire. Amongst the men ‘who broke the bank at Monte Carlo’, Joseph Hobson Jagger is unique. He is the only one known to have devised an infallible and completely legal system to defeat the odds at roulette and win a fortune. But he was not what might be expected. He wasn’t a gentleman or an aristocrat, he wasn’t a professional gambler, he was a Yorkshire textile worker who had laboured in the Victorian mills of Bradford since childhood. What led a man like this to travel nearly a thousand miles to the exclusive world of the Riviera when most people lived and died within a few miles of where they were born? The trains that took him there were still new and dangerous, he did not speak French and had never left the north of England. His motivation was strong. Joseph, his wife and four children, the youngest of whom was only two, faced a situation so grave that their only escape seemed to be his desperate gamble on the roulette tables of Monte Carlo. Today Jagger’s legacy is felt in casinos worldwide and yet he is virtually unknown. Anne Fletcher is his great-great-great niece and in this true-life detective story she uncovers how he was able to win a fortune, what happened to his millions and why Jagger should now be regarded as the real ‘man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo’.

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                    £8.70£9.50
                  3. Get It On: How the ’70s Rocked Football

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                    SHORTLISTED FOR BEST SPORTS WRITING AT THE SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2023

                    “Sheer joy” – Patrick Barclay

                    “Exhilarating” – When Saturday Comes

                    “Perfect” – Josh Widdicombe

                    “★★★★★” – FourFourTwo

                    Four years after the crowning glory of 1966, and a decade after the abolition of the maximum wage, a brash new era dawned in English football. As the 1970s took hold, a new generation of larger-than-life players and managers emerged, appearing on television sets in vivid technicolour for the first time.

                    Set against a backdrop of strikes, political unrest, freezing winters and glam rock, Get It On tells the inside story of how commercialism, innovation, racism and hooliganism rocked the national game in the 1970s.

                    Packed with interviews with the legends of the day, this footballing fiesta charts the emergence of Brian Clough, Bob Paisley and Kevin Keegan and the fall of George Best, Alf Ramsey and Don Revie, presenting a vibrant portrait of the most groundbreaking decade in English football history.

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                    £11.20£12.30
                  4. Grey Eminence

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                    A gripping biography by the author of Brave New World

                    The life of Father Joseph, Cardinal Richelieu’s aide, was a shocking paradox. After spending his days directing operations on the battlefield, Father Joseph would pass the night in prayer, or in composing spiritual guidance for the nuns in his care. He was an aspirant to sainthood and a practising mystic, yet his ruthless exercise of power succeeded in prolonging the unspeakable horrors of the Thirty Years’ War. In his masterful biography, Huxley explores how an intensely religious man could lead such a life and how he reconciled the seemingly opposing moral systems of religion and politics.

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                    £8.70£9.50

                    Grey Eminence

                    £8.70£9.50

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