Search results for ""Crown""
Michael O'Mara Books Ltd A Year in the Life of Ancient Greece: The Real Lives of the People Who Lived There
Experience a remarkable year among the real people of ancient Greece, as they prepare for the most important event in their calendar.It is 248 BC, the year of the 133rd Olympic Games. At this time the Hellenistic world is at its peak, with Greek settlements spread across the Middle East, Egypt and Spain. As ever, the world is politically troubled, with Rome locked in a war with Carthage and a major conflict brewing between Egypt and Syria. However, ordinary people are still preoccupied with the crops, household affairs – and in some cases, with winning an Olympic crown.Starting at the autumn equinox, in this imagined account of a year in the life of eight fascinating characters, Philip Matyszak reveals what life was really like at this time. Rather than focusing on the kings and generals from the histories of Thucydides and Polybius, we are invited into the homes of ordinary Greek citizens. From the diplomat who is using the Games as a cover to engage in political skulduggery to the sprinter who dreams of glory, A Year in the Life of Ancient Greece takes us through a dramatic twelve months to reveal the opportunities and the perils of everyday life during this period.
£11.16
Pan Macmillan The Dance Tree: The BBC Between the Covers Book Club Pick
Set in an era of superstition and hysteria, and inspired by the true events of a doomed summer, The Dance Tree is a story of family secrets, forbidden love, and women pushed to the edge. The gripping, historical novel from Kiran Millwood Hargrave, as seen on BBC Two's Between the Covers.‘Brilliant’ – Marian Keyes‘I absolutely loved this book’ – Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den Strasbourg, 1518. In the midst of a blisteringly hot summer, a lone woman begins to dance in the city square. She dances for days without pause, and as she is joined by hundreds of others, the authorities declare an emergency: musicians will be brought in to play the Devil out of these women.Beyond the city, pregnant Lisbet tends the bees that are her livelihood. And then, as the dancing plague gathers momentum, Lisbet’s sister-in-law Nethe returns from seven years’ penance in the mountains for a crime no one will name.As the city buckles under the beat of a thousand feet, Lisbet finds herself thrust into a dangerous web of deceit and clandestine passion, but she is dancing to a dangerous tune . . .Shortlisted for the HWA Gold Crown‘Intriguing, haunting, beautiful’ – Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne‘Extraordinary, enthralling’ – Sunday Times
£10.20
Penguin Random House Children's UK Penguin Readers Level 3: Ghost Stories (ELT Graded Reader)
Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online.Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content.The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary.Ghost Stories, a Level 3 Reader, is A2 in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing first conditional, past continuous and present perfect simple for general experience. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear on most pages.A strange whistle, a dangerous curse, a buried crown and a hotel without a room 13. Don't read these four frightening ghost stories by M.R. James late at night!Visit the Penguin Readers websiteExclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.
£9.31
HarperCollins Publishers Inc How to Find a Princess: Runaway Royals
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Alyssa Cole’s second Runaway Royals novel is a queer Anastasia retelling, featuring a long-lost princess who finds love with the female investigator tasked with tracking her down.Makeda Hicks has lost her job and her girlfriend in one fell swoop. The last thing she’s in the mood for is to rehash the story of her grandmother’s infamous summer fling with a runaway prince from Ibarania, or the investigator from the World Federation of Monarchies tasked with searching for Ibarania’s missing heir.Yet when Beznaria Chetchevaliere crashes into her life, the sleek and sexy investigator exudes exactly the kind of chaos that organized and efficient Makeda finds irresistible, even if Bez is determined to drag her into a world of royal duty Makeda wants nothing to do with.When a threat to her grandmother’s livelihood pushes Makeda to agree to return to Ibarania, Bez takes her on a transatlantic adventure with a crew of lovable weirdos, a fake marriage, and one-bed hijinks on the high seas. When they finally make it to Ibarania, they realize there’s more at stake than just cash and crown, and Makeda must learn what it means to fight for what she desires and not what she feels bound to by duty.
£9.80
HarperCollins Publishers The Bachelor: Racy, pacy and very funny! (Swell Valley Series, Book 3)
It is a truth universally acknowledged, thata single man in possession of a good fortunemust be in want of… anything but a wife? The third book in the Swell Valley series by bestselling author Tilly Bagshawe Henry Saxton-Brae has it all – a titled, self-made millionaire,his fiancée just happens to be a supermodel who is as kind and loyal as she is ravishingly beautiful. To top it all, he’s just bought Hanborough Castle, the jewel in the crown of the Swell Valley. Life couldn’t be better… for someone who was ready to settledown. Could he really be the only man in the world not in lovewith his future wife? Flora Fitzwilliam has been summoned by legendarydesigner Graydon James to restore Hanborough to its formerglory. She soon discovers that it’s not just the house thatneeds fixing, and Flora seems to be the only person who seesthe real Henry Saxton-Brae. Between her boss’s waning talents and Henry’s roving eye,Flora is being torn apart. Can she pull off the job, and makeHenry see that his bachelor days are behind him? Not since Rupert Campbell-Black has there been such a devastatingly sexy man in jodhpurs!
£9.79
John Murray Press The Gurkhas
The Gurkhas have fought on behalf of Britain and India for nearly two hundred years. As brave as they are resilient, resourceful and cunning, they have earned a reputation as devastating fighters, and their unswerving loyalty to the Crown has always inspired affection in the British people. There are also now up to 40,000 Gurkhas in the million-strong army of modern India.But who are the Gurkhas? How much of the myth that surrounds them is true? Award-winning historian Chris Bellamy uncovers the Gurkhas' origins in the Hills of Nepal, the extraordinary circumstances in which the British decided to recruit them and their rapid emergence as elite troops of the East India Company, the British Raj and the British Empire. Their special aptitude meant they were used as the first British 'Special Forces'. Bellamy looks at the wars the Gurkhas have fought this century, from the two world wars through the Falklands to Iraq and Afghanistan and examines their remarkable status now, when each year 11,000 hopefuls apply for just over 170 places in the British Army Gurkhas.Extraordinarily compelling, this book brings the history of the Gurkhas, and the battles they have fought, right up to date, and explores their future.
£11.91
Amberley Publishing Women of Power: Formidable Females of the Medieval World
The stereotypical medieval woman is a pious, helpless creature of little intelligence, and still less drive and ambition. Completely at the mercy of the men in her life, she was married young, had copious offspring and died, often in childbirth, to make way for another, younger model. At best she may have inspired music (made by men), art (made by men), or poetry (made by men), but clearly she were incapable of doing anything for herself. While this may have been true of many, it was certainly not true of the women featured here. Emma, Matilda and Eleanor were all queens of England wielding great influence in their time, while the Empress Matilda ruled northern Italy at the age of sixteen, and came close to seizing back the English crown, promised to her and then usurped by her cousin, Stephen. Matilda of Tuscany and Melisende of Jerusalem both ruled in their own right and with notable success, while Eleanor of Aquitaine was surely one of the most significant and powerful women of her age. In each case the choices they made and the lives they lived had a profound impact on their own times, while, for some, their influence lasted well beyond their own era. These women can truly be called Women of Power.
£20.03
Penguin Books Ltd Oliver Cromwell (Penguin Monarchs): England's Protector
The acclaimed Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers - now in paperbackAlthough he styled himself 'His Highness', adopted the court ritual of his royal predecessors, and lived in the former royal palaces of Whitehall and Hampton Court, Oliver Cromwell was not a king - in spite of the best efforts of his supporters to crown him.Yet, as David Horspool shows in this illuminating new portrait of England's Lord Protector, Cromwell, the Puritan son of Cambridgeshire gentry, wielded such influence that it would be a pretence to say that power really lay with the collective. The years of Cromwell's rise to power, shaped by a decade-long civil war, saw a sustained attempt at the collective government of England; the first attempts at a real Union of Britain; the beginnings of empire; a radically new solution to the idea of a national religion; atrocities in Ireland; and the readmission to England of the Jews, a people officially banned for over three and a half centuries. At the end of it, Oliver Cromwell had emerged as the country's sole ruler: to his enemies, and probably to most of his countrymen, his legacy looked as likely to last as that of the Stuart dynasty he had replaced.
£9.31
Little, Brown Book Group A Brief History of the Private Life of Elizabeth II, Updated Edition
Elizabeth II is the longest-reigning British monarch. A personally quiet, modest and dutiful person, she is far better-informed about the lives of her subjects than they often realize. She has known every Prime Minister since Winston Churchill and every American President since Eisenhower. Yet what of the woman behind the crown?This book seeks to take a new look at this exhaustively-documented life and show how Queen Elizabeth became the person she is. Who, and what, have been the greatest influences upon her? What are her likes and dislikes? What are her hobbies? Who are her friends? What does she feel about the demands of duty and protocol? Is she really enjoying herself when she smiles during official events? How differently does she behave when out of the public eye? Examining the places in which she grew up or has lived, the training she received and her attitudes to significant events in national life, it presents a fresh view of one of recent history's most important figures.In recent years, Queen Elizabeth has become the longest-reigning monarch in our history and has cut back on commitments. Nevertheless she is still very active and has made some wise decisions about who takes over a number of her duties.
£7.16
Little, Brown Book Group Trust: The debut novel from the creator of Cold Feet
The debut novel from BAFTA Award-winning writer of TV's COLD FEET: a laugh-out-loud tale of contemporary relationships, this is perfect for anyone who has ever fallen in love. Or out of love. Or back in love again.'Trust wasn't something you could have in degrees; it was all or nothing...'Greg and Amanda are happy. They've been together thirteen years and have two young daughters. They're very much in love. Dan and Sarah aren't so fortunate. Their marriage is going through the motions and they're just staying together for the sake of their son.When one bad decision sends a happy couple into turmoil and turns an unhappy couple into love's young dream, there's only one thing that can keep everything from falling apart: trust.Praise for TRUST:'A smart and fun story about relationships from the creator of Cold Feet' (Heat) 'A funny, poignant and complex story of what happens to relationships when trust breaks down, beautifully handled by an accomplished writer' (Carole Matthews)'Move over David Nicholls. For here's a serious contender for your contemporary-urban-ironic crown. A comic tour de force, brimming with wit and weary wisdom' (Daily Mail)'A brilliantly funny debut novel about mid-life relationships from the creator of Cold Feet' (The Pool)
£6.45
Ave Maria University Press Man and Woman: A Divine Invention
In follow-up to her acclaimed Privilege of Being a Woman, Dr. von Hildebrand expands the discussion to explore how the fullness of human nature is found in the perfect union between man and woman. God chose to create man doubly complex. He made man of both soul and body a spiritual reality and a material reality. To crown this complexity, He created them male and female. Dr. von Hildebrand elucidates the tragic separation that happened with original sin and the consequences of this brokenness in the world today: the distortion of the male and female genius, supernatural blindness, and the triumph of secularism. She explores how this brokenness can be healed by following God's Divine plan for man and woman. We see this first and foremost in our Blessed Mother, exemplar of the path to holiness. This is also seen in the characteristics of saintly male / female relationships between husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, brothers and sisters, and holy friendships. It is only by coming to more fully understand the Divine plan for man and woman, and submitting ourselves to His plan, that true complementarity harmony of body and soul, male and female can be accomplished.
£22.34
Archaeopress The Lost Abbey of Eynsham
The Lost Abbey of Eynsham will be of interest not just to local historians but to those with an interest in the development of monasticism and medieval art and architecture, particularly the Romanesque. Eynsham was one of the few religious foundations in England in continuous use from the late Saxon period to the Dissolution. Its first Benedictine Abbot was the internationally renowned scholar and teacher, Aelfric, and it was frequently visited by medieval kings given its close proximity to the royal hunting lodge of Woodstock. Hugh of Avalon, later canonised, was appointed Bishop of Lincoln at a royal council at Eynsham in 1186. Shortly afterwards the abbey achieved fame with the Vision of the Monk of Eynsham which is said to have influenced Dante. Its reputation was further enhanced when Eynsham acquired an important relic, the arm of St Andrew in 1240. In the later Middle Ages, the abbey went into decline and was beset by scandal. It surrendered to the Crown in 1538 and the huge structure was gradually demolished and pillaged for its building materials. Now, nothing remains in situ above ground. This book aims to rescue this important abbey from obscurity by summarising its history and examining the material remains of Eynsham Abbey, most of which have never been published before.
£81.60
Rowman & Littlefield Billy Ball: Billy Martin and the Resurrection of the Oakland A's
There was no more polarizing manager in baseball than the hot-tempered, hard-drinking, risk-taking Billy Martin. Under absentee and apathetic owner Charlie Finley, there was not a more neglected baseball franchise on the verge of death than the Oakland A’s of the late 1970s. Martin was the firebrand everyone wanted and Finley was the owner A’s fans hated. But when Finley tapped the fifty-one-year-old Martin to manage his A’s in February 1980, it sparked a major-league renaissance in the San Francisco-Bay Area. Baseball’s two most colorful personalities had joined forces. So began the winning era of “Billy Ball,” Martin’s daring, unpredictable, base-stealing, aggressive style of play driven by young players like future superstar Rickey Henderson. Time magazine would feature Martin on the cover of its May 1981 issue. Billy Ball translated into wins and propelled the A’s to the top of the standings, eventually leading them to the American league West crown in 1981 before falling to the Yankees in the ALCS that season. But Billy Ball had made its mark in baseball lore. During a time of economic uncertainty and dying baseball interest in Oakland, Billy Ball filled the stands, rejuvenated fans, and saved professional baseball in the city.
£21.96
Amberley Publishing The Private Life of Edward IV
From the moment it became public news, the validity of Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth Widville, the beautiful widow of a Lancastrian knight, was repeatedly called into question. This alarmed Elizabeth Widville and led her into political killings. She was terrified that she would lose her crown and that her children by the king would never succeed to the throne. But after Edward’s death a bishop publicly announced that he had previously married the king to Lady Eleanor Talbot. As a result, Edward’s children by Elizabeth, including his eldest son and heir to the throne, Edward, were then declared illegitimate, making Edward’s brother Richard the legitimate heir to the throne. Later, claims were put forward that Edward had numerous mistresses and left behind many illegitimate children. Dr John Ashdown-Hill, a central figure in the Looking for Richard Project and a renowned Richard III historian with a special talent for getting behind the mythology of history, now turns his attention to Richard’s eldest brother, Edward IV. He unravels the complex web of stories around Edward’s private life, discussing the truth behind Edward’s reputation. Did Edward have numerous mistresses? Did he produce many bastards? Who was his legal wife? And what caused the early death of Eleanor Talbot?
£25.78
September Publishing The Bridesmaid's Daughter: From Grace Kelly's wedding to a homeless shelter - searching for the truth about my mother
'The heart-rending story of two beautiful and glamorous women, and the spirals of disaster into which one of their lives tumbled.' Robert Lacey, author of Grace and The Crown A powerful memoir of friendship and marriage, childhood and motherhood. Nyna Giles, twenty-nine, was in the queue at the supermarket when she looked down and saw the headline: 'Former Bridesmaid of Princess Grace Lives in Homeless Shelter'. Nyna was stunned; her family's private ordeal was front page news. The woman on that cover was her mother. The truth was, she barely knew who her mother had been before marriage. She knew Carolyn had been a model - arriving in New York in 1947, where she'd met the young Grace Kelly, and that the two had become fast friends. Nyna had seen the photos of her mother at Grace's wedding, wearing the bridesmaid gown that had hung in her closet for years. But how had the seemingly confident, glamorous woman in those pictures become the mother she knew growing up - the mother who told her she was too ill to go to school and kept her isolated at home? In her journey to uncover her mother's past Nyna relives a story as classic, familiar, dark and dangerous as any fairy tale.
£10.06
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC King John
The Arden Shakespeare is the established scholarly edition of Shakespeare’s plays. Now in its third series, Arden offers the best in contemporary scholarship. Each volume guides you to a deeper understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare’s plays. This edition of King John provides: - A clear and authoritative text, edited to the highest standards of scholarship. - Detailed notes and commentary on the same page as the text. - A full, illustrated introduction to the play’s historical, cultural and performance contexts. - A full index to the introduction and notes. - A select bibliography of references and further reading. With a wealth of helpful and incisive commentary, The Arden Shakespeare is the finest edition of Shakespeare you can find. King John tells the story of John's struggle to retain the crown in the face of alternative claims to the throne from France and is one of the earlier history plays. The new Arden Third Series edition offers students a comprehensive introduction exploring the play's relationship to its source and to later plays in the history cycle, as well as giving a full account of its critical and performance history, including key productions in 2015 which marked the anniversary of Magna Carta. As such this is the most detailed, informative and up-to-date student edition available.
£17.66
Harvard University, Center for Hellenic Studies Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings: Third Edition
Poet and Hero in the Persian Book of Kings presents a far-reaching reassessment of the classical Persian epic known as the Shahnama or “Book of Kings,” composed by the poet Ferdowsi in the early eleventh century ce. Combining comparative perspectives with a close reading of the internal evidence provided by the text of this epic, Olga M. Davidson argues that the poet of the Shahnama is actually a character in the epic, coexisting with ancient Iranian heroes and kings whose deeds are celebrated by the poetry. The poet can have the role of a character because his poetry comes to life in performance. Whenever the Shahnama was performed by the poet or by later practitioners of his poetry, the performer could interact with his grand characters by re-engaging with their stories, as if for the first time. After documenting the oral poetic performance traditions underlying the text of the Shahnama in all its variations, Davidson argues that the heroic tradition of this epic is deeply ancient, stemming from Indo-European poetic traditions. A primary example is the great warrior Rostam, who upholds Iranian kingship while at the same time posing a threat to kings who prove unworthy of the crown.
£19.14
Little, Brown & Company The Bloody Throne
"Wildly romantic, suspenseful, and filled with harrowing plot twists..." ?BooklistThe great Zhaon empire is in turmoil. The emperor is dead, and the crown prince has fallen to hidden schemes, leaving his most dangerous brother to assume the throne. The imperial court is seething, and whispers of war grow to shouts.The once-vanquished kingdom of Khir marches again to regain their honor, the savage Tabrak raid the borders after ravaging the South, and assassins lurk in the shadows seeking imperial favor.Komor Yala, her own position uncertain, finds shelter in marriage to the cunning Third Prince. But there is little safety in Zhaon. Death and destruction mount as a blood-drenched summer ends. The winner will claim an empire-if it is not turned to smoking ruins first.The wheel of destiny is turning, and all will be caught under its weight...Praise for the Hostage of Empire series:"Intricate, elegant and sharp as a blade?sweeping political fantasy at its finest." ?Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne"With a deliberate pace and fine attention to details of dress and custom, Emmett weaves a masterful tale of court intrigues." ?Booklist (starred review)Hostage of EmpireThe Throne of the Five WindsThe Poison PrinceThe Bloody Throne
£14.94
Yale University Press Richard III: The Self-Made King
An "excellent new biography" (Keith Thomas, New York Review of Books) of the wily and formidable prince who unexpectedly became monarch—the most infamous king in British history“An intricately detailed account of Richard’s every recorded move on his journey from younger son of the powerful Duke of York to the last of England’s mediaeval monarchs.”—Mark Jones, Albion Magazine The reign of Richard III, the last Yorkist king and the final monarch of the Plantagenet dynasty, marked a turning point in British history. But despite his lasting legacy, Richard only ruled as king for the final two years of his life. While much attention has been given to his short reign, Michael Hicks explores the whole of Richard’s fascinating life and traces the unfolding of his character and career from his early years as the son of a duke to his violent death at the battle of Bosworth. Hicks explores how Richard—villainized for his imprisonment and probable killing of the princes—applied his experience to overcome numerous setbacks and adversaries. Richard proves a complex, conflicted individual whose Machiavellian tact and strategic foresight won him a kingdom. He was a reformer who planned big changes, but lost the opportunity to fulfill them and to retain his crown.
£15.20
Amberley Publishing The Private Life of Edward IV
From the moment it became public news, the validity of Edward’s marriage to Elizabeth Widville, the beautiful widow of a Lancastrian knight, was repeatedly called into question. This alarmed Elizabeth Widville and led her into political killings. She was terrified that she would lose her crown and that her children by the king would never succeed to the throne. But after Edward’s death a bishop publicly announced that he had previously married the king to Lady Eleanor Talbot. As a result, Edward’s children by Elizabeth, including his eldest son and heir to the throne, Edward, were then declared illegitimate, making Edward’s brother Richard the legitimate heir to the throne. Later, claims were put forward that Edward had numerous mistresses and left behind many illegitimate children. Dr John Ashdown-Hill, a central figure in the Looking for Richard Project and a renowned Richard III historian with a special talent for getting behind the mythology of history, now turns his attention to Richard’s eldest brother, Edward IV. He unravels the complex web of stories around Edward’s private life, discussing the truth behind Edward’s reputation. Did Edward have numerous mistresses? Did he produce many bastards? Who was his legal wife? And what caused the early death of Eleanor Talbot?
£10.74
HarperCollins Publishers Inc The Queen's Secret: A Novel of England's World War II Queen
If you love Jennifer Robson or The Crown you will love New York Times bestselling author Karen Harper’s novel about Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. 1939. As the wife of the King George VI and the mother of the future queen, Elizabeth—“the queen mother”—shows a warm, smiling face to the world. But it’s no surprise that Hitler himself calls her the “Most Dangerous Woman in Europe.” For behind that soft voice and kindly demeanor is a will of steel.Two years earlier, George was thrust onto the throne when his brother Edward abdicated, determined to marry his divorced, American mistress Mrs. Simpson. Vowing to do whatever it takes to make her husband’s reign a success, Elizabeth endears herself to the British people, and prevents the former king and his brazen bride from ever again setting foot in Buckingham Palace. Elizabeth holds many powerful cards, she’s also hiding damaging secrets about her past and her provenance that could prove to be her undoing.In this riveting novel of royal secrets and intrigue, Karen Harper lifts the veil on one of the world’s most fascinating families, and how its “secret weapon” of a matriarch maneuvered her way through one of the most dangerous chapters of the century.
£16.33
Simon & Schuster Life After Death: A Novel
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER The long-anticipated sequel to Sister Souljah’s million copy New York Times bestseller The Coldest Winter Ever.Winter Santiaga hit time served. Still stunning, still pretty, still bold, still loves her father more than any man in the world, still got her hustle and high fashion flow. She’s eager to pay back her enemies, rebuild her father’s empire, reset his crown, and ultimately to snatch Midnight back into her life no matter which bitch had him while she was locked up. But Winter is not the only one with revenge on her mind. Simone, Winter’s young business partner and friend, is locked and loaded and Winter is her target. Will she blow Winter’s head off? Can Winter dodge the bullets? Or will at least one bullet blast Winter into another world? Either way Winter is fearless. Hell is the same as any hood and certainly the Brooklyn hood she grew up in. That’s what Winter thinks. A heartwarming, heart-burning, passionate, sexual, comical, and completely original adventure is about to happen in real time—raw, shocking, soulful, and shameless. True fans won’t let Winter travel alone on this amazing journey.
£9.10
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Creative Ropecraft: A treasure trove of knots, hitches, bends, plaits and netting
Creative Ropecraft is a wonderful collection of practical nautical knots and decorative ropework. Anyone tempted to try their hand at this will be able to follow the steps easily thanks to Stuart Grainger's exquisite and clear drawings. This brand new, fully updated edition has a foreword, revisions, and tips from knotting expert, Des Pawson. Readers can learn how to tie and use a wide variety of knots, both practical and elaborate, including: crown and wall knots turk's heads door knockers hammocks mats belts cuff links table lamps rope-edged trays and much more. This book will be beautifully presented in a larger format, in full colour, and with new photography and material from Des Pawson. It will now sit comfortably alongside the successful Knot Craft and Rope Mats. Reviews of the previous edition: 'The best fancy knotting book...only when you've tried can you know just how good.' Knotting Matters 'Essential for any knot tyer's library. Stuart Grainger's illustrations are a joy to use, both for their beauty and clarity of instruction.' Des Pawson Reviews of Des Pawson: ‘When it comes to personal ropecraft, Des Pawson is the master.’ Yachting Times ‘there really is no one better to publish a book on knot design than Des Pawson.’ Towpath Talk
£16.20
Simon & Schuster Ltd Hotel Portofino: NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA
Romance, intrigue, and dangerous ambitions combine to create the perfect escape: welcome back to the beautiful Hotel Portofino on the magical Italian Riviera. HOTEL PORTOFINO: LOVERS AND LIARS IS OUT NOW! ***NOW A MAJOR ITV DRAMA*** A heady historical drama about a British family who open an upper-class hotel on the magical Italian Riviera during the ‘Roaring 20s’. Hotel Portofino has been open for only a few weeks, but already the problems are mounting for its owner Bella Ainsworth. Her high-class guests are demanding and hard to please. And she’s being targeted by a scheming and corrupt local politician, who threatens to drag her into the red-hot cauldron of Mussolini’s Italy. To make matters worse, her marriage is in trouble, and her children are still struggling to recover from the repercussions of the Great War. All eyes are on the arrival of a potential love match for her son Lucian, but events don’t go to plan, which will have far reaching consequences for the whole family. Set in the breathtakingly beautiful Italian Riviera, Hotel Portofino is a story of personal awakening at a time of global upheaval and of the liberating influence of Italy’s enchanting culture, climate and cuisine on British ‘innocents abroad’, perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and The Crown.
£8.55
Te Papa Press Real Modern
The decades of the 1950s and 60s continue to exert a powerful fascination, as seen in the lasting popularity of Mad Men, Crown Lynn collectibles and mid-century design. In New Zealand, these years have been remembered in popular culture as a golden age of God, Queen and Country, full employment, the baby boom, Sir Edmund Hillary and Ladies, a plate! as well as the birth of the teenager and the seedbed of later change. But what was life really like? Real Modern tells a vibrant and varied story of real life in this compelling era through images and, above all, objects. It is a rich compendium of the things that New Zealanders acquired and desired, that they used at school, work or play, and that they wore and saw around the country. Accompanied by lively and expert text by author Bronwyn Labrum, these objects evoke everyday life and offer insight into the social, political and cultural history of postwar New Zealand. Featuring hundreds of stunning new photographs from Te Papa, New Zealands national museum, and collections nationwide, Real Modern is a celebration of the things of the 1950s and 60s and the people who used them. It is a fresh and nuanced view of these familiar yet surprising times.
£39.46
HarperCollins Publishers The Prow Beast (The Oathsworn Series, Book 4)
The epic and action-packed fourth novel in the Oathsworn series, charting the adventures of Orm and his band of Viking brothers. The Oathsworn have become feared and respected throughout the Viking world. Their name goes before them and men cower in their presence. But fame comes at a price… While the Oathsworn revel in their new-found fame, Sterki, an old enemy with revenge in his heart, attacks their homestead - the Fjord Elk is sunk, old oarmates die and the Oathsworn are forced to flee into the mountains. Unused to losing, the Oathsworn retreat to lick their wounds. They have been entrusted with the care of Queen Sigrith, pregnant and soon to bear the heir to the crown of Sweden, and much though the urge for revenge is strong, Orm's first duty is to protect the queen. And Orm soon realises that revenge is not the only thing on Sterki's mind; he has joined forces with Styrbjorn, nephew of King Eirik and next in line to the throne if he can only get rid of the current heir. As the Oathsworn fight to defend themselves and their newfound celebrity and fortune, they're soon to realise that fame isn't all it's cracked up to be…
£9.79
Vintage Publishing The Fears of Henry IV: The Life of England's Self-Made King
From the saviour of the realm to the subject of multiple attempted assassinations in the space of six years. King Henry IV's reign was characterised by his fear and paranoia, but above all a continued quest for survival. The son of John the Gaunt, Henry was seen as a confident, well-educated, generous, and spiritually fervent young man. And, in 1399, having ousted the insecure tyrannical Richard II, he was enthusiastically greeted as the new King of England. However, therein lay Henry's weakness. Upon assuming the crown, he found himself surrounded by men who would only support him as long as they could control him. When they failed, they plotted to kill him.Long characterised as a treacherous murderer for slaying Richard II, Henry IV's achievements as king have been played down throughout history. However, in this fascinating examination of his reign, Ian Mortimer revaluates what Henry managed to accomplish against all adversity as king. Provoking a social revolution as well as a political one, he took a poorly ruled nation into a new, Lancastrian dynasty, and, while perhaps not the most glorious king England has ever had, he certainly proves to one of the bravest.'[Mortimer] has... a vivid historical imagination which lends colour and excitement to his pages' Literary Review
£15.74
Wordsworth Editions Ltd Henry IV Parts 1 & 2
Edited, introduced and annotated by Cedric Watts, Emeritus Professor of English, University of Sussex. In Henry IV, Part 1, the King is in a doubly ironic position. His rebellion against Richard II was successful, but now he himself is beset by rebels, led by the charismatic Harry Hotspur. The King’s son, Prince Hal, seems to be more concerned with the pleasures of the tavern world and the company of the fat rogue, Falstaff, than with concerns of state. Eventually, however, Hal proves a courageous foe of the rebels. This history play is lively in its interplay of political intrigue and boisterous comedy, subtle in the connections between high statecraft and low craftiness, exuberant in its range of vivid characters, and memorable in its thematic concern with honour, loyalty and the quest for power. In Henry IV, Part 2, the King is ailing, Falstaff is ageing, and the kingdom itself, where rebellion is still rife, seems diseased or debilitated. The comedy has a melancholy undertone, and the politics verge on the Machiavellian. Eventually, the resourceful Hal, inheriting the crown as Henry V, must prove that he can uphold justice in the realm. Here Shakespeare demonstrates a mastery of thematic complexity and subtlety, and shows the price in human terms that may be exacted by political success.
£6.45
Orion Publishing Co The Cardinal's Blades Omnibus: The Cardinal's Blades, The Alchemist in the Shadows, The Dragon Arcana
Paris, 1633. Louis XIII is king of France . . . and Cardinal Richelieu governs the country. One of the most dangerous and most powerful men in Europe, Richelieu keeps a steady eye on the enemies of the Crown, to thwart their spies and avert their warmongering. But he's up against people who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals, including forging alliances with France's oldest and deadliest enemies: Spain, and the Court of Dragons.The nobility keep tiny dragonnets as pets; royal couriers ride tame wyverns, and lethal man-shaped scaled dracs roam the country. But the power rising from the Court of Dragons is anything but mundane, and they're determined to raise true dragons: ancient, terrible, utterly merciless . . . and poised to move against France . . .This edition includes: The Cardinal's Blades, The Alchemist in the Shadows and The Dragon Arcana.'A fast-moving story, full of action, intrigue, and swashbuckling adventures' Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews'Deeply satisfying... . Pevel lets each of his fascinating characters shine in turn while weaving them together in a rich plot with just the right mix of inevitability and surprise. The storytelling is wonderful' Publishers Weekly'History and alternate history buffs, including fans of Naomi Novik's Temeraire series, should flock to this stylish, swashbuckling fantasy'Library Journal
£15.74
Amberley Publishing Women of the Anarchy
In 1135, Stephen of Blois usurped the throne, stealing it from his cousin Empress Matilda and sparking a nineteen-year civil war that would become known as the Anarchy, one of the bloodiest periods in English history. On the one side is Empress Matilda. The sole surviving legitimate child of Henry I, she is fighting for her birthright and that of her children. On the other side is her cousin, Queen Matilda, supporting her husband, Stephen, and fighting to see her own son inherit the English crown. Both women are granddaughters of St Margaret, Queen of Scotland, and descendants of Alfred the Great of Wessex. Empress Matilda was the first woman to claim the throne of England in her own right, but did not gain the support of the barons. When Queen Matilda’s husband King Stephen was captured by the Empress’s forces, it was down to her to keep the fight going, and to negotiate for her husband’s release. Women of the Anarchy demonstrates how these women, unable to wield a sword, were prime movers in this time of conflict and lawlessness. It show how their strengths, weaknesses and personal ambitions swung the fortunes of war one way – and then the other.
£20.03
Penguin Books Ltd Leadership in War: Lessons from Those Who Made History
'Wonderful ... among military historians, Roberts is Britain's crown gem' Wall Street Journal Taking us from the French Revolution to the Cold War and the Falklands, celebrated historian Andrew Roberts presents us with a bracingly honest and insightful look at nine major figures in modern history: Napoleon Bonaparte, Horatio Nelson, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, George C. Marshall, Charles de Gaulle, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Margaret Thatcher.Each of these leaders fundamentally shaped the outcome of the war their nation was embroiled in. How were they alike, and in what ways did they differ? Was their war leadership unique, or did these leaders have something in common, traits and techniques that transcend time and place and can be applied to the fundamental nature of conflict?Meticulously researched and compellingly written, Leadership in War presents readers with fresh, complex portraits of leaders who approached war with different tactics and different weapons, but with the common goal of success in the face of battle. Both inspiring and cautionary, these portraits offer important lessons on leadership in times of struggle. With his trademark verve and incisive observation, Roberts reveals the qualities that doom even the most promising leaders to failure, and the qualities that lead to victory.
£11.45
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Shadow King: The Life and Death of Henry VI
A thrilling new account of the tragic life and troubled times of Henry VI. 'The best life of Henry VI now in print' DAN JONES. 'Vivid, absorbing and richly detailed' HELEN CASTOR. 'A well-crafted moving account of a tragic reign' MICHAEL JONES. First-born son of a warrior father who defeated the French at Agincourt, Henry VI of the House Lancaster inherited the crown not only of England but also of France, at a time when Plantagenet dominance over the Valois dynasty was at its glorious height. And yet, by the time he was done to death in the Tower of London in 1471, France was lost, his throne had been seized by his rival, Edward IV of the House of York, and his kingdom had descended into the violent chaos of the Wars of the Roses. Henry VI is perhaps the most troubled of English monarchs, a pious, gentle, well-intentioned man who was plagued by bouts of mental illness. In Shadow King, Lauren Johnson tells his remarkable and sometimes shocking story in a fast-paced and colourful narrative that captures both the poignancy of Henry's life and the tumultuous and bloody nature of the times in which he lived.
£12.01
HarperCollins Publishers Traitors Gate (William Warwick Novels)
24 hours to stop the crime of the centuryThe race against time is about to begin… THE TOWER OF LONDON… Impenetrable. Well protected. Secure. Home to the most valuable jewels on earth. But once a year, the Metropolitan Police must execute the most secret operation in their armoury when they transport the Crown Jewels across London. SCOTLAND YARD… For four years, Chief Superindendent William Warwick – together with his second-in-command Inspector Ross Hogan – has been in charge of the operation. And for four years it’s run like clockwork. THE HEIST… But this year, everything is about to change. Because master criminal Miles Faulkner has set his heart on pulling off the most outrageous theft in history – and with a man on the inside, the odds are in his favour. Unless Warwick and Hogan can stop him before it’s too late… An unputdownable new thriller from the master storyteller'Archer always delivers, and this heist thriller hits the spot again' The Sun 'Archer can still tell a gripping yarn' The Sunday Times ‘Probably the greatest storyteller of our age’ Mail on Sunday ‘If there were a Nobel Prize for storytelling, Archer would win’ Daily Telegraph ‘Peerless master of the page turner’ Daily Mail
£19.33
Boutique of Quality Books Who Will Roar If I Go?
Do you know what an endangered species is and why animals become endangered? Who Will Roar If I Go? will introduce you to thirteen animals around the world who have one thing in common: they need your help. With beautiful watercolor illustrations and rhyming verse, each animal is sharing a message with you that you will remember long after reading."The King of the Beasts - that's my claim to fame.I've got a big crown of hair that's called a mane."You will meet many animals in Africa: lion, rhinoceros, and gorilla all have something to tell you."With black-patchy eyes, I'm chubby and cute.I'm a lazy bear who chews bamboo shoots."Next visit snow leopard, elephant and tiger in Asia, quetzal in South America, panda and salamander in China, red -crowned amazon and blue karner butterflies in North America, and the pangolin in Australia. Their message is simple, but very important for you, the stewards of the earth:"We need you to care and let us live free.Or there will be no more wild animals to see."Who Will Roar If I Go? will introduce the basics of endangered species to young children and open up conversations of what we can all do to help.Will you roar before they go?
£17.16
Collective Ink Egyptian Path of Love, The – A Journey to Sacred Marriage
The ancient Egyptians understood the psyche in terms of gods and goddesses. Central to their system was the Sacred Marriage, which offered harmony between the worlds above and below and the competing demands of the self. Drawn from the ancient texts and mythology of Egypt, "The Egyptian Path of Love" offers a simple step-by-step approach to the achievement of harmony. It provides practical guidance, meditation techniques and ritual process to awaken and integrate the latent powers of the psyche. Based on the seven chakras, it proceeds from the 'root' of the individual or deepest desires and needs, to the 'crown' of self-rulership and realisation of spiritual purpose. In exploring the dynamics of the inner gods and their different marriages it teaches how to obtain, retain and maintain for oneself the stability, peace and prosperity of a golden age in an increasingly troubled world from a perspective of love and respect. Providing a unique mixture of self development and ancient wisdom, this is not so much an esoteric manual on the Egyptian mysteries, as a plain and simple workbook on how to stay on the path of love. With meditations, affirmations, exercises and concise explanations, it will appeal both to beginners and those who have been following a spiritual path for many years.
£20.96
Amazon Publishing All Roads Lead to You
All bets are off in this heartfelt romance by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst. Happily single, Harper Bishop trusts in only one passion—her rescue farm and healing her thoroughbred, Phoenix. Her dream is to lead him to the Triple Crown. But how unreachable is it without experience or help? A handsome new guest at her family’s B&B has what it takes to make it come true. And with his irresistible brogue, warm smile, and soothing touch, he’s a major distraction. After a bitter betrayal, horse trainer Aidan O’Connor has fled Ireland for a vacation in New York’s Hudson Valley. When he sees the horse with the fighting spirit, he’s inspired with a new goal: to train Phoenix to win. He’s also facing an unexpected new challenge: his feelings for Harper. How can she dare to open her heart to a man who’ll be there only long enough to break it? So Harper and Aidan agree: try to keep it professional, and focus only on Phoenix and the finish line. But along the way, they could also learn a few lessons in love, trust, and taking chances. And, as painful as it promises to be, saying goodbye.
£12.53
Bonnier Books Ltd Turning My Back on the Premier League: One Fan's Search for the Lost Soul of the Beautiful Game
Turning My Back on the Premier League is the story of one fan's journey from the riches of the world's most popular football division, to the forgotten underbelly of the English football league. In the summer of 2013, devoted Manchester United fan Lee Price had a minor epiphany; in the warm afterglow of United's 13th Premier League crown, he decided that enough was enough: from the increasing ticket prices and outright disregard of the typical fan, through to the rising wages and superficiality of the players he once called his heroes, Price could see England's top division had sold its soul and it was time to do something about it. Relocating to the suburbs of east London, newspaper journalist Price began to follow his local team - League Two's Dagenham & Redbridge - and from the moment he set foot in Victoria Road, began to rediscover the true worth of a devout football fan. From the first game against Brentford on a wet summer's day, to discussing the future of the club with its long-standing chairman, Turning My Back on the Premier League is a month-by-month account of great goals, bad pies and short-lived heroes, and how one fan rediscovered his love for the beautiful game.
£14.24
Flame Tree Publishing The Heron Kings' Flight
"Readers who love medieval-esque fantasy will delight in this rousing tale of rebellion.” — Publishers Weekly starred review of Book 1 in the series The Heron Kings have been betrayed. A century after their formation from a gang of desperate peasant insurgents, the shadowy band of forest rangers suffers a rare defeat when a skirmish turns into a bloody ambush. Their shaky truce with the crown is tested as young members Linet and Aerrus work to track down their enemies. When reluctant peacetime soldier Eyvind reveals a conspiracy to welcome the charismatic invader Phynagoras, the trio must convince a weak king and pitifully few allies to stand against the storm. Their only hope lies in the forgotten tactics of their own guerrilla past, and a terrifying new alchemical weapon the likes of which the world had never imagined. The only question is which side will be destroyed by it first... FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing independent Flame Tree Publishing dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress
£12.51
University of Nebraska Press The Forgotten Diaspora: Mesoamerican Migrations and the Making of the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands
In The Forgotten Diaspora Travis Jeffres explores how Native Mexicans involved in the conquest of the Greater Southwest pursued hidden agendas, deploying a covert agency that enabled them to reconstruct Indigenous communities and retain key components of their identities even as they were technically allied with and subordinate to Spaniards. Resisting, modifying, and even flatly ignoring Spanish directives, Indigenous Mexicans in diaspora co-created the U.S.-Mexico borderlands and laid enduring claims to the region. Jeffres contends that tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of central Mexican Natives were indispensable to Spanish colonial expansion in the Greater Southwest in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These vital allies populated frontier settlements, assisted in converting local Indians to Christianity, and provided essential labor in the mining industry that drove frontier expansion and catapulted Spain to global hegemony. However, Nahuatl records reveal that Indigenous migrants were no mere auxiliaries to European colonial causes; they also subverted imperial aims and pursued their own agendas, wresting lands, privileges, and even rights to self-rule from the Spanish Crown. Via Nahuatl-language “hidden transcripts” of Native allies’ motivations and agendas, The Forgotten Diaspora reimagines this critical yet neglected component of the hemispheric colonial-era scattering of the Americas’ Indigenous peoples.
£48.99
British Museum Press Watches
The British Museum watch collection is unsurpassed anywhere in the world, and tells the story of the watch which spans an incredible 500 years. Within the collection are examples ranging from sixteenth-century early stackfreed watches made in south Germany to exquisite decorative watches of the seventeenth century. Everyday watches from the eighteenth century and precision-made chronometers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are included, as are examples from the modern era. All the major makers of Europe and America will be represented, including Thomas Tompion, whose reputation stretched far and wide even in his own time, and the Swiss-born Abraham Louis Breguet, who lived and worked in Paris supplying the best that money could buy to the crown heads and aristocratic families of the western world. In contrast to the high precision of the horological giants, the Museum has a growing collection of wristwatches, including those with automatic winding systems. There are also extensive collections of pin-pallet lever watches made for the mass market during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by companies such as Waterbury and Ingersoll. The collections are brought up to the minute with the inclusion of early examples of electro-mechanical watches and the quartz revolution.
£15.35
Harvard University Press A Swindler's Progress: Nobles and Convicts in the Age of Liberty
In May 1835 in a Sydney courtroom, a slight, balding man named John Dow stood charged with forgery. The prisoner shocked the room by claiming he was Edward, Viscount Lascelles, eldest son of the powerful Earl of Harewood. The Crown alleged he was a confidence trickster and serial impostor. Was this really the heir to one of Britain's most spectacular fortunes? Part Regency mystery, part imperial history, A Swindler's Progress is an engrossing tale of adventure and deceit across two worlds—British aristocrats and Australian felons—bound together in an emerging age of opportunity and individualism, where personal worth was battling power based on birth alone. The first historian to unravel the mystery of John Dow and Edward Lascelles, Kirsten McKenzie illuminates the darker side of this age of liberty, when freedom could mean the freedom to lie both in the far-flung outposts of empire and within the established bastions of British power.The struggles of the Lascelles family for social and political power, and the tragedy of their disgraced heir, demonstrate that British elites were as fragile as their colonial counterparts. In ways both personal and profound, McKenzie recreates a world in which Britain and the empire were intertwined in the transformation of status and politics in the nineteenth century.
£23.59
University of Notre Dame Press Colonial Loyalties: Celebrating the Spanish Monarchy in Eighteenth-Century Lima
Colonial Loyalties is an insightful study of how Lima’s residents engaged in civic festivities in the eighteenth century. Scholarship on festive culture in colonial Latin America has largely centered on “fiestas” as an ideal medium through which the colonizing Iberians naturalized their power. María Soledad Barbón contends that this perspective addresses only one side of the equation. Barbón relies on unprecedented archival research and a wide range of primary sources, including festival narratives, poetry, plays, speeches, and the official and unofficial records of Lima’s city council, to explain the level at which residents and institutions in Lima were invested in these rituals. Colonial Loyalties demonstrates how colonial festivals, in addition to reaffirming the power of the monarch and that of his viceroy, opened up opportunities for his subjects. Civic festivities were a means for the populace to strengthen and renegotiate their relationship with the Crown. They also provided the city’s inhabitants with a chance to voice their needs and to define their position within colonial society, reasserting their key position in the Spanish empire with respect to other competing cities in the Americas. Colonial Loyalties will appeal to scholars and students interested in Latin American literature, history, and culture, Hispanic studies, performance studies, and to general readers interested in festive culture and ritual.
£41.70
Mica Publishing The Cuillin and other Skye Mountains: The Cuillin Ridge & 100 select routes for mountain climbers & hillwalkers
This is the ultimate guide to Skye's mountains, offering comprehensive coverage of all the island's peaks. Skye is a paradise for mountain climbers and hillwalkers. This guidebook selects more than 100 varied mountain routes from all over the island, ranging from some of the most challenging in Britain, to pleasant ascents of grassy summits. The jewel in the island's crown is The Cuillin and a summer traverse of the Cuillin Ridge, the 30 or so peaks and tops that form the Cuillin crest, is a major challenge to any mountain climber. This guidebook utilises 50 annotated topo-diagrams to describe the Cuillin Ridge in greater detail than ever before, with sections on Planning, Tactics and Equipment. However, the Cuillin Ridge is just one of more than 100 routes described in this guide. Most mountain climbers and hillwalkers visiting Skye are climbing one of the 12 Munros, 9 Munro Tops, 2 Corbetts, 9 Grahams and 35 sub-2000ft Marilyns on the island. This guidebook describes routes on all of these peaks and many other classics such as the Clach Glas Traverse, Pinnacle Ridge on Sgurr nan Gillean, the Dubhs Ridge on Sgurr Dubh Beag and Dun Cana on the Isle of Raasay.
£23.25
Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated The War of Two Queens: A Blood and Ash Novel
From the desperation of golden crowns… Casteel Da’Neer knows all too well that very few are as cunning or vicious as the Blood Queen, but no one, not even him, could’ve prepared for the staggering revelations. The magnitude of what the Blood Queen has done is almost unthinkable. And born of mortal flesh… Nothing will stop Poppy from freeing her King and destroying everything the Blood Crown stands for. With the strength of the Primal of Life’s guards behind her, and the support of the wolven, Poppy must convince the Atlantian generals to make war her way—because there can be no retreat this time. Not if she has any hope of building a future where both kingdoms can reside in peace. A great primal power rises… Together, Poppy and Casteel must embrace traditions old and new to safeguard those they hold dear—to protect those who cannot defend themselves. But war is only the beginning. Ancient primal powers have already stirred, revealing the horror of what began eons ago. To end what the Blood Queen has begun, Poppy might have to become what she has been prophesied to be—what she fears the most. As the Harbinger of Death and Destruction.
£19.55
Fonthill Media Ltd Henry VI, Margaret of Anjou and the Wars of the Roses: From Contemporary Chronicles, Letters and Records
Henry VI (1422-61), a man 'more given to God and devout prayer than handling worldly and temporal things', was the third, and least successful, Lancastrian king of England; his wife Margaret of Anjou, 'a great and strong laboured woman', became a formidable political force in her own right; and the Wars of the Roses, so dramatically portrayed by William Shakespeare as bloody dynastic struggles fought for the possession of the crown, brought the usurpation of Edward IV (1461-83), the humiliation and exile of Margaret of Anjou, and the murder of her husband in the Tower of London. Combining a framework of interpretation and a rich selection of passages from contemporary and near-contemporary sources, this compilation enables readers to appreciate just why the rule of Henry VI resulted in the outbreak of the Wars of the Roses, what these internecine conflicts were like, and how they culminated in the end of the House of Lancaster.Keith Dockray was formerly Senior Lecturer in Medieval and Early Modern History at the University of Huddersfield.This volume, following in the footsteps of his Edward IV: From Contemporary Chronicles, Letters and Records (2015) and Richard III: From Contemporary Chronicles, Letters and Records (2013) completes a trilogy of source readers covering English kings, politics and war circa 1450 to 1485
£15.26
Getty Trust Publications Miracles and Machines: A Sixteenth-Century Automaton and Its Legend
This volume tells the singular story of an uncanny object at the cusp of art and science: a 450-year-old automaton known as “the monk.” The walking, gesticulating figure of a friar, in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, is among the earliest extant ancestors of the self-propelled robot. According to lore from the court of Philip II of Spain, the monk represents a portrait of Diego de Alcalá, a humble Franciscan lay brother whose holy corpse was said to be agent to the miraculous cure of Spain’s crown prince as he lay dying in 1562. In tracking the origins of the monk and its legend, the authors visited archives, libraries, and museums across the United States and Europe, probing the paradox of a mechanical object performing an apparently spiritual act. They identified seven kindred automata from the same period, which, they argue, form a paradigmatic class of walking “prime movers,” unprecedented in their combination of visual and functional realism. While most of the literature on automata focuses on the Enlightenment, this enthralling narrative journeys back to the late Renaissance, when clockwork machinery was entirely new, foretelling the evolution of artificial life to come.
£39.33
Little, Brown Book Group The World Of Robert Jordan's The Wheel Of Time
The essential companion to the No. 1 internationally bestselling the Wheel of Time, one of the most influential and popular fantasy epics ever publishedNOW A MAJOR TV SERIES ON AMAZON PRIMEWith never-before-told legends and fascinating histories of its peoples and lands, this engrossing book, written by Robert Jordan himself in collaboration with Teresa Patterson, takes you on an unforgettable journey through the extraordinary world of the Wheel of Time.The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. 'EPIC IN EVERY SENSE' Sunday Times'WITH THE WHEEL OF TIME, JORDAN HAS COME TO DOMINATE THE WORLD THAT TOLKIEN BEGAN TO REVEAL' New York Times'[THE] AMBITIOUS WHEEL OF TIME SERIES HELPED REDEFINE THE GENRE' George R. R. Martin'A FANTASY PHENOMENON' SFXThe Wheel of Time series:The Eye of the World The Great HuntThe Dragon Reborn The Shadow Rising The Fires of Heaven Lord of Chaos A Crown of Swords The Path of DaggersWinter's HeartCrossroads of Twilight Knife of Dreams The Gathering Storm Towers of Midnight A Memory of LightNew Spring (prequel)
£11.21
John Murray Press In a Land Far from Home: A John Murray Journey
WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY TARAN KHAN, author of Shadow CityTRANSLATED FROM BENGALI BY NAZES AFROZAn intrepid traveller and true cosmopolitan, legendary Bengali writer Syed Mujtaba Ali spent a year and a half teaching in Kabul from 1927 to 1929. Curious to explore Afghan society, Mujtaba Ali had access to a cross-section of Kabul's population, and in In a Land Far from Home he chronicles his experiences with a keen eye and a wicked sense of humour.Mujtaba Ali's travels coincided with a critical point in Afghanistan's history: when the reformist King Amanullah tried to steer his country towards modernity by encouraging education for girls and giving them the choice of removing the burqa. Branded a 'kafir', Amanullah was overthrown by the bandit leader Bacha-e-Saqao. With striking parallels to twenty-first century events in the region, In a Land Far From Home is the only first-hand account of this tumultuous period by a non-Afghan.Providing a unique perspective, Mujtaba Ali's fascinating account is brought to life by contact with a colourful cast of characters at all levels of society -- from the garrulous Pathan Dost Muhammed and the gentle Russian giant Bolshov, to his servant, Abdur Rahman and his partner in tennis, the Crown Prince Enayatullah.
£12.88