Social and cultural history Books

Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 'A gripping, unputdownable masterpiece' Hallie Rubenhold, author of the Baillie Gifford prize-winning The Five 'Ingenious history writing' Mail on Sunday 'Extraordinary' Guardian 'A masterwork' Australian Book Review 'Imaginative and compelling, impassioned and powerful, and deeply, deeply moving' Matt Houlbrook, author of Prince of Tricksters Lydia Harvey was meant to disappear. She was young and working class; she'd walked the streets, worked in brothels, and had no money of her own. In 1910, politicians, pimps, policemen and moral reformers saw her as just one of many 'girls who disappeared'. But when she took the stand to give testimony at the trial of her traffickers, she ensured she'd never be forgotten. Historian Julia Laite traces Lydia's extraordinary life from her home in New Zealand to the streets of Buenos Aires and safe houses of London. She also reveals the lives of international traffickers Antonio Carvelli and his mysterious wife Marie, the policemen who tracked them down, the journalists who stoked the scandal, and Eilidh MacDougall, who made it her life's mission to help women who'd been abused and disbelieved. Together, they tell an immersive story of crime, travel and sexual exploitation, of lives long overlooked and forgotten by history, and of a world transforming into the 20th century.Trade ReviewOne of the great storytellers of her generation, Julia Laite provides a lens through which we can view the practices and experiences of sex trafficking in the early twentieth century. Along the way, Laite nudges us to think about the ethics of telling another person's story. Riveting, powerfully argued and emotionally moving. -- Joanna Bourke * Fear: A Cultural History *A careful, empathetic reconstruction of the early-20th-century vice trade, placing the victims at the heart of the narrative and returning their dignity to them. This is a moving and compelling work of great scholarship. -- Sarah Wise, author * The Blackest Streets *A gripping, unputdownable masterpiece of scholarly historical research and true crime writing. Julia Laite explores the sordid world of crime, sex and international policing in 1910 by focusing on the individuals caught up in an elaborate web of exploitation. Readers who loved The Five will find this story and its skilful telling equally as enthralling. -- Hallie Rubenhold, author * The Five *Historical writing does not get any better than this ... Working out from one trial at London's Old Bailey, Laite provides a vivid account of a globalising world at the start of the twentieth century. Imaginative and compelling, impassioned and powerful, and deeply, deeply moving, this book is also a signal example of the contemporary political stakes of writing about the past -- Matt Houlbrook, author * Queer London *Demonstrates how, with determination, sensitivity and a careful dose of imagination, extraordinary recoveries are possible ... Laite has taken her slim archival trace and immeasurably enriched it; she has reclaimed a woman's life and restored a more complex reality to the record. -- Sarah Watling * Guardian *With an inventive mix of sources, Laite brilliantly summons up one girl's life, dreams and suffering. It's ingenious history writing, but as the author says, it's a story being repeated daily for today's victims of traffickers. * Mail on Sunday *History at its most rigorous and imaginative. Laite provides an insightful account of the regulation of sex trafficking in the early twentieth century and an enthralling encounter with some of the people involved in one of its more salacious episodes. ...A history book that often reads more like a novel, and that challenges the clichés of villains, victims, and heroic rescuers that dominate writing on sex trafficking. ... A masterwork * Australian Book Review *A voice so arrestingly poignant that the hidden briefly becomes visible * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis''Extraordinary. An intellectual feast as well as a visual one''Edmund de Waal, author of The Hare with Amber EyesThe world comes to us in colour. But colour lives as much in our imaginations as it does in our surroundings, as this scintillating book reveals. Each chapter immerses the reader in a single colour, drawing together stories from the histories of art and humanity to illuminate the meanings it has been given over the eras and around the globe. Showing how artists, scientists, writers, philosophers, explorers and inventors have both shaped and been shaped by these wonderfully myriad meanings, James Fox reveals how, through colour, we can better understand their cultures, as well as our own. Each colour offers a fresh perspective on a different epoch, and together they form a vivid, exhilarating history of the world. ''We have projected our hopes, anxieties and obsessions onto colour for thousands of years,'' Fox writes. ''The history of colour, therefore, is also a history of humanity.''Trade ReviewA book to brighten the dullest days -- Rachel Campbell-Johnston * The Times (Books of the Year) *A brilliantly fluent and readable history of colour -- Honor Clerk * Spectator (Books of the Year) *Fairly shimmers with Fox's eye for arresting facts and anecdotes -- Kassia St Clair * Times Literary Supplement *Intelligent, vividly written ... I'm going to buy three copies -- Laura Freeman * The Times *Flits with enthusiasm and lightly worn learning from Bronze Age gold-workers to Turner, Titian to Yves Klein -- Simon Ings * Daily Telegraph (Books of the Year) *Colour becomes a philosophical feast - astrophysics, the origins of civilisation, a palette of moral associations -- Ed Smith * New Statesman (Books of the Year) *A manual to navigate and enjoy the extraordinary design of the world around us -- Anna Galbraith * Mail on Sunday *Leads down some wonderful rabbit holes -- Chris Allnutt * Financial Times *A book that makes you want to paint -- Joad Raymond * BBC History Magazine *

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Book Synopsis''Endlessly fascinating and full of surprises. Easily one of my books of the year'' BILL BRYSONThe myth-busting science behind our modern attitudes to exercise: what our bodies really need, why it matters, and its effects on health and wellbeing. In industrialized nations, our sedentary lifestyles have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases like diabetes. A key remedy, we are told, is exercise - voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. However, most of us struggle to stay fit, and our attitudes to exercise are plagued by misconceptions, finger-pointing and anxiety.But, as Daniel Lieberman shows in Exercised, the first book of its kind by a leading scientific expert, we never evolved to exercise. We are hardwired for moderate exertion throughout each day, not triathlons or treadmills. Drawing on over a decade of high-level scientific research and eye-opening insights from evolutionary biology and anthropology, Lieberman explains precisely how exercise can promote health; debunks persistent myths about sitting, speed, strength and endurance; and points the way towards more enjoyable and physically active living in the modern world.''Myth-busting, illuminating, brilliant - Lieberman will completely change the way you think about your body'' Professor ALICE ROBERTS, presenter of Our Incredible Human JourneyTrade ReviewEndlessly fascinating and full of surprises. Lieberman strikes a perfect balance of scholarship, wit and enthusiasm for his subject. This is easily one of my books of the year -- Bill Bryson * bestselling author of The Body *Myth-busting, illuminating, brilliant - Lieberman will completely change the way you think about your body -- Professor Alice Roberts * presenter of Our Incredible Human Journey *Entertaining and informative... The book is full of helpful tips - you'll build muscle faster by extending muscles under load rather than contracting them; the kind of chair you sit on doesn't matter as long as you strengthen your back muscles and move regularly - conveyed in a humorous and sympathetic style -- Steven Poole * Guardian *Part user manual for the human body and part detective story exploring our evolution, Exercised will change the way you think about exercise, diet and your own wellbeing -- Neil Shubin * author of Your Inner Fish *A surprising, erudite and revelatory look at the natural history of physical activity and why exercise is both so necessary for us and so unnatural. A must-read for anyone with a working body and mind -- Gretchen Reynolds * New York Times-bestselling author of The First 20 Minutes *A fascinating read, and one that could nudge you toward a healthier (and longer) life -- Amby Burfoot * editor of Runner's World *Excellent - well written, amusing and touching on the lives of all who read it -- Richard Leakey * FRS *Eye-opening, mind-expanding and potentially body-shaping -- Paul Wilson * Men's Health *Daniel Lieberman’s work is so incredibly impressive -- Steven Bartlett * Diary of a CEO *

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Book Synopsis**OVER HALF A MILLION COPIES SOLD****THE TIMES MEMOIR OF THE YEAR 2019**'The best royal book by miles . . . funny, gossipy and riveting'JANE RIDLEY, SPECTATOR'If your jaw doesn't drop at least three times every chapter, you've not been paying proper attention'SUNDAY TIMES'A captivating account of a life lived with resilience and grace'DAILY MAIL'The stoical Lady G writes with infectious joy and optimism'DAILY EXPRESS'The gossip is stupendous but it's also tremendously touching. It's one of those books that makes you long for bed so you can read more!'JILLY COOPER'I can't recommend it highly enough'LORRAINE KELLY'Gentle, wise, unpretentious, but above all inspiring'THE TIMES'A candid, witty and stylish memoir'MIRANDA SEYMOUR, FINANCIAL TIMES'Stalwart and disarmingly honest . . . emotion resonates through this delightful memoir'THE WALL STREET JOURNAL'Discretion and honour emerge as the hallmarks of Glenconner's career as a royal servant, culminating in this book which manages to be both candid and kind'GUARDIAN'I couldn't put it down. Funny and touching - like looking through a keyhole at a lost world.'RUPERT EVERETT~The remarkable life of Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret who was also a Maid of Honour at the Queen's Coronation. Anne Glenconner reveals the real events behind The Crown as well as her own life of drama, tragedy and courage, with the wonderful wit and extraordinary resilience which define her.Anne Glenconner has been close to the Royal Family since childhood. Eldest child of the 5th Earl of Leicester, she was, as a daughter, described as 'the greatest disappointment' by her family as she was unable to inherit. Her childhood home Holkham Hall is one of the grandest estates in England. Bordering Sandringham the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret were frequent playmates. From Maid of Honour at the Queen's Coronation to Lady in Waiting to Princess Margaret, Lady Glenconner is a unique witness to royal history, as well as an extraordinary survivor of a generation of aristocratic women trapped without inheritance and burdened with social expectations. She married the charismatic but highly volatile Colin Tennant, Lord Glenconner, who became the owner of Mustique. Together they turned the island into a paradise for the rich and famous, including Mick Jagger and David Bowie, and it became a favourite retreat for Princess Margaret. But beneath the glitz and glamour there has also lurked tragedy. On Lord Glenconner's death in 2010 he left his fortune to a former employee. And of their five children, two grown-up sons died, while a third son had to be nursed back from a coma by Anne, after having suffered a near fatal accident. Anne Glenconner writes with extraordinary wit, generosity and courage and she exposes what life was like in her gilded cage, revealing the role of her great friendship with Princess Margaret, and the freedom she can now finally enjoy in later life.Trade Review'Lady Glenconner's life story is a combination of royal magic, personal tragedy and resilient survival. With humour, courage and preternatural poise, she at last tells the story of her uniquely fascinating life' -- Tina Brown'I couldn't put it down. Funny and touching - like looking through a keyhole at a lost world' -- Rupert Everett'Anne Glenconner has written a remarkable memoir - containing, at last, a genuine portrait of Princess Margaret from one who knew her well. But this book is poignant too, and through the pages shine her courage and good-humoured acceptance of her demons and tragedies' -- Hugo Vickers'Remarkable . . . If your jaw doesn't drop at least three times every chapter, you've not been paying proper attention' * The Sunday Times *'A funny, sometimes tragic and disarmingly frank memoir . . . Lady in Waiting is gentle, wise, unpretentious, but above all inspiring' * The Times *'A startling, rare, beguiling insight into a lost world of royalty and celebrity with as many tears as there are titles' * Daily Express *'It's a total hoot - I couldn't put it down' -- Janet Street-Porter'Marvellous book . . . one's eyes were on stalks' -- Jan Moir * Daily Mail *'A romp of an autobiography' * The Times T2 *'[An] astounding memoir' -- India Knight * The Sunday Times Magazine *'A candid, witty and stylish memoir' -- Miranda Seymour * Financial Times *'An absolute hoot' * The Times *'This memoir made me laugh, wince, cry and gasp. For anyone who craves a bracing dose of the older generation's stiff upper lip, Anne Glenconner provides it.' -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * Daily Mail *'Wonderful' -- Janice Turner * The Times *'The insider memoir of the year' -- Julian Glover * Evening Standard *'A remarkable life, remarkably told' * The Sunday Times *'It's impossible not to admire her fortitude . . . funny and sometimes dazzling' -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *'Rollicking . . . [Lady in Waiting] paints such a rich picture of the aristocracy it's impossible not to marvel at the institution, both in admiration and horror' * Sydney Morning Herald *'This outlandish memoir drips with royal tidbits . . . but it's also insightful on the more damaging aspects of being a member of the British aristocracy. Sobering - and terrific fun' * Metro *'The author reads her own words in indomitable fashion, and anyone who enjoyed Craig Brown's life of Glenconner's former employer, Ma'am Darling, will find this fascinating.' * Financial Times *'This year's Ma'am Darling - the perfect book to curl up on the sofa with.' * The i *'This riveting read will leave you open-mouthed and hungry for more.' * Sunday Post *'Fascinating and beautifully written . . . I can't recommend [Glenconner's] book high enough' * Spectator *'Captivating' -- Catherine Bennett * Observer *'Beyond admirable' -- Sophie Money-Coutts * Sunday Telegraph *'Lady in Waiting has made me laugh and cry several times. I raced through it in 4 days. Book heaven' -- Fearne Cotton'Riveting life' -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *'Discretion and honour emerge as the hallmarks of Glenconner's career as a royal servant, culminating in this book which manages to be both candid and kind.' -- Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *'One of the most enjoyable books of 2019 . . . Anne Glenconner, now 87, captures a lost world in which she waited (with remarkable good grace) on Princess Margaret. Sometimes the best view of history is given by the minor characters' -- Allison Pearson * Sunday Telegraph *'Such a moving book' -- Bella Mackie'A riotous social document and a beautifully written account of a vivid life superbly lived' * The Critic *'Sparkling, endearing and alarming' * Times Literary Supplement *'[Lady in Waiting] has two things going for it: the first is that it is not what it seems; it is definitely not "a lavender sort of scented memoir" . . . Its other great strength is Glenconner herself' -- Hadley Freeman * Guardian *'Stalwart and disarmingly honest . . . emotion resonates through this delightful memoir' * The Wall Street Journal *'Lady Glenconner displays resilience of a different kind in her memoir about the astonishing ups and downs of her artistocratic life' * Mail on Sunday *'Funny, revelatory, poignant, occasionally jaw-dropping' * Sunday Times *'Anne Glenconner writes with wit, generosity and courage about her life in a gilded cage ... Fascinating!' * Platinum *'Finely drawn . . . Glenconner has an eye for detail' * London Review of Books *'The publishing sensation of 2019, this candid, wise, witty and gossip-filled memoir by Princess Margaret's 87-year-old former lady-in-waiting (and best friend) tells the true story behind the scenes in The Crown - and reminds us that, sometimes, it's the minor characters who give us the sharpest view of history' * Daily Telegraph *'A captivating account of a life lived with resilience and grace' * Daily Mail *'The stoical Lady G writes with infectious joy and optimism' * Daily Express *'If you're looking for something to read in lockdown, I can't recommend it highly enough' -- Lorraine Kelly'. . . tremendously touching. It's one of those books that make you long for bed so you can read more!' -- Jilly Cooper * Good Housekeeping *'This funny and touching read will allow you to take a peek inside the glamorous world and volatile life of an aristocrat' * Bella *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE EAST ANGLIAN BOOK AWARD 2023 'Exceptionally well-written and intelligent ... if you are interested in this remarkable microcosm of England, the book will grip you; if you aren't, it will make you realise that you jolly well should be.' Simon Heffer, Spectator 'A deeply sensitive and engaging portrait of a misunderstood county and its people' Financial Times 'A stellar performance' Jonathan Meades Essex. A county both famous and infamous: the stuff of tabloid headlines and reality television, consumer culture and right-wing politicians. England's dark id. But beyond the sensationalist headlines lies a strange and secret place with a rich history: of smugglers and private islands, artists and radicals, myths and legends. It's where the Peasants' Revolt began and the Empire Windrush docked. And - from political movements like Brexit to cultural events like TOWIE - where Essex leads, the rest of us often follow. Deeply researched and thoroughly engaging, The Invention of Essex shows that there is more to this fabled English county than meets the eye.Trade ReviewA deeply personal book .... part-memoir, part-travelogue and part-political tract .... a lucid and erudite guide, [Burrows] is good company * The Sunday Times *Exceptionally well-written and intelligent ... this is a thoughtful, atmospheric book of genuine insight and erudition ... if you are interested in this remarkable microcosm of England, the book will grip you; if you aren't, it will make you realise that you jolly well should be. -- Simon Heffer * Spectator *A journey out into strange territory ... Burrows does not disappoint * FT *[A] heartfelt evocation of the county ... appealingly conversational and unpretentious -- Andrew Motion * New Statesman *Richly researched and written with vim and humour, this book will change the way you see the infamous county * iPaper *Tim Burrows's new book celebrates the rich history and legacy of Essex * Daily Mail *Part-memoir, part-travelogue, and part-political tract ... thoughtful and erudite * The Week *Burrows is acute ... Essex deserves our attention * National *"Before Essex was a punchline, it was a dream," writes Tim Burrows, and he shows you the hopes and humanity of a county more often the subject of lazy stereotype. Thoroughly researched yet deeply personal, this book takes in marsh and factory, William Morris and TOWIE - all delivered with a friendly panache. -- Aditya ChakraborttyA love letter to a county whose variety and richness is so often overlooked because it fails to adhere to the dreary English ideal of picturesque gentility. Burrows digs deep. He meanders like a creek. Nothing is off limits. It's a stellar performance. The first picture caption sets the tone: 'Aerial view of mud' -- Jonathan MeadesAn exceptional book by a lucid and sharp-eyed writer with a personal stake in his story. Burrows has a winning way of combining solidarity with critical distance, and an invigorating habit of cutting through the cliches with one sympathetic blast after another. This is Essex for the 21st century but it's also a book about England, and all the better for the fact that it absolutely refuses to be an elegy -- Patrick Wright, author * The Sea View Has Me Again *Evocative and smart ... Essex is often a prism through which England is seen, whether in terms of housing, politics, art or land ... beautifully written, with intelligence and heart' -- Amy Liptrot, author * The Outrun *Tim Burrows is one of the finest and most humane writers on these islands. In The Invention of Essex he makes the familiar seem strange, and vice versa, by digging deep into his own life to tell the story of his native Essex with eloquence and verve. I can't see how anyone could fail to be delighted and enthralled by this passionate, erudite journey into the soul of the English South-East -- Alex Niven, author * The North Will Rise Again *Tim Burrows has written the most insightful, thorough, hilarious and at times poignant investigation of place, of people, of history and of belonging. I loved every page. The way Tim weaves his own family and experience into such a detailed and well-researched narrative of geography, sociology and history is masterful. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in identity, landscape, family and the concept of home. This book deserves to do brilliantly well and will launch Burrows into the public consciousness as one of our great living writers. -- Nell Frizzell, author * Holding the Baby *A lively tour of a place everyone thinks they know, but seldom understand - and a great book about a built landscape of social mobility, both collective and individualistic - and how quickly one can curdle into the other before anyone has noticed -- Owen Hatherley, author * Red Metropolis: Socialism and the Government of London *This is a book about Essex people and how they created one of Britain's best-known and most distinctive counties. Many have moved from London, but once in Essex they have stayed there. Tim Burrows' sympathetic and vivid investigation of Essex's unique social landscape reveals that its historical roots are ancient and very modern: both are equally important. It's an addictive read -- Francis Pryor, author * The Fens: Discovering England's Ancient Depths *Burrows digs beneath the sensationalism and red-top headlines to paint a deeply sensitive and engaging portrait of a misunderstood county and its people -- 'The Books to Read in 2023' * Financial Times *A roam around the history of England's most infamous county, which dispels lazy myths and reveals a fascinating array of smugglers, radicals and movements. [Tim Burrows] passionately argues that there is much more to Essex than meets the eye * Bookseller *

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Book Synopsis'A brilliantly written and incisive account of gay life' Colm Tóibín 'Each page made me yearn for the dance floor... I'm so glad that someone has written this definitive book about gay bars' Amelia Abraham, author of Queer Intentions Propulsive music and euphoric crowds; drag queens and go-go dancers; strobe lights, dark rooms and glory holes. Gay bars have long been sites of joy and solidarity, sexual expression and activism. But around the world, they are closing. Atherton Lin draws from his experiences of clubs, pubs and dives in London, San Francisco and Los Angeles - and a transatlantic romance that began late one restless night - to trace queer histories. An expansive and vivacious celebration of an institution, Gay Bar is also a stylish, intimate exploration of what these spaces mean, how they are changing and what we stand to lose when they close their doors. 'Essential' Vogue 'Expansive, exuberant and horny' AttitudeTrade ReviewA brilliantly written and incisive account of gay life in Los Angeles, San Francisco and London... Atherton Lin's book is a history lesson, a travelogue, but it is also a display of a rich sensibility, a kind of autobiography using bars as its thread -- Colm Tóibín * Guardian *I can't remember the last time I've been so happily surprised and enchanted by a book. An absolute tour de force -- Maggie Nelson, author of The ArgonautsEach page made me yearn for the dance floor and made me think about our need for queer spaces. I'm so glad that someone has written this definitive book about gay bars -- Amelia Abraham, author of Queer IntentionsSearching, erudite, and sexy. It wears its erudition with verve and grace, probing the past, the present, and the future of queer life while refusing easy binaries. Gay Bar is about pleasure, but is deeply serious too. One of the best books I have read in ages -- Katherine Angel, author of Daddy IssuesI am utterly blown away. We can never have enough complex, intersectional writing about queer experience, and this is a welcome, needed addition to the canon -- Niven Govinden, author of This Brutal HouseShot through with vibrant intellectual adrenalin. With keen original insight, Atherton Lin celebrates the gay bar as a site of ribald, sensuous and urgent resistance. A must-read for all -- Cathy Park Hong, author of Minor FeelingsLively and dirty, intellectual and gossipy, Gay Bar is the rare book that feels both like a guilty pleasure and like it is making you considerably smarter as you read. An important document of queer lives -- Michelle Tea, author of Black WavePainstakingly researched and tenderly written, Gay Bar marks queer bars as sites of resistance and reinvention. I longed for nothing more than to club hop with Atherton Lin -- Alex Espinoza, author of Cruising: An Intimate History of a Radical PastimeA book of rare dream-like power, an exacting anthropology of queer life through the lenses of London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Blackpool. Brainy, audacious, funny, vulnerable, and sexy -- Paul Lisicky, author of Later: My Life At the Edge of the WorldGay Bar exemplifies the multidimensionality Atherton Lin admires: it's at once erotically gamey and intellectually playful, combining soft porn with social theory, semen with semiotics... utterly unique -- Peter Conrad * Observer *Electric, immersive, and impossible to look away from... an illuminating, sexy, vibrant examination of place and identity * Buzzfeed *Playful, hilarious, arousing, shocking and challenging * The Face *Expansive, exuberant and horny * Attitude *A restless and intelligent cultural history of queer nightlife... Beautiful, and original * Parul Sehgal, New York Times *Gay Bar commemorates a way of life without reducing it to one thing or fixing it in time; rather, it revels in variety and incident * Edward Behrens, Literary Review *Gay Bar reads like a cult classic... Atherton Lin's writing vividly itches with the pulse, heat and chaos, the acceptance and rejection of gay nightlife * Paul Flynn, Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisA TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR''As brilliant a history of the Vikings as one could possibly hope to read'' Tom HollandThe ''Viking Age'' is traditionally held to begin in June 793 when Scandinavian raiders attacked the monastery of Lindisfarne in Northumbria, and to end in September 1066, when King Harald Hardrada of Norway died leading the charge against the English line at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. This book, the most wide-ranging and comprehensive assessment of the current state of our knowledge, takes a refreshingly different view. It shows that the Viking expansion began generations before the Lindisfarne raid, and traces Scandinavian history back centuries further to see how these people came to be who they were.The narrative ranges across the whole of the Viking diaspora, from Vinland on the eastern American seaboard to Constantinople and Uzbekistan, with contacts as far away as China. Based on the latest archaeology, it explores the complex origins of the Viking phenomenon and traces the seismic shifts in Scandinavian society that resulted from an economy geared to maritime war. Some of its most striking discoveries include the central role of slavery in Viking life and trade, and the previously unsuspected pirate communities and family migrations that were part of the Viking ''armies'' - not least in England.Especially, Neil Price takes us inside the Norse mind and spirit-world, and across their borders of identity and gender, to reveal startlingly different Vikings to the barbarian marauders of stereotype. He cuts through centuries of received wisdom to try to see the Vikings as they saw themselves - descendants of the first human couple, the Children of Ash and Elm. Healso reminds us of the simultaneous familiarity and strangeness of the past, of how much we cannot know, alongside the discoveries that change the landscape of our understanding. This is an eye-opening and surprisingly moving book.Trade ReviewEverybody thinks they know the Vikings, but Neil Price's magical book casts them in an entirely new light ... Scholarly, colourful and often remarkably funny, this is history at its very best, a richly decorated window on to a very strange world. -- Dominic Sandbrook and Gerard De Groot * The Times Books of the Year *This history takes us deep into the lives - and deaths - of the Vikings ... What surprised me about The Children of Ash and Elm is the extent to which recent archaeological discovery is transforming our picture of the Vikings from the inside. Price, who has spent several decades in ancient cesspits and the remains of Norse workshops, is superbly qualified to understand the significance of what is being unearthed, analysed and dated, and conveys a sense of excitement about just how much is being learnt -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *a book that offers delight after delight ... lyrical, unnerving, specific, and passionately uncertain, all at once ... Throughout this book are glorious collections of Viking facts that are technically known yet still resist our best attempts at interpretation ... Price has a talent for evoking the Vikings' physical surroundings as they might have been - a gift for recreation that's probably natural for an archaeologist accustomed to eking significance from the smallest bit of disturbed dirt ... To convey such a deep sense of scholarly indeterminacy, all while dazzling the reader with cinematic detail-this is, truly, a feat. -- Rebecca Onion * Slate Magazine *This is a comprehensive, lyrically told and personal account of the Viking Age, the product of more than thirty years of experience as a leading archaeologist and researcher. Many books assess the "Viking achievement". The Children of Ash and Elm examines instead who the Vikings were, how they saw themselves and why they did what they did ... no other history of the Vikings is as vibrant or expands the scope of the Viking world to encompass not just landscapes, but mindscapes. -- Jane Kershaw * Times Literary Supplement *It is full of meticulous accounts of the specifics of early medieval Scandinavian daily life ... beautifully evocative, engaging and thought-provoking ... It is impossible not to admire the breadth and range of this book's discussion of Viking material culture. -- Eleanor Parker * History Today *Neil Price's The Children of Ash and Elm is an illuminating and insightful tour of the Viking era; his narrative is composed from his obvious expertise, and his utter passion. He loves this subject and he wants to invite the reader to share his enthusiasm ... Compelling, engaging, insightful and informative ... we couldn't hope for a more entertaining or enlightening guide - Neil Price has given us an exceptional book, and it is one to be treasured. -- Caroline Spalding * Yorkshire Times *Price is adept at bringing this cosmopolitan and brutal world to life, interweaving many complicated strands of history with his own experience in the field along with poetic meditations on a people and time long since passed. -- Rhian Sasseen * The Paris Review *fascinating -- Paul Muldoon * TLS Books of the Year *a very human history of the period, one that is by turns illuminating, surprising and even moving ... much of the beauty of Price work is in its qualitative, sometimes subjective nature, even while it remains a meticulously researched, rigorous piece of scholarship. -- Eleanor Barraclough * Literary Review *This book is the closest thing I have found to a time machine. It brilliantly clears the fog of the past from the Viking era. Extremely well written...if you are seeking an accessible, yet definitive and up-to-date book on the Vikings, this is the one you want. -- Terje Birkedal * The Norwegian American *a thrilling read ... His clear, engaging style introduces us to the Scandinavian communities of the eighth and ninth centuries, centered around the farmstead, before catapulting us overseas and outward into an expanding world where raiding and trading quickly boosted the wealth of individuals and the ambitions of the elites. ... The stereotype of the Viking that we know from history books and popular media is here dismantled and presented anew by Mr. Price in all its wonderful, terrifying complexity and ambiguity. -- Karin Altenberg * Wall Street Journal *The question that this dark, brilliantly written and absorbing book asks is: who were these people and where did this violence come from?...The powerful and unsettling message of this book is that they never went home. These strange, vicious people are our forebears. They never went home. -- Jay Elwes * Spectator *as Neil Price shows in his colourful, revelatory new book, we are almost always looking at the Vikings the wrong way around. Price is one of the world's foremost experts on the Vikings and holds the chair of archaeology at Uppsala University ... He may know more about medieval Scandinavia than anyone else alive, and he aims to show us these fascinating people as they saw themselves, not as they were perceived by those on the sharp end of their robbery ... Thousands of books have been published about the Vikings - this is one of the very best. -- Dan Jones * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER''A mind-expanding tour of the world without leaving your paintbox. Every colour has a story, and here are some of the most alluring, alarming, and thought-provoking. Very hard painting the hallway magnolia after this inspiring primer.'' Simon GarfieldThe Secret Lives of Colour tells the unusual stories of the 75 most fascinating shades, dyes and hues. From blonde to ginger, the brown that changed the way battles were fought to the white that protected against the plague, Picasso''s blue period to the charcoal on the cave walls at Lascaux, acid yellow to kelly green, and from scarlet women to imperial purple, these surprising stories run like a bright thread throughout history. In this book Kassia St Clair has turned her lifelong obsession with colours and where they come from (whether Van Gogh''s chrome yellow sunflowersTrade ReviewIf you want to fall back in love with colour, read The Secret Lives of Colour * SUNDAY TELEGRAPH *A dazzling and vibrant history of colour, from Van Gogh's wilting yellow sunflowers to Turner's deadly green and Picasso's darkest period * MAIL ON SUNDAY *This is a gorgeous book * GUARDIAN *Even Farrow and Ball don't know as much about the secret lore of colour as Kassia St Clair... Almost every page throws up an unexpected detail and insight... Extraordinarily full and interesting...An ideal crib and a valuable resource not only for the design-conscious but for students. -- Brian Morton * TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT *The weirdly fascinating history of your favourite hues from an unwittingly deadly, arsenic-tinged green to Van Gogh's favoured yellow * WIRED *'An excellent, innovative and idiosyncratic cultural history that will colour your thinking...St Clair writes with style, energy and knowledge, explaining many mysteries succinctly and wittily, such as why a regular tomato is, for example, not red. Tomatoes appear red because that's the very wavelength their skin does not absorb. A 'red' tomato lies to tell the truth.. Snappily designed, with high production values...[The Secret Lives of Colour is] attractive and diverting.' -- Stephen Bayley * SPECTATOR *Beautiful...See how a single colour can tell different stories across the globe. * DAILY MAIL *A work of art in its own right... a beautiful tactile book filled with fascinating anecdotes about every colour from blonde to puce. * THE POOL *Charming * FINANCIAL TIMES *From pink boys' clothes to blue warpaint; why orange spells danger and other colourful tales * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Inspiring, compelling and beautifully designed . . . this book will appeal to anyone * THE LADY *A mind-expanding tour of the world without leaving your paintbox. Every colour has a story, and here are some of the most alluring, alarming, and thought-provoking. Very hard painting the hallway magnolia after this inspiring primer * SIMON GARFIELD *A companionable, informative and lively guide to sights so easily taken for granted * THE ECONOMIST *A vivid exploration of the world of colour and our colourful world . . . St Clair is able to dance effortlessly through an astonishing range of subjects . . . What The Secret Lives of Colour offers really is, in some sense, a flash portrait of human civilisation, a zigzagging and unpredictable exploration of how significantly colour has shaped histories and disciplines, fuelled empires, changed the nature of war and caused species to flourish or face extinction * CHEMISTRY WORLD *An irresistible lexicon of colours * COUNTRY LIVING *Well-researched and engaging * HOUSE & GARDEN *Brimming with interesting facts, historical insights and curious tales. * ELLE DECORATION *Kassia St Clair is well-placed to observe the important place that colour has in human civilisation and development...Discursive and anecdotal... this book holds many surprises. Nothing is quite what it seems or how it is seen. * THE OLDIE *A mix of science lore and delightful bookmaking, The Secret Lives of Colour is for reading, dipping and holding up against your curtains * The Tablet *Extremely well-researched historically, each colour story is rich in detail and description, combining vignettes of historical actors with contextual background ranging from the ancient past to the present day. For anyone who was ever fascinated by a box of crayons, coloured pencils or the story of people in time, St Clair's book will not disappoint * Review 31 *I recommend the book to all creatives - and non-creatives, too! * Dame Zandra Rhodes *Beautifully presented . . . The book is simply about colour. But colour is not simple. The history, geography, politics, scandals and influence of colours are documented here with a knowledgeable voice. With references from Jessica Rabbit to Lord Mountbatten, from Greek poets to slavery, this is a fascinating read -- Viv Albertine * GUARDIAN, Book of the Year *

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Book Synopsis'A brilliant and important book ... Five Stars!' Mark Dolan, talkRADIO'An important new book' Daily Express An alternative history of the world that exposes some of the biggest lies ever told and how they've been used over time.Lincoln did not believe all men were created equal.The Aztecs were not slaughtered by the Spanish Conquistadors.And Churchill was not the man that people love to remember.In this fascinating new book, journalist and author Otto English takes ten great lies from history and shows how our present continues to be manipulated by the fabrications of the past.He looks at how so much of what we take to be historical fact is, in fact, fiction. From the myths of WW2 to the adventures of Columbus, and from the self-serving legends of 'great men' to the origins of curry – fake history is everywhere and used ever more to impact our modern world.Setting out to redress the balance, English tears apart the lies propagated by politicians and think tanks, the grand narratives spun by populists and the media, the stories on your friend's Facebook feed and the tales you were told in childhood. And, in doing so, reclaims the truth from those who have perverted it.Fake History exposes everything you weren't told in school and why you weren't taught it.Trade Review'A brilliant and important book ... Five Stars!' -- Mark Dolan, talkRADIO'An important new book' * Daily Express *'A wonderful dissection of some of history's heroes and villains who are unfairly castigated or wrongly glorified' * Scotsman *

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Book SynopsisA FINALIST FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023 SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 INDIE CHAMPIONS AWARDS FOR NON-FICTION A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SUMMER BOOK 2023 'Prepare to be blown away' CHIKWE IHEKWEAZU, Assistant Director General at WHO 'Important and ambitious' OBSERVER This searing polemic reveals how racism and colonialism have shaped science and medicine - leading to the health inequalities we see all around us today. Activist, doctor and patient, Annabel Sowemimo reinserts the stories of Black and Indigenous scientists and doctors into the historical narrative, reframing how we see the 'objective' systems we operate within. In confronting this history, she argues for better understanding of our collective past to bring about urgent change. 'Outstanding ... I can't stress the importance of this book strongly enough' JACQUELINE ROY, author of The Fat Lady Sings 'An unflinching, hugely eye-opening exploration of medicine's brutal colonial history' THE iTrade ReviewDivided is a vital call to action. With passion and expertise, Dr Sowemimo exposes the racism in modern medicine and shows us how we can - and must - transform healthcare for future generations -- Leah HazardAn unflinching, hugely eye-opening exploration of medicine's brutal colonial history * The i *Important and ambitious ... Divided is a necessary book ... A call to action -- Roopa Farooki, Book of the Day * Observer *An illuminating and powerful intersectional analysis of health inequalities and racism * i-D Magazine, All the books to be excited for in 2023 *Annabel Sowemimo ... is taking the art of curating stories that matter to another level. Prepare to be blown away -- Chikwe Ihekweazu, Assistant Director General at WHODivided restores [historic Black and Indigenous scientists] to the history of medicine and makes a convincing case for decolonising healthcare * New Scientist *Through meticulous research and compelling story-telling, the book is an erudite and urgent examination of how modern medicine is intertwined with colonial histories and racist ideas. Annabel deftly weaves history, her own experiences and contemporary inequalities into a powerful and urgent book. While essential reading for anyone working in healthcare, Annabel reminds us that the arts and humanities were also instrumental in communicating so-called 'scientific' ideas about race that informed medical practices ... important reading for anyone engaged in anti-racist and decolonising work across all disciplines -- Joanna Wolfarth, author of MILKNecessary. In the right hands, this book will save lives -- Nova Reid, author of THE GOOD ALLYThis outstanding book should be mandatory reading for all medical practitioners. Beautifully written and erudite, yet highly accessible, it conveys some uncomfortable truths about the unequal treatment of patients of colour, locating the origins of this in European colonialism, history and science. It provides a basis for bringing an end to discriminatory practices, which couldn't be more timely, particularly in the context of COVID. Annabel Sowemimo's compassion and humanity shine through. I can't stress the importance of this book strongly enough -- Jacqueline Roy, author of THE FAT LADY SINGSWide-ranging in scope, Divided is an important contribution to the literature on racism and health. Dr Sowemimo challenges us to think deeper about what we know about medicine and question what we have been taught. Divided is an essential book for anyone working in healthcare, and will be of interest to anyone who is a patient. I will be recommending it far and wide! -- Dr Rageshri DhairyawanThis polemic [...] explains how health divisions are not accidental but occur because of ways in which modern healthcare is built on the back of race science and our colonial history * Bookseller, Editor's Choice *

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Book SynopsisJoin travel writer and train enthusiast Tom Chesshyre as he celebrates 200 years of passenger railways in a zigzagging tour around the UK - the home of the railways - from the Isle of Wight to Snowdonia, Inverness and PenzanceIn a small market town in the northeast of England in 1825, something momentous happened: ticket-bearing human beings began moving along wrought-iron tracks on a contraption with wheels powered by engines. The contraption was called a train. What happened in Darlington, along a 26-mile line to Stockton, would kickstart the railway revolution. Today, 1.3 million miles of tracks crisscross the planet.To celebrate the 200th anniversary of this groundbreaking event, Tom Chesshyre embarks on a journey around the country that invented trains, taking in many heritage lines maintained by armies of enthusiasts. On a series of rides beginning and ending in Darlington on a train-inspired circle, Tom enjoys the scenery, seeks out the history, dodges delays (best he can), and lets the rhythm of the clattering rails help him understand what it is about trains - especially wonderful old trains - that we love so much.

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Book SynopsisTHE MUCH-ANTICIPATED FOLLOW-UP TO INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE essential reading ahead of the 2024 US electionTyranny of the Minority is an exceptional book, one of the best guides out there to the crisis of American democracy' Zack Beauchamp, Vox-------------------------------------How has democracy become so threatened and what can we do to save it?With the clarity and brilliance that made their first book, How Democracies Die, a global bestseller, leading Harvard professors Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a coherent new framework for understanding the dangerous times we live in. They draw on a wealth of examples from the Capitol riots to Edwardian Britain, from 1930s France to present-day Thailand to explore right-wing efforts to undermine the very foundations of the American political system, and to explain why and how political parties turn against democracy.With its attention on factors from election losses to demographic change and voting rights, its urgent call for a reform of our politics to balance the need for majority rule with the need for minority protections, and a citizens' movement to put enough pressure on lawmakers to act before it's too late, Tyranny of the Minority is a must-read for everyone keen to see more vibrant democracy and to understand where future threats may come from.-------------------------------------Just like their previous work, this book is concise, readable, and convincing' Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of DemocracyAn exceptionally perceptive and wide-ranging book . . . [that lays] out an ambitious fifteen-plank project of democratic renewal' Lawrence Douglas, TLS

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Book SynopsisA fascinating and beautifully illustrated journey across the world and through the centuries in search of the sea monster.They rave for food with unceasing frenzy, being always ahungered and never abating the gluttony of their terrible maw.' Pliny the ElderThis absorbing exploration of the sea monster in all its tentacular forms is a deep dive into the world of sirens, mermaids, Scylla and kraken from 3C BCE to the modern day. Told through writings from ancient myths, early scientific natural histories and iconic literature, tales are intertwined with wonderful engravings, diagrams and paintings. These accounts give a unique perspective on the histories of societies and cultures around the world, taking in significant events like the Age of Sail, the Enlightenment and Darwinian evolution.With their excess size, claws, tentacles and bloodlust, monsters represent our greatest fears: the unknown, the dark, the natural world and even ourselves. As stories passed from generation to generation, they were analogues for dangerous weather events, foreign invaders, enemy nations, physical phenomena and real animals.Prema Arasu brings together excerpts from Beowulf, Moby-Dick and many other works by authors such as Homer, HP Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, Jules Verne, HG Wells Each is brought to life with an introduction and beautifully gory artwork, making this a gorgeous book that's sure to draw you in and drag you down

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Book SynopsisTHE TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZEDrowned. Buried by sand. Decimated by plague. Plunged off a cliff.This is the forgotten history of Britain''s lost cities, ghost towns and vanished villages: our shadowlands.''Brilliant.'' TOM HOLLAND''A beautiful book, truly original . . . It is a marvellous achievement.''IAN MORTIMER, author of The Time Traveller''s Guide to Medieval England''Well researched, beautifully written and packed with interesting detail.''CLAIRE TOMALIN''An exquisitely written, moving and elegiac exploration.''SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB''Consistently interesting . . . Green's passion and historical vision bursts from the page, summoning up the past in surround sound and sensual prose.''CAL FLYN, THE TIMES, author of Islands of AbandonmentHistorian Matthew Green traTrade Review'A miraculous work of resurrection, stinging in a perpetual present'. - IAIN SINCLAIR, author of The Gold Machine'Beautifully written.' - SUNDAY TIMES'Startling.' - FINANCIAL TIMES'Splendid.' -THE HERALD'Compelling.' - HISTORY TODAY'Excellent.' - THE SPECTATOR'Fascinating.' -DAILY MAIL'Accomplished.' - CAUGHT BY THE RIVER'Outstanding.' - MIRROR

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Book SynopsisA masterpiece of local history, by the Queen of the genre; Gillian Tindall has acquired a devoted readership through her lovingly researched works, such as the prize-winning "The House" by the Thames and "Celestine: Voices from a French Village". A journey through time: from a scattering of cottages along a pre-roman horse track, to a medieval parish and staging post for travellers, onwards into a prosperous Tudor village favoured by gentlemen for their country seats and an 18th century resort of pleasure gardens eventually transformed by a warren of railway lines into a thickly populated working-class district. Fragments of this past can still be found by the observant eye. This is one of a precious handful of books (such as Montaillou and Akenfield) that in their precise examination of a particular locality open our understanding of the universal themes of the past. In this case it is Kentish Town in London that reveals its complex secrets to us, through the resurrection of its now buried rivers and wells, coaching house, landlords, traders, and simple tennants.

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Book SynopsisMaurice O. Wallace explores the sonic character of Martin Luther King Jr.'s voice and how a mixture of architecture, acoustics, sound technology, and gospel influenced it.Trade Review"King's Vibrato provides the opportunity to listen to and hear black cultural history through the ears of Maurice O. Wallace." -- Diane Grams * Ethnic and Racial Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 I. Architectures of the Incantatory 1. Dying Words: The Aural Afterlife of Martin Luther King Jr. 21 2. Swinging the God Box: Modernism, Organology, and the Ebenezer Sound 43 3. The Cantor King: Reform Preaching, Cantorial Style, and Acoustic Memory in Chicago’s Black Belt 71 II. Nettie’s Nocturne 4. King’s Gospel Modernism: The Politics of Lament, the Politics of Loss 97 5. Four Women: Alberta, Coretta, Mahalia, Aretha 138 III. Technologies of Freedom 6. King’s Vibrato: Visual Oratory and the “Sound of the Photograph” 185 7. Dream Variations: “I Have a Dream” and the Sonic Politics of Race and Place 229 Epilogue. “It’s Moanin’ Time”: Black Grief and the End of Words 273 Notes 281 Bibliography 325 Index 343

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Book SynopsisMark Kurlansky is the author of 23 books of fiction, nonfiction, children's writing. His best-selling Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World won the 1999 James Beard Award for Food Writing and the 1999 Glenfiddich Award. His other works include: Salt, The Basque History of the World and the short story collection The White Man in the Tree. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.Trade ReviewRefreshing and invigorating, full of fascinating fact * Independent on Sunday *This is an extraordinary little book, unputdownable, written in the most lyrical, flowing style which paints vivid pictures and, at the same time, punches into place hard facts that stop you dead in your tracks. A compulsive read -- Sir Roy Strong * Express on Sunday *Crisply and elegantly written - piques the appetite and sharpens the senses * Sunday Telegraph *A rich stew about every salt-influenced concoction and creation, from the first sausages and cured hams and fish sauces to the invention of parmesan, tomato ketchup and Tabasco sauce * Financial Times *An entertainingly anecdotal and lovingly partisan history. * Independent *

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Book SynopsisKaren Klaiber Hersch is Associate Professor of Greek and Roman Classics at Temple University, Pennsylvania, USA. She is the author of The Roman Wedding: Ritual and Meaning in Antiquity (2010).Table of ContentsList of Illustrations General Editor’s Preface, Joanne M. Ferraro (San Diego State University, USA) Introduction, Karen Klaiber Hersch (Temple University, USA) 1. Courtship and Ritual, Katherine Wasdin (George Washington University, USA) 2. Religion, Matthew P. J. Dillon (University of New England, Australia) 3. State and Law, Matthew J. Perry (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, USA) 4. The Ties That Bind, Katariina Mustakallio (University of Tampere, Finland) 5. The Family Economy, Judith P. Hallett (University of Maryland, College Park, USA) 6. Love, Sex, and Sexuality, Vered Lev Kenaan (University of Haifa, Israel) 7. Breaking Vows, Eva Cantarella (University of Milan, Italy) 8. Representation, Noelle Zeiner-Carmichael (College of Charleston, USA) Notes Bibliography Contributors Index

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Book Synopsis‘A monumental yet intimate biography, a vivid portrait of the man, the statesman and the saint’ The TimesMahatma Gandhi became a legend in his own time. A tireless fighter for human rights and for Indian independence, his strategy of satyagraha, or passive resistance, earned him the admiration of millions. Louis Fischer's biography is the definitive account of Ghandi's life; it tells the astonishing story of one man who changed the world forever. This is the perfect read to celebrate and understand Ghandi in the year of the 150th anniversary of his birth.Trade ReviewThe best biography of Gandhi... I was enthralled from the first page...it changed my life * Sir Richard Attenborough *A monumental yet intimate biography, a vivid portrait of the man, the statesman and the saint * The Times *An important work * London Review of Books *Generous and conscientious... You feel Gandhi would have liked it that way * New York Herald Tribune *Equally successful in presenting the world figure with a cure for the world's woes and the plain little man with the kind look and smile * The Times *

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Book Synopsis"Five thousand years have now elapsed since the creation of the world, and still it is undecided whether or not there has even been an instance of the spirit of any person appearing after death. All argument is against it; but all belief is for it." --Samuel Johnson Ghosts are woven into the very fabric of life. In Britain, every town, village, and great house has a spectral resident, and their enduring popularity in literature, art, folklore, and film attests to their continuing power to fascinate, terrify, and inspire. Our conceptions of ghosts--the fears they provoke, the forms they take--are connected to the conventions and beliefs of each particular era, from the marauding undead of the Middle Ages to the psychologically charged presences of our own age. The ghost is no less than the mirror of the times. Organized chronologically, this new cultural history features a dazzling range of artists and writers, including William Hogarth, William Blake, Henry Fuseli, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, John Everett Millais, Susan Hiller and Jeremy Deller; John Donne, William Shakespeare, Samuel Pepys, Daniel Defoe, Percy and Mary Shelley, Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, Henry James, Thomas Hardy, Muriel Spark, Hilary Mantel, and Sarah Waters.Trade Review`A lively guide to the most persistent of spooky figures' The Economist. ; `Illuminating and entertaining, with lavish illustrations and eloquent narration' The Telegraph. ; `The Ghost: A Cultural History is a work of profound scholarship and imaginative engagement, beautifully written and elegantly constructed. It's the finest study of its kind I've read.' - The Literary Review, review by John Harwood.

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Book Synopsis**SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER** **RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK** **WATERSTONES SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE MONTH**''An astonishing feat''Christina Patterson, Sunday Times''An inspiring and moving sideways look at history''Eithne Farry, Sunday Express An eloquent blend of history and memoir, Threads of Life is an evocative and moving book about the need we all have to tell our story.From political propaganda in medieval France to secret treason in Tudor England, from the mothers of the desaparecidos in Argentina to First World War soldiers with PTSD, from a POW camp in Singapore to a family attic in Scotland, Threads of Life is a global chronicle of identity, protest, memory and politics. Banner-maker, community textile artist and textile curator Clare Hunter chronicles the stories of the men and women, over centuries and across continents, who have used the language of sewing to make their voiTrade ReviewIt's an astonishing feat, this patchwork quilt of history, culture and politics, which takes us from Saxon England to colonised African tribes, Palestinian villages, rural China and the cramped homes of American slaves . . . Her highly impressive debut is a richly textured and moving record of a history that has largely being lost. -- Christina Patterson * Sunday Times *Triumphant . . . an inspiration to anyone who has ever thought of picking up a needle and thread. -- Jane Shilling * Mail on Sunday *Astonishing . . . Hunter studied creative writing and cleverly uses personal narrative to create a persona one will instantly like . . . so well written. * TLS *Fascinating * Daily Telegraph *A blend of history and memoir, the book roves across centuries and continents to reveal how sewing has played a crucial part in our lives - from courts and battlefields to prisons and drawing rooms... Many of the stories in Threads of Life are heart-breaking...This beautiful, moving book makes you want to rush out and grab a needle. -- Liz Hoggard * Radio Times *Enchanting * S Magazine *Enthralling... By unpicking the seams of the clothes on our backs, Clare Hunter has brought to light elements of history that have languished in our collective attic for far too long. Threadsof Life is a terrific book. -- Susan Flockhart * The Herald *Enthralling...beautiful... An inspiring and moving sideways look at history. -- Eithne Farry * Sunday Express *Threads of Life is a beautifully considered book that reminds us of how much sewing plays a crucial part in expressing the many facets of our lives. Clare Hunter has managed to mix the personal with the political with moving results. Reading it made me pick up my needle with a new perspective. -- Tracy ChevalierHunter's non-fiction debut reframes needlework as a powerful and political medium . . . Threads of Life is a compelling and beautifully written account of how marginalised peoples throughout history have used the language of sewing, embroidery and textiles to tell their neglected stories. -- Caroline Sanderson * The Bookseller *A rich and moving history of sewing and embroidery * Sunday Times (Culture) *A compelling account of how needlework has given a voice to the voiceless * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED for the Baillie Gifford Prize's 25th Anniversary Winner of Winners awardWINNER OF THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE 2020A Spectator Book of the Year A Times Book of the Year A Telegraph Book of the Year A Sunday Times Book of the YearFrom the award-winning author of Ma'am Darling: 99 Glimpses of Princess Margaret comes a fascinating, hilarious, kaleidoscopic biography of the Fab Four.John Updike compared them to the sun coming out on an Easter morning'. Bob Dylan introduced them to drugs. The Duchess of Windsor adored them. Noel Coward despised them. JRR Tolkien snubbed them. The Rolling Stones copied them. Loenard Bernstein admired them. Muhammad Ali called them little sissies'. Successive Prime Ministers sucked up to them. No one has remained unaffected by the music of The Beatles. As Queen Elizabeth II observed on her golden wedding anniversary, Think what we would have missed if we had never heard The Beatles.'One Two Three Four traces the chance fusion of the four key elemeTrade Review‘A ridiculously enjoyable treat . . . Brown is such an infectiously jolly writer that you don’t even need to like the Beatles to enjoy his book . . . brilliant . . . hilarious . . . And at a time when, like everybody else, I was feeling not entirely thrilled about the news, I loved every word of it.’ Sunday Times ‘A celestial combination of writer and subject . . . One Two Three Four is a critical appreciation, a personal history, a miscellany, a work of scholarship and speculation, and a tribute as passionate and worshipful as any fan letter.’ Esquire ‘The perfect antidote to these times.’ Julian Barnes, Guardian ‘Kaleidoscopic … It’s like a compilation of mobile phone footage in a modern editing style as you piece together this extraordinary journey. I think it’s the most exhilarating way of reading a biography; a masterpiece’ Alexander Armstrong ‘It’s ingenious, wholly original (not a given, what with the subject matter), absolutely gripping, funny, sad and moving. A complete treat.’ India Knight 'I have never been very interested in the Beatles. In fact I wouldn’t cross the road to see them . . . even Abbey Road. Yet I can’t put this wonderful book down.' Barry Humphries, Telegraph ‘A brilliantly executed study of cultural time, social space and the madness of fame . . . One Two Three Four, by putting The Beatles in their place as well as their time, is by far the best book anyone has written about them and the closest we can get to the truth.’ Literary Review ‘Brown seems to have invented a wholly new biographical form. In a polychromatic cavalcade of chapters of varying length, the man with kaleidoscope eyes conveys what it was like to live through those extraordinary Beatles years . . . If you want to know what it was like to live those extraordinary Beatles years in real time, read this book.’ Alan Johnson, Spectator

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2018 A Book of the Year for the Evening Standard and the Observer A black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman is baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mauritanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the remarkable stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England… They were present at some of the defining moments of the age. They were christened, married and buried by the Church. They were paid wages like any other Tudors. The untold stories of the Black Tudors, dazzlingly brought to life by Kaufmann, will transform how we see this most intriguing period of history.Trade Review‘That rare thing: a book about the 16th century that said something new.’ * Evening Standard, Books of the Year *‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth. Black Tudors is a critical book that allows us to better understand an era that fascinates us like no other.’ -- David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History‘Splendid…that rare thing – a work of history about the Tudors that actually says something fresh and new…a cracking contribution to the field.’ * Dan Jones, Sunday Times *‘This is history on the cutting edge of archival research, but accessibly written and alive with human details and warmth. Black Tudors is a critical book that allows us to better understand an era that fascinates us like no other.’ -- David Olusoga, author of Black and British: A Forgotten History‘Enlightening and constantly surprising… Far too many popular studies of the Tudors return the same faces. To its great credit, Black Tudors presents fresh figures and challenges the way we look at them.’ * Jessie Childs, Financial Times *‘Consistently fascinating, historically invaluable…the narrative is pacy, the research sympathetically thorough.. Anyone reading it will never look at Tudor England in the same light again'. * Daily Mail *‘[The] audience will find itself in the hands of a historian of excellent investigative skills, who shows attention to detail, uses evidence with appropriate caution, and has the sensibility of a scholar.’ * Times Literary Supplement *‘The industry and skill with which Miranda Kaufmann has hunted for these sources and teased out their meanings are exemplary… Kaufmann’s greatest skill is her ability to fill in the background on every topic that arises, from piracy to silk-weaving to brothels to Anglo-Moroccan diplomacy…In the hands of a lesser writer this would be mere padding with secondary material, but she investigates every subject in the same depth… a fascinating book, which brings a sadly neglected part of our history to life, and grinds no ideological axes in the process’. * Daily Telegraph *‘Both an eye-opener and a good read.’ * Sorted *‘Miranda Kaufmann writes engagingly as she reveals the untold stories of Africans who lived free, worked for wages, married and died in 16th and 17th century England.’ * CHOICE *‘Fascinating.’ * Sunday Telegraph *‘Meticulous research draws on sources from letters to legal papers…The detail [Kaufmann] unearths brings to life those absent from the pages of history.’ * Observer *‘A thought-provoking account of 10 remarkable people, and a valuable corrective to some unthinking assumptions about both Tudor society and the role of racial minorities in English history.’ * Times Higher Education *‘A powerful and perceptive reassessment of a time that has too long been sidelined by popular historical storytelling.’ * Press Association *‘Impressively detailed and persuasively argued.’ * Diplomat *‘Thought-provoking… [Kaufmann] takes readers on fascinating excursions through Moroccan history, the European exploration of South America, and the seedier side of London.’ * Christian Science Monitor *‘An absolute joy.’ * Leanda de Lisle, The Times *‘Black Tudors demonstrates the way understanding of history is constantly changing based on changing contemporary values and perspectives. For someone dedicated to an awareness of oppression throughout history, Black Tudors is an important but difficult read, inspiring a desire for more information.’ -- The Riveter Magazine‘In a work of brilliant sleuthing, engagingly written, Kaufmann reclaims long-forgotten lives and fundamentally challenges our preconceptions of Tudor and Jacobean attitudes to race and slavery.’ -- John Guy, bestselling author of Elizabeth: The Forgotten Years‘Miranda Kaufmann has written a superb antidote both to the cliches of Tudor history and to the assumption that Black migration to Britain began with the Windrush. Her vivid portrait of Black Tudor lives sweeps readers around the world in the company of Diego, manservant to Sir Francis Drake, and back to the life of single woman Cattelena in the Gloucestershire countryside. Grounded in precise and detailed historical research, Black Tudors promises to change perceptions of a period at the heart of Britain’s national identity.’ -- Catherine Fletcher, author of The Black Prince of Florence‘The book is based on impeccable research in a rich array of sources. But Dr Kaufmann wears her learning lightly and she tells a series of fascinating stories with an elegance and wit that should appeal to many readers.’ -- Clive Holmes, Emeritus Fellow and Lecturer in History, University of Oxford‘A brilliant example of how to use the most detailed kind of archival data to present a broadly accessible picture of the past, and one which has enormous relevance to the present controversies about immigration and diversity.’ -- Paul Kaplan, Professor of Art History, State University of New York, Purchase‘The very concept of black Tudors may sound unlikely, but in this highly readable yet intensively researched book, Kaufmann…makes clear that people of African descent were residing in England centuries before the postwar Windrush generation and were not necessarily enslaved. By examining in detail the lives of 10 previously obscure men and women, Kaufmann depicts the great diversity of their experiences in 16th- and early-17th-century England… Kaufmann also persuasively argues that the enslavement of Africans emerged as a response to the socioeconomic conditions of England’s Caribbean and North American colonies, rather than as an inevitable result of a supposedly inherent racism within early modern English culture. Kaufmann’s crucial contention, in conjunction with her lively prose and fascinating microhistories, should draw some well-deserved attention.’ * Publishers Weekly, starred review *‘An eminently readable book that offers contemporary readers valuable insights into racial relations of centuries past.’ * Kirkus *‘Tudor England’s legendary history is a rich locus in the popular imagination. Full of pageantry and larger-than-life personalities, the period is a favorite of the Anglophilic world. But what if that seemingly monolithic world was also black?… For a modern audience acculturated to thinking of Africans in the West as either enslaved or altogether absent, the picture that emerges challenges the centrality of whiteness and slavery in the Tudor period. Kaufmann takes pains to situate Great Britain on the national stage as a minor nation emerging from civil war and fighting to be acknowledged at the international level… Black Tudors concentrates on individuals who are enmeshed in the historical narrative and effectively places them right back where they’ve always belonged.’ * Foreword Reviews *‘Who knew that a diver from West Africa worked to salvage Henry VIII’s flagship the Mary Rose? Based on a wealth of original research, Miranda Kaufmann’s Black Tudors restores the black presence to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England in all its lively detail. Africans lived and worked not as slaves but as independent agents, from mariners to silk weavers, women and men, prince and prostitute. Black Tudors challenges assumptions about ethnic identity and racism in Tudor England. It will be required reading for anyone interested in new directions in Tudor history.’ -- Dr John Cooper, Senior Lecturer in History, University of York, and author of The Queen’s Agent‘This meticulously researched book… it’s remarkable that she’s created a book that so vividly paints a broad picture of Tudor life, making it both entirely readable and utterly fascinating.’ -- Dorset Magazine

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisEmbark on a captivating journey through the ages with Shelf Life, a meticulously crafted exploration of bookselling and publishing spanning two millennia. This engaging narrative, designed for book lovers of all kinds, unveils the resilience and innovation of key figures who shaped the literary landscape. From the pioneering days of William Caxton to the contemporary influence of Jeff Bezos, the book chronicles the stories of those who transformed the world of books.As the narrative navigates the ever-evolving terrain of book retail, it delves into the seismic changes of the past forty years and reflects on the current state of the industry.Shelf Life not only chronicles the past but also looks ahead, offering insights into the challenges and future possibilities for publishing and bookselling in the twenty-first century. A must-read for anyone passionate about books, bookshops, and the enduring legacy of the written word.

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Book SynopsisA radical exploration of the power and public (mis)representation of womenâs bodies, from ancient mysteries to the present day.

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Book Synopsis''A wonderful little book of recipes and stories'' - NIGELLA LAWSON''History, stories, recipes and beautiful illustrations'' - OLIA HERCULES''Christmas brings the indestructibility of hope in times of the greatest hopelessness. As long as we celebrate this holiday, we can neither be defeated nor destroyed. This is the message that Ukraine is trying to convey to the world. And this is what our book is about.''From Christmas music to gifts and food, as well as a look back through the country''s rich and troubled history through the perspective of the festive season, this beautifully illustrated and powerful book introduces readers to Ukraine''s unique Christmas traditions. In a country where East and West meet, this is a fascinating and unmissable guide to capturing the spirit of one of the most important times of year and a powerful reminder of the strength of holding on to your culture and beliefs, even as others try to take everything from y

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Book SynopsisQuadratic equations, Pythagoras’ theorem, imaginary numbers, and pi — you may remember studying these at school, but did anyone ever explain why? Never fear — bestselling science writer, and your new favourite maths teacher, Michael Brooks, is here to help. In The Maths That Made Us, Brooks reminds us of the wonders of numbers: how they enabled explorers to travel far across the seas and astronomers to map the heavens; how they won wars and halted the HIV epidemic; how they are responsible for the design of your home and almost everything in it, down to the smartphone in your pocket. His clear explanations of the maths that built our world, along with stories about where it came from and how it shaped human history, will engage and delight. From ancient Egyptian priests to the Apollo astronauts, and Babylonian tax collectors to juggling robots, join Brooks and his extraordinarily eccentric cast of characters in discovering how maths made us who we are today.Trade Review‘At school, many of us wondered about the point of geometry, calculus, and algebra. Brooks shows how the childhood question “What’s the point of this?” can be reframed: esoteric concepts such as imaginary numbers, cryptography, and the semi-mystical digits of pi are revealed to be the essential building blocks of the 21st century.’ -- Liz Else and Simon Ings * New Scientist *‘An alternative textbook that suggests a new way of thinking about maths, and a more congenial way of teaching it — as not simply an abstract science but as a cultural achievement, an indelible and indispensable part of human history.’ -- Lola Seaton * New Statesman *‘How brilliant of Michael Brooks to be able to reignite my almost-forgotten childhood love of mathematics. Written with beauty, style, and care for the history as well as for the science. A tour de force.’ -- Angela Saini, author of Superior: the return of race science‘Michael Brooks has written the formula that reduces to near zero any sense that maths could be a dull subject to study. [The Maths That Made Us] brings to life in accessible, lively terms how maths helps us navigate pandemics, space travel, and encrypted apps — all while celebrating the complicated and fascinating characters, from Euclid to Florence Nightingale, who have pushed our knowledge forward. Why isn’t school maths taught like this?’ -- David Rowan, founding editor-in-chief of WIRED UK and author of Non-Bullshit Innovation‘In this thrilling, colourful, and deeply researched book, Michael Brooks tells the epic story of how mathematics has driven human progress, spanning millennia to trace the numerical innovations — from geometry and algebra to the mind-bending landscapes of imaginary numbers and extra dimensions — that have woven our history and shape our lives today. Along the way, he explores the passions and intrigues of the people behind the numbers, transforming mathematics from dry equations into a gripping drama. This is maths as you’ve never experienced it: inspiring, fun, and utterly human.’ -- Jo Marchant, author of The Human Cosmos‘Michael Brooks has a rare gift for making science come to life, and in this book he is at his best, fusing mathematics with storytelling as he takes us on an exhilarating sweep through human history. [The Maths That Made Us] shows just how deeply numbers have propelled the advance of civilisation. And it does so with enormous narrative brio and good cheer. This is a serious — but seriously readable — history which I enjoyed from the first page to the last.’ -- Dan Jones, New York Times bestselling historian‘A friendly, readable account of the huge influence that mathematics has had on human civilisation. If you’ve ever wondered what the maths you did at school was for, and what it has done for us, you’ll find the answer here. Michael Brooks’s enthusiasm for the beauty and utility of the subject shines from every page.’ -- Ian Stewart, author of What’s the Use?‘From Fermat’s last theorem to quantum computers, pi to probability, slides rules to golden ratios, [The Maths That Made Us] is no mere bluffer’s guide, but a rich introduction to the elegance and importance of mathematics. Michael Brooks shows what a global and multicultural task it has been, ever since prehistory, to figure out how we can benefit from quantification and calculation. He shows that maths is not just, as Eugene Wigner said, unreasonably effective for understanding the world, but also unfathomably wonderful in its own right.’ -- Philip Ball, science writer and author of Beyond Weird‘Suddenly it all makes sense. This brilliant book shows maths as something concrete, real, and crucial to our lives, rather than some dry, abstract code designed to make school kids’ lives miserable.’ -- Charlie Higson, actor, comedian, and author of the Enemy series‘Michael Brooks has written both a lively history of civilisation, and a delightful introduction to the power of mathematics. Either would be an achievement, but to do both simultaneously is a wonder.’ -- Tim Harford, author of How To Make the World Add Up‘If you love maths, you’ll enjoy this book. But if you’re a little scared of maths (as I am), you’ll adore [The Maths That Made Us]. Michael Brooks knows how to tell the hidden stories behind numbers, formulas, and logarithms.’ -- Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of Nature‘Mathematics is quite unique in that even much earlier results do not change with the passing of time. This book is not only a passionate love letter to mathematics, it offers an important lesson in the appreciation of mathematics, and of its crucial role in humanity’s history.’ -- Mario Livio, astrophysicist, and author of Galileo and The Science Deniers‘A more or less chronological history and compelling case that advances in mathematics provided the foundation for the advance of civilisation … An unabashed lover of mathematics, Brooks refuses to take the traditional pop writer’s pledge to eschew equations. Most readers will follow his description of ancient navigation across the Mediterranean and the birth of linear perspective in Renaissance Italy, but when he turns his attention to calculus, logarithms, statistics, and cryptography, there is no shortage of complex equation … Not a mathematics-is-fun romp but a serious, persuasive effort to describe how its discoveries paralleled human progress.’ * Kirkus Reviews *‘An enviably good history of how ideas in mathematics have shaped (and been shaped by) the progress of civilisation.’ -- Tim Harford, author of How To Make the World Add Up‘What is the driving force behind the development of human civilisation? In this unique and surprising book, Michael Brooks makes the case that it is the growth and progress of mathematics — and he does it in a way that will be interesting to the mathematical and math-phobic alike! As entertaining as it is informative, [The Maths That Made Us] takes us on a journey through the ages, demonstrating how mathematics played a crucial role in the evolution of how we live. Not since Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel has there been such an insightful and compelling analysis of how we got here.’ -- Leonard Mlodinow, New York Times bestselling author of The Drunkard’s Walk‘Moving from ancient Egyptian priests to a hobbyist who solved a mapmaking puzzle that confounded NASA and the US Geological Survey, science writer Brooks aims to persuade readers that mathematics was one of the great innovations that made civilisation happen.’ -- Barbara Hoffert * Library Journal *‘He begins by diligently explaining the basics of algebra, arithmetic, calculus, and geometry, and introducing key figures in math’s history … Brooks uses the work of these thinkers to break down the math behind facets of everyday life: he describes the statistics that underlie life expectancies; the equations that allow scientists to understand the cosmos; and the imaginary numbers that give guitar amplifiers their power … It’s a show-stopping paean to the wonder of numbers.’ * Publishers Weekly, starred review *‘Ambitious.’ -- Tom Gatti * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisWe are surrounded by stationery: half-chewed Cristal Bics and bent paper clips, rubber bands to fiddle with or ping, blunt pencils, rubbers and Tipp-ex are integral parts of our everyday environment. So much so that we never think about where they come from, why they are the way they are - or what stories they might have to tell. But luckily, James Ward does and he's here to tell you all about the secret pull stationery exerts on our lives. After all, who remains unmoved by the sight of a pristine blu-tak slab, or the first unmarked sheet of a brand new notepad? And which of humanity's brightest ideas didn't start life on a scrap of paper, a Post-it, or in the margins of a notebook? Exploring the stories behind these everyday objects, Ward reveals tales of invention - accidental and brilliant - and bitter rivalry. He also asks the questions you never thought you had: Who is Mr Pritt? What does shatter-proof resistant mean? How many pens does Argos use? And what does design evolutions in desk organisers mean for society? This witty and entertaining book, packed with fascinating facts, will change the way you look at your desk, pencil case or stationery cupboard forever.Trade ReviewAn endlessly fascinating and witty book -- Shaun Usher, editor of * Letters of Note *A heartfelt paean to stationery -- Marcus Berkmann * Daily Mail *There are 1,000 fascinating, funny, silly and scientific stationery stories in this book - as many as there are uses for Blu Tack -- Iain Finlayson * Saga *This book is for anyone who perved over Stabilo Boss pens in Ryman as a youth...Nostalgia with a rubber on the end * Monocle *The books to bounce you straight into autumn: just in time for the new school term, James Ward's Adventures in Stationery explores that satisfying feeling one gets from the first fresh sheet of a Moleskine and what a particular variation of pen says about you * Vogue *Elegantly written ... James Ward has ensured we won't need another book on stationery for a very long time indeed -- Andrew Martin * Observer *Ward writes with a blend of wit, unhealthy obsession and pure love. Here is high-class pornography for the stationery enthusiast -- Alexander Gilmour * FT *James Ward investigates the drama of the desk tidy...many questions you never thought to ask when chewing your Bic are answered smartly in black ink on white paper in geeky detail -- Iain Finlayson * Times *

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Book SynopsisA TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARAn absolute joy to read and an early contender for every list of History Books of the Year' Sunday TelegraphOn nearly every page a random passage takes one's breath away' The TimesHave you ever heard the march of legions on a lonely country road? For two thousand years, the roads the Romans built have determined the flow of ideas and folktales, where battles were fought and where pilgrims trod. Almost everyone in Britain lives close to a Roman road, if only we knew where to look.In the beginning was Watling Street, the first road scored on the land when the invading Romans arrived on a cold and alien Kentish shore in 43 CE. Campaign roads rolled out to all points of the compass, forcing their way inland and as the Britons fell back, the roads pursued them relentlessly, carrying troops, supplies and military despatches. In the years of fighting that followed, as the legions pushed onwards across what is now England, into Wales and north into Scotland in search ofTrade Review A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR ‘There’s something beguilingly mysterious about these ancient roads . . . When searching for his road, Hadley makes full use of his senses. . . the breadth of his knowledge . . . the beauty of his prose. This book deserves to be read at least twice, first to appreciate what it reveals and then to luxuriate in its effervescent voice. On nearly every page a random passage takes one’s breath away’ The Times, Gerard DeGroot ‘Magnificent . . . exciting . . . This is no dry and prosaic history, but a work of imagination and a deeply literary book… wonderful prose . . . striking images and lapidary sentences… enthralling. It’s an absolute joy to read and an early contender for every list of History Books of the Year’ Sunday Telegraph, Harry Sidebottom ‘In this magnificent book. . . Hadley takes us down a different way, looking through a gentler window on that road's long lost days. He reveals The Road's own intimate knowledge of the land it knew and the folk it's known, turning the tables on what we think we're reading; because The Road is not really about it, it's about us’ Mythical Britain, Michael Smith author of King Arthur's Death ‘Loving The Road, [it’s] about a Roman road but also a rumination on the past and our relationship with it. [An] excellent companion piece to his previous book about a dragon slayer’s tomb. The pair offer a whole new and very exciting model for how to do local history. Highly recommend’ Dr Kelcey Wilson-Lee author of Daughters of Chivalry ‘Ingeniously constructed…scholarly…wears its learning lightly… is engagingly written…and always a pleasure to read’ Country Life ‘The book offers a wealth of historical knowledge in a fashion which is entertaining and readable… combines scholarly depth with wonderfully lyrical depictions of the English landscape’Literary Review

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Book SynopsisThe Danes are the happiest people in the world, and pay the highest taxes. 'Neutral' Sweden is one of the biggest arms manufacturers in the world. Finns have the largest per capita gun ownership after the US and Yemen. 54 per cent of Icelanders believe in elves. Norway is the richest country on earth. This book deals with Nordic countries.Trade ReviewComprehensive and occasionally downright hilarious... I was laughing out loud -- Mariella Frostrup * Observer *An affectionate and informative study of a region. -- Ian Critchley * Sunday Times *[An] entertaining, warts-and-all, English expat look at the Nordic miracle. * Daily Telegraph *A thoroughly entertaining read, written brilliantly -- Bernard Porter * Literary Review *A welcome rejoinder to those who cling to the idea of the Nordic region as a promised land...the substance, more often than not, is spot on. * Financial Times *

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Book SynopsisThe life of Sir Harry Perry Robinson (1859-1930) unfolds like a Boy''s Own adventure. Born in India and educated at Oxford, Harry fled to the United States to make his name and fortune. After a stint in the gold mines of the American West, he became a major force in the railroad industry and helped to elect a U.S. President. Returning to England, Harry had a celebrated career as a book publisher (discovering the American author Jack London) and as a journalist for The Times, serving as the oldest correspondent during the First World War and going on to have one of the scoops of the century: the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1923.Harry''s incredible journey unfolds against the background of his equally adventurous and accomplished family. His father, Julian, was an Indian Army chaplain and newspaper editor. His aunt was a suffragette and personal friend of both Disraeli and Gladstone. Brother Philip was a dashing foreign correspondent, arrested as a spy during the Spanish-AmerTrade ReviewWhat McAleer has come up with is a forensic yet readable account of the gifted, personally adventurous but politically conservative Robinson. * Dominic Maxwell, The Times *Robinson's journalistic career gave him a ringside seat at some of the most dramatic events of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from the American Gold Rush of the 1880s to the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb. He had the three crucial attributes common to all great reporters: an eye for a good story, the wit and tenacity to research it properly and the ability to write it up in an entertaining way ... Joseph McAleer has performed a valuable service in bringing his fine work to the fore. * William Cook, The Spectator *Escape Artist is well researched and, for the most part, well-written * Wall Street Journal *I don't think I've ever enjoyed a memoir as much as I enjoyed this life of Harry Perry Robinson. The book is a 'keeper' that I intend to read more than once. Author Joseph McAleer has done us a great favor by so ably bringing this complex and intriguing character to life again. * David F. Beer, Roads to the Great War *Here is a life out of the ordinary that holds especial interest. * Philip Waller, University of Oxford, author of Writers, Readers, and Reputations: Literary Life in Britain 1870-1918 *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The English Family Robinson 1: Innocent Abroad, 1883-1886 2: Tycoon in Training, 1887-1894 3: Junior Kingmaker, 1895-1899 4: London Bookman, 1900-1905 5: Man of The Times, 1906-1913 6: War Correspondent, 1914-1918 7: World Traveler, 1919-1922 8: Tut Factotum, 1923 9: Elder Statesman, 1924-1929 Epilogue: 1930 Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA meticulous and lavishly illustrated account of the food of the Bloomsbury set summons up a lost world of meals on trays, milk puddings, gin slings and kedgeree' Sunday Times The Bloomsbury Group fostered a fresh, creative and vital way of living that encouraged debate and communication (only connect'), as often as not across the dining table. Gathered at these tables were many of the great figures in art, literature and economics in the early twentieth century: E. M. Forster, Roger Fry, J. M. Keynes, Lytton Strachey and Virginia Woolf, among many others. Here the Bloomsbury story is told in seven broadly chronological chapters, beginning in the 1890s and finishing in the very recent past. Each chapter comprises a series of narratives, many of which are enhanced with an appropriate recipe, along with sketches, paintings, photographs, letters and handwritten notes, and featuring original quotations throughout. Part cookbook, part social and cultural history, this book will appeal to lovers of food and lovers of literature alike.

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Book Synopsis'It is absolutely brilliant, I think every woman should read it' PANDORA SYKES, THE HIGH LOW ‘My wish is that every white woman who calls herself a feminist will read this book in a state of hushed and humble respect ... Essential reading' ELIZABETH GILBERT All too often the focus of mainstream feminism is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. Meeting basic needs is a feminist issue. Food insecurity, the living wage and access to education are feminist issues. The fight against racism, ableism and transmisogyny are all feminist issues. White feminists often fail to see how race, class, sexual orientation and disability intersect with gender. How can feminists stand in solidarity as a movement when there is a distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others? Insightful, incendiary and ultimately hopeful, Hood Feminism is both an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux and also clear-eyed assessment of how to save it.Trade ReviewRequired reading for any feminist, Kendall explores why mainstream feminism neglects to see how race, class, sexual orientation and disability intersects with gender with a clear-eyed assessment of how to fix it * Evening Standard, The best books to look forward to in 2020 *In expertly tying the racial justice and feminist movements together, Kendall’s is one of the most important books of the current moment * Time, 100 Must Read Books of 2020 *My wish is that every white woman who calls herself a feminist (as I do) will read this book in a state of hushed and humble respect ... It’s long overdue that we drop our defenses, listen to her arguments carefully, and then change our entire way of thinking and behaving ... Essential reading -- Elizabeth GilbertIn Hood Feminism, author and activist Mikki Kendall looks at how feminism is neglecting marginalised communities, and what can be done to challenge and confront those inequalities from within the feminist movement * Stylist, The 29 best non-fiction books out in 2020 *Poignant and page-turning ... Marks Kendall as an original addition to the black feminist canon * AnOther *Blistering ... A fresh new and necessary Black voice in feminist literature * Refinery29 *It is absolutely brilliant, I think every woman should read it. -- Pandora Sykes * The High Low *A searing indictment of feminism, how to modernise it, and ultimately how to save it. * Cosmopolitan *Compelling and timely ... A searing indictment of feminism, how to modernise it and ultimately, how to save it. * Cosmopolitan, Books by black and POC authors you’ll be reading in 2020 *This is the feminist intervention we have all been waiting for. -- Fatima BhuttoThis book is an act of fierce love and advocacy, and it is urgently necessary -- Samantha IrbyEvery white lady should have this book assigned to them before they can talk about feminism. -- Linda TiradoMikki’s book is a rousing call to action for today’s feminists. It should be required reading for everyone -- Gabrielle UnionMikki Kendall tells it like it is, and this is why she has long been a must-read writer for me: incisive, clear-eyed, and rightly willing to challenge readers when necessary. Her exploration of how feminists’ fight for liberation has too often left poor people, Black people, Indigenous people, and other people of color behind is critical reading for anyone who is or wants to be involved in work addressing complex and longstanding inequalities -- Nicole ChungMikki has been writing for years about protection, "problem children", the limits and the usefulness of different kinds of anger, and the way sisterhood can be wielded as a demand. She’s here for her community, and this book has everything to do with expanding access to it -- Daniel Mallory OrtbergMikki Kendall has established herself as an important voice in current feminist discourse, and Hood Feminism cements that place. With a compelling, forceful piece, Kendall has written the missive that feminists - especially white feminists - need to remember the racist history of who we are as a movement and to move forward with an intersectional and deliberately anti-racist focus -- Dianna AndersonA critical feminist text that interrogates the failings of the mainstream feminist movement and gives us the necessary expertise of Black women. Kendall skillfully illuminates the many intersections of identity and shows us the beauty and power of anger -- Erika L. SanchezKendall offers a fresh voice in black feminism. She argues that mainstream feminism focuses on increasing privilege for the few rather than ensuring the basic needs – food security, education, safety, medical care, a living wage – needed by the many. * Suitcase, Your Reading List For 2020 *

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Book Synopsis'[A] comprehensive and important history of black Britain . . . Written with a wonderful clarity of style and with great force and passion.' – Kwasi Kwarteng, Sunday TimesIn this vital re-examination of a shared history, historian and broadcaster David Olusoga tells the rich and revealing story of the long relationship between the British Isles and the people of Africa and the Caribbean. This edition, fully revised and updated, features a new chapter encompassing the Windrush scandal and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, events which put black British history at the centre of urgent national debate. Black and British is vivid confirmation that black history can no longer be kept separate and marginalised. It is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation and it belongs to us all.Drawing on new genealogical research, original records, and expert testimony, Black and British reaches back to Roman Britain, the medieval imagination, Elizabethan ‘blackamoors’ and the global slave-trading empire. It shows that the great industrial boom of the nineteenth century was built on American slavery, and that black Britons fought at Trafalgar and in the trenches of both World Wars. Black British history is woven into the cultural and economic histories of the nation. It is not a singular history, but one that belongs to us all.Unflinching, confronting taboos, and revealing hitherto unknown scandals, Olusoga describes how the lives of black and white Britons have been entwined for centuries.Winner of the 2017 PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize.Winner of the Longman History Today Trustees’ Award.A Waterstones History Book of the Year.Longlisted for the Orwell Prize.Shortlisted for the inaugural Jhalak Prize.Trade ReviewYou could not ask for a more judicious, comprehensive and highly readable survey of a part of British history that has been so long overlooked or denied. David Olusoga, in keeping with the high standards of his earlier books, is a superb guide. -- Adam HochschildGroundbreaking. * Observer *[A] comprehensive and important history of black Britain . . . Written with a wonderful clarity of style and with great force and passion. It is thoroughly researched and there are many interesting anecdotes. -- Kwasi Kwarteng * The Sunday Times *A radical reappraisal of the parameters of history, exposing lacunae in the nation’s version of its past. -- Arifa Akbar * Guardian *A thrilling tale of excavation -- Colin Grant * Guardian *[Olusoga] has discovered new and exciting research materials . . . Such sources give his writing freshness, originality and compassion . . . [Black and British] will inspire and will come to be seen as a major effort to address one of the greatest silences in British historiography -- David Dabydeen * New Statesman *Lucid and accessible. * Herald Scotland *Olusoga's account challenges narrow visions of Britain's past. By tracing the triangulated connections between Britain, America and Africa, he presents black British history in global terms [...] His subjects, even those who barely figure in the historical record, appear as individuals who matter, both in their own right and as historical exemplars. * The London Review of Books *An insightful, inclusive history of black people in Britain . . . Rich in detail and packed with strong personalities, this is an important contribution to our understanding of life in the UK. * History Revealed *An insightful, inclusive history of black people in Britain which is rich in detail and packed with strong, interesting characters. -- Stephanie Yeboah * GQ *Ambitious . . . Long overdue -- Hakim Adi * Spectator *Olusoga has single-handedly over recent years forced our forgotten history on the agenda . . . Written with an urgency it is a thrilling and engaging read. * Nigerian Watch *An erudite exploration of racism and how it continues to mutate . . . it is exhilarating to read a fine mind at work. -- Cathy Rentzenbrink * Guardian *Table of ContentsSection - i: List of Illustrations Section - ii: Preface Introduction - iii: ‘Years of Distant Wandering’ Chapter - One: ‘Sons of Ham’ Chapter - Two: ‘Blackamoors’ Chapter - Three: ‘For Blacks or Dogs’ Chapter - Four: ‘Too Pure an Air for Slaves' Chapter - Five: ‘Province of Freedom’ Chapter - Six: ‘The Monster is Dead’ Chapter - Seven: Moral Mission Chapter - Eight: ‘Liberated Africans’ Chapter - Nine: ‘Cotton is King' Chapter - Ten: ‘Mercy in a Massacre' Chapter - Eleven: ‘Darkest Africa’ Chapter - Twelve: ‘We are a Coloured Empire' Chapter - Thirteen: ‘We Prefer their Company' Chapter - Fourteen: ‘Swamped' Section - iv: Conclusion Acknowledgements - v: Acknowledgements Section - vi: Bibliography Section - vii: Notes Index - viii: Index

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Book SynopsisA provocative history of violence--from the "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Stuff ofTrade ReviewOne of the most important books I've read - not just this year, but ever ... For me, what's most important about The Better Angels of Our Nature are its insights into how to help achieve positive outcomes. How can we encourage a less violent, more just society, particularly for the poor? Steven Pinker shows us ways we can make those positive trajectories a little more likely. That's a contribution, not just to historical scholarship, but to the world -- Bill GatesBrilliant, mind-altering...Everyone should read this astonishing book -- David Runciman * Guardian *A supremely important book. To have command of so much research, spread across so many different fields, is a masterly achievement. Pinker convincingly demonstrates that there has been a dramatic decline in violence, and he is persuasive about the causes of that decline -- Peter Singer * New York Times *[A] sweeping new review of the history of human violence...[Pinker has] the kind of academic superbrain that can translate otherwise impenetrable statistics into a meaningful narrative of human behaviour...impeccable scholarship -- Tony Allen-Mills * Sunday Times *Written in Pinker's distinctively entertaining and clear personal style...a marvellous synthesis of science, history and storytelling -- Clive Cookson * Financial Times *A salutary reality-check...Better Angels is itself a great liberal landmark -- Marek Kohn * Independent *Pinker's scholarhsip is astounding...flawless...masterful -- Joanna Bourke * The Times *Selected by the New York Times as one of the 100 Notable Books of 2011 * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisHave you ever wished that you could read the beautiful hieroglyphic script of ancient Egypt for yourself? Now you can, with the help of this practical step-by-step guide. It is suitable for complete beginners, or for anyone who would like to improve their knowledge of the language and culture of ancient Egypt. Mark Collier and Bill Manley have many years of experience teaching non-specialists at courses around the UK, so their approach is tried and tested. From the very beginning you will be introduced to genuine texts from ancient monuments. Each chapter introduces a new aspect of the ancient Egyptian language's hieroglyphic script and encourages you to develop your growing reading skills with practical exercises. The authors concentrate on a fascinating and rewarding group of monuments funerary inscriptions, coffins and tomb scenes. The texts and supporting notes offer a first-hand insight into topics such as the pharaonic administration, family life in ancient Egypt, and anci

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe untold story of the birth of Impressionism from the ashes of war

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing AwardsIn The Hidden Ways, Alistair Moffat traverses the lost paths of Scotland - its Roman roads tramped by armies, its byways and pilgrim routes, drove roads and railways, turnpikes and sea roads - in a bid to understand how our history has left its mark upon our landscape. As he retraces the forgotten paths that shaped and were shaped by the lives of the now forgotten people who trod them, Moffat charts a powerful, surprising and moving history of Scotland.Trade ReviewOur ancestors walked everywhere, unless they lived by a river or loch and travelled by boat, or were rich enough to keep a horse or pony. So Moffat will walk. He will walk over much of Scotland, following, sometimes struggling to follow, old roads that are now sometimes hard to find. This book is the story of a dozen such walks. This is a splendidly rich book - a treasure-house of information, memories and speculation -- Allan Massie * * The Scotsman * *This fascinating and compelling narrative will leave you spellbound and in no time you'll be looking for your hiking boots and waterproofs . . . An absorbing and thought-provoking addition to the literature of Scotland's byways * * Countryfile * *The Hidden Ways makes us think about Scotland and its history in a completely different way . . . A truly fascinating read * * Sunday Mail * *Retracing and walking Scotland's lost paths makes Alistair Moffat reflect upon the country's history in a different sort of way . . . From Perthshire to Ballachulish, Moffat explores the land in a personal, inquisitive way and searches for evidence of the people who helped shape it * * Outdoor Photography * *A treasure trove of stories * * The Great Outdoors * *A fine history of the wild, walkable country * * Wanderlust * *Praise for The Great Tapestry of Scotland: 'Not just visually stunning but intensely moving and occasionally very funny * * The Times * *Praise for The Border: 'Quirky, learned and utterly absorbing -- ALLAN MASSIEPraise for The Scots: 'Truly fascinating * * Scotsman * *Praise for Scotland: 'A very readable, well-researched and fluent account * * Scotland on Sunday * *

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Book SynopsisTRAVEL BACK IN TIME WITH THE BBC''S RUTH GOODMANWe know all about the dramas that played out in the Tudor court - most notably those of Henry VIII - but what was life really like for a commoner like you or me?To answer this question, the renowned method historian Ruth Goodman has slept, washed and cooked as the Tudors did - so you don''t have to!She is your expert guide to this fascinating era, drawing on years of practical historical study to show how our ancestors coped with everyday life. Using a vast range of sources, she takes you back to when soot was used as toothpaste and the upper crust was served to the wealthier members of the house.Exploring how the Tudors learnt, danced and even stood according to the latest fashion, she reveals what it all felt, smelt and tasted like, from morning until night.If you enjoyed the writing of Hilary Mantel and Philippa Gregory, you will love discovering the true stories.*****''Ruth is the queen of living history, long may she reign!'' Lucy Worsley''A deeply researched and endlessly fascinating account of what it was like to live as a Tudor'' Tracy Borman, author of Thomas Cromwell''Always entertaining, and her narrative is often lifted by the fact that she has taken the trouble to experience many of the alien aspects of Tudor life'' Observer''Goodman''s latest foray into immersive history is a revelation . . . It''s the next best thing to being there'' Sarah Ferguson, New York Times Book ReviewTrade ReviewMost historians simply research the past; she lives it ... she's experienced almost every activity she describes. This book is packed with delicious kernels of knowledge ... all served up by the most delightfully eccentric author I've ever encountered. Seldom have I had so much fun reading history. Seldom have I learnt so much. -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *Always entertaining, and her narrative is often lifted by the fact that she has taken the trouble to experience many of the alien aspects of Tudor life ... This imbues the book with a palpable sense of the texture of our ancestors' day-to-day lives * Observer *Riveting. This is a real "people's history" that takes us straight into the sensate feelings of ordinary life -- the feel, touch, smells, and labour of people living five centuries ago, giving an earthy reality to our enduring fascination with the Tudors -- Juliet GardinerA deeply researched and endlessly fascinating account of what it was like to live as a Tudor. The narrative is rich in period detail and based upon a thorough review of the contemporary sources, but what makes it unique is the fact that Goodman has put it all into practice - sleeping, eating, washing and dressing like a Tudor. As a result, How To Be a Tudor is one of very few books which can justifiably claim to bring every aspect of this enduringly popular period dazzlingly to life. -- Tracy Borman, author of 'Thomas Cromwell: The untold story of Henry VIII’s most faithful servant'Ruth is the queen of living history, long may she reign! -- Lucy WorsleyFascinating immersive history * New York Times *Leisure activities like dancing, gambling, and trips to the bear-baiting arena are brought to life by imaginative readings of primary sources... Common wisdom on everything from the healthiest sleeping position (on the right) to how to conceive a male child (by tying a ribbon around the left testicle) rounds out this engaging, erudite guide * New Yorker *Goodman's latest foray into immersive history is a revelation ... It's the next best thing to being there -- Sarah Ferguson * New York Times Book Review *Her enthusiasm is exhilarating and contagious; her writing is clear and clean, sharply observant of tactile details and what they reveal about 16th-century life * Boston Globe *Engagingly written and awash in the practicalities of life in the age, it presents a vivid, fascinating era of British history and reminds us that we're never as far from the past as we like to think -- Genevieve Valentine * NPR *Immersive, engrossing -- Laura Miller * Slate *Written with such passion . . . will fascinate and inform anyone who is interested in Victorian ways of life -- Dr Ian Mortimer, author of 'The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England' on 'How to Be a Victorian'If we ever have a female Doctor Who, I shall forward Ruth Goodman's name for consideration, not least because the historian has already done so much time travelling * The Times *Wonderful, informative, startling . . . Goodman's unique selling proposition as a historian is that she walks the walk of her time period, even when that walk involves hard labor in a corset and a hoop skirt * New York Times (on 'How to be a Victorian') *Must-read! * Daily Mail *Goodman's passion for her subject... comes across loud and clear * Yorkshire Post *

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Book SynopsisIn Pear-Shaped, the uterusmisunderstood and often misdiagnosedfinally gets a long overdue biography. A fascinating and fantastically human look at an organ that is so much more than our shared entryway to life.' Abby Norman, author of Ask Me About My UterusFans of Dr. Jen Gunter and Emily Nagoski will love this science-based, practical, and empowering guide to your uterus. It gives life to humankind, billions of people have one, and yet the uterus is still mysterious to many. And talking about it can feel taboo. But when you don't talk about it, you don't discover what's normal and what's notor what questions to ask at the doctor's office. The reality? This versatile, pear-shaped organ is worthy of everyone's attention. In Pear-Shaped, a gynaecologist and a science communicator join forces to tell the life story of your uterus. Did you know that the uterus is a muscle? Or that it can stretch to the size of a watermelon? In Pear-Shaped, the authors reveal surprising facts about the uterus, alongside practical, helpful information including:A detailed anatomy of the uterus with illustrations. An overview of its many functions. Complications that can impact fertility, childbearing, birth, and menstruation. Tips for advocating for yourself at the doctor's office. Descriptions and images of what the uterus looks like (including the fact that it doesn't always look the same for everyone). Real case studies from the author's gynaecological practice. Information about menstruation, contraception, abortion, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause.As Pear-Shaped shows, the uterus is truly fascinating. But it also can be a source of serious concern for many. Pear-Shaped also discusses various problems and diseases that arise in the uterusincluding endometriosis, PCOS, fibroids, and unwanted pregnancyand how everyday people work with their doctors to find a solution that works for them.

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Book SynopsisRevealing a world of secret messages contained within a single petal.Floriography – the language of flowers – is the ancient art of encoding hidden messages in the type, colour and arrangement of plants, allowing individuals to express emotions and sentiments that they may not be able to articulate through words.Featuring 100 of the most popular and available blooms from around the world, this beautifully illustrated gift book gives the botanical name for each plant, a description of its significance and place in folklore, and the story behind its meaning. It also reveals how floral symbolism has been used over the centuries in literature and art, from Hamlet's Ophelia handing out rosemary 'for remembrance' and pansies 'for thoughts', to Oscar Wilde urging his friends to wear green carnations as a subtle code for homosexuality. The idea that flowers have secret meanings would have been well understood by contemporary audiences – and we are seeing a revival of the practice today.From mimosa – which signifies chastity because its leaves close when touched – to the varied messages encoded within different colours of geraniums, Floriography offers a creative way to convey feelings and can add an extra layer of beauty and significance to a gift of flowers.The flowers in Kate Middleton's wedding bouquet signified love, happiness, gallantry and fidelity.If someone sends you a bouquet of hydrangea and lobelia, beware: they stand for heartlessness and malevolence.Table of ContentsThe Story of Floriography - The fascinating history of the language of flora • Friendship, Love and Romance - Flowers to make your relationships blossom • Health, Wealth and Happiness - Plants for positive energy • Daily Blooms - Flowers for different days of the year • Poison Ivy - A playful guide to the malignant meanings of plants • Botanicals in Art and Literature - From Shakespeare to the pre-Raphaelites, how poets, artist and novelists have said it with flowers.

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Book SynopsisA formidable, brave and important book' Robert MacfarlaneAbsolutely brilliantYou cannot read this book and defend the establishment' Alastair Campbell, The Rest is PoliticsWho owns England?Behind this simple question lies this country's oldest and best-kept secret. This is the history of how England's elite came to own our land, and an inspiring manifesto for how to open up our countryside once more. This book has been a long time coming. Since 1086, in fact. For centuries, England's elite have covered up how they got their hands on millions of acres of our land, by constructing walls, burying surveys and more recently, sheltering behind offshore shell companies. But with the dawn of digital mapping and the Freedom of Information Act, it's becoming increasingly difficult for them to hide.Trespassing through tightly-guarded country estates, ecologically ravaged grouse moors and empty Mayfair mansions, writer and activist Guy Shrubsole has used these 21st century tools to uncover a wealth of never-before-seen information about the people who own our land, to create the most comprehensive map of land ownership in England that has ever been made public.From secret military islands to tunnels deep beneath London, Shrubsole unearths truths concealed since the Domesday Book about who is really in charge of this country at a time when Brexit is meant to be returning sovereignty to the people. Melding history, politics and polemic, he vividly demonstrates how taking control of land ownership is key to tackling everything from the housing crisis to climate change and even halting the erosion of our very democracy.It's time to expose the truth about who owns England and finally take back our green and pleasant land.*Guy''s next book The Lie of the Land is out now*Trade Review‘A formidable, brave and important book’ Robert Macfarlane ‘Potentially one of the most important books of the year’ Chris Packham ‘This is going to be a great book, crucial for anyone who seeks to understand this country’ George Monbiot ‘An irrefutable and long overdue call for the enfranchisement of the landless’ Marion Shoard, author of This Land is Our Land ‘The question posed by the title of this crucial book has, for nearly a thousand years, been one that as a nation we have mostly been too cowed or too polite to ask. There has, as a result, been some serious journalistic legwork in Shrubsole’s endeavour. Shrubsole ends his fine inquiry into these issues with a 10-point prospectus as to how this millennium-long problem might be brought up to date, and how our land could be made to work productively and healthily for us all’ Observer, Book of the Week ‘Both detective story and historical investigation, Shrubsole’s book is a passionately argued polemic which offers radical, innovative but also practical proposals for transforming how the people of England use and protect the land that they depend on – land which should be “a common treasury for all”’ Guardian ‘Painstakingly researched … having come to the end of this illuminating and well-argued book it’s hard not to feel that it’s time for a revolution in the way we manage this green and pleasant land’ Melissa Harrison, New Statesman ‘There is an enormous amount to admire’ Times Literary Supplement ‘Shrubsole is an entertaining guide to the history of landownership’ Literary Review

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Book SynopsisTrade Review‘Entertaining and informative. … Avoids sentimentality and stereotypes. … Groom keeps his history admirably down to earth.’ The Times, Book of the Week ‘A definitive new chronicle of the region, the first to appear this century.’ The Mirror ‘Groom’s chronicling of northern setbacks is urbane rather than indignant. … Comprehensive and highly readable.’ Financial Times ‘This is a huge book, in which the author slips seamlessly and triumphantly from one subject to another.’ Literary Review ‘Hugely impressive.’ Big Issue ‘A rich and kaleidoscopic history of a region, its landscape, industries, culture and people. Northerners is rigorous, digressive, discursive, always entertaining and enlightening, as full of good things as the North itself.’ Stuart Maconie, author of Pies and Prejudice ‘A wonderful compendium of the North’s proud, deep, ancient otherness.’ James Hawes, author of The Shortest History of England ‘An essential writer on politics and business and a tireless champion of the north.’ George Parker, political editor, Financial Times ‘A measured and essential voice in these compromised times.’ Adam Boulton, editor-at-large at Sky News and presenter of All Out Politics ‘Few people are better placed to write the story of northerners. One of journalism’s most astute observers of the state of Britain.’ Helen Pidd, North of England editor, The Guardian ‘Brian Groom is one of the leading experts on Britain’s regions and nations and a perceptive analyst.’ Duncan Weldon, The Economist, author of Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through ‘Panoramic, authoritative and a beautiful read. Brian has written the book everyone who wishes to understand the north of England must read.’ Sebastian Payne, author of Broken Heartlands

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