European history Books

Book SynopsisBrought together first as enemies in the Anglo-Boer War, and later as allies in the First World War, the remarkable, and often touching, friendship between Winston Churchill and Jan Smuts is a rich study in contrasts. In youth they occupied very different worlds: Churchill, the rambunctious and thrusting young aristocrat; Smuts, the aesthetic, philosophical Cape farm boy who would go on to Cambridge. Both were men of exceptional talents and achievements and, between them, the pair had to grapple with some of the twentieth century''s most intractable issues, not least of which the task of restoring peace and prosperity to Europe after two of mankind''s bloodiest wars.Drawing on a maze of archival and secondary sources including letters, telegrams and the voluminous books written about both men, Richard Steyn presents a fascinating account of two remarkable men in war and peace: one the leader of the Empire, the other the leader of a small fractious member of that EmpiTrade ReviewThe importance of the relationship between Winston Churchill and Jan Smuts has received belated recognition in Richard Steyn's elegant new book. Smuts' role as Churchill's comrade, guide and, in Steyn's depiction, wise critic, is rarely celebrated and often overlooked. In Churchill's Confidant, Steyn rescues it from the condescension of posterity, and enriches our understanding of both men with this cogent testament to friendship in public life. -- Kenneth Weisbrode, author of Churchill and the King

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Book Synopsis''A hymn to hardware, charming, lyrical'' - The Sunday Times, BOOK OF THE WEEK''A paean to DIY'' - The Times''Strung together very agreeably, with dry wit and, dare I say it, considerable polish'' - Country LifeIn 2018 Tom Fort''s daughter-in-law took over a century-old hardware shop. The family dreamed of developing the shop into one that would become the centre of village life; that much did come true, but not in the way they had expected.Interweaving the evolution of the shop, its previous owners, the customers it serves and the items it sells, Rivets, Trivets & Galvanised Buckets offers a delightful study of community and shines a light on the eccentricities of ordinary people. Alongside, it presents a fascinating history of technological development; from who thought of screwdrivers to where the spirit level came from, who devised the process of galvanisation and what genius worked out that a suctiTrade Reviewstrung together very agreeably, with dry wit and, dare I say it, considerable polish (third row, second shelf) * Country Life *A hymn to hardware . . . charming . . . This book tells a quirky tale of subculture, a shrine where many of us worship. -- Book of the Week * Sunday Times *A paean to DIY, and a history of the various rivets, trivets and gadgets on sale. If you want to read about the evolution of the humble screw, then this is the book for you . . . * The Times, Best Books of Summer 2023 *Educational and entertaining, take a trip behind the shelves, window displays and hooks to discover more about this industrious world * Best of British, Book of the Month *This delightful book is full of surprises * Literary Review *strung together very agreeably, with dry wit and, dare I say it, considerable polish (third row, second shelf) * Country Life *

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Book SynopsisDuring the Principate (roughly from 27 BC to AD 235), when the empire reached its maximum extent, Roman society and culture were radically transformed. But how was the vast territory of the empire controlled? Did the demands of central government stimulate economic growth or endanger survival? What forces of cohesion operated to balance the social and economic inequalities and high mortality rates? How did the official religion react in the face of the diffusion of alien cults and the emergence of Christianity?These are some of the many questions posed here, in an expanded edition of the original, pathbreaking account of the society, economy and culture of the Roman empire. As an integrated study of the life and outlook of the ordinary inhabitants of the Roman world, it deepens our understanding of the underlying factors in this important formative period of world history. Additions to the second edition include an introductory chapter which sets the scene and explores the consequencesTrade ReviewThe second edition, like the original, is still as thought-provoking as it ever was. ... A chapter on the ‘Enemies of Rome’ by Martin Goodman adds an important strand to the book. ... Arguably the most important addition to the second edition is the inclusion of a new Chapter 1 entitled "Introducting the Principate". ... No shelf of Roman history books is really complete without a copy of Garnsey and Saller's The Roman Empire. * Classics Ireland *Brilliantly conceived by two of the greatest living authorities on ancient Rome and an instant classic when it first appeared, this magisterial work has been generously expanded and updated to incorporate the latest scholarship. We could not wish for a more penetrating analysis of the foundations of Roman civilization. -- Walter Scheidel, Dickason Professor in the Humanities, Stanford University, USAGarnsey & Saller's 'The Roman Empire' is unsurpassed as a clear and thought-provoking introduction to key themes and issues in the economic, social and cultural history of Rome. This new edition, expanding the book's scope and offering a guide to the most important recent research, ensures that it will remain essential reading for students for years to come. -- Neville Morley, Professor of Ancient History, University of Bristol, UKA by now a classic introduction to the Roman Empire that was always much more than a mere introduction and whose contents have withstood the test of time, is now made available in an even better edition, with new contributions on resistance, religion, and culture, by Martin Goodman, Richard Gordon, Jas Elsner and Greg Woolf. The bibliographical addenda are mines of information: sure guides to the best of recent scholarship on every aspect of the empire covered by the authors. This new edition of The Roman Empire is highly recommended as simply the best entrée to the big aspects and the big problems of the Roman empire at the height of its power. -- Brent D. Shaw, Andrew Fleming West Professor of Classics, Princeton University, USA.Freshly revised for the 21st century, Garnsey and Saller’s masterful survey remains the indispensible introduction to society and the economy under the emperors. Scholars as well as students will mine its updated bibliographies for authoritative guidance to recent research, while the new chapters enhance the book’s value for the classroom. -- Nathan Rosenstein, Professor of History, The Ohio State University, USAPacked with information and ideas, but concise and readable, this is by far the best available guide for students and the general reader to how the Roman Empire actually worked, and its enduring impact on the history of the Mediterranean world. Groundbreaking in its thematic approach when first published in 1987, it now benefits from an introductory survey of the Empire's political system, and supplements to each chapter which provide a bird's-eye view of the questions raised and debated in a generation of new research. -- Dominic Rathbone, Professor of Ancient History, King's College London, UKMore than twenty-five years after the appearance of the first edition, this remains the only book in which students and researchers can read about the administrative, economic, social and mental structures of the early Roman empire. A new chapter on the ‘enemies of Rome’ (by Martin Goodman) and a long series of addenda on environmental history, economic history, urbanism, religion (by Richard Gordon), culture (by Jas Elsner and Greg Woolf) and other topics are of the highest standard and ensure this volume another long life span. In short, an unreplaced and perhaps irreplaceable book. -- Luuk de Ligt, Professor of Ancient History, Leiden University, The NetherlandsTable of ContentsPreface Abbreviations Map Part I 1. Introducing the Principate 2. A Mediterranean Empire, Addendum 3. Government without Bureaucracy, Addendum 4. Enemies of Rome by M. Goodman, Addendum by M. Goodman Part II 5. An Underdeveloped Economy, Addendum 6. The Land, Addendum 7. Supplying the Roman Empire, Addendum Part III 8. The Social Hierarchy, Addendum 9. Family and Household, Addendum 10. Social Relations, Addendum Part IV 11. Religion, Addendum by R.L. Gordon 12. Culture, Addendum by J. Elsner and G. Woolf Conclusion Bibliography Supplementary bibliography List of Emperors Index

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Book SynopsisThe World Crisis is considered by many to be Winston S. Churchill's literary masterpiece. Published across five volumes between 1923 and 1931, Churchill here tells the story of The Great War, from its origins to the long shadow it cast on the following decades. At once a history and a first-hand account of Churchill's own involvement in the war, The World Crisis remains a compelling account of the conflict and its importance.In the fifth and final volume of The World Crisis, Winston Churchill turns his attention to the forgotten war' on the Eastern Front. His focus is the great rivalry between Russia and the Austro-German alliance during the years of the First World War, from the tensions over Bosnia and Serbia that triggered the conflict through the terrible battles on the Eastern Front to the final collapse of the Russian forces that triggered the RevoluTable of ContentsPreface 1. The Dusk of Hapsburg 2. The Annexation of Bosnia 3. Towards the Abyss 4. The Murder of the Archduke 5. The Austrian Ultimatum 6. The Fronts and the Combatants 7. Declarations of War 8. The Mobilization Interval 9. The Assembly of the Easter Armies 10. Austria Against Russia 11. The Battle of Lemberg 12. The Invasion of East Prussia 13. The Battle of Tannenberg 14. The First Masurian Lakes 15. The Second Round 16. The Battle of Lodz 17. East or West? 18. The Winter Battle 19. Beyond the Dardanelles 20. The Fall of Warsaw 21. The Reckoning with Serbia 22. Falkenhayn Returns to the West 23. Brusilov's Offensive 24. The Russian Collapse Appendix I: The Hapsburg Dynasty Appendix II: Some Authorities Consulted Appendix III: References

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Book SynopsisWith stunning artwork and detailed analysis, this volume provides a pilot's view of the dramatic clashes between these two legendary fighters, as some of the most gifted and big name' aces of World War II went head to head in the skies of North-West Europe. As the Battle of Britain approached its conclusion, two new versions of the famous Spitfire and Messerschmitt Bf 109 arrived on the scene. The RAF could see that the Luftwaffe were stepping down their incursions into British airspace, and went on to the offensive. The Spitfire Mark II, and increasingly the Mark V, would fly over the picturesque English channel in fighter sweeps, or to escort vulnerable Blenheim bombers waiting for them was the Bf 109F Friedrich'. Yet despite the reversal of offensive and defensive dispositions, and despite the Luftwaffe deploying the bulk of their fighter strength to the Eastern Front in 1941, the Jagdflieger were able to inflict severe losses on their RAF counterparts.Table of ContentsIntroduction /Chronology /Design and Development /Technical Specifications /The Strategic Situation /The Combatants /Combat /Statistics and Analysis /Aftermath /Further Reading /Index

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Book SynopsisMuch has been written of the titanic clashes between the Wehrmacht and the Red Army at Stalingrad, but this volume tells the other, equally important half of the story of Fall Blau (Case Blue). Learning from their experiences during the sweeping advances of Operation Barbarossa a year before, Wehrmacht commanders knew that Nazi Germany''s lack of oil was a huge strategic problem. Seizure of the Caucasus oilfields, which were responsible for 82% of the Soviet Union''s crude oil, would simultaneously alleviate the German army''s oil shortages whilst denying vital fuel resources to the Red Army. While Army Group B advanced along the Volga towards Stalingrad, Army Group A, spearheaded by Ewald von Kleist''s elite Panzerarmee 1 was to advance into the Caucasus to seize the oilfields of Maikop, Grozny and Baku. Featuring full-color artwork, archival photos and detailed analysis, this book follows the vicious, intense fighting that characterized one of the most important campaigns of World WaTable of ContentsOrigins of the campaign /Chronology /Opposing commanders /Opposing armies /Orders of battle /Opposing plans /The campaign /Aftermath /The battlefields today /Further reading /Index

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Book SynopsisThis is a comprehensive guide to the armies that fought a devastating and decisive conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean between the two World Wars of the 20th century. From the initial Greek invasion, designed to liberate the 100,000 ethnic Greeks that lived in Western Turkey and had done for centuries, to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk''s incredibly efficient formation of a national government and a regular army, this was a war that shaped the geopolitical landscape of the Mediterranean to this day. It gave birth to the modern Turkish state, displacing millions and creating bitter memories of atrocities committed by both sides. Augmented with very rare photographs and beautiful illustrations, this ground-breaking title explores the history, organization, and appearance of the armies, both guerilla and conventional, that fought in this bloody war.Trade ReviewIn his introduction to the New Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War Sir Hew Strachan noted that warfare didn’t end neatly because an armistice was agreed with Germany on 11 November 1918, as many peripheral conflicts began or continued. This excellent booklet in the Osprey Men-at-Arms series covers one of these conflicts, the GreekTurkish War of 1919 to 1922 that led to the establishment of the modern Turkish state. Philip Jowett has packed in a great deal of information, while remaining eminently readable. He recounts the support that the Entente/Allied nations gave to Greece for its invasion of Anatolia and the parlous state of Turkish resistance. Once Allied support was reduced in 1921, on the return of Constantine to the Greek throne, it was only a matter of time before the Turkish Nationalists triumphed, under the leadership of Gallipoli hero Mustapha Kemal. British soldiers were sent to Thrace and Constantinople in late 1922 to help oversee the armistice and the peace treaty, including the resulting massive population movements that were a feature of the break-up of the Ottoman Empire, such as the ‘Armenian Genocide’. Jowett doesn’t ignore the widespread civilian atrocities but space doesn’t allow him to dwell on them. This is part of a series of Osprey booklets on near-eastern armies of the period, including one on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk by Edward Erikson, the American historian who has done much to open up later Ottoman archives. -- Ted Green * The Historian *Table of ContentsIntroduction: the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I – Allied occupation of Constantinople – Allied encouragement of Greek invasion of Western Anatolia /Chronology /The Armies: Greek Army – Pontian Greek and other guerrilla forces – Turkish irregulars – Turkish regular army – Caliphate Army /Foreign interventionist forces /Turkish and Greek air arms /Uniforms and weapons /Colour plate commentaries /Index

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Book SynopsisNow back in print, this new and revised edition of The Peninsular War Atlas has added new and updated maps and content to reflect the latest research into the long struggle for control of the Iberian Peninsula, all in an attractive slip case gift package.Colonel Nick Lipscombe, who is based in Spain and is the chairman of the Peninsular War 200 organization, has used his unique perspective to make this new edition the very best study of the subject on the market. The Peninsular War saw some of the bloodiest fighting of the Napoleonic Wars. Over a period of five years it is estimated that half a million soldiers and civilians were killed in this bloodbath, however the battles there are far less well-known than other Napoleonic battles like Waterloo. Despite the exposure given this theatre in the Sharpe novels, the soldiers who fought there have received little public recognition. The bicentennial commemorations of this war aim to bring the war to wider recognition, bringing tTrade ReviewThis sensational, 384-page hardback book is handsomely presented in a slip-case. Overall this is an important and essential book for anyone interested in Napoleonic history. -- Toy Soldier & Model Figure '... a prodigious achievement ... I particularly admire the way [Lipscombe gives] such serious treatment to campaigns in which there was no British involvement, and to the relatively minor sieges whose details are usually so obscure. Overall, I do not believe that Lipscombe's effort will ever be surpassed.' -- Richard Holmes From Trevor James (Historical Association website and The Historian) A fascinating exercise in mapping. This is also a way to understand and value the emergence of the Duke of Wellington as a European military tactician. Clearly chronicled and explained. Extremely specialist piece of scholarship.Table of ContentsForeword by The Duke of Wellington/ Preface/ Chronology/ Introduction by Professor Charles Esdaile/ Legend/ Junot’s Invasion of Portugal/ The Road to War – The First Six Months of 1808/ The Spanish Backlash and the French Response: May–June 1808/ The First Siege of Zaragoza, 15 June–14 August 1808/ Operations in the North: The Battle of Medina de Rióseco/ Capitulation at Bailén: The Greatest Spanish Victory of the War/ French Failures and British Intervention/ The Liberation of Portugal/ Strategic Manoeuvring: September to October 1808/ Napoleonic Intervention: November 1808/ Napoleon enters Madrid and Moore enters Spain/ The Campaign in Catalonia: autumn 1808/ Isolation and Retreat: December 1808 to January 1809/ Napoleon Departs for France: the Situation in Early 1809/ Continued French Success: February and March 1908/ The Second French Invasion of Portugal: January to March 1809/ Wellesley Returns/ Suchet: An Inauspicious Start/ The Talavera Campaign: May to July 1809/ The End of the Talavera Campaign: August 1809/ The Disastrous Autumn Campaign: 1809/ The Capture of Girona: May to December 1809/ Subjugation of Andalusia: January to February 1810/ Aragon and the East Coast: January to May 1810/ 1810: The Year of Sieges/ The Third French Invasion of Portugal/ The Lines of Torres Vedras/ Offensive on the East Coast: Tortosa/ Soult’s Invasion of Estremadura: January to March 1811/ The South of Spain: January to March 1811/ Masséna: Retreat and Demise, March to May 1811/ The Allied Campaign in Estremadura: March to August 1811/ The Watershed: mid-1811/ Figueras & Tarragona: The East Coast, April to August 1811/ Border Skirmishes: June to September 1811/ The Conquest of Valencia: September 1811 to January 1812/ The Culmination of a Year of Mixed Fortunes: December 1811/ Capturing the ‘Keys to Spain’: January to April 1812/ The Salamanca Campaign: Opening Moves, June and July 1812/ The Battle of Salamanca (Los Arapiles): 22 July 1812/ Suchet’s Consolidation on the East Coast: January to July 1812/ After Salamanca: July to August 1812/ Failure, Humiliation and Retreat: September to November 1812/ Prologue to Vitoria: January to May 1813/ Operations on the East Coast: Late 1812 to April 1813/ Victory Over King Joseph: The Vitoria Campaign, May to June 1813/ While Wellington Waits, Soult Takes the Initiative: July 1813/ The Battle of the Pyrenees: 25 July to 1 August 1813/ The East Coast: May to September 1813/ The Fall of San Sebastián: August and September 1813/ The Allies Enter France: October 1813/ To the Gates of Bayonne: October to December 1813/ Respite Precedes the Storm: December 1813 to February 1814/ Final Confrontation ~ March and April 1814/ Appendices/ Glossary/ Bibliography

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Book SynopsisChosen Men is a set of fast-action skirmish rules detailing the bloody skirmishes between light troops in the Napoleonic Wars. The primary focus of the game is on soldiers and NCOs in light flank companies, as they scout ahead of larger forces and take part in man-to-man actions against enemy skirmishers.Although the game allows for the formation of accurately sized companies of light infantry and cavalry if you wish, these formations are broken down into small groups of up to a dozen men. For the most part, officers are not swashbuckling super-heroes, but staunch commanders who rally and direct their men to achieve the battlefield objectives. Although the games uses an alternating action turn sequence, officers can use their influence to multiple units at the same time in an effort to steal the initiative. With all rolls resolved using standard 6-sided dice, this game combines a classic wargaming feel with modern wargame mechanics.Table of ContentsIntroduction/ Core Rules / Special Rules/ Equipment/ Scenarios/ Forces/ Game Aids

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Book SynopsisThe period from the 12th century onward saw vast changes in every aspect of life on both the Greek mainland and islands, as monarchies disappeared to be replaced by aristocratic rule and finally by the development of a new form of community: the city-state. Alongside these changes, a new style of warfare developed, which was to be the determining factor in land warfare in Greece, until the 338 BC defeat of the Greek city-state, by the might of Macedonia at Chaeronea. This mode of warfare was based on a group of heavily armed infantrymen organized in a phalanx formation--the classic hoplite formation--and remained the system throughout the classical Greek period. This new title details this pivotal time, and the transition from the Bronze Age warriors of Homer to the origins of the men who fought the Persian and Peloponnesian Wars.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chronology Historical background Military organisation Weapons Chariotry Siege warfare Naval warfare The life of the warrior Warfare War campaigns museums and electronic resources Bibliography Glossary Index

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Book SynopsisWhen the Soviets fortified Sevastopol in 1941, it heralded the beginning of a period of intense fighting over the Crimea. In this remarkable work, acclaimed author Robert Forcyzk assembles new research to investigate the intense and barbaric fighting for the region in World War II, where first Soviet, and then German armies were surrounded and totally obliterated. Now available in paperback, Forczyk''s unique account provides a definitive analysis of the many unique characteristics of the conflict, exploring the historical context as it uncovers one of the most pivotal theaters of the Eastern Front during World War IITable of ContentsForeword /Prologue /Chapter 1: The Crimea under the Hammer and Sickle, 1920–41 /Chapter 2: The Onset of War, June–August 1941 /Chapter 3: Across the Tatar Wall, September 1941 /Chapter 4: The Ring Closes Around Sevastopol, November–December 1941 /Chapter 5: Winter War, December 1941–March 1942 /Chapter 6: The German Conquest, May–July 1942 /Chapter 7: The German Occupation of the Crimea, 1942–44 /Chapter 8: The Red Army Returns to the Crimea, 1943 /Chapter 9: German Defeat in the Crimea, 1944 /Chapter 10: Postscript 2014 /Appendices /Notes /Bibliography /Index

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Book SynopsisThe final instalment in Osprey''s trilogy on Operation Market-Garden, this is a fascinating account of the British XXX Corps assault towards the Rhine at Arnhem.Field Marshal Montgomery''s plan to get Second British Army behind the fortifications of the German Siegfried Line in 1944 led to the hugely ambitions Operation Market-Garden. Part of this plan called for a rapid advance from Belgium through Holland up to and across the lower Rhine by the British XXX Corps along a single road already dominated by airborne troops. Their objective along this road was the bridge at Arnhem, the target of British and Polish airborne troops. Once XXX Corps had reached this bridge it would then make for the German industrial area of the Ruhr. The operation was bold in outlook but risky in concept.Using specially commissioned artwork and detailed analysis, Ken Ford completes this trilogy on Operation Market-Garden by examining this attack which, if successful, could have sho

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Book SynopsisA highly illustrated study of one of the most dramatic yet overlooked episodes on the Eastern Front in World War II, the siege of Velikye Luki by Soviet forces in 1942--43.Velikiye Luki had been an important Russian fortress city since the 13th century and had become an important rail-hub by the 19th century. In August 1941, the Germans occupied the city of 30,000 during Operation Barbarossa and made it a bulwark on the boundary between Heeresgruppe Nord and Heeresgruppe Mitte. In the winter of 1942--43, while Soviet forces were encircling Stalingrad, the Stavka (High Command) conducted a simultaneous offensive to isolate and destroy the 7,500-man German garrison in Velikiye Luki. After surrounding the city on November 27, 1942, the Soviet 3rd Shock Army gradually reduced the city to rubble, while the German garrison, sustained by Luftwaffe air lifts, hunkered down in the medieval city and awaited rescue. This illustrated title reveals the full story oTable of ContentsOrigins of the Campaign Chronology Opposing Commanders Opposing Forces Opposing Plans The Campaign Aftermath The Battlefield Today Further Reading Index

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Book SynopsisFeaturing specially commissioned artwork and full-color maps, this book evaluates the origins, tactics, armament, and combat effectiveness of the British riflemen and French skirmishers who clashed on three bloody battlefields of the Napoleonic Wars. The battles between British and French forces during the Peninsular War (1807--14) and the Hundred Days campaign of 1815 saw both sides deploy specialist units of skirmishers trained in marksmanship and open-order combat. These light troops fulfilled several important roles on the battlefield, such as masking large bodies of close-order troops as they maneuvered in battle, firing upon enemy troops to provoke them into attacking prematurely, and harassing enemy artillery crews and senior officers with aimed fire. On occasion, the skirmishers were tasked with special missions requiring individual initiative, such as the capture or defense of key battlefield positions, especially those situated in difficult terrain.Table of ContentsIntroduction The opposing sides Roliça Barba Del Puerco La Haye Sainte Analysis Aftermath Unit Organizations Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisSophy Ridge, presenter for Sky News, has uncovered the extraordinary stories of the women who have shaped British politics. Never has the role of women in the political world ever been more on the news agenda, and Sophy has interviewed current and former politicians including among others, Nicola Sturgeon, Ruth Davidson, Betty Boothroyd gain exclusive insight into the role women play in politics at the highest level. The book also includes Theresa May''s first at-length interview about her journey to becoming Prime Minister. These interviews have revealed the shocking truth about the sexism that is rife among the House of Commons both in the past and today, with sometimes shocking, and sometimes amusing anecdotes revealing how women in Westminster have worked to counter the gender bias. Sophy provides gripping insight into historical and contemporary stories which will fascinate not just those interested in politics but those who want to know more about womenTrade ReviewRidge is Sky News's rising star and is doing what she can to show that, in this era of new politics, she represents a new political journalism; one that has a two-way relationship with its audience. * i *It is straightforward, easy to digest and a good read. If I were education secretary I would make it a set book for A level politics. If I were Serjeant at Arms I would bulk-buy copies and stack them in the members' library with a notice saying 'Compulsory coursework for ALL members'. And if I chaired a major political party I would send copies to everyone on the candidates list. Chaps included. -- Julia Langdon * British Journalism Review *

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Book SynopsisExplores how Hatlepool reacted to the outbreak of the First World War.

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Book SynopsisFourth in the Dunkirk Campaign 1940 series of books under the Battleground Europe flag, covering a neglected part of the 1940 campaign, although in an area well known to many Battlefield tourers.

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Book SynopsisThe German armoured forces lost some 10,000 armoured fighting vehicles. Today there are very few surviving vehicles from the Wehrmacht. We are fortunate therefore that these unique photographs detail the fate of the Panzers destroyed in action in the west.

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Book SynopsisFull background to the life of the alleged serial killer, Mary Ann Cotton

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Book SynopsisFor more than a century and a half the real story of Scotland's connections to transatlantic slavery has been lost to history and shrouded in myth. There was even denial that the Scots had any significant involvement in slavery. The volume systematically peels away the mythology and radically revises the traditional picture.Table of ContentsList of Figures and Tables; Maps and Images; Contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction: Scotland and Transatlantic Slavery, T. M. Devine; 1. Lost to History, T. M. Devine; 2. Yonder Awa: slavery and distancing strategies in Scottish literature, Michael Morris; 3. Early Scottish sugar planters in the Leeward Islands c.1660-1740, Stuart M. Nisbet; 4. The Scots penetration of the Jamaican plantation business, Eric J. Graham; 5. 'The habits of these creatures in clinging one to the other': Enslaved Africans, Scots and the plantations of Guyana, David Alston; 6. The great Glasgow West India house of John Campbell, Senior and Co., Stephen Mullen; 7. Scottish Surgeons in the Liverpool Slave Trade in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, Suzanne Schwarz; 8. Scotland and Colonial Slave-Ownership: the evidence of the Slave Compensation Records, Nicholas Draper; 9. 'The Upas Tree, beneath whose pestiferous shade all intellect languishes and all virtue dies': Scottish public perceptions of the Slave Trade and Slavery, 1756-1833, lain Whyte 10. 'The most unbending Conservative in Britain': Archibald Alison and Pro-slavery discourse, Catherine Hall; 11. Did Slavery make Scotia great? A question revisited, T. M. Devine; Conclusion: History, Scotland and Slavery, T. M. Devine; Index.

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Book SynopsisA provocative new account of Scotland's history across a century of revolution and political instability

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Book SynopsisThis is the first wide-ranging, cross-disciplinary overview of immigration to Scotland in recent history and its impact on both the newcomers and the host society. It examines key themes relating to postwar migration by showcasing the experiences of many of Scotland's most striking immigrant communities.

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Book SynopsisBlood in the Streets investigates the various ways in which 1970s Italian crime films were embedded in their immediate cultural and political contexts.

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Book SynopsisMargot Asquith was perhaps the most daring and unconventional Prime Minister''s wife in British history. Known for her wit, style and habit of speaking her mind, she transformed 10 Downing Street into a glittering social and intellectual salon. Yet her last four years at Number 10 were a period of intense emotional and political turmoil in her private and public life. In 1912 rumblings of discontent and cries for social reform were encroaching on all sides - from suffragettes, striking workers and Irish nationalists. Against this background of a government beset with troubles, the Prime Minister fell desperately in love with his daughter''s best friend, Venetia Stanley; to complicate matters, so did his Private Secretary. Margot''s relationship with her husband was already bedevilled by her stepdaughter''s jealous adoration of her father. The outbreak of the First World War only heightened these swirling tensions within Downing Street. Drawing on unpublished material from personal papeTrade ReviewThis is a plot that Downton Abbey would die for! ... Anne de Courcy keeps this steaming, erotic merry-go-round whirling with admirable skill. * DAILY MAIL *Margot Asquith's sharp humour, modern style, intelligence and wealth fascinated men... Anne de Courcy has a firm grasp of politics, an acute eye for social detail and a keen perception of Margot's pains and pleasures. Her narrative is concise and compelling. -- Iain Finlayson * THE TIMES *De Courcy, author of the celebrated The Fishing Fleet: Husband Hunting in the Raj, indulges us with generous quotes from contemporary correspondence and detailed observation, describing life at a time of turbulent change through engaging anecdotes and descriptions -- Elizabeth Freemantle * SUNDAY EXPRESS *A proper sex in high places scandal... Though Margot Asquith, nee Tennant, is its main character, her husband's scandalous obsession with young Venetia Stanley is inevitably centre stage -- Andy McSmith * THE INDEPENDENT 'Books of the Year' *A superb evocation of an extraordinary time * CHOICE Book of the Month *Fascinating ... Anne de Courcy is sympathetic to her subject. She's a journalist with a keen eye for detail and no-nonsense directness -- Melanie McDonagh * THE TABLET *Covers everything from Asquith's infidelity to politics and parties * CATHOLIC HERALD *It conveys Margot's milieu with a nice touch and takes time away from this enclosed self-regarding world to give us vivid sharp vignettes of the harder times being experienced by other classes. De Courcy records very well Margot's tortured jealousy, not only of her husband's dalliance with Venetia Stanley but of his daughter Violet's almost incestuous passion for her father -- Ferdinand Mount * LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS *A love triangle that nearly brought down the British government is at the heart of Margot at War by Anne de Courcy. Margot Asquith, whose husband was Prime Minister from 1908 to 1916, is the star of this riveting biography about war, love, marriage and secret goings-on at 10 Downing Street * GOOD HOUSEKEEPING *Margot scandalised society. She refused chaperonage and said what she thought. Plain, with a broken nose from hunting, she dressed beautifully, and was immensely rich when she married Herbert Henry Asquith, subsidising his love of luxury... The research is impressive and the eventful historical context covered with a light touch. Enlightening, especially on Asquith's intractable opposition to the suffragettes. -- Jackie Wilkin * WI LIFE *There are many instances in this engaging book, where, as well us giving us an informed account of events, the writer includes observations that are both logical and empathetic. This is a useful, entertaining and impressive publication * HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY *Margot was a rare bird indeed: stylish, idiosyncratic and never less than controvserial ... Superbly blending the private and public, domestic dramas with international crises, Anne de Courcy proves that Mrs Asquith, flamboyant and opinionated, but also isolated and vulnerable, was peculiarly well suited to a period when her celebrity, if not her influence, had never been greater -- Martin Williams * COUNTRY LIFE *A riveting, brilliantly researched picture of Downing Street during the crucial years in which the world changed irrevocably * GOOD BOOK GUIDE *The story of this fascinating character and London socialite is told with both a storyteller's flourish and a historian's clear head for the facts by Anne de Courcy in Margot at War. The torrid personal life of the flamboyant prime minister's wife is pieced apart by de Courcy, revealing a saga of glamour, affairs and relationship dysfunction, all unravelling alongside the first attacks of the Suffragette movement, the swelling unrest over Irish Home Rule and of course the lead up to the outbreak of the Great War. File under the "couldn't make it up" category -- Hilary A White * IRISH SUNDAY INDEPENDENT *

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Book SynopsisKristen Ghodsee recuperates the lost history of feminist activism from the so-called Second World, showing how women from state socialist Bulgaria and socialist-leaning Zambia created networks and alliances that challenged American women's leadership of the global women's movement.Trade Review"An engaging narrative of feminist movements during the Cold War. . . . [Ghodsee's] work is vital in documenting a neglected component of feminist history while illuminating a new resource for feminist theorists and activists interested in thinking about the political project of gender justice outside the confines of dominant, Western, liberal feminism. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers." -- C. E. Rasmussen * Choice *"Second World, Second Sex is a must read for anyone hoping to understand the complexities of a global women’s rights movement that goes beyond the boundaries of Western, liberal feminism." -- Tony Pecinovsky * People's World *"A powerful reminder that ultimately structural conditions are of prime importance if women’s emancipation is to succeed. . . . Ghodsee’s book ultimately reminds as, through the often moving testimonies of former activists she has collected, that women’s activism, also when attached to or even dominated the state, can be effective and progressive." -- Tanja R. Müller * Twentieth-Century Communism *"Interrogating why the activities of women in countries with strong states promoting gender equality should be deemed inauthentic vis-à-vis those in democracies that perpetuate patriarchal norms, alongside rendering the Cold War as a battle between not just capitalism and communism but also competing visions of feminism, Second World, Second Sex is essential reading for anyone in any field interested in women’s activism in the twentieth century." -- Christine Varga-Harris * Slavic Review *“Besides offering a masterful reconstruction of Cold War women’s activism and East-South alliances, Second World, Second Sex provides its readers with extensive and previously uncovered historical documentation, together with important methodological reflections on feminist knowledge production. The book will be of great interest for historians of gender, transnationalism, and the Cold War, and will undoubtedly expand the scope of scholarly research on transnational women’s and feminist history.” -- Chiara Bonfiglioli * American Historical Review *“The Cold War’s end has seen the vision and achievements of the socialist women’s activists marginalized, devalued, and almost forgotten, the neoliberal consensus quickly undoing in the East and South many of the rights which had been so dearly won. Ghodsee articulates a concern that powerful forces in the West still conspire to suppress or delegitimize histories that take state socialist women’s activism seriously…. Ghodsee’s persistence and peerless scholarship have ensured that it will not be allowed to disappear from the mainstream narratives of feminism.” -- Dominic Martin * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *"Second World, Second Sex has to be strongly recommended not only to scholars in Slavic studies, feminist, gender and postcolonial studies, as well as international relations, but to all those who have high expectations of the current trend of re/connecting the feminist and the climate change movements, as well as the new global actions combating inequality, racism and violence against women and girls, as necessary actions to restore the political relevance to transnational women’s organizing efforts, as was the case in the 1970s and 1980s.” -- Renata Jambrešic Kirin * Wagadu *“Ghodsee beautifully describes the relationships that she established with women’s activists throughout the course of her research.... This is why her book is so important: it challenges hegemonic accounts of both Cold War politics and the international Decade for Women.” -- Jennifer Erickson * American Ethnologist *“Ghodsee makes her argument skillfully and with clarity. . . . This is an impressively ambitious book with an undeniably original topic and a bold argument.” -- Alexandra Ghit * International Review of Social History *Table of ContentsAbbreviations and Acronyms viii Note on Translation and Transliteration xiii Acknowledgments xv Introduction. Erasing the Past 1 Part I. Organizing Women under Socialism and Capitalism 1. State Feminism and the Woman Question 31 2. A Brief History of Women's Activism in Domestic Political Context: Case 1: Bulgaria 53 3. Emancipated Women and Anticommunism in the American Political Imagination 76 4. A Brief History of Women's Activism in Domestic Political Context: Case 2: Zambia 97 5. Sandwiched between Superpowers 121 Part II. The Women's Cold War 6. The Lead-Up to International Women's Year 135 7. Historic Gatherings in Mexico and the German Democratic Republic 146 8. Preparing for the Mid-Decade Conference 160 9. The Third Week in July 174 10. School of Solidarity 186 11. Strategizing for Nairobi 198 12. Showdown in Kenya 207 Conclusion. Phantom Herstories 221 Appendix. A Few Reflections on the Challenges of Socialist Feminist Historiography 244 Notes 249 Selected Bibliography 283 Index 301

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Book SynopsisIn Soundscapes of Liberation, Celeste Day Moore traces the popularization of African American music in postwar France, where it signaled new forms of power and protest. Moore surveys a wide range of musical genres, soundscapes, and media: the US military''s wartime records and radio programs; the French record industry''s catalogs of blues, jazz, and R&B recordings; the translations of jazz memoirs; a provincial choir specializing in spirituals; and US State Department-produced radio programs that broadcast jazz and gospel across the French empire. In each of these contexts, individual intermediaries such as educators, producers, writers, and radio deejays imbued African American music with new meaning, value, and political power. Their work resonated among diverse Francophone audiences and transformed the lives and labor of many African American musicians, who found financial and personal success as well as discrimination in France. By showing how the popularity of African AmerTrade Review“Celeste Day Moore takes us on a dazzling and deeply researched tour through the soundscapes and multisensory experiences of the Francophone Black world. Soundscapes of Liberation is indispensable reading for scholars and students of the African Diaspora, liberation projects, and the circulation of music in the twentieth century.” -- Penny M. Von Eschen, author of * Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War *“Celeste Day Moore provides the best account of the process by which African American culture was popularized in postwar France at a time when France was negotiating its relationship to decolonization, American culture, and power writ large. This fascinating and detailed book made me think anew about things I thought I knew well.” -- Daniel Widener, author of * Black Arts West: Culture and Struggle in Postwar Los Angeles *"What Moore describes is not a simple love affair between a music maligned at home and a country destined to embrace it. . . . Navigating broad territories, she moves from an era when African-American music could only be apprehended fragmentarily to the advent of mass broadcasting, long playing records, and the involvement of state powers. Although this history's outlines can feel familiar, it is approached in a fresh way." -- Pierre Crépon * The Wire *"Thoroughly researched, erudite, and well written, this volume is required reading for those who study the African diaspora and African American music. Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers." -- F. J. Hay * Choice *"Soundscapes of Liberation is a meticulously, deeply, and broadly, researched work. It is well-written and compelling." -- Brett A. Berliner * Diplomatic History *Table of ContentsAbbreviations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction: Making Soundwaves 1 1. Jazz en Liberté: The US Military and the Soundscapes of Liberation 17 2. Writing Black, Talking Back: Jazz and the Value of African American Identity 43 3. Spinning Race: The French Record Industry and the Production of African American Music 71 4. Speaking in Tongues: The Negro Spiritual and the Circuits of Black Internationalism 103 5. The Voice of America: Radio, Race, and the Sounds of the Cold War 133 6. Liberation Revisited: African American Music and the Postcolonial Landscape 161 Epilogue: Sounding like a Revolution 195 Notes 201 Sources 251 Index 283

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Book SynopsisFor all its history of intersecting empires, the Balkans has been rarely framed as a global site of race and coloniality. This, as Piro Rexhepi argues inWhite Enclosuresis not surprising, given the perception of the Balkans as colorblind and raceless, a project that spans post-Ottoman racial formations, transverses Socialist modernity and is negotiated anew in the process of postsocialist Euro-Atlantic integration. Connecting severed colonial histories from the vantage point of body politic,Rexhepiturns to the borderland zones of the Balkans to trace past and present geopolitical attempts of walling whiteness. From efforts to straighten the sexualities of post-Ottoman Muslim subjects, to Yugoslav nonaligned solidarities between Muslims of the second and third world, to Roma displacement and contemporary emergence of refugee carceral technologies along the Balkan Route, Rexhepi points not only to the epistemic erasures that maintain the fantasy of whiteness but also to the disrupTrade Review"This book not only challenges Bosnian and Albanian dominant political discourses, which for decades have refused to acknowledge the unequal power dynamics between the Balkan periphery and the European centre. It also is a long overdue book. For it takes these Muslim-majority populations, despite their closeness to whiteness, as a starting point for imagining a different world in which internationalist solidarity among the oppressed is possible." -- Adem Ferizaj * Left East *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. Nonaligned Muslims in the Margins of Socialism: The Islamic Revolution in Yugoslavia 43 2. Historicizing Enclosure: Refashioned Colonial Continuities as European Cultural Legacy 70 3. Enclosure Sovereignties: Saving Missions and Supervised Self-Determination 90 4. (Dis)Embodying Enclosure: Of Straightened Muslim Men and Secular Masculinities 107 5. Enclosure Demographics: Reproductive Racism, Displacement, and Resistance 128 Afterword 151 Notes 157 References 161 Index 181

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Book SynopsisChoice Outstanding Academic Title 2022Honorable Mention, Theodore Saloutos Book Award, given by the Immigration and Ethnic History SocietyA vivid, new portrait of Irish migration through the letters and diaries of those who fled their homeland during the Great FamineThe standard story of the exodus during Ireland's Great Famine is one of tired clichés, half-truths, and dry statistics. In The Coffin Ship, a groundbreaking work of transnational history, Cian T. McMahon offers a vibrant, fresh perspective on an oft-ignored but vital component of the migration experience: the journey itself.Between 1845 and 1855, over two million people fled Ireland to escape the Great Famine and begin new lives abroad. The so-called coffin ships they embarked on have since become infamous icons of nineteenth-century migration. The crews were brutal, the captains were heartless, and the weather was ferocious. Yet the personal experiences Trade ReviewA richly detailed and deeply humane book, the first full-length scholarly study of the Atlantic and Pacific crossings between 1845 and 1855 ... The Coffin Ship is a beautifully executed and highly readable work of social history that critically redraws a central icon of the Famine. McMahon not only sensitively describes tragedies and terrors, but grants his characters individuality, voice and a sense of agency. He also reminds us that the experiences of these Famine refugees should make us more sympathetic towards the plight of today’s refugees. * The Irish Times *In this highly readable book, Cian T. McMahon shows how the ‘flash flood’ of emigration helped survivors at home and abroad to rebuild their lives after the Famine. The Coffin Ship, of course, has things to say about coffin ships; but its true originality lies in its steady focus on the resilience of those who braved the ocean, on how they experienced the voyage, and on how they coped with the alien world that awaited them. -- Cormac Ó Gráda, author of Eating People Is Wrong, and Other Essays on Famine, Its Past, and Its Future and Famine: A Short HistoryYears ago the great writer Toni Morrison asked me if there were any books about immigrant ships that told their story of the ‘middle passage.’ I wish I could have given her a copy of Cian T. McMahon’s brilliant study, The Coffin Ship. -- Marcus Rediker, author of The Slave Ship: A Human HistoryThe Coffin Ship is a meticulously researched, groundbreaking work of history that replaces myth and legend with the voices of those who endured the mass flight set in motion by the Great Famine. McMahon’s in-depth account makes clear that rather than being an incidental part of the trans-oceanic passage, the migrants’ shipboard experience played a central role in the formation of the Irish diaspora. The Coffin Ship enriches and enlightens our understanding of the suffering and resilience of the dispossessed down to the present day. It is an enduring achievement. -- Peter Quinn, author of Banished Children of Eve: A Novel of Civil War New YorkA fascinating, original, and beautifully written study of the process by which more than a million Irish famine refugees made their way to North America and Australia in the 1840s and ’50s. Few authors have done a better job than Cian T. McMahon in recapturing these emigrants’ unimaginable traumas and triumphs. -- Tyler Anbinder, author of Five Points and City of DreamsThe fount of primary material used here, including emigrant correspondence, ship-company administrative and medical records, and Parliamentary papers lends this book a luminous quality, while the emigrant voices populating its pages enhance The Coffin Ship's scholarly solidity with compelling readability. This welcome contribution to Famine history deserves a wide readership. * Irish Literary Supplement *Through the use of poetry and quotations from primary documents, he breathes life anew into these individuals so that readers experience their emotions, joys, and sufferings ... Even though his study focuses on the Irish diaspora, he connects it to current issues concerning refugees. This is an invaluable addition for any collection dealing with the Great Famine, the Irish diaspora, and the refugee experience. * Pirates and Privateers *McMahon has given us a colorful and insightful social and cultural history of the emigrant experience that expands our understanding of an iconic image of Irish popular history. * Irish Historical Studies *In its critical approach to Famine emigrants as part of a victim diaspora, McMahon’s study breaks new ground... McMahon’s study rightfully nuances the idea of the coffin ship from a historical perspective and on the basis of the wide array of sources. As such, The Coffin Ship is a significant new contribution to the field of Irish Famine research. * American Historical Review *The Coffin Ship is an exemplary social history. The care and nuance McMahon brings to his analysis of the firsthand accounts that migrants leaving Ireland between 1845 and 1855 produced is evident on every page. Guilt, a social concept that historians rarely address, is foregrounded here as one of the tools that impoverished Irish tenant farmers had at their disposal. * The Journal of American History *The Coffin Ship is an exemplary social history. The care and nuance McMahon brings to his analysis of the firsthand accounts that migrants leaving Ireland between 1845 and 1855 produced is evident on every page. * Journal of American History *

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Book SynopsisTheodore McLauchlin''s Desertion examines the personal and political factors behind soldiers'' choices to stay in their unit or abandon their cause. He explores what might spur widespread desertion in a given group, how some armed groups manage to keep their soldiers fighting over long periods, and how committed soldiers are to their causes and their comrades.To answer these questions, McLauchlin focuses on combatants in military units during the Spanish Civil War. He pushes against the preconception that individual soldiers'' motivations are either personal or political, either selfish or ideological. Instead, he draws together the personal and the political, showing how soldiers come to trust each otheror not. Desertion demonstrates how the armed groups that hold together and survive are those that foster interpersonal connections, allowing soldiers the opportunity to prove their commitment to the fight.McLauchlin argues that trust keeps soldiers in theTrade ReviewMcLauchlin's book is a study in military sociology based on a rigorous quantitative methodology. It poses a central research question about trust and desertion in civil wars, outlines the current state of the field and the spectrum of factors pursued in understanding the subject. In clear and accessible prose, Theodore McLauchlin makes a persuasive, subtle, and well supported case. * Michigan War Studies Review *Table of Contents1. Slipping Away 2. Trust, Mistrust, and Desertion in Civil Wars 3. Studying Desertion in the Spanish Civil War 4. Cooperation and Soldiers' Decisions 5. Coercion and Soldiers' Decisions 6. Militias in the Spanish Republic, Summer–Fall 1936 7. The Popular Army of the Republic, Fall 1936–39 8. The Nationalist Army, 1936–39 9. The Crumbling of Armies in Contemporary Syria Conclusion: Desertion, Armed Groups, and Civil Wars

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Book SynopsisA beguiling exploration of the last Habsburg monarchs' grip on Europe's historical and cultural imagination. In 1919 the last Habsburg rulers, Emperor Karl and Empress Zita, left Austria, going into exile. That same year, the fairy-tale opera Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman Without a Shadow), featuring a mythological emperor and empress, premiered at the Vienna Opera. Viennese poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal and German composer Richard Strauss created Die Frau ohne Schatten through the bitter years of World War I, imagining it would triumphantly appear after the victory of the German and Habsburg empires. Instead, the premiere came in the aftermath of catastrophic defeat. The Shadow of the Empress: Fairy-Tale Opera and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy explores how the changing circumstances of politics and society transformed their opera and its cultural meanings before, during, and after the First World War. Strauss and Hofmannsthal turned emperors and empresses into fantastic fairy-tale characters; meanwhile, following the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy after the war, their real-life counterparts, removed from political life in Europe, began to be regarded as anachronistic, semi-mythological figures. Reflecting on the seismic cultural shifts that rocked post-imperial Europe, Larry Wolff follows the story of Karl and Zita after the loss of their thrones. Karl died in 1922, but Zita lived through the rise of Nazism, World War II, and the Cold War. By her death in 1989, she had herself become a fairy-tale figure, a totem of imperial nostalgia. Wolff weaves together the story of the opera's composition and performance; the end of the Habsburg monarchy; and his own family's life in and exile from Central Europe, providing a rich new understanding of Europe's cataclysmic twentieth century, and our contemporary relationship to it.Trade Review"In Larry Wolff's brilliant telling, an opera's fairy-tale empress and a real-life Habsburg empress come to embody the phantom political culture of an empire that to this day maintains a powerful hold over Central and Eastern European institutions and imagination."—Pieter M. Judson, author of The Habsburg Empire: A New History"This alluring and original work of history explores the parallel lives of a twentieth century opera, the twilight of the Habsburg Empire, and its last emperor and empress. Politics is woven into the opera's creation and its later life. In this brilliant book, art imitates life, and life art, through mirror images, shadows and the unexpected destinies of historic personages."—Leon Botstein, Bard College"Larry Wolff's dual biography of Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal's fictional empress (The Woman without a Shadow, premiered in 1919) and the last Habsburg empress Zita, who lived until 1989, is a silver rose of a book—a brilliant account of an imperfect operatic masterpiece, its allegorical investments, and its call for the repopulation and humanization of Europe in the wake of World War I."—Michael P. Steinberg, author of The Afterlife of MosesTable of ContentsIntroduction: Pulling Roots 1. Giving Language Time 2. The Transported Word: Wheatley's Part 3. Voices of the Ground: Blake's Language in Deep Time 4. Radical Diversions: Wordsworth's Overgrowth 5. The Primitive Today: Thoreau in the Wild Conclusion: Deracination

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Book SynopsisOne of the most enigmatic figures in history, Nostradamus - apothecary, astrologer and soothsayer - is a continual source of fascination. Indeed, his predictions are so much the stock-in-trade of the wildest merchants of imminent Doom that one could be forgiven for forgetting that Michel de Nostredame, 1503-1566, was a figure firmly rooted in the society of the French Renaissance. In this bold new account of the life and work of Nostradamus, Denis Crouzet shows that any attempt to interpret his Prophecies at face value is misguided. Nostradamus was not trying to predict the future. He saw himself, rather, as 'prophesying', i.e. bringing the Word of God to humankind. Like Rabelais, for whom laughter was a therapy to help one cope with the misery of the times, Nostradamus thought of himself as a physician of the soul as much as of the body. His unveiling of the menacing and horrendous events which await us in the future was a way of frightening his readers into the realisation that inner hatred was truly the greatest peril of all, to which the sole remedy was to live in the love and peace of Christ. This inspired interpretation penetrates the imaginative world of Nostradamus, a man whose life is as mysterious as his writings. It shows him in a completely new dimension, securing for him a significant place among the major thinkers of the Renaissance.Trade Review"This study by the distinguished historian of Renaissance France, Denis Crouzet, is a milestone in studies of Nostradamus for two reasons: its attention to the sixteenth century context of the prophecies, and its 'anti-interpretation', arguing that the meaning of the texts 'is always left hanging in the air'."Peter Burke, University of Cambridge "In this very subtle and thought-provoking book Denis Crouzet makes sense of Nostradamus precisely by accepting his deliberate obscurity. The extraordinary violence and disquieting imagery of his quatrains can be compared with the paintings of Bosch, portraying a world turned upside down where sin and cruelty presage divine punishment. Crouzet skillfully weaves this into a broader understanding of the spiritual and emotional imaginary of the Reformation era, when all old certainties seemed to be melting down, amidst terrifying human savagery."Robin Briggs, All Souls College, University of OxfordTable of ContentsTranslator�s Preface Introduction. Fragments of History 1. The Place Beyond Words 2. A Self-Contradictory Utterance 3. Treasures Beneath an Oak Tree 4. A Would-Be Astrophile 5. Thresholds Dependant on Subjectivity 6. An Evangelist Cogito 7. �For the Common Profit of Mankind� 8. �A Burning Mirror� 9. Divine Light 10. From the All to the One 11. The Word of Creation 12. An Episteme of Reason 13. Sacredness and Nothingness 14. The Energetics of Obscurity 15. Powers of Evil 16. Man Against Man 17. All the Sins of the World 18. The Horror that Invites Horror 19. Faith: Trial and Tribulations 20. From Alpha to Omega 21. The Philology of Angst 22. The Panic Paradox 23. The Eschataology of the Rainbow 24. The Ontological Turn 25. Liberty in Christ By Way of Conclusion: Why Nostradamus? Notes Chronology Sources and Bibliography

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Book SynopsisMunich 1919 is a vivid portrayal of the chaos that followed World War I and the collapse of the Munich Council Republic by one of the most perceptive chroniclers of German history. Victor Klemperer provides a moving and thrilling account of what turned out to be a decisive turning point in the fate of a nation, for the revolution of 1918-9 not only produced the first German democracy, it also heralded the horrors to come. With the directness of an educated and independent young man, Klemperer turned his hand to political journalism, writing astute, clever and linguistically brilliant reports in the beleaguered Munich of 1919. He sketched intimate portraits of the people of the hour, including Erich Mühsam, Max Levien and Kurt Eisner, and took the measure of the events around him with a keen eye. These observations are made ever more poignant by the inclusion of passages from his later memoirs. In the midst of increasing persecution under the Nazis he reflected on the fateful year 1919, the growing threat of antisemitism, and the acquaintances he made in the period, some of whom would later abandon him, while others remained loyal. Klemperer's account once again reveals him to be a fearless and deeply humane recorder of German history. Munich 1919 will be essential reading for all those interested in 20th century history, constituting a unique witness to events of the period.Trade Review"Klemperer guides us through the confusion of those troubled days in Munich with empathy, subtlety and a perceptive eye." - Christopher Clark, University of Cambridge, UK"Klemperer has once again proven himself to be a brilliant reporter and an intelligent essayist. A sensational testimony. - Die Zeit"With his talent for dramatic portrayals, for reflection, and his knack for boiling things down to their essence, Munich 1919 gives us a more intimate view of Klemperer than we've ever seen before." - Die Welt"Klemperer's ability to grasp moods and attitudes has a truly Dickensian quality." - Los Angeles Times"A message in a bottle, with real immediacy." - Sydney Morning Herald"A compelling chronicle" - The Times Literary Supplement“This account needs to be read for itself and its dramatic descriptions of chaos and political madness. But it also needs to be read as a harbinger of the future — and attitudes that shaped German acquiescence in, and belief in, the violent antisemitism of Nazi ideology" - The Jewish Chronicle"Klemperer’s diary provides an invaluable, unique perspective on the creation and suppression of the Munich Soviet Republic. Observing and recording how events unfolded from his university perch, Klemperer’s account conveys the sense of confusion, of isolation, and of uncertainty that pervaded… Born in Prussia to Jewish parents, Klemperer uneasily records how Bavarian particularism blurred anti-Prussianism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Bolshevism into a toxic brew of resentment, fear, and loathing. Klemperer’s Munich 1919. Diary of a Revolution will become essential reading for those interested in the Weimar Republic, Bavarian identity, and the backstory to the rise of Hitler and National Socialism." - H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online ‘a sobering glimpse into an uncertain time when history might have tilted in a different direction. Through [Klemperer’s] writings, we can come to see how those first violent months of the Weimar Republic were only a prelude to the later catastrophe.’The Nation "This is a gem of a book."Journal of Modern HistoryTable of ContentsForewordChristopher Clark Notes on the text Munich 1919 Diary of a Revolution Politics and the Bohemian World February 1919 Revolution Two Munich Ceremonies February 1919 Revolution Munich After Eisner's Assassination February 22, 1919 Revolution The Events at the University of Munich April 8, 1919 Revolution The Third Revolution in Bavaria April 9, 1919 Revolutionary Diary April 17, 1919 April 18, 1919 Revolution Revolutionary Diary April 19, 1919 Revolution Revolutionary Diary April 20, 1919 April 21, 1919 April 22, 1919 Revolution Revolutionary Diary April 30, 1919 Revolution Revolutionary Diary May 2, 1919 May 4, 1919 May 10, 1919 Revolution Munich Tragicomedy January 17, 1920 Appendix The German Revolution of 1918-9: A Historical EssayWolfram Wette Chronology About this edition Picture credits Notes Index

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Book SynopsisFrance is the most-visited country in the world. It attracts millions of tourists, most of whom come in search of beautiful architecture, good food, and fine art. But appearances can be deceptive. France is not only a place of culture and glamour; it also carries the bitter memories of violence, division and broken promises.In this arresting book, Emile Chabal, a leading specialist of contemporary France, tells the story of a paradoxical country. From the calamitous defeat by Hitler's armies in 1940 to the spectacular gilets jaunes protests, he explores the contradictions that have shaped French history over the last eighty years. The picture that emerges is one of a nation struggling to reconcile its core political values with the realities of a diverse society.Listen to the author talk about the book with Roxanne Panchasi on the New Books Network PodcastTrade Review'A refreshing and tightly written introduction to France’s recent history.'Arthur Asseraf, University of Cambridge 'In this highly polished introduction to contemporary France, Chabal combines a keen eye for detail with an admirable capacity for vivid narration and analytical generalisation. His focus on France’s modern paradoxes offers a stimulating and enjoyable point of entry into the ongoing fractures of its contemporary social and political life.'Sudhir Hazareesingh, Oxford University 'This superb analysis of how France’s current struggles--over diversity, state authority, the EU, and much else--emerged from its history since 1940 will enthrall newcomers to the subject and experts alike. A major achievement.'Herrick Chapman, New York University 'Superb… upon finishing Chabal’s France one comes away feeling that few authors could have compressed more pertinent discussion into so few pages. It is a truly remarkable book.'Art Goldhammer, Tocqueville 21'Emile Chabal's text has the great benefit of clarifying and offering up new perspectives on familiar issues... [his] reading of some of the questions posed to and by the French people is particularly stimulating in the way that it highlights the gap between a republican language that saturates the public sphere, and the political and social dynamics that have repeatedly forced it to adapt.'Emmanuel Jousse, Tocqueville 21 'The reader would be hard pressed to find a better introduction and guide to contemporary France.'Mark Thompson, History: Review of New Books'The reader will finish this synthetic, concise, and theoretically rich book armed with a narrative of French history since 1940, with an excellent list for further reading, with a snapshot of current debates in French studies and, perhaps most important, with a method to explore and explain events in France’s past, present, and future.'Evan Spritzer, Modern & Contemporary France'[D]eceptively easy to read and it makes difficult concepts accessible.'Minayo Nasiali, Modern & Contemporary France '[A] remarkable feat…. For those readers with little or no knowledge of modern and contemporary France, the book will provide an earnest and critical overview; for more knowledgeable readers there is still much to be gained from examining the multiple contradictions inherent in French society.'David Lees, Modern & Contemporary France 'manages the rare feat of combining sparkling prose with in-depth and lucid analysis of French history in the eighty years since the fall of France stunned the world…'Alice L. Conklin, H-France Review 'Whose Republic? Whose citizenship? Whose France? Such questions animate this well conceived book with its elegant and perspicacious review of key debates in French culture, politics, and society. This enjoyable survey will stimulate debate for expert readers, while also enlightening student audiences, and each chapter could easily form the basis for a lively discussion seminar.'Andrew W.M. Smith, French StudiesTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Maps Chronology Introduction: A paradoxical nation 1. Defeat and resistance 2. Colonialism and anti-colonialism 3. Grandeur and decline 4. Left and right 5. The Republic and its discontents 6. Local citizens in a global state Conclusion: An uncertain future Further reading Index

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Book Synopsis‘Taylor has done us a great service in making the personal stories of what it was actually like to live through the most crucial year of the twentieth century vivid, compelling and salutary.’ - Roland Philipps, author of A Spy Named Orphan: The Enigma of Donald MacleanIn the autumn of 1938, Europe believed in the promise of peace. Still reeling from the ravages of the Great War, its people were desperate to rebuild their lives in a newly safe and stable era. But only a year later, the fateful decisions of just a few men had again led Europe to war, a war that would have a profound and lasting impact on millions.Bestselling historian Frederick Taylor focuses on the day-to-day experiences of British and German people trapped in this disastrous chain of events and not, as is so often the case, the elite. Drawn from original sources, their voices, concerns and experiences reveal a marked disconnect between government and people; few ordinary citizens in either country wanted war.1939: A People’s History is not only a vivid account of that turbulent year but also an interrogation of our capacity to go to war again. In many ways it serves as a warning; an opportunity for us to learn from our history and a reminder that we must never take peace for granted.Trade ReviewA fascinating and well-written book about how two nations embraced the prospect of war. By examining a turbulent year from the ground up, Taylor has inadvertently exposed crucial differences in national characteristics. -- Gerard De Groot * The Times *Taylor has done us a great service in making the personal stories of what it was actually like to live through the most crucial year of the twentieth century vivid, compelling and salutary -- Roland PhilippsWell-researched and intriguing -- Tim Bouverie * Daily Telegraph *A sinister and thrilling picture of how the year 1939 developed into war * Who Do You Think You Are Magazine *Taylor . . . does an excellent job of telling the story of the Coventry raid . . . Taylor's thorough, authoritative account elegantly explains the horrors of that night, as well as the wider story of the raid's significance in the air war's collective descent into barbarism. -- Review of Coventry * Financial Times *Riveting . . . vivid . . . Taylor's account of flame and ruin in the Midlands in November 1940, superbly researched, shows how terror could come to anyone, anywhere, any time. It still can. -- Review of Coventry * Spectator *Taylor weaves a chilling narrative from eyewitness accounts and documentary research . . . His account of the air operation . . . is quite superb. -- Review of Dresden * The Times *This scholarly, objective, sane and well-written book . . . a tremendously powerful work, profoundly moving in the accounts of the ordinary German families who met their deaths that dreadful night. -- Review of Dresden * Evening Standard *Table of ContentsSection - i: List of Illustrations Section - ii: Maps Introduction - iii: Introduction Chapter - 1: September 1938: ‘So, No War!’ Chapter - 2: October 1938: ‘More Popular than Hitler’ Chapter - 3: November 1938: ‘We Are Being Hunted Like Hares’ Chapter - 4: Winter 1938/1939: ‘Does Conscription Mean That the Men Will Have to Go Away?’ Chapter - 5: Spring 1939: ‘It’s Hitler Again: But Don’t Worry!’ Chapter - 6: April/May 1939: ‘We All Love Him Very, Very Much’ Chapter - 7: June/July 1939: ‘Fine, Fine, Fine. Blue and Sunshine Everywhere’ Chapter - 8: 1–22 August 1939: ‘To Die for Danzig?’ Chapter - 9: 23–31 August 1939: ‘Grandmother is Dead’ Chapter - 10: 1–3 September 1939: ‘So the Madness Unfolds’ Acknowledgements - iv: Acknowledgements Section - v: Notes Section - vi: Sources Index - vii: Index

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Book SynopsisSet against the backdrop of war, revolution, and regicide, and moving from London to Venice, Mantua, Madrid, Paris and the Low Countries, Jerry Brotton’s colourful and critically acclaimed book, The Sale of the Late King's Goods, explores the formation and dispersal of King Charles I’s art collection. Following a remarkable and unprecedented Parliamentary Act for ‘The sale of the late king’s goods’, Cromwell’s republican regime sold off nearly 2,000 paintings, tapestries, statues and drawings in an attempt to settle the dead king’s enormous debts and raise money for the Commonwealth’s military forces. Brotton recreates the extraordinary circumstances of this sale, in which for the first time ordinary working people were able to handle and own works by the great masters. He also examines the abiding relationship between art and power, revealing how the current Royal Collection emerged from this turbulent period, and paints its own vivid and dramatic picture of one of the greatest lost collections in English history.Trade ReviewBrotton has taken on a cracking good story, confidently snaking through the complicated politics of seventeenth-century European art-dealership, from Venice and the Low Countries to the Escorial and back into the side-streets of turbulent London and the thousand-odd rooms of Whitehall Palace. He beds this vast mass of convoluted activity with its great cast of characters from de Critz to Van Dyck – its rivalries, frauds, enthusiasms, bankruptcies, brinkmanship and U-turns – deeply into the political, social and artistic context of the time. This is no pillow book: that Brotton maintains his authorial grip on both the grand sweep and the elaborate detail while controlling the drive of his multi-layered narrative is a superb achievement -- Kate Colquhoun * Daily Telegraph *Provocative . . . admirably researched and compellingly narrated -- Miranda Seymour * Sunday Times *Jerry Brotton, a young historian with an enviable command of the secondary literature, both historical and art-historical, and a good understanding of the way objects and works of art assume ideological significance, has told the amazing story of Charles I’s collection and its subsequent sale in full -- Charles Saumarez Smith * Literary Review *Jerry Brotton holds a magnifying glass to the amassing of the royal collection and its later dispersal . . . bustles with fascinating detail * History Today *Admirable * The Times *Colourful * Observer *Magnificent * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisExam board: OCRLevel: A-levelSubject: History First teaching: September 2015First exams: Summer 2016Target success in OCR AS/A-level History with this proven formula for effective, structured revision; key content coverage is combined with exam preparation activities and exam-style questions to create a revision guide that students can rely on to review, strengthen and test their knowledge.- Enables students to plan and manage a successful revision programme using the topic-by-topic planner- Consolidates knowledge with clear and focused content coverage, organised into easy-to-revise chunks- Encourages active revision by closely combining historical content with related activities- Helps students build, practise and enhance their exam skills as they progress through activities set at three different levels- Improves exam technique through exam-style questions with sample answers and commentary from expert authors and teachers- Boosts historical knowledge with a useful glossary and timeline

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Book SynopsisExam board: OCRLevel: A-levelSubject: History First teaching: September 2015First exams: Summer 2016Target success in OCR A-level History with this proven formula for effective, structured revision; key content coverage is combined with exam preparation activities and exam-style questions to create a revision guide that students can rely on to review, strengthen and test their knowledge.- Enables students to plan and manage a successful revision programme using the topic-by-topic planner- Consolidates knowledge with clear and focused content coverage, organised into easy-to-revise chunks- Encourages active revision by closely combining historical content with related activities- Helps students build, practise and enhance their exam skills as they progress through activities set at three different levels- Improves exam technique through exam-style questions with sample answers and commentary from expert authors and teachers- Boosts historical knowledge with a useful glossary and timeline

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Book SynopsisExam board: AQALevel: A-levelSubject: HistoryFirst teaching: September 2016First exams: Summer 2017 (AS); Summer 2018 (A-level)Target success in AQA AS/A-level History with this proven formula for effective, structured revision; key content coverage is combined with exam preparation activities and exam-style questions to create a revision guide that students can rely on to review, strengthen and test their knowledge.- Enables students to plan and manage a successful revision programme using the topic-by-topic planner- Consolidates knowledge with clear and focused content coverage, organised into easy-to-revise chunks- Encourages active revision by closely combining historical content with related activities- Helps students build, practise and enhance their exam skills as they progress through activities set at three different levels- Improves exam technique through exam-style questions with sample answers and commentary from expert authors and teachers- Boosts historical knowledge with a useful glossary and timeline

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Book SynopsisExam board: EdexcelLevel: A-levelSubject: History First teaching: September 2015First exams: Summer 2016Target success in Edexcel A-level History with this proven formula for effective, structured revision; key content coverage is combined with exam preparation activities and exam-style questions to create a revision guide that students can rely on to review, strengthen and test their knowledge.- Enables students to plan and manage a successful revision programme using the topic-by-topic planner- Consolidates knowledge with clear and focused content coverage, organised into easy-to-revise chunks- Encourages active revision by closely combining historical content with related activities- Helps students build, practise and enhance their exam skills as they progress through activities set at three different levels- Improves exam technique through exam-style questions with sample answers and commentary from expert authors and teachers- Boosts historical knowledge with a useful glossary and timeline

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Book SynopsisExam board: EdexcelLevel: A-levelSubject: History First teaching: September 2015First exams: Summer 2016Target success in Edexcel A-level History with this proven formula for effective, structured revision; key content coverage is combined with exam preparation activities and exam-style questions to create a revision guide that students can rely on to review, strengthen and test their knowledge.- Enables students to plan and manage a successful revision programme using the topic-by-topic planner- Consolidates knowledge with clear and focused content coverage, organised into easy-to-revise chunks- Encourages active revision by closely combining historical content with related activities- Helps students build, practise and enhance their exam skills as they progress through activities set at three different levels- Improves exam technique through exam-style questions with sample answers and commentary from expert authors and teachers- Boosts historical knowledge with a useful glossary and timeline

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Book SynopsisBuild, reinforce and assess students' knowledge throughout their course; tailored to the 2016 CCEA specification and brought to you by the leading History publisher, this study and revision guide combines clear content coverage with practice questions and sample answers. - Ensure understanding of the period with concise coverage of all Unit content, broken down into manageable chunks- Develop the analytical and evaluative skills that students need to succeed in A-level History- Consolidate understanding with exam tips and knowledge-check questions- Practise exam-style questions matched to the CCEA assessment requirements for every question type, including source-based examples- Improve students' exam technique and show them how to reach the next grade with sample student answers and commentary for each exam-style question- Use flexibly in class or at home, for knowledge acquisition during the course or focused revision and exam preparation

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Book SynopsisBuild, reinforce and assess students' knowledge throughout their course; tailored to the 2016 CCEA specification and brought to you by the leading History publisher, this study and revision guide combines clear content coverage with practice questions and sample answers.- Ensure understanding of the period with concise coverage of all Unit content, broken down into manageable chunks- Develop the analytical and evaluative skills that students need to succeed in A-level History- Consolidate understanding with exam tips and knowledge-check questions- Practise exam-style questions matched to the CCEA assessment requirements for every question type- Improve students' exam technique and show them how to reach the next grade with sample student answers and commentary for each exam-style question- Use flexibly in class or at home, for knowledge acquisition during the course or focused revision and exam preparation

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Book SynopsisThis study explores pre- and extra-marital relationships among the gentry and nobility of the north of England from 1450 to 1640: the keeping of mistresses, the taking of lovers, the birth of illegitimate children and the fate of those children. It challenges assumptions about the extent to which such activities declined in the period, and hence about the impact of Protestantism and other changes to the culture of the elite. A major contribution to the literature on marriage and sexual relationships, family, kinship and gender, it is aimed at an academic readership in the fields of social and political history.Table of ContentsIntroduction1 Background and legal framework2 The extent of bastardy among the elite3 The role and status of the mistress4 Gentlewomen and their lovers5 The ‘wronged’ partner6 The bastard childrenConclusionIndex

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Book SynopsisEarly modern stereotypes used to be studied as evidence of popular belief, something mired with prejudices and commonly held assumptions. Stereotypes and stereotyping in early modern England goes beyond this view by exploring practices of stereotyping as contested processes. To do so, the volume draws on recent works on social psychology and sociology. It thereby brings together early modern case studies and explores how stereotypes and their mobilisation shaped various negotiations of power, in spheres of life such as politics, religion, economy and knowledge production.Table of ContentsIntroduction: rethinking early modern stereotyping in the twenty-first century – Koji Yamamoto and Peter Lake1 Religious and national stereotyping and prejudice in seventeenth-century England – Tim Harris2 On thinking (historically) with stereotypes, or the puritan origins of anti-puritanism – Peter Lake3 History plays, Catholic polemics and the staging of political economy in Elizabethan England – Koji Yamamoto4 Alchemists, puritans and projectors in the plays of Ben Jonson – Peter Lake and Koji Yamamoto5 Ranter and Quaker stereotyping in the English Revolution – Kate Peters6 Fighting popery with popery: subverting stereotypes and contesting anti-Catholicism in late seventeenth-century England – Adam Morton7 ‘We do naturally … hate the French’: Francophobia and Francophilia in Samuel Pepys’s Diary – David Magliocco8 ‘Sin and sea coal’: smoke as urban life in early modern London – William Cavert9 Laboratories of subjectification: characters and stereotypes in late Stuart and Georgian theatre – Bridget Orr10 From Reformation to Enlightenment in post-civil war orientalism – William J. BulmanCoda: the dialectics of stereotyping – past and present – Sandra Jovchelovitch, Koji Yamamoto and Peter LakeIndex

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Book SynopsisWhat did it mean to be a ‘rebel woman’ in the interwar years? Taking the form of a multiple biography, this book traces the struggles, passions and achievements of a set of ‘fearlessly determined’ women who stopped at nothing to make their mark in the traditionally masculine environments of mountaineering, politics, engineering and journalism. From the motorist Claudia Parsons to the ‘star’ reporter Margaret Lane, the mountaineer Dorothy Pilley and the journalist Shiela Grant Duff, the women charted in this book challenged the status quo in all walks of life, alongside writing vivid, eye-witness accounts of their adventures. Recovering their voices across a range of texts including novels, poems, journalism and diaries, Rebel women between the wars reveals their inch by inch gains won through courageous and sometimes controversial and dangerous actions.Trade Review'I loved this engaging and often thrilling glimpse of a cohort of women between the wars who defied social expectations, and lived the lives they wanted to live. Their interweaving stories of quiet subversion and bold visibility provoked me to both admiration and the irrepressible urge to keep reading bits out to people.'Lissa Evans, bestselling author of Old Baggage and Crooked Heart'A brilliant book which brings to life the incredible stories of inspirational women. Their acts of courage changed the world for good. This wonderful book is a must read for the next generation of rebels.'Frances O'Grady, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress 'Every rebel heart will be uplifted by the lives of these women; they broke with convention, rocked boats, and dared to do the unexpected. This book sends the message loudly ‘yes you can’ and should be read by everyone putting their own toe in the water, seeking courage to live out their dreams.'Baroness Helena Kennedy QC'Lonsdale’s subjects are [...] pioneering journalists who weaponize words to attack the citadels of the Establishment. This, with their energy, is what draws them together.'TLS'Engaging and pacily written'.History Today'Truly inspiring reading.'T P Fielden, Daily Express (Books of the Year 2020)'There is so much of interest in this book, from revelations of the female support networks that helped somewomen to occasional female rivalry. It will clearly be a valuable resource for anyone who wants to understand how women who wanted to defy social expectations and lead fulfilling lives in the early part of the 20th century used writing as a weapon.'Anne Sebba, British Journalism Review'Rebel women between the wars is structured around multiple biography and focuses on individuals that most people, including journalists, would accept have been ‘lost to history.’ The names Shiela Grant Duff, Margaret Lane, Rose Macauley, Leah Manning, Stella Martin, Claudia Parsons, Dorothy Pilley, Naomi Royde-Smith, Alison Settle, Edith Shackleton, and Kylie Tennant do not stir the mainstream memory of cultural history. Dr. Lonsdale’s research and writing in this valuable and significant book makes it very clear that they should.'Tim Crook, Journal of the Chartered Institute of Journalists' This interesting book explores the lives of some determined women who, between the wars in 20th-century Britain, were keen to make their mark in the masculine public sphere. Drawing on letters, diaries and published commentary, Lonsdale paints a vivid picture of the motorist Claudia Parsons, the reporter Margaret Lane, the mountaineer Dorothy Pilley and the journalist Shiela Grant Duff, among others. While personal papers have been carefully preserved for many of these figures, the journalist Edith Shackleton proves a more elusive figure because she left no diary and very few letters. Informative and absorbing, this book adds much to our knowledge of how some neglected women in the 1920s and 1930s dared to break free from social convention.'June Purvis, Times Higher Education -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction: ‘The women at the gate’1 Female friendship, work and collaboration2 Alternative channels3 Parallel platforms and safe havens4 Risk-takers5 Parental influence and family networks6 Rejecting the feminine7 Formal networks8 Explosive engagement9 Hiding in plain sightConclusionIndex

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the political works of Andrew Michael Ramsay (1683–1743) within the context of early eighteenth-century British and French political thought. In the first monograph on Ramsay in English for over sixty years, the author uses Ramsay to engage in a broader evaluation of the political theory in the two countries and the exchange between them. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Britain and France were on divergent political paths. Yet in the first three decades of that century, the growing impetus of mixed government in Britain influenced the political theory of its long-standing enemy. Shaped by experiences and ideologies of the seventeenth century, thinkers in both states exhibited a desire to produce great change by integrating past wisdom with modern knowledge.Trade Review‘Mansfield’s book enriches and complicates our understanding of a vibrant culture of intellectual exchange between Britain and France in the early modern era. It is a welcome contribution to this topic in that it balances the prevalent focus on the wave of Anglomania that swept over France especially after the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713.’Doohwan Ahn, Seoul National University, Northern Scotland‘Ideas of Monarchical Reform is an interesting and informative first book that casts important light on thought in both Britain and France in the decades before and after 1700.’Johann Sommerville, University of Wisconsin-Madison, American Historical Review‘This is a constructive endeavour to explore the philosophy of a spiritual and intellectual adventurer, Andrew Michael Ramsay, a Scottish émigré in France whose commitment to Jacobitism was surpassed only by that to European freemasonry.’Allan I. Macinnes, University of Strathclyde, EHR, CXXXlll, 562 (June 2018)‘Ideas of Monarchical Reform is a[n] highly engaging and significant study in the history of ideas. It certainly offers a richer religious and political context for Jacobitism, as a movement capable of embracing far more heterogeneous and creative viewpoints, than is often acknowledged in many of the modern apologias for the exiled Stuarts.’John Callow, University of Suffolk, The Seventeenth Century‘Mansfield’s work on Ramsay constitutes not only one of the rare contributions to understanding the Chevalier’s oeuvre but also a deft analysis of the complex strands of political thought in Britain and France in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.’Minchul Kim, School of History, University of St Andrews, History of European Ideas -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 Division and unity I: revolution and settlement2 Division and unity II: fear and corruption3 Liberty and the public good: the political principles of Archbishop Fénelon4 The reign of Louis XIV: absolute monarchy5 Confronting the legacy of Louis XIV: government reform and Britain6 Ramsay and his associations7 A mythical conversation: an Essay and a Vie8 A mythical education: Ramsay’s Cyrus and PlanConclusionIndex

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Book SynopsisThis is the first published edition of a fascinating manuscript on witchcraft in the collection of the British Library, written by an unknown sixteenth-century scholar. Responding to a pre-publication draft of Reginald Scot’s sceptical Discoverie of Witchcraft (1584), the treatise represents the most detailed defence of witchcraft belief to be written in the early modern period in England. It highlights in detail the scriptural and theological justifications for a belief in witches, covering ground that may well have been considered too sensitive for print publications and presenting learned arguments not found in any other contemporary English work. Consequently, it offers a unique insight into elite witchcraft belief dating from the very beginning of the English witchcraft debate. This edition, which includes a comprehensive analytical introduction, presents the treatise with modernised spelling and relevant excerpts from Scot’s book.Trade Review'In sum, in his excellent introduction to this treatise and in his thoughtful and careful editing of it, Eric Pudney has made a marvellous contribution to the study of early modern English witchcraft. From this point on, further studies of Reginald Scot’s The Discoverie of Witchcraft will undoubtedly be indebted to it.'Philip Almond, Folklore''Eric Pudney deserves nothing but praise and gratitude for his excellent editorial work, demonstrating this manuscript’s complex interaction with Scot’s Discoverie and illuminating the origins of both texts. We are very much in his debt.'Jan Machielsen, Journal of Ecclesiastical History'Eric Pudney’s edition of a hitherto virtually unnoticed anonymous response to Scot’s famous The discoverie of witchcraft (1584) [is] extraordinarily significant.'Stuart Clark, Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft -- .Table of ContentsIntroductionA defence of witchcraft beliefIndex

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Book SynopsisThis is the first book-length exploration of presbyterians and presbyterianism in London during the crisis period of the mid-seventeenth century. It charts the emergence of a movement of clergy and laity that aimed at ‘reforming the Reformation’ by instituting presbyterianism in London’s parishes and ultimately the Church of England. The book analyses the movement’s political narrative and its relationship with its patrons in the parliamentarian aristocracy and gentry. It also considers the political and social institutions of London life and examines the presbyterians’ opponents within the parliamentarian camp. Finally, it focuses on the intellectual influence of presbyterian ideas on the political thought and polity of the Church and the emergence of dissent at the Restoration.Trade Review"This is a significant study that should bring the English Presbyterians to the centre of a much-trodden stage. Elliot Vernon deserves thanks from the scholarly community for rescuing a group that have been noticed but ignored."Alan Argent, Congregational History Society Magazine, Vol. 10, No 1, 2022 -- .Table of ContentsIntroduction1 The radicalisation of conformist puritanism, c. 1638–402 Smectymnuus and the attack on episcopacy in 16413 The emergence of the London presbyterian movement, 1642–34 London presbyterians and the fracture of parliamentarianism, 1644–55 The campaign for presbyterian church government, 1645–66 The political presbyterian moment, 1646–77 Presbyterian church government in the Province of London, 1646–608 The London presbyterians and the projected settlements of the British civil wars, 1647–99 ‘Mr Love’s case’ and the London presbyterian struggle against the English republic, 1649–5110 Cromwellian Britain, c. 1653–911 The Restoration, 1659–6012 Epilogue: the Cavalier Parliament, the Great Ejection of 1662 and the first years of dissentConclusionIndex

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