Social and cultural history Books
Merrell Publishers Ltd At the King's Table: Royal Dining Through the
Book SynopsisHere are the feasts that really are fit for a king - or queen. This delightful book explores the history of royal dining from the bustling kitchens of the Middle Ages to the informal dinner parties of today. Susanne Groom, a former curator at Historic Royal Palaces, considers the diets of monarchs from Richard II to Elizabeth II, revealing the exotic beasts served at medieval courts, the 48-day picnic prepared for Henry VIII and Francois I of France at the Field of Cloth of Gold, the romantic suppers made for Charles II and his mistresses, Queen Victoria's love of nursery food, and the gluttonous appetite of Edward VII. We also learn about royal table manners, the earliest cookbooks, the hiring of flamboyant chefs and the intrigues of unscrupulous kitchen staff, the ever-changing health advice given to the sovereign, and the influence of royal diet on the average family fare. Full of lively anecdotes, colourful characters, rarely seen illustrations, and menus from state banquets, weddings, coronations and jubilees, At the King's Table is a treat for all culinary fans.Trade ReviewFeatured in the Telegraph's top 10 Christmas cookbooks, 2013 - THE TELEGRAPH MAGAZINE
£22.46
Frith Book Company Ltd. Manchester: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Liverpool and Merseyside: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. South East London: Photographic Memories
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Isle of Man
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£13.50
Frith Book Company Ltd. Sherborne
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£13.50
Reaktion Books Spicing Up Britain: The Multicultural History of
Book SynopsisAmong the cuisines of Europe, Britain's has traditionally been regarded as the black sheep kippers, jellied eels and blood pudding rarely elicit the same fond feelings as chocolate mousse or pasta primavera. Yet despite these unfortunate stereotypes, British cuisine is today one of the most interesting and varied in the world. In this remarkable history of British food, Panikos Panayi reveals the transformation and enrichment of British cuisine by diverse international influences. From the arrival of Italian ice-cream vendors and German pork butchers, to the rise of curry as the national dish, "Spicing Up Britain" reveals the fascinating multicultural history of British food over the last 150 years, showing how a combination of immigration, increased wealth and globalization have transformed the eating habits of the British. From the spaghetti bolognese and Thai green curry that Britons eat at home to the dishes from all corners of the world cooked by celebrity chefs on TV, Britain has become a country of great diversity, in which people of different backgrounds are united by their readiness to sample a wide variety of foods introduced by manifold ethnic groups. Even migrant communities themselves adapt their traditional products to the British environment, as Panayi illustrates. Taking in changes to home cooking, restaurants and takeaways, grocery shops and delicatessens and cookbooks, Panayi's flavourful account will appeal to all who enjoy Britain's multicultural cuisine.Trade ReviewThis history is a complex and subtle social and cultural stew - irresistibly appetising.' - The Scotsman 'Wearing his twin hats of foodie and social historian, Panikos Panayi can appall as well as engender salivation on his tour d'horizon of the multicultural history of British food. His book demonstrates convincingly that whether drawing on its former colonial and imperial possessions ... or on its European neighbors, the openness of British society has truly enriched its diet and produced its present-day variegated cuisine. Washington Times Spicing up Britain is a fascinating, accessible and enjoyable journey through British food and immigration history. It illustrates the way in which the nation's diet has changed for the better over the past 150 years and how immigration has influenced the eating habits of a nation. The book is one that can rightly demand its place on academic bookshelves and on those of lovers of food alike. Ethnic and Racial Studies a significant contribution to scholarship about the development of modern British food practices ... this is a fine and authoritative book that will provide inspiration, as well as a very valuable guide to sources. Twentieth Century British History Next time someone fulminates about "foreign invaders" or "lazy immigrants" give them a copy of Panayi's book. Or buy them a meal. Diplomat Magazine Spicing Up Britain is about who we are, and the way we eat illustrates that in a colourful and inclusive way. It's a thoroughly good read!Table of ContentsPreface 7 part i: introduction 1 British and Foreign Food 12 part ii: the first ripples of change, circa 1850-1945 2 Immigration and the Emergence of 'Ghetto' Food 40 3 The Birth of the Foreign Restaurant 65 4 Changes in British Eating Habits 95 part iii: the culinary revolution since 1945 5 The Multiculturalization of Migrant Food 124 6 The Victory of the Foreign Restaurant 151 7 The Revolution in the Home 181 part iv: conclusion 8 Food and Multiculturalization 212 References 221 Bibliography 251 Acknowledgements 265 Photo Acknowledgements 267 Index 269
£16.96
Reaktion Books Herbs: A Global History
Book SynopsisFrom ancient medicines to the savoury dishes of today, there is hardly a culture in the world that does not know and make use of herbs. Despite often being little more than weeds, various cultures have found hundreds of uses for these plants, culinary, medicinal or otherwise. Indeed, many books have been written on their various purposes - with much information on cooking and healing with herbs - while little has been written about the history of the plants themselves, and of the incredible journeys they have made. In Herbs Gary Allen tells the story of these oft-overlooked plants, which have become such a staple in our lives. He describes how, unlike spices that quickly made their way to cultures throughout the world, herbs were often hoarded by their cultivators and used to make distinctive regional dishes. Allen's truly global history examines herbs in a way never seen before. The first history of herbs around the world, this will be an essential read for any self-proclaimed foodie, as well as anyone with an interest in these delectable additions to our cuisine. With many beautiful illustrations and delicious recipes, no kitchen library is complete without Herbs: A Global History.
£12.34
Reaktion Books Rum: A Global History
Book SynopsisWhat did Charles Dickens savour in punch, Thomas Jefferson eat in omelettes, Queen Victoria sip in navy grog, and the Kamehameha Kings of Hawaii drink straight? What helped spark the American Revolution, was used as currency in Australia, was targeted by the Temperance Movement, and is still a sacramental offering among voodoo worshippers? The answer is rum, whose colourful, secret history is described in Rum: A Global History. This book chronicles the evolution of rum, from a raw spirit concocted for slaves five hundred years ago, to a beverage savoured by connoisseurs. It charts the history of the drink, showing how this once-humble spirit has become a worldwide phenomenon over the last five hundred years. Rum: A Global History shows how rum has left its mark on religious rituals, popular songs and other cultural landmarks, describing a far more varied and interesting history of the drink than is commonly known. Also included in the book are recipes for sweet and savoury rum dishes, obscure but delicious rum drinks, and illustrations of rum memorabilia from the earliest days to the tiki craze of the 1950s. Costing less than a bottle of good rum, Rum: A Global History will provide satisfaction for far longer, with none of the hangover, guaranteed. The book will delight all who enjoy the beverage and wish to learn more of its heritage, as well as those who enjoy a fast-paced, well-written history of food.
£12.34
Stone Bridge Press The Four Immigrants Manga: A Japanese Experience
Book Synopsis• Translator is well known Japan expert, with over 50K sales, incl. Manga! Manga! (Kodansha, 0870117521, 30,000 cps), America and the Four Japans (1-880656-06-X, 3,500 cps), and Dreamland Japan (1-880656-23-X, 9,000+ cps) both Stone Bridge Press • Documentary comic book narrative on serious subject (cf Art Spiegelman’s Maus) • Large Asian-American population throughout US • Also shows uneasy relationship between early Japanese and Chinese immigrants • Reprint from 1931 original. This is a rediscovery. The author died in the1950’s. • Based on actual events from the early 20th century.
£14.24
Human Givens Publishing Ltd Listening to Idries Shah: How Understanding Can
Book SynopsisThis memoir describes the various childhood experiences that informed the quest for meaning and the travels and adventures that came after asking his art tutor a question that ultimately led to a long association with the work of Idries Shah.
£14.24
Two Rivers Press Fox Talbot and the Reading Establishment
Book SynopsisThe very first book in the world to be illustrated with photographs was produced in Reading between 1844 and 1846. In 1843, William Henry Fox Talbot set up the first commercial studios to mass-produce photographs from negatives and he chose the Berkshire town of Reading as its location. The Reading Establishment, as it became known, marks a pivotal moment in the development of photography. Martin Andrews tells the story of these momentous events and places them in the context of the discovery and early history of photography. Told in a lively and engaging way, the story starts with a mystery. Who is the strange, foreign gentleman buying unusual substances in the chemist shops of Reading - is he a forger or a spy?
£9.50
Private Eye Productions Ltd. PRIVATE EYE Dr Hammond's Covid Casebook: The
Book SynopsisThroughout the coronavirus crisis, the fortnightly columns of Private Eye's Medical Correspondent 'MD', aka NHS doctor Phil Hammond, have been required reading. Astute, compassionate and scientifically literate, 'MD' has guided Eye readers through each stage of the pandemic, from every perspective: global and national; political and personal. In an updated collection of his much-praised columns, and with new wisdom gleaned from charting the failures and triumphs in the continuing battle with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, he sets out what went wrong, what went right - and what needs to happen now as new variants emerge and the UK public looks forward to a long-awaited official government public inquiry.Table of ContentsIllustrated with cartoons throughout.
£9.49
Prospect Books The Fruit, Herbs and Vegetables of Italy.
Book SynopsisThis is a new edition of a classic of early seventeenth-century food-writing. The book was written by the Italian refugee, educator and humanist Giacomo Castelvetro who had been saved from the clutches of the Inquisition in Venice by the English ambassador, Sir Dudley Carleton in 1611. When he came to England, he was horrified by our preference for large helpings of meat, masses of sugar and very little greenstuff. The Italians were both good gardeners, and familiar with many varieties of vegetable and fruit that were as yet little known in England. He circulated his Italian manuscript among his supporters, dedicating it to Lucy, Countess of Bedford, herself a keen gardener and patron of literature. Gillian Riley''s translation of this hitherto unpublished document has been recognized as being fluent, entertaining and accurate from its first appearance in 1989. Castelvetro takes us through the gardener''s year, listing the fruit and vegetables as they come into season, with simple and elegant ways of preparing them. Practical instructions are interspersed with tender vignettes of his life in his native city of Modena, memories of his years in Venice and reminiscences of his travels in Europe
£14.24
Prospect Books First Catch Your Hare: The Art of Cookery Made
Book SynopsisQuite simply, the most important-and the most printed-English cookery book of the eighteenth century which defines for many the food and dining customs of the Georgian era. This is a facsimile edition, for the first time in paperback. The hardback version of this book was published by Prospect in 1994. The facsimile is of the first (1747) edition and preserves its large format. This edition also contains considerable information about Hannah Glasse in a biographical introduction, as well as two essays on the degree to which Glasse was indebted to other authors for her recipes. These essays (by Jennifer Stead and Priscilla Bain) were important milestones in our understanding of the techniques of early cookbook compilation when they first appeared. There is also a detailed and informative glossary, with illustrations where necessary, which help the reader interpret the recipes and the ingredients referred to. The book has a modern index. Hannah Glasse was a remarkable woman. She was not a professional cook, rather her expertise was in dressmaking and mercery. Nor was she born with any natural advantages. As the illegitimate offspring of a Northumberland gentleman lawyer, she had to make her way in the world-not greatly helped by a somewhat ineffective husband and large family. Thus she turned to a variety of moneymaking ventures, among which was this book (sold direct through a list of subscribers and the shops of friends rather than the book trade). She seems to be almost self-taught both in literacy (her early letters are by no means models of grammar or spelling) and in cookery. Even if her recipes are often filched from other people''s books, she certainly puts her own gloss on many of them, and there is a definite authorial voice to the text as a whole. Glasse''s book is particularly significant both in its attitudes to the influence of French cookery on the English middle classes and in its reflection of the roles of mistress and servant in the running of an urban household. Its recipes are often successful and still capable of reproduction in the modern kitchen. The first curry recipe printed in England appears here. Now available in a more compact format.
£22.50
Prospect Books Palladius: Opus Agriculturae
Book SynopsisPalladius wrote in the 5th century AD. His is the latest of Roman agricultural texts and perhaps for that reason was the treatise most widely distributed in the medieval world, being translated into Italian, Catalan and Middle English, among other languages. Later, Palladius fell into neglect as the Renaissance preferred more classical authors (Cato, Varro, Columella.
£36.00
Prospect Books High Society Dinners: Dining in Tsarist Russia
Book SynopsisHigh Society Dinners offers extraordinary insight into the domestic arrangements of the Russian aristocracy, presenting nine months'' worth of menus served in St Petersburg to the guests of Petr Durnovo (1835 - 1918), Adjutant-General of the Tsar''s Imperial Suite, part of an important late-19th-century dynasty that included ministers and high officials. The menus themselves would be useful enough for what they reveal about culinary culture in Russia, but Yuri Lotman''s commentary is invaluable, dissecting the dining rituals and the social circles of the participants. Durnovo''s menus and guest lists, interspersed with extracts from family letters and the leading newspapers and journals of the day, set in context the domestic and gastronomic underpinnings of life in this group at the heart of the Russian empire. The Russian has been finely translated by Marian Schwartz (who has worked with M. Gorbachev and translated works by Tolstoy, Bulgakov and Lermontov), and the book as a whole is annotated and introduced by Darra Goldstein, Founding Editor of Gastronomica and Willcox B. and Harriet M. Adsit Professor of Russian at Williams College. The book is illustrated with paintings and photographs that give a sense of the high society milieu in mid-nineteenth-century Russia. This publication has been grant-aided by the Prokhorov Foundation''s Transcript programme. Yuri Lotman (1922 - 1993) was a prominent Russian formalist critic, semiotician, and cultural historian. He was author of more than 800 works. Jelena Pogosjan is a professor of Russian at the University of Alberta in Canada.
£40.50
Persephone Books Ltd A Woman's Place, 1910-1975
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£16.00
Persephone Books Ltd Round About a Pound a Week
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£16.00
Cambridge Media Group Betrayal: The Murder of Robert Nairac GC
Book SynopsisThe second edition covering the murder of Grenadier Guardsman Robert Nairac GC by the Provisional IRA in 1977.
£999.99
Steve Savage Publishers Limited Creme De La Creme: Girls' Schools of Edinburgh
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£11.25
Trolley Books Recollections
Book SynopsisPresents a period much closer to home, with a departure towards various images taken of Britain in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. This title also presents a domestic revolution, from a photographer whose international fame covering a country on the other side of the world is put in the context of his equally incisive work at home.
£37.46
Windgather Press Interpreting the English Village: Landscape and
Book SynopsisAn original and approachable account of how archaeology can tell the story of the English village. Shapwick lies in the middle of Somerset, next to the important monastic centre of Glastonbury: the abbey owned the manor for 800 years from the 8th to the 16th century and its abbots and officials had a great influence on the lives of the peasants who lived there. It is possible that abbot Dunstan, one of the great reformers of tenth century monasticism directed the planning of the village. The Shapwick Project examined the development and history of an English parish and village over a ten thousand-year period. This was a truly multi-disciplinary project. Not only were a battery of archaeological and historical techniques explored - such as field walking, test-pitting, archaeological excavation, aerial reconnaissance, documentary research and cartographic analysis - but numerous other techniques such as building analysis, dendrochronological dating and soil analysis were undertaken on a large scale. The result is a fascinating study about how the community lived and prospered in Shapwick. In addition we learn how a group of enthusiastic and dedicated scholars unravelled this story. As such there is much here to inspire and enthuse others who might want to embark on a landscape study of a parish or village area. Seven of the ten chapters begin with a fictional vignette to bring the story of the village to life. Text-boxes elucidate re-occurring themes and techniques. Extensively illustrated in colour including 100 full page images.This title was the winner of the 2014 British Archaeological Association's Best Archaeological Book Award.Trade ReviewInterpreting the English Village...is an interesting, informative and entertaining description of the results of a 10 year study into the wilds of Somerset. Its plentiful full color images and sidebar stories assist in making the story come alive, and, by the way, passing along the wider history of the British Isles... This is a great example of the public archaeology output from landscape archaeology, and I recommend it wholeheartedly. * About.com Archaeology Guide *...an inspiring example of a local study carried out by the people, about the people and written for the people... yet it might well be asked why it should merit a place on the bookshelves of enthusiasts of archaeology in Cornwall, or other places [outside of] Shapwick [and Somerset]. Quite simply, besides being a good read, it provides a possible model for others to follow in their own communities. Not only does it show how various disciplines have been applied but it is clear to follow, without the jargon that can be so daunting, and abundantly supplied with maps, so strangers can locate the places named with ease... Every parish deserves this treatment. * Cornwall Archaeological Society Newsletter *Fascinating, compelling and never patronising, this magnificent book is popular archaeology at its best. I cannot recommend it too highly. 10/10 * Fortean Times *Table of Contents1. Starting Points2. Ways of Seeing: Methods for the Analysis of of a Landscape3. Once Upon a Time: From the Hunter-Gatherers of of the Mesolithic to the Agricultural Communities of the Iron Age4. In the Shadow of an Empire: Life and Landscape during Roman Times, AD 43-c. AD 3505. Postholes and People: From the End of the Roman Empire to the Early Middle Ages, c. AD 350-c. AD 8006. A Village Moment? Shapwick before the Norman Conquest, c. AD 800-10007. Manor and Abbey: Schapewik in the Later Medieval Period, 1100-15398. After the Dissolution: Post-Medieval Shapwick, 1539-17509. Make Way for Tomorrow: Shapwick Yesterday and Today10. Wider Contexts
£28.45
Luath Press Ltd Scotch on the Rocks: The True Story Behind Whisky
Book SynopsisOn the night of 4 February 1941, the SS Politician founders off the coast of South Uist. The salvage – nearly a quarter of a million bottles of duty-free whisky and hard currency worth, today, ninety million pounds. And to islanders across the Hebrides, it’s theirs for the taking, hiding, drinking or selling. This is the true story behind Sir Compton Mackenzie’s Whisky Galore. Arthur Swinson’s careful research casts an honest light on the events leading up to – and following – this tremendous bounty. Awash with contraband, the communities nearby faced unexpected problems: from the government; the police; customs inspectors; and, not least, each other. ‘…faced with these extraordinary circumstances, the rash became rasher, the drunken more drunken, the avaricious more avaricious, the convivial more convivial, the generous more generous, the treacherous more treacherous, the selfish more selfish and the commercial more commercial’.Trade ReviewVastly entertaining. THE LONDON EVENING STANDARD The greatest party in the history of the Hebrides. THE SCOTSMAN An absorbing tale. SIR COMPTON MACKENZIE
£7.59
Dewi Lewis Media Ltd The Story of Swimming
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£22.50
Haus Publishing My House in Damascus: An Inside View of the
Book SynopsisHow did Syria's revolution lose its way? Drawing on the author's firsthand knowledge of the country's complex religious and ethnic communities, this book illuminates the darker recesses of Syria's history, politics, and society. With the unique perspective of an Arabic-speaking British woman, Diana Darke became deeply embedded in all levels of Syrian society when she bought and restored a house in a mixed Sunni/Shi'a neighborhood of the walled Old City of Damascus. In September 2012, as fighting intensified and millions were forced to flee their homes, she offered her house as a sanctuary to friends. By following her experiences and struggles with the realities of life on the ground inside Syria, the reader will arrive at a clearer understanding of why the country remains locked in conflict and why most ordinary Syrians are caught between a repressive government and a splintering opposition.Trade Review'...written with the pace of a novel and the colour of the best travel writing... much more than a personal memoir: it is an eclectic but learned encyclopedia of Syrian history, of the Arabs and their language and traditions, of Islamic art and architecture, and more.' - Times Literary Supplement '...glows with...an understanding of and affection for the peoples of Syria.' - The Irish Times 'Darke's powerful, moving new book - elegantly contrasts a property dream with Syria's ongoing violent reality - Her sensitive, knowing story captures a rare view of Syria and the stakes of the conflict from an up-close observer deeply versed in its culture.' - New Republic
£12.28
Bitter Lemon Press Friendships
Book SynopsisMark Girouard has, he claims, scarcely ever thrown away a letter that he has received, and here he selects and reproduces 29 of them, ranging from his early childhood during the war to recent years, and uses them to characterise and memorialise their authors who range from the grand, the distinguished and the once or still famous, to the entirely ordinary, and from minor British gentry to Belgian monks, from American businessmen to African street traders. In the process a selective autobiography emerges as he discusses his relationship with this diverse crowd, and at the same time he paints a riveting picture of Bohemian cultural life in post-war Britain and Ireland. And the point of it all is that friendship has nothing at all to do with fame, success or wealth, but entirely with that sudden click of reciprocity, or pleasure in companionship, that makes life worth living. So the reader can savour walks with John Betjeman through the ruins of blitzed London, or with Denys Lasdun through the concrete dramas of the National Theatre; be regaled with stories about the Gorbals by Ruby Milton, champion child dancer from Glasgow; eat disgusting rook pie off Bourbon gold plate with the Duke of Wellington; be touched by the surprising love life of Sir John Summerson, loftiest of scholars; grieve at the decline of Mariga Guiness, gifted, drunken and loveable queen of the Irish Georgians; and hear how a Chelsea landlady modelled half-naked for the figure of Fame riding her chariot on top of the arch at Hyde Park Corner, and myriad other life stories, poignant, moving and compelling in turn.
£15.29
Glasgow Museums Publishing Souvenir Guide The Burrell Collection
Book SynopsisThe world-famous Burrell Collection reopens to the world in the spring of 2021 after a multi-million pound refurbishment. This new guidebook functions as both a memento and a tool for visitors as they peruse the galleries, which house tapestries, stained glass, Chinese art, French paintings, medieval sculpture and much more. It contains key objects and gallery highlights, offering visitors who require it more in depth information about the fantastic collection Sir William Burrell gave to his home city, Glasgow, in 1944. The opening essays illuminate the background story to this huge collection of over 9,000 objects, and touch on the building's history and recent redevelopment. The guidebook reflects the scope of the new galleries, helping to orient visitors further.
£14.24
Glasgow Museums Publishing Introducing Stained Glass
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£10.00
Prospect Books Cooking and Dining in Tudor and Early Stuart
Book SynopsisWhat is unique about Brears’ book is that he combines an account of the cookery with a close look at the practical arrangements, the kitchens and dining halls, where that food was cooked and consumed. His prose is enlivened by his drawings as accurate as can be which lay bare to the modern reader just what was going on in places like Hampton Court palace, as well as in humbler homes throughout the land. There are plenty of recipes for those who like to try things for themselves, all properly tested by the author, who is a historic food consultant to TV and country house owners. The era begins with the near medieval styles of Henry VII and VIII, with special attention to Henry VIII’s propagandizing banquets and feasts for foreign monarchs; progresses to the reign of Elizabeth, the effects of new foodstuffs from America, and treats some the great houses of the Tudor aristocracy; and finishes with the first two Stuart kings, James I and Charles I under whose rule we began to move towards a more modern style of cooking and when we also started to produce cookery books in large number.
£36.00
Prospect Books The Tavern Cook: Eighteenth Century Dining
Book SynopsisDining in an Eighteenth Century Tavern is the subject of Marc Meltonville?s copious work on the cookery of Richard Briggs. In 1788, Richard Briggs published the ?English Art of Cookery?which is, he tells us, ?A complete guide for all Householders, on a plan entirely new.? Briggs was for many years the cook at the Globe Tavern, in Fleet Street, London. And in the Eighteenth Century, taverns were not just public houses selling beer; one went to experience fine dining in their restaurants.
£17.09
CB Editions Simple Annals: A Memoir of Early Childhood
Book SynopsisMemories of growing up in an ordinary but loving family in Lancashire in the 1940s and early 50s, brought to the page with an almost pre-verbal immediacy.
£8.54
CB Editions Flickerbook: An Autobiography
Book SynopsisFlickerbook is the classic autobiography of the writer Leila Berg (1917-2012), who grew up in a Jewish immigrant neighbourhood in Salford, Greater Manchester. It recreates childhood pleasures and fears, relationships with family and lovers, and growing political engagement. It ends with the first air-raid siren in London September 1939.
£9.50
Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd War to Windrush
Book SynopsisCommemorating the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush, Stephen Bourne's War to Windrush explores the lives of Britain's immigrant community through the experiences of Black British women during the period spanning from the beginning of World War II to the arrival of the Empire Windrush in 1948.In those short years, Black British women performed integral roles in keeping the country functioning and set the stage for the arrival of other black Britons on the MV Empire Windrush. The book shows first-hand what life was like in Britain for black women through photography and evocative prose.War to Windrush retraces the history of those women who helped to build the great, multicultural Britain we know today. It is a celebration of multiculturalism and immigration, much needed in today's political climate.
£11.69
Five Leaves Publications Curious Crouch End
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£9.45
Nine Elms Books The Vagabond and the Princess: Paddy Leigh Fermor
Book SynopsisInvention, passion, war and exile are but some of the elements in this revealing new insight into Paddy Leigh Fermor's many Romanian journeys. Starting with the `great trudge' on foot through Romania in 1934 and ending in 1990 with his assignment for The Daily Telegraph following the fall of Ceausescu, The Vagabond and The Princess by Alan Ogden unravels the tapestry of fact and fiction woven by Paddy and reveals in detail the touching story of the love affair between the youthful writer and Balasa Cantacuzino, a beautiful Romanian Princess. After a poignant parting on the eve of the Second World War, they were reunited some twenty-five years later and remained in close touch until her death. Paddy had been the great love of her life. Alan Ogden brings great insight into this enduring and touching relationship as well putting into context the glamorous lost world of pre-WW2 Romania.Table of ContentsPreface A Note on Paddy's usage of place names and titles Part 1 - 1934 Chapter 1 - Romania in 1934 Chapter 2 - Hungarian Hosts and Hostesses Chapter 3 - The Secret Journey Chapter 4 - Bucharest 23 October - 14 November 1934 Part 2 - 1935-1945 Chapter 5 - Descriptio Moldaviae Chapter 6 - Baleni Part 3 - 1946-1965 Chapter 7 - The Curtain Falls Chapter 8 - Toutes les Tristesses du Monde Part 4 - 1966-2017 Chapter 9 - Romania Revisited Bibliography Acknowledgements
£10.79
Nine Elms Books Spoils of War: The Treasures, Trophies, & Trivia
Book SynopsisOver the last seven hundred years the United Kingdom has acquired a staggering array of treasures as a direct result of its military activities – from Joan of Arc’s ring to the Rock of Gibraltar to Hitler’s desk. Spoils of War describes these spoils and how they came to be acquired as well as telling the tales of some of the extraordinary (and extraordinarily incompetent) men and women, now mostly forgotten, who had a hand in the rise and fall of the British Empire. Along the way the book debunks a significant number of myths, exposes a major fraud perpetrated on a leading London museum, reveals previously unknown spoils of war and casts light on some very dark corners of Britain’s military history.Trade Review“Christopher Joll’s original and entertaining book focuses on some of the remarkable spoils of war seized during the age of empire by British soldiers, sailors and airmen. Each of these tangible trophies of victory, ranging from the priceless to the valueless, has a story which Joll recounts, and sometimes debunks, with style, humour and insight.” Michael Portillo (broadcaster and former Secretary of State for Defence)Table of ContentsForeword by the Duke of Wellington. Introduction. THE CAMPAIGNS: 1. Hundred Years’ War (1337–1453). 2. English Civil War (1642–1651) . 3. War Of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). 4. Seven Years’ War (1756–1763). 5. American War of Independence (1775–1783). 6. Anglo-French War (1778–1783). 7. French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802). 8. Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1798–1799). 9. War of the Third Coalition (1805). 10. West Indies Campaign (1804–1810). 11. Peninsular War (1807–1814). 12. Retreat from Moscow (1812). 13. British-American War of 1812 (1812–1815). 14. The 100 Days (1815). 15. First Anglo-Ashanti War (1823–1831). 16. Sindh Campaign (1843). 17. Crimean War (1853–1856). 18. Indian Mutiny (1857–1858). 19. Second Opium War (1856–1860). 20. Abyssinia Expedition (1867–1868). 21. Third Anglo-Ashanti War (1873–1874). 22. Anglo-Zulu War (1879). 23. Urabi Revolt (1879–1882). 24. Mahdist War (1881–1899). 25. Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885). 26. Boxer Rebellion & The Siege of Peking (1889–1901). 27. Second Boer War (1899–1902). 28. First World War (1914–1918). 29. Second World War (1939–1945). 30. Malayan Emergency (1948–1960). 31. Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation (1962–1966). 32. The Troubles, Ulster (1968–1998). 33. Falklands War (1982). About the author. Appendices. 1. Styles, titles, honorifics and regimental names. 2. Principal British campaigns. 3. Prize law, prize money and.prize auctions. 4. Sources and locations. Acknowledgements.
£21.25
NMSE - Publishing Ltd Wild and Majestic: Romantic Visions of Scotland
Book SynopsisDramatic Highland landscapes, heroic histories, tartan and bagpipes are among the defining images of Scotland for many people around the world. From the Romantic movement of the 18th and early 19th centuries to Queen Victoria’s Highland idyll at Balmoral, Wild and Majestic considers the origins of these ideas and explores how romantic interpretations of the cultural traditions of the Scottish Highlands and Islands became enduring symbols of wider Scottish identity. This book accompanied a landmark exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland in 2019. It charts Scotland’s journey into the global imagination and invites you to think again about the meaning and relevance of ideas that continue to define Scotland today.Trade Review' … beautifully produced and magnificently illustrated … it is also a book that tells its story very well indeed.' Undiscovered ScotlandTable of ContentsRomantic visions of Scotland Symbols of Scotland Scotland after Culloden A romantic vision of Scotland Royal favour A tour of Scotland The Gothic revival The Highland idea Legacy Acknowledgements Further reading
£6.79
NMSE - Publishing Ltd Little Black Dress: A Radical Fashion
Book SynopsisAt its inception, the ‘Little Black Dress’ was radically modern: a masculine-inspired, anti-traditionalist female attire. Yet it has remained a wardrobe staple for almost a century, each new silhouette redressing gendered boundaries of fashion to reflect evolving ideals of beauty and sexuality. In attempting to reconcile the historical study of fashion in the West with the reality of a global fashion system of production, distribution and consumption, and the urgent demand for the industry to be more aware of its footfalls in our culture, Little Black Dress: A Radical Fashion widens the lens through which we interpret the colour black. In this book, international scholars, curators and fashion writers explore how black’s paradoxical meanings have made the LBD simultaneously expressive of respect and rebellion, sophistication and dissident sexualities, piety and perversion. Bridging tradition and innovation, fashion and anti-fashion, the LBD emerges as a radical fashion for the 21st century.Table of ContentsForeword by Dr Christopher Breward / Well-mannered Black?: Fashion, Femininity and Feminism by Georgina Ripley / Spiritual Black by Lynne Hume / Sublime Black: Perfection of Line and Technical Wizardry by Iain R Webb / Black Will Take Any Other Hue by Makoto Ishizeki / LBD(SM) by Fiona Jardine / Fashion, Technology and the LBD by Pamela A Parmal / The Transmodern Little Black Dress by Georgina Ripley / Bibliography / Index
£27.00
NMSE - Publishing Ltd Going to the Berries: Voices of Perthshire and
Book SynopsisPickers came from near and far year after year – and from a variety of backgrounds – for the berry-picking season. For local people, adults and children, it was an opportunity to supplement the family income; Glasgow folk combined it with a holiday. For the Scottish Traveller community it was an annual opportunity to meet up with friends and family, and forge new relationships. Roger Leitch encouraged many of those local berry pickers to share their recollections for this book – which is published at a time of political change with challenges for the soft fruit cultivation business. He also interviewed workers in other seasonal employments such as potato picking and ghillieing.Trade Review' … Fascinating material is presented throughout … The focus on the wide range of oral testimonies presented, mostly from a particular region of Scotland that has thus far not received in-depth attention in the wider historiography, means that the book offers important insights for the historical agenda.' Scottish Archives Table of ContentsAcknowledgements List of Illustrations Introduction: Caroline Milligan 1. Fieldwork and the Ethnologist 2. Seasonal Rural Employment 3. Life at the Tatties 4. Berryopolis 5. The Growth of the Raspberry Industry in Scotland by G. M. Hodge 6. Life Away From Home 7. At Home Notes Glossary Contributors Bibliography Index
£10.44
Vintage Publishing Behind the Throne: A Domestic History of the
Book SynopsisBehind the Throne is, above all, a history of family life.They ate, entertained their friends and worried about money. Henry VIII kept tripping over his dogs. George II threw his son out of the house. James I had to cut back on the drink bills.The great difference is that royal families had more help with their lives than most.Charles I maintained a household of 2,000. Victoria's medical establishment alone consisted of thirty doctors, three dentists and a chiropodist. Even today, Elizabeth II keeps a full-time staff of 1,200. A royal household was a community, a vast machine. Everyone, from James I's Master of the Horse down to William IV's Assistant Table Decker, was there to smooth the sovereign's path through life while simultaneously confirming their status.Here, Adrian Tinniswood uncovers the reality of five centuries of life at the English court, taking you on a remarkable journey, exploring life as it was lived by clerks and courtiers and clowns and crowned heads. Behind the Throne is a true domestic history of the royal household, a reconstruction of life behind the throne. 'The most interesting and informative book on British royalty for many years' Literary ReviewTrade ReviewThis is the most interesting and informative book on British royalty for many years. -- Sarah Bradford * Literary Review *Behind the Throne, erudite and amusing, bulges with colourful scenes… glorious… a fun, elegant narrative. -- Melanie Reid * The Times *This book is a cracking read, packed full of stories which Tinniswood relates with verve and wit… Buy this book for Christmas and give it to all your non-republican friends. -- Jane Ridley * Spectator *Entertaining… superb… history needs anecdote to make us relate to it, something Tinniswood [does] brilliantly. * Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year *Adrian Tinniswood’s handsomely produced Behind the Throne is full of such pleasing details, as it takes us on a fascinating snoop into the studies, kitchens and bedrooms of various monarchs from Elizabeth I to the present queen… Tinniswood gets [the tone] just right, never overly deferential, but humorous and distantly respectful… Behind the Throne is a wonderfully entertaining account of life through five centuries of royal households. -- Christopher Hart * Sunday Times *Adrian Tinniswood's juicy new domestic history of the royal household… [is] delicious – as piquant as the green salad with which Edward VIII liked to eat his cold grouse. -- Rachel Cooke * Observer *Devoted watchers of The Crown will especially enjoy the nimble analysis of both the narcissistic Edward VIII’s brief reign and Princess Margaret’s doomed romance… this enlightening narrative allows the royal family mystique to disappear just a little. * Publishers Weekly *An intimate and entertaining look at the private lives of monarchs from Elizabeth I to the current occupants of Buckingham Palace… Deft, zesty social history. * Kirkus *If Downton Abbey showcases a well-oiled machine of domestic efficiency in an English estate, you might think the servants surrounding British monarchs would be held to an even higher standard of discretion and excellence. And, as historian Tinniswood warns, you’d be entirely wrong. The reality, as he explores in this diverting book covering the domestic life at court from Elizabeth to Elizabeth, is both much messier and incredibly interesting… This rare glimpse into royal households reveals the priorities and peculiarities of kings and queens. * Booklist *Tinniswood retells some of the best-known and best-loved episodes in British royal history… with elegance and wit… [and] based on extensive research. -- Linda Porter * BBC History Magazine *
£21.25
Carnegie Publishing Ltd Our Street: Growin' up in the 1950s
Book SynopsisCopenhagen Street was no different from any street in any industrial town or city in the 1950s. Its landscape was identical to streets in Bolton, Birmingham or Bermondsey during this decade. Not only were the streets similar, their inhabitants all had the same tales to tell too. These people were working class, living from week to week, most just managing to pay the rent. Unfortunately, some could not. This book describes one such street, home to a community of ordinary hardworking and poor families. Yes, there was hardship, as they struggled to get by on too little in postwar Britain. But they didn’t give up, instead showing a remarkable resilience, an ability to bounce back in adversity, and often great humour: `Debt, Elsie?’ a woman proclaimed to her neighbour, as she pointed to her headscarf. `We’re in debt up to ’ere, love. I just wish we were taller!’ If your street in the fifties was cobbled, and lined with tiny terraced houses. If its scarred pavements were chalked for hopscotch, and its lampposts used as cricket stumps. If your family hid from the rent man’s purposeful knock, and you asked for a penn’orth of scratchings from the chippy, then this book will help you recall those hard but happy days when you were a kid.
£7.59
Carnegie Publishing Ltd Toxteth Tales: Growin' up in Liverpool 8
Book SynopsisLiverpool in the 40s and 50s: a city of safe, cosy little streets – except when Hitler’s Luftwaffe couldn’t find the docks. A city of two-up, two-downs, where two or three generations lived within a few doors of each other, and often behind one door. It was a time when many of the men were away in the armed forces, strangers to their children, and when the women’s lives seemed to be filled with washing, shopping, cooking and cleaning. They were always at work, except for when they gathered on doorsteps to gossip, to talk about anyone who wasn’t with them; about who was getting more from the butcher than their ration book allowed. All of them talking, and none of them listening. Families struggled in desperately poor times, but for a child, life was an endless round of playing out. A paradise of sixpenny matinees at the Tunnel Road Picturedrome. Of `penny returns’ on the 5W tram to the countryside of Woolton, or much rarer tu’penny return ferry trips across the river, to the seaside and fairground at New Brighton. Not that you needed money. There were always the weekend adventures in Sefton and Prince’s parks, the inventive games on the streets, and on the bombed sites that littered the city. Ken Hayter’s warm, funny, poignant tales of growing up in Toxteth will strike a chord with anyone interested in the social history of Liverpool, whether they are old enough to remember how it was, or would like to have a fascinating peek into the past.
£8.54
John Donald Publishers Ltd The Glasgow Enlightenment
Book SynopsisThe Glasgow Enlightenment is widely regarded as the first book to explore the nature and accomplishments of the Enlightenment in eighteenth-century Glasgow in a comprehensive manner. In addition to a general introduction by the editors, there are seven chapters devoted to Glasgow University professors, such as Adam Smith, Francis Hutcheson, Thomas Reid, John Millar, William Leechman, and John Anderson. At a time when the Glasgow economy was booming in the strength of its trade with America, these and other Glasgow men of science and learning were making major contributions to the European world of philosophy, law, political economy, natural philosophy, medicine, and religious toleration. There are also five chapters on other individuals and topics, including the physician and author John Moore, James Boswell during his student days, images of Glasgow in popular poetry, and Popular party clergymen who challenged the dominant views of the academic Enlightenment with an alternative vision of liberty and piety. This edition features a new bibliographical preface by Richard B. Sher that discusses the substantial secondary literature on eighteenth-century Glasgow and the Glasgow Enlightenment since the original publication of this book more than a quarter of a century ago.Trade Review'a valuable and worthwhile collection that continues to be essential reading for anyone wishing to understand aspects of the Scottish Enlightenment as experienced in Glasgow' * Journal of the Edinburgh Bibiographical Society *
£22.50
Watkins Media Limited 1996 And The End of History
Book Synopsis1996 And The End of History examines the year as it panned out in the UK not just in politics but in music, light entertainment and sport. It was the zenith of a decade which will go down as remarkably untroubled bymodern standards; following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, prior to 9/11, in which political conditions of peace and apparent economic prosperity created an overall mood of frivolity, postmodern anti-seriousness and a desire to get back to sunnier times before the grim onset of the strife-ridden 70's and 80's.
£8.54
CONNELL PUBLISHING LTD Slavery: The history and legacy of one of the
Book SynopsisWestern slavery goes back 10,000 years to Mesopotamia, today’s Iraq, where a male slave was worth an orchard of date palms. Female slaves were called on for sexual services, gaining freedom only when their masters died. This book traces slavery from classical times to the present. It shows how the enforced movement of more than 12 million Africans on to the Atlantic slave ships, and the scattering of more 11 million survivors across the colonies of the Americas between the late 16th and early 19th centuries, transformed the face of the Americas. Though they were not its pioneers, it was the British who came to dominate Atlantic slavery, helping to consolidate the country’s status as a world power before it became the first major country to abolish slavery. James Walvin explores the moral and economic issues slavery raises, examines how it worked and describes the lives of individual slaves, their resilience in the face of a brutal institution, and the depths to which white owners and their overseers could on occasion sink in their treatment of them.
£9.49
Watkins Media Limited Darkly: Black History and America's Gothic Soul
Book SynopsisHaunted houses, bitter revenants and muffled heartbeats under floorboards — the American gothic is a macabre tale based on a true story. Part memoir and part cultural critique, Darkly reveals the heart of America’s darkness in the specters left from chattel slavery and the persistence of white supremacy. Locating the gothic in technologies of terror, the insurgency of melancholy, and the guilty conscience of a country that got away with murder, Darkly shows how this trauma has been metabolized into art, music, film, and literature. America's story is founded in horror, with a culture shaped from the Black experience, proving that you can’t get more goth than Black.Trade Review"I am struck by the depth of Leila Taylor's vision. The generosity shown in the way a history (and present) is illuminated. This book does so much beautiful work to widen the expectations and understandings of blackness, and I am immensely thankful for it." — Hanif Abdurraqib, author of Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest and They Can't Kill Us Until they Kill Us"A powerful and deeply personal exploration of what it means to be an outsider within an outsider culture. Between the black aesthetic of goth culture and the Blackness of America, Leila Taylor navigates seamlessly between cultural critique, personal history, and a history of America's troubled past in writing that is incessant, curious, and generous, and a voice that is at turns both searing and vulnerable. Powerful and strange, uncanny and unforgettable." — Colin Dickey, author of Ghostland"Takes us on a path that connects the Middle Ages, Edgar Allen Poe, the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Afropunk, Prince, Black Lives Matter, and Hot Topic. It’s an incredible journey..." — Baratunde Thurston"Fascinating. A revelatory exploration of blackness, goth culture and the ramifications of inherited trauma."—Irenosen Okojie“A rare glimpse into American gothic from an African American perspective.”—Library Journal
£10.44
University of Hertfordshire Press Sevenoaks 1790–1914: Risk and choice in West Kent
Book SynopsisThis book offers a fresh perspective on British history in the long nineteenth century through the lens of a study of Sevenoaks and the surrounding area of West Kent. It considers, in particular, how the risks faced by the people of this region, and the choices they made to try to mitigate them, shaped their lives and relationships. During a period of often dramatic change, the economic, social, political, religious and cultural interests of individuals were subject to different risk factors; the responses they made (and the reasons for those choices) provide valuable insights and enable the writing of highly nuanced local history. The authors pinpoint the fundamental risk factors affecting the lives of West Kent’s inhabitants (especially the poor): the struggle to obtain the four bare necessities of shelter, food, fuel and clothing, without which their survival was threatened. Other risks abounded too, from abysmal sanitary conditions and the dangers of giving birth, to industrial injuries and being a victim of crime. Secure work and strong family networks were essential to limiting risks – often forming part of the ‘makeshift economy’ – as well as charity, education, health insurance and access to medical care. For many, not all these options were available – or not until much later in the period. Choice was central to religious and political struggles. The examination of beliefs and values reveals the immense impact such issues had across West Kent society, and how and why it divided as a direct result. Finally, the authors consider the advent of motor vehicles, which combined both risk and choice in exciting but potentially dangerous ways. This innovative approach provides a fruitful new way of writing history and offers a model for future local history studies.Table of Contents1 Introduction: risk and choice 2 Power and authority 3 Ideas, beliefs, and values: parish and vestry 4 Ideas, beliefs, and values: locality, nation, the world 5 ‘The necessities of life’: housing and fuel 6 ‘The necessities of life’: food and clothing 7 Work 8 Self, family, friends, neighbours, townspeople 9 Health, welfare and environment 10 Financial risk to pension security 11 Knowledge and education 12 Leisure 13 Conclusion
£14.24
