Search results for ""author thames"
Troubador Publishing Smoke Chase
A bomb goes off at the Tobacco Dock, London. John Chase, ex-Fusilier and Red Marine, is wrongly arrested. Along with Burns, a union official who has confessed to the bombing, he is taken to The Warrior, a prison hulk moored on the Thames. Discovering that he and Burns are to be murdered, Chase manages to escape to the safe confines of the Warren. Searching for answers, Chase uncovers a murky world of criminal conspiracy and organised crime. To survive, he must turn to his former army comrades. At close quarters, the melee fighting of the trio is devastating. Will it be enough to save Chase and his family?
£7.19
Hodder & Stoughton The Saint Closes the Case
Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.When the Saint and Patricia Holm stumble upon a government test of a weapon of mass destruction, they realise they've seen something that must be kept away from the wrong hands. But the Saint's nemesis Rayt Marius is already nearby...There is only one way to stop Marius from using the weapon to start a war - kidnapping the scientist who built it. The plot comes to a climax on the banks of the River Thames, and not everyone will survive.
£9.99
Batsford Ltd London Night and Day: the insider's guide to London 24 hours a day
Like New York, London can be enjoyed all day and all night. This insider's guide gives you the gen on where, when and how to enjoy London at any hour. It covers places to stay, places to eat, drink, dance and be entertained and informed. Including all the main and famous places in London but with the added twist of highlighting some of the lesser-known parks, palaces and museums. The book is structured by hours of the day, so it gives the ideal time to do any number of great things in a great city, from breakfast places and tea at 4, to cocktails at 6 and midnight walks. Discover gin palaces, walks beside the Thames, Hawksmoor churches and haunted pubs with this indispensable guide. Each entry lists the nearest tube stop so this grand city can be explored with an Oyster card! Author Matt Brown from legendary London blog the Londonist is probably the most London-obsessed person there is. He brings his own extensive knowledge of the city to the book, revealing an array of new experiences even for the long-term Londoner and the discerning tourist. With London Underground going 24 hours in September, this is a timely book to discover some of the hidden charms of this fascinating city.
£12.99
Quercus Publishing The Rising Tide
September 1799. William Pitt is attempting to force through anti-slavery legislation, but many have a vested interest in preventing this change and would go to dangerous lengths to stop it. Meanwhile, Tom Pascoe of the river police is grieving for the woman he loved and looking for solace at the bottom of a bottle. Tom's drinking has made him increasingly belligerent and unpredictable, so when he is called to investigate a body found in the Thames - that of an MP and a close associate of William Pitt - there's doubt whether he's up to the task. But Tom must pull himself together, or be dragged under; Pitt's life is in his hands.
£10.70
The History Press Ltd Teddington, Twickenham and The Hampton Past and Present: Britain in Old Photographs
About thirty years ago Garth Groombridge recorded the changing scene in Teddington, Twickenham and the Hamptons - focusing particularly on buildings that were due for demolition. He uses his photographs to travel back in time - to a period when these Thames-side communities were a lot more 'villagey' than they are today. Many residents will enjoy this trip down memory lane, whilst those who have arrived in the area more recently will be fascinated by this wonderful collection of photographs, which show clearly how much Teddington, Twickenham and the Hamptons have changed in the last few years.
£12.99
Alma Books Ltd Three Men in a Boat
What could be better during the golden age of boating on the Thames than a relaxing row up the river? So think J., George and Harris - not forgetting Montmorency the dog - but little do they suspect the mishaps, the scrapes and the japes that lie along the way. From becoming impossibly lost in the maze at Hampton Court to battles with tins of pineapple chunks, all the while attempting to limit the destruction wrought by the mischievous Montmorency, Jerome K. Jerome's classic novel of humorous misadventures and comedic authorial digressions is a paean to the banalities of everyday life and has entertained readers for more than a century.
£7.78
The History Press Ltd Voices of Chalford, Bisley and Bussage: Tempus Oral History Series
This fascinating book brings together the personal memories of people who lived and grew up in Chalford, Chalford Hill, France Lynch, Eastcombe, Bussage, Brownshill and Bisley during the last century. Reminiscences range from childhood games, working days and memories of the war years, to shops, transport and some of the local characters. Some contributors recall the donkeys that used to pull the barges along the Thames & Severn Canal, while others recount working life in the mills around Chalford. The stories are complemented by over 100 photographs drawn from the private collections of the contributors. This is community history at its best.
£15.99
Little, Brown Book Group When You Are Mine: The No.1 bestselling thriller from the master of suspense
From the multi-million-copy bestselling author of Richard & Judy Summer 2021 Pick When She Was Good, comes a gripping new standalone thrillerPhilomena McCarthy has defied the odds and become a promising young officer with the Metropolitan Police despite being the daughter of a notorious London gangster. Called to the scene of a domestic assault, she rescues a young woman, Tempe Brown, the girlfriend of a decorated detective. The incident is hushed up, but Phil has unwittingly made a dangerous enemy with powerful friends.Determined to protect each other, the two women strike up a tentative friendship. Tempe is thoughtful and sweet and makes herself indispensable to Phil, but sinister things keep happening and something isn't quite right about the stories Tempe tells. When a journalist with links to Phil's father and to the detective is found floating in the Thames, Phil doesn't know where to turn, who to blame or who she can trust.__________PRAISE FOR MICHAEL ROBOTHAM'S THRILLERS:'An absolute master' Stephen King'I love this guy's books' Lee Child'He writes in a voice with a haunting sense of soul' Peter James'Heart-stopping, heart-breaking and heart-wrenching' Val McDermid'Robotham is the real deal' David Baldacci'He invests suspense with such a strong emotional pull. No one else comes close' Linwood Barclay'Will have you turning the pages compulsively' The Times
£19.99
HarperCollins Publishers Viking London
Viking Britain author Thomas Williams returns with a brief history of the interaction between the Vikings and the British to tell the story of the occupation of London. The Vikings remoulded the world, changed the language, and upended the dynamics of power and trade. Monasteries and settlements burned, ancient dynasties were extinguished. And nowhere in these islands saw more aggression than London. Between 842 and 1016, the city was subjected repeatedly to serious assault. In this short history, bestselling historian Thomas Williams recounts the profound impact Viking raiders from the North had on London. Delving into London’s darkest age, he charts how the city was transformed in this period by immigrants and natives, kings and commoners, into the fulcrum of national power and identity. London emerged as a hub of trade, production and international exchange, a financial centre, a political prize, a fiercely independent and often intractable cauldron of spirited and rowdy townsfolk: a place that, a thousand years ago, already embodied much of what London was to become and still remains. This remarkable book takes the reader into a city of spectres, to its ancient past, to timeworn street names hidden beneath concrete underpasses, to the crypts of old churches, to a stretch of the old river bank, or the depths of museum collections. Nothing is lost in the city. And memories of the Vikings hover like a miasma in these places, blowing across the mud and shingle on the Thames foreshore – ghosts of Viking London.
£13.49
Usborne Publishing Ltd Look Inside London
In just 14 pages, you can visit and explore central London, the West End, and the River Thames all the way from Buckingham palace to the Tower of London. Beneath flaps big and small, you'll learn secrets of London's amazing underground railway, its storied history from Shakespeare's Globe to today's Houses of Parliament. You can get ideas of places to visit, whether it's parks, museums, shopping or hit shows. Each flap has a large, easy to find and lift thumb-hole, perfect for curious fingers.
£9.99
Andersen Press Ltd Time-Travelling Cat and the Great Victorian Stink
Topher's amazing cat, Ka, has time-travelled again and left him yet another mysterious clue. Following his nose, Topher finds himself in Victorian London where disease is rife and the Thames is clogged with stinking sewage! There he discovers a plot to kill Joseph Bazalgette, the man who is trying to save the city. Determined to foil this foul plan, Topher must first escape from an arch-criminal and his den of thieves. A thrilling historical fantasy which explores the intriguing hidden details of times past.
£7.03
Nine Arches Press The Tempest Prognosticator
In The Tempest Prognosticator leeches warn of storms, whales blunder up the Thames, beetles tap out their courtship rituals, and women fall for deft cocktail makers and melancholy apes. With her keen eye and a gift for vividly capturing the natural world, Isobel Dixon entices the reader on a journey where the familiar is not always as it seems at first, where the sideways glance, the double take, yields rich rewards. From Crusoe to Psycho, Pink Floyd to Fred Astaire, the human zoo’s at play here too, in a collection filled with ‘miracle and wonder’, wit and bite.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd The Stroudwater Navigation
The Stroud Navigation opened in 1779 from the Severn at Framilode to Stroud, Gloucestershire, a distance of eight miles. It brought increased prosperity to the Stroud Valleys, a centre for early industrialisation. Ten years later the Thames & Severn Canal, linked with it. The Stroudwater is unique for being in the hands of the original company for over 200 years, and most of the primary source material for this book derives from the company archive. Personal reminisces, legal documents, census returns and illustrations, including paintings, photographs, maps, plans and poetry, are also used to record the role played by the canal in the social history of the region.
£17.99
Oxford University Press A History of the County of Gloucester: Volume VII: Brightwells Barrow and Rapsgate Hundreds
This volume contains the histories of the 22 parishes in the hundreds of Brightwells Barrow and Rapsgate, extending from the Cotswold escarpment above Gloucester to the Thames at Lechlade and including much of the Churn, Coln, andLeach valleys. Although Cranham and Chedworth parishes had extensive ancient beechwoods and Kempsford and Lechlade wide meadows bordering the Thames, most of the area was formerly one of traditional Cotswold agriculture based onlarge open fields and downland sheep-pastures. After enclosure large sheep-farms grew turnips and grass leys, but the late- 19th-century depression caused many to be taken in hand and converted to new uses like dairying. Pocketsof industry included cloth-mills in Bibury and elsewhere, a paper-mill at Quenington, and potteries at Cranham. The towns of Fairford and Lechlade did not develop industrially, serving mainly as markets and as stages on the Londonroad. At Lechlade goods, particularly cheese, were consigned by river to London. The manors, mainly monastic in the Middle Ages, passed later to families which ranged from aristocrats like the Thynnes and Cravens to local gentrylike the Partridges, Sheppards, and Kebles. In the 19th century new owners from com-merce included a Jewish financier, the founder of the Horlicks firm, and Lanca-shire cotton-manufacturers. Much of the area, particularly the large estates based on Williamstrip Park and Hatherop Castle and the villages along the Churn valley, shows the influence of 19th-century owners. Less typical parishes include Brimpsfield and Cranham, where early settlement was scattered, and Chedworth, with an influx in the late 17th century and the 18th of independent craftsmen.
£75.00
Merrell Publishers Ltd Metroburbia: The Anatomy of Greater London
London's suburbs are home to many thousands of people who travel into the centre every day to work, but they also house many thousands who rarely find a reason to do so. They contain all the essential infrastructure for the city, too, including airports, offices, shopping centre, factories and warehouses. Outer London is therefore both metropolitan and suburban at the same time - it is Metroburbia. In this book Paul Knox examines the architectural history and development of London's suburbs, and celebrates their surprising variety and organized structure, refuting the common claim that they are monotonous or amorphous. The first chapter, The Foundations of Metroburbia, explains the foundation and development of Metroburbia and looks at how topography and geology influenced the siting of the villages that would become part of Greater London. The River Thames, of course, is one of London's most important and well-known structural elements, and in this chapter Knox examines how its meanders and bends have produced distinct patterns of settlement and development. He also describes in detail the seven distinctive sectors of London, which are (running clockwise from the west) the Thames Valley, Northwest London, North London, the Lea Valley, Northeast London, the Thames Estuary and South London. Finally, he looks at how early settlements, country estates and royal palaces shaped Metroburbia, and how the increase in roads and industry consolidated the development of what would become suburbia. Chapter 2, Pattern-book London, looks at Victorian and Edwardian suburbs - the first developments to be given that name. The building booms and their effect on employment in the city, and the difference in style and purpose between the various suburbs, are discussed, and Knox also examines the effects of immigration and industrialization on the city's housing requirements. He also describes the genesis of the parks, cemeteries and garden villages that now provide such valuable green space for Londoners, and the creation of the impressive industrial, civic and institutional buildings that are still striking parts of the city's infrastructure. Chapter 3, Inter-war Suburbia: Metro-Land and the Universal Plan, describes the acceleration of building projects between the wars and the beginning of the transition from Edwardian society to the modern welfare state. The term 'Metro-Land', introduced by the Metropolitan Railway Company in the early twentieth century, gives the chapter its title, and describes the expansion of residential London along the route of the Underground lines into Buckinghamshire. The effect of widespread car ownership is discussed, and the various housing styles - Stockbroker Tudor, Suburban Moderne, the mansion block, and so on - are described. The fourth chapter, Secular Reformation and Modernism, covers the thirty years from the end of the Second World War, during which time the welfare state brought about radical changes to life in London and the architecture of the city. Chapter 5, Counter-Reformation, describes the changes wrought on the country by the new neo-liberal agenda, as the welfare state was overtaken by a market-driven economy that fostered free-for-all development. By this time Metroburbia had spread outwards to incorporate Chelmsford, Southend-on-Sea, Maidstone, Guildford, Reading and Luton. This was an era of radical new infrastructure projects - from the rise of the suburban shopping centre to the construction of the new Thames Barrier - and huge increases in house prices. The regeneration of the Isle of Dogs into the Docklands commercial area is one of the most high-profile developments of the era, but infill house-building and small-scale environmental developments were also produced, and social housing regenerated. Finally, the last chapter, Megapolitan Futures, explores the various theories about the capital's future and conjectures about the shape of the city in the twenty-first century.
£31.50
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Dog Walker
A haunted house, a broken family and a body that has never been found... January, 1987: Helen Honeysett, a young newlywed, sets off for an evening run from her Thames-side cottage. She never comes home. January, 2016: Twenty-nine years later, Helen's body has never been found. Her husband asks private detective Stella Darnell to find out what happened all those years ago. But how can you hunt a killer whose trail has long gone cold?
£8.32
Headline Publishing Group Cain His Brother (William Monk Mystery, Book 6): An atmospheric and compelling Victorian mystery
Genvieve Stonefield's husband Angus is missing when she seeks William Monk's help to find him. She is convinced that he has been murdered by his twin brother Caleb, a shadowy figure who lives in the slums bordering the Thames and has always hated his respectable businessman brother. Although worried about Hester Latterly's health as she nurses victims of a typhoid outbreak in Limehouse, and threatened by a personal scandal, Monk is determined to bring one of the most bizarre cases he has ever encountered to its conclusion.
£9.99
British Museum Press Late Glacial Long Llade Sites in the Kennet Valley: Excavations and Fieldwork at Avington VI, Wawcott XII and Crown Acres
10,000 years ago, late Ice Age and early post-glacial communities moved through the Kennet Valley to the Thames, following game and taking advantage of sheltered positions to make their camps. Favourable geological conditions in the neighbourhood of Newbury have preserved several of these camp sites in situ. One of these, Avington VI, has revealed evidence of structures which are, so far, unique in Britain. The remarkable concentrations of Long Blade artefacts provide insights into the daily activities of the hunters who lived there. Other sites fill in the details about ecological conditions during this period of climate change and how humans adapted to them.
£38.78
Alma Books Ltd Heart of Darkness and the Complete Congo Diary
On a boat in the Thames estuary, Marlow tells his travelling companions of his reconnaissance expedition for a Belgian trading company to its most remote outpost in central Africa, which brought him on the trail of the elusive Kurtz, a brilliant idealist gone rogue. His account relates not only the perils he encounters on his quest, but also the deterioration of his state of mind as he is confronted with a world that is hostile and alien to him. Renowned for its stylistic boldness and dramatic descriptions, Heart of Darkness is a stark yet subtle examination of the powers of the subconscious and the workings of western imperialism.
£7.78
British Library Publishing Into the London Fog: Eerie Tales from the Weird City
As the smoky dark sweeps across the capital, strange stories emerge from the night. A seance reveals a ghastly secret in the murk of Regent's Canal. From south of the Thames come chilling reports of a spring-heeled spectre, and in Stoke Newington rumours abound of an opening to another world among the quiet alleys. Join Elizabeth Dearnley on this atmospheric tour through a shadowy London, a city which has long inspired writers of the weird and uncanny. Waiting in the hazy streets are eerie tales from Charlotte Riddell, Lettice Galbraith and Violet Hunt, along with haunting pieces by Virginia Woolf, Arthur Machen, Sam Selvon and many more.
£9.99
Little, Brown Book Group Death and the Jubilee
Find a murderer - and save the Queen's Jubilee!It is 1897 and the London is preparing for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. But a corpse is with no head or hands is dragged out of the Thames. The dead man was old and proserously dressed, but there are no other clues to his identity and the police ask for the discreet assistance of Lord Francis Powerscourt.His investigation leads him to a mysterious mansion in Oxfordshire, with classical temples in the gardens and in the house, a second corpse killed in a fire. On the track of the murderer, Powerscourt realizes that both he and his family are in mortal danger - and the outcome could wreck the Queen's Diamond Jubilee...
£9.37
Penguin Books Ltd The Bus Stop Killer: Milly Dowler, Her Murder and the Full Story of the Sadistic Serial Killer Levi Bellfield
You've seen Manhunt, now read Geoffrey Wansell's chilling portrait of notorious serial killer Levi Bellfield- the only man in modern British legal history to be given two whole-life sentences.On 23 Jun 2011 the convicted double-murderer Levi Bellfield was found guilty of the murder of 13-year-old school girl Milly Dowler.Milly disappeared on her way home from school in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey in 2002. Six months later her body was discovered many miles away. A massive police investigation, the largest manhunt in Surrey's history, got nowhere. Only when nightclub bouncer and bare-knuckle boxer Levi Bellfield was arrested for the murder of another young woman did it become clear to police that they had a serial killer on their hands.This is the full story of the murders, the victims and the pain-staking nine-year investigation and trial by police and prosecutors. It tells of Bellfield's terrifying, controlling personality - a man who went from charming to monstrous in the blink of an eye - and his depraved stalking of young women.Geoffrey Wansell has been acknowledged as one of Britain's leading authorities on serial killers. He was short-listed for the Whitbread Prize (now the Costa Book Award) for his biography of Terence Rattigan, and was appointed by the Official Solicitor to the Supreme Court to write the biography of Gloucester-based serial killer Frederick West.
£12.99
Two Rivers Press Bricks and Brickwork in Reading: Patterns and polychromy
The geology of the Thames Valley provides little good building stone, so the towns are made very largely of local brick. Reading is particularly rewarding for the brick-fancier, thanks to the variety of colours available and the inventive patterns that Victorian bricklayers loved to make. Illustrated throughout with photographs of surviving examples, Bricks and Brickwork in Reading gets back to basics with bonding, tells the 100-year story of a successful Victorian brick maker, pays homage to Alfred Waterhouse and revels in the delights of air bricks and crinkle-crankle walls. A walking tour gives the reader the opportunity to see the more notable examples of Reading's brickwork for themselves.
£15.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Ordinary Thunderstorms
One May evening in London, as a result of a chance encounter and a split-second decision, the young climatologist Adam Kindred loses everything - home, job, reputation, passport, credit cards, money - never to get them back. With the police and a hit man in merciless pursuit, Adam has no choice but to go underground, joining the ranks of the disappeared, struggling to understand how his life has unravelled so spectacularly. His journey of discovery will take him along the Thames from Chelsea to the sink estates of the East End. On the way he encounters aristocrats, priests, prostitutes and a policewoman - but will he ever find himself again?
£9.99
British Library Publishing The Port of London Murders
When the San Angelo drifts into port in the Thames Estuary, telephones begin to ring across the capital and an intricate series of events is set in motion. Beset by dreadful storms in the Bay of Biscay, the ship, along with the 'mixed cargo' it carries, is late. Unaware of the machinations of avaricious importers, wayward captains and unscrupulous traders, Harry Reed and June Harvey are thrust together by a riverside accident, before being swept into the current of a dark plot developing on the dockside. A moody classic set around London’s historic docks published in 1938, Josephine Bell's unique and atmospheric writing shines in a mystery weaving together blackmail, bootleg lingerie and, of course, murder.
£8.99
Ebury Publishing One Man and His Bike
What would happen if you were cycling to the office and just kept on pedalling?Needing a change, Mike Carter did just that. Following the Thames to the sea he embarked on an epic 5,000 mile ride around the entire British coastline - the equivalent of London to Calcutta.He encountered drunken priests, drag queens and gnome sanctuaries. He met fellow travellers and people building for a different type of future. He also found a spirit of unbelievable kindness and generosity that convinced him that Britain is anything but broken. This is the inspiring and very funny tale of the five months Mike spent cycling the byways of the nation.
£14.99
Dawson Publishing A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume III: Spelthorne Hundred (continued), Isleworth Hundred and Elthorne Hundred (part), with Index to Volumes II and III
CONTAINED in the volume, originally published in 1962, are the histories of fourteen parishes in south-west Middlesex: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, and Teddington in Spelthorne hundred; Heston-and-Isleworth and Twickenham in Isleworth hundred; and Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield, and Harlington in Elthorne hundred. The whole area is now divided between the London Boroughs of Ealing, Hillingdon, Hounslow, and Richmond upon Thames and the District of Spelthorne. Among its extensive modern suburbs are the vestiges of the earlier agricultural villages, and the best known of the surviving large houses are Syon House, Osterley Park, and StrawberryHill. The index covers both Volumes Two and Three.
£75.00
Titan Books Ltd Sherlock Holmes vs. Cthulhu: The Adventure of the Neural Psychoses
Amelia Scarcliffe’s monstrous brood, harbingers of Cthulhu, will soon spawn. Her songs spell insanity, death… and illimitable wealth. And Moriarty will do anything to get his hands on gold, even if it means tearing down the walls between this world and a realm of horrors. Meanwhile, after Sherlock Holmes’s last tangle with the Order of Dagon, horrifying monsters haunt the Thames, and madness stalks the streets of Whitechapel. Gang war between Moriarty’s thugs and the powerful cult can only bring more terror—unless Holmes and Dr. Watson can prevent it. But can they find the cause of the neural psychoses before Watson himself succumbs?
£8.23
Faber & Faber Shepperton Babylon
This is a wonderful secret history of British movies that includes the scandals, the suicides, the immolations and the contract killings - the product of thousands of conversations with veteran film-makers. Here you'll meet, among many others, the 20s film idols snorting cocaine from an illuminated glass dance floor on the bank of the Thames, the model who escaped Soho's gangsters to become the queen of the nudie flicks and the genteel Scottish comedienne who, at the age of fifty-five, reinvented herself as a star of exploitation cinema, and fondly remembers 'the one where I drilled in people's heads and ate their brains'. Welcome to the lost worlds of British cinema.
£14.99
Pan Macmillan Once a Monster: A reimagining of the legend of the Minotaur
'Robert Dinsdale mixes history and mythology with great panache . . . Richly textured and with an appropriately labyrinthine plot, this is a book that explores the monster inside man — and vice versa. Book of the Month' Sunday TimesLondon, 1861: Ten-year-old Nell belongs to a crew of mudlarks who work a stretch of the Thames along the Ratcliffe Highway. An orphan since her mother died four years past, leaving Nell with only broken dreams and a pair of satin slippers in her possession, she spends her days dredging up coals, copper and pieces of iron spilled by the river barges – searching for treasure in the mud in order to appease her master, Benjamin Murdstone.But one day, Nell discovers a body on the shore. It’s not the first corpse she’s encountered, but by far the strangest. Nearly seven feet tall, the creature has matted hair covering his legs, and on his head are the suggestion of horns. Nell’s fellow mudlarks urge her to steal his boots and rifle his pockets, but as she ventures closer the figure draws breath – and Nell is forced to make a decision which will change her life forever . . .From the critically acclaimed author of The Toymakers comes an imaginative retelling of the legend of the Minotaur, full of myth and magic and steeped in the grime of Victorian London; perfect for lovers of historical fiction with a mythical twist such as Stone Blind and Circe.Praise for Once A Monster:'Imaginative mash-up of the mythical with Victorian gothic.' - The Times'A wonderful magic trick of a story, full of very human monsters and monstrous humans. Dinsdale is a beautiful, evocative story teller. - Stuart Turton, bestselling author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
£18.99
Hodder & Stoughton Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charter
'A soaring account of the months that transformed a messy feudal squabble into Magna Carta...his crisp storytelling, based around short chapters and rolling rhetoric, is extremely entertaining.' Dan Jones, Mail on Sunday'I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Good history is descriptive, narrative and analytical. This is good history.' Gerard DeGroot, The TimesAt Runnymede, on the banks of the River Thames, on 15 June 1215, the seal of King John was attached to the Magna Carta, and peace descended upon the land. Or that's what successive generations have believed. But is it true? And have we been persuaded (or persuaded ourselves) that the events of 15 June 1215 not only ended a civil war between the king and the barons but - as if by magic - established a British constitution beloved and copied throughout the world?Often viewed as a victory for the people over the monarchy and a cornerstone of democracy, the true significance of Magna Carta is misunderstood and misrepresented. In Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charter, David Starkey paints a vivid portrait of the years 1215-1225, ten revolutionary years of huge significance that produced not one but four charters. Peopled by colourful historical figures - John, the boy-king Henry, Pope Innocent III, Archbishop Stephen Langton, William Marshal - Starkey tells a story of treachery and idealism, politics and peace-making that is surprising and enthralling.Informative, entertaining and controversial, Magna Carta: The True Story Behind the Charterchallenges centuries of myth-making to demonstrate how important it is we understand the true significance of that day beside the Thames, over eight hundred years ago.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Gloucestershire Ghost Tales
Whether it’s white ladies, old ladies, monks, miners, blacksmiths, beggars, or bears, horses, hounds, priests or poltergeists, unwilling brides or all too willing femmes fatales, Dark Age warriors, Roundhead troopers, or phantom narrowboats, Gloucestershire’s hidden places are seething with spooks. Anthony Nanson and Kirsty Hartsiotis imaginatively bring to life twenty of the creepiest and most engaging ghost stories from all over Gloucestershire – from the Forest, Severn Vale, and Cotswolds, the Upper Thames and Bristol. Enjoy them on the page on a dark and stormy night, or tell them yourself to freak out your friends.
£10.99
IMM Lifestyle Books Walking London's Waterways, Updated Edition: Great Routes for Walking, Running, Cycling Along Docks, Rivers and Canals
London is strewn with waterways, but the River Thames twisting through the capital can be seen from a radically different perspective in the futuristic Docklands area to the more sleepy suburbs of Putney, Chiswick and Barnes.Much of Camden's quaint charm would be lost without the Regent's Canal, and further out in the suburbs the Wandle, Lea and Brent rivers are well worth discovering.Walking London's Waterways is an exploration, in 21 carefully researched walks, of London's varied waterways in all their glory. Gilly Cameron-Cooper's engaging text is steeped in historical detail, and is accompanied by clear and detailed route maps and enchanting photographs.
£9.99
Quarto Publishing PLC Capital Ring
The Capital Ring is a 78-mile (125 km) walking route encircling inner London that links the astonishing number of islands of green space – parks, woodlands, abandoned railway lines, towpaths and nature reserves – which still survive in the very heart of the city. The Ring takes in many of London’s leading attractions – for example, the Thames Barrier, Eltham Palace and Richmond Park – as well as overlooked gems such as Oxleas Meadows, the Parkland Walk and Abbey Mills Pumping Station, and gives a close-up view of the ever-changing Olympic Park. This guide divides the route into 15 sections, each starting and finishing at a public transport point, and is packed with a vast amount of information.
£13.49
Taylor & Francis Ltd Distortion and Love: An Anthropological Reading of the Art and Life of Stanley Spencer
In this ground-breaking book, a theory of ’distortion’ - of the way in which the processes of human life are subject to interference, diversion and transformation - is developed by way of the art of one of Britain’s greatest twentieth-century painters and that art’s public reception. Devoted to his native village of Cookham-on-Thames, Stanley Spencer painted not only landscapes and portraits with loving detail but also the ’memory-feelings’ which he felt were a ’sacred’ part of his consciousness. Yet Spencer was also a controversial public figure, with some taking the view that his visionary paintings were ugly distortions of human life, even marks of an immoral nature. Examining how Spencer lived his vision, how he painted it and wrote it, and also how his attempts to communicate that vision were received by his contemporaries and have continued to be interpreted since his death, the author posits distortion as key: an intrinsic aspect both of human creation and of human interaction. What we intend to make, to say, to do and have done, often mutates in the process of being expressed or put into effect: we live amid distortion. Love - the affective appreciation of one another - is then a means by which we accommodate distortion and its consequences in our lives. An illustration, through Stanley Spencer’s story, of significant aspects of a human condition, this book will appeal across disciplines, including to art historians and students of Spencer’s work, as well as to scholars of anthropology with interests in creativity, perception and interpretation.
£145.00
Hodder & Stoughton Beyond Recall
'A novel displaying all the author's many strengths, from his John le Carré-like ability to portray the intelligence world from top to bottom, to its line up of memorable supporting characters' The Sunday Times'Depicts the desperate world of an agent adrift behind enemy lines as few others can' The Times'Highly enjoyable' Guardian***He had been to the limit. Then they sent him further.Gary - 'Gaz' - Baldwin is a watcher, not a killer. Operating with a special forces unit deep in Syria, he is to sit in a hide, observe a village, report back and leave.But the appalling atrocity he witnesses will change his life forever.Before long, he is living as a handyman on the Orkney islands, far from Syria, far from the army, not far enough from the memories that have all but destroyed him.'Knacker' is one of the last old-school operators at the modern MI6 fortress on the Thames. He presides over the Round Table, a little group who meet in a pub and yearn for simpler, less bureaucratic times.When news reaches Knacker that the Russian officer responsible for the Syrian incident may be in Murmansk, northern Russia, he sets in motion a plan to kill him. It will involve a sleeper cell, a marksman and other resources - all unlikely to be sanctioned by the MI6 top brass, so it must be done off the books.But first, he will need a sure identification. And for that, he needs a watcher...Full of surprise, suspense and betrayal, Beyond Recall is a searching novel of moral complexity and a story of desperate survival.
£18.99
Orion Publishing Co Whispers Under Ground: Book 3 in the #1 bestselling Rivers of London series
Book 3 in the Rivers of London series, from Sunday Times Number One bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch.Peter Grant is learning magic fast. And it's just as well - he's already had run-ins with the deadly supernatural children of the Thames and a terrifying killer in Soho. Progression in the Police Force is less easy. Especially when you work in a department of two. A department that doesn't even officially exist. A department that if you did describe it to most people would get you laughed at. And then there's his love life. The last person he fell for ended up seriously dead. It wasn't his fault, but still. Now something horrible is happening in the labyrinth of tunnels that make up the tube system that honeycombs the ancient foundations of London. And delays on the Northern line is the very least of it. Time to call in the Met's Economic and Specialist Crime Unit 9, aka 'The Folly'. Time to call in PC Peter Grant, Britain's Last Wizard.Praise for the Rivers of London novels:'Ben Aaronovitch has created a wonderful world full of mystery, magic and fantastic characters. I love being there more than the real London'NICK FROST'As brilliant and funny as ever'THE SUN'Charming, witty, exciting'THE INDEPENDENT'An incredibly fast-moving magical joyride for grown-ups'THE TIMESDiscover why this incredible series has sold over two million copies around the world. If you're a fan of Terry Pratchett or Douglas Adams - don't panic - you will love Ben Aaronovitch's imaginative, irreverent and all-round irresistible novels.
£8.99
Headline Publishing Group Blood on the Water (William Monk Mystery, Book 20): An atmospheric Victorian mystery
Commander William Monk: in search of justice, he will not stop until he has found the truth.It is a time of progress, with the Empire's interests expanding and the contentious new Suez Canal nearing completion. Many people stand to gain - and to lose - as the world rapidly changes.When a Thames pleasure boat is blown up with the loss of many lives, an Egyptian man is quickly sentenced to hang for the crime. But William Monk, head of the River Police, discovers the evidence was flawed. As he and his wife Hester investigate further, Monk begins to wonder if the wrong man was convicted. If justice itself has been tainted, exposing the true culprit will be far more dangerous...
£9.99
University of California Press Gravesend
"Ghosts appear in place of whatever a given people will not face" (p. 65) The poems in Gravesend explore ghosts as instances of collective grief and guilt, as cultural constructs evolved to elide or to absorb a given society's actions, as well as, at times, to fill the gaps between such actions and the desires and intentions of its individual citizens. Tracing the changing nature of the ghostly in the western world from antiquity to today, the collection focuses particularly on the ghosts created by the European expansion of the 16th through 20th centuries, using the town of Gravesend, the seaport at the mouth of the Thames through which countless emigrants passed, as an emblem of theambiguous threshold between one life and another, in all the many meanings of that phrase.
£21.00
Penguin Books Ltd Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!
'Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need - a homely home and simple pleasures, one or two friends, worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink; for thirst is a dangerous thing.'Suffering from every malady in the book except housemaid's knee, three men and a dog decide to head for a restful vacation on the Thames. Anticipating peace and leisure, they encounter, in fact, the joys of roughing it, of getting their boat stuck in locks, of being towed by amateurs, of having to eat their own cooking and, of course, of coping with the glorious English weather.
£9.04
Hoaki New Jewellery Techniques: Curved Scoring and Folding for Metalwork and Silversmithing
A detailed and abundantly-illustrated reference that focuses on the innovative curved score folding for sheet metal techniques to create beautiful, dynamic three-dimensional forms, much like metal origami, in jewellery and metalsmithing. Anastasia Young and Paul Wells, both renowned London-based jewellers, authors and lecturers, have created a practical visual handbook on curved scoring and folding techniques applied to jewellery and metalsmithing for small objects. The book's clear, hands-on approach, with explanatory photographs for each step, makes it an invaluable resource for established jewellers wishing to learn more about new techniques, jewellery students, home crafters and advanced amateurs. Readers will discover a variety of ways to score and fold metal and give it different finishes, shaping flat sheets into to visually stunningly organic forms, including guides on the tools needed for each method. A final section contains useful resources, from a detailed analysis of score depth based on the gauge of the wire used (through diagrams to aid design and planning) to information about where to source materials and facts about metalworking and jewellery in general. AUTHORS: Anastasia Young is a London-based jewellery artist, author and lecturer whose work has been exhibited internationally. Young's eclectic jewellery is often project-based and driven by a combination of ideas and technical investigation; she uses narrative to explore both the design of a piece and its display when not being worn. Examples of her work are held in the permanent collections of the Science Museum, London and Central Saint Martins Museum. Young is a graduate of the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins, where she lectures and teaches short courses in jewellery making. Having written three technical jewellery books (Thames & Hudson, A&C Black) which have been translated into seven languages, Young is well known as an educator and through her teaching and writing. In 2017, Anastasia was appointed to the board of the Association for Contemporary Jewellery, and is also the Technical Features Editor of its biannual magazine, Findings. Paul Wells is an award-winning London based silversmith and jeweler, renowned for his use of direct metalworking techniques. Wells' silverware makes innovative use of fold-forming and he has developed a method of creating curved scores which can be used to fold sheet metal in a visually stunning and unique style. His technique has been recognised by Goldsmiths' Crafts and Design Council with two Gold Awards for Technological Innovation. Wells' exploration of this technique has led to the production of intrinsically organic silver forms which almost appear to have grown themselves into existence, creating confounding biomorphic designs that are both functional and decorative. Having taught at several London colleges for two decades, Paul Wells is a respected educator and keen advocate of fold-forming, and has contributed to many books published by Quarto, Thames & Hudson and A&C Black. SELLING POINTS: . An essential, easy-to-understand reference for anyone who wants to perfect his or her metalworking techniques, full of photographs to illustrate every step of the way . The only book on the market that demonstrates the curved scoring technique . Filled with practical resources such as tips, advice on tools, diagrams, and a glossary of commonly-used industry terms . Renowned authors with ample experience both in jewellery making and teaching, thus providing a very instructional and informational text. Anastasia Young's previous books have become a reference in the field of jewellery . A detailed and richly-illustrated reference book on contemporary metalworking and jewellery techniques for home-crafters and serious amateurs, and even professional jewellers 450 illustrations
£25.20
Amazon Publishing The Homecoming
An internationally bestselling, award-winning novel peering deep into the passions, losses, and reveries of the wife of eighteenth-century explorer Captain James Cook. After twelve years of marriage to English explorer James Cook, Elizabeth has yet to spend an entire year with her husband. In their house by the Thames, she moves to the rhythms of her life as a society wife, but there is so much more to her than meets the eye. She has the fortitude to manage the house and garden, raise their children, and face unbearable sorrow by herself—in fact, she is sometimes in thrall to her own independence. As she prepares for another homecoming, Elizabeth looks forward to James’s triumphant return and the work she will undertake reading and editing his voluminous journals. But will the private life she’s been leading in his absence distract her from her role in aid of her husband’s grand ambitions? Can James find the compassion to support her as their family faces unimaginable loss, or must she endure life alone as he sails off toward another adventure? An intimate and sharply observed novel, The Homecoming is as revelatory as James Cook’s exploration of distant frontiers and as richly rewarding as Elizabeth’s love for her family. With courage and strength, through recollection and imagination, author Anna Enquist brilliantly narrates Elizabeth’s compelling record of her life, painting a psychological portrait of an independent woman ahead of her time and closely acquainted with history.
£9.15
Agenda Publishing Outside the EU: Options for Britain
In the debates about the UK’s future relationship with the European Union, all sorts of possible alternatives have been bandied about, from “Singapore on the Thames” to “Canada Plus”, from “Switzerland” to “Ukraine”, from “Norway” to “Australia”. But what do these alternative relationship models really consist of and would they be viable for the UK? Martin Westlake brings together distinguished contributors to examine these various options, real and potential, and to consider whether they would offer a workable solution for the continued relationship between the EU and post-Brexit Britain. These essays offer expert insight into the scale and challenge of the practical issues facing Britain as it seeks to establish a new future with its largest trading partner.
£26.05
Flame Tree Publishing The Wind in The Willows
A stunning new edition with deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. Kenneth Grahame’s treasured and perennially popular The Wind in the Willows follows the adventures of Mole, Rat, Toad and Badger as they spend their time ‘simply messing about in boats’, getting lost in the Wild Wood and getting Toad out of scrapes. The endearing characters, evocatively idyllic setting of the gentle Thames Valley and the message of friendship make this an enduringly heart-warming tale. The FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library.
£8.99
Penguin Books Ltd The Death of King Arthur: The Immortal Legend
A gripping retelling of the timeless epic of romance, enchantment and adventure, Peter Ackroyd's The Death of King Arthur recasts Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur in clear, compelling modern English prose, published in Penguin Classics.'In the old wild days of the world there was a King of England known as Uther Pendragon; he was a dragon in wrath as well as in power ...'Born with the help of Merlin's magic, blessed with the sword of Excalibur, Arthur becomes King of a troubled England, beginning a golden age of chivalry at the court of Camelot. But his reign is soon to be torn apart by violence, revenge and tragedy ...Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur made the legend of King Arthur immortal. Now Peter Ackroyd's retelling brings his timeless story of love, heroism and betrayal to new life for our times.Sir Thomas Malory (c.1405-1471) was a knight and estate owner in the mid 15th century, who spent many years in prison for political crimes as well as robbery. He wrote Le Morte d'Arthur, the first great English prose epic, while imprisoned in Newgate. Peter Ackroyd (b. 1949) is an award-winning writer and historian. Formerly literary editor of The Spectator and chief book reviewer for the The Times, he is the author of novels such as Hawksmoor (1985) and The House of Doctor Dee (1993), as well as non-fiction including Dickens: Public Life and Private Passion (2002), London: The Biography (2000), and Thames: Sacred River (2007). If you enjoyed The Death of King Arthur, you might like Ackroyd's The Canterbury Tales, also available in Penguin Modern Classics.'I admire this version enormously ... This story has to move with both swiftness and dignity, and yoking those two qualities together is not an easy task; but Ackroyd does it with ease'Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials trilogy 'Ackroyd's lightly trimmed and streamlined Le Morte d'Arthur makes it eminently readable' Sunday Times
£9.99
The History Press Ltd The Little Book of Oxfordshire
The Little Book of Oxfordshire is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no one will want to be without. Here we find out about the most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters and literally hundreds of wacky facts (plus some authentically bizarre bits of historic trivia). Combining essential facts with little-known, weird and often hilarious trivia, it is an essential purchase for all lovers of the county. Colourful characters and the general mayhem of Oxford history flow through the pages like the iconic Thames, Isis and Cherwell rivers. Dip in and celebrate!
£9.99
Phaidon Press Ltd The Story of the Design Museum
The essential guide to the story of London's acclaimed museum - from its origins in the 1980s to its pivotal move in 2016 London's Design Museum is entering an exciting period in its life as it prepares to move to the former Commonwealth Institute in Kensington. The Story of the Design Museum charts the story of the museum's life from its inception as the Boilerhouse Project to twenty-five years of groundbreaking exhibitions at Shad Thames. The book begins with a foreword by the founder of the Design Museum Sir Terence Conran, and concludes with an essay from the museum's architect, John Pawson, accompanied by stunning images of the iconic and newly renovated Commonwealth Institute Building, the museum's new home.
£9.95
Oxford University Press A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume VII: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Willesden Parishes
The volume completes the coverage of the administrative county of Middlesex as it existed until 1965, with histories of the parishes of Acton, Chiswick, Ealing, West Twyford, and Willesden, together forming the outer part of the Kensington division of Ossulstone hundred. The article on Ealing covers Old Brentford, in Ealing parish, and New Brent-ford, a chapelry which formed the southern part of Hartwell parish, in Elthorne hundred. Before their inclusionin Greater London the parishes embraced the municipal boroughs of Acton, Brentford and Chiswick, and Willes-den, and part of the borough of Ealing, with a total population of some 250,000. The area lies between the river Brent and the Thames, stretching from Edgware Road in the north-east to Brentford High Street. Many estates belonged to the bishop of Lon-don or to prebendaries of St. Paul's cathedral. Brentford, owing its prosperity to the Thames, to roadside inns, and to the market gardens of its hinterland, was the largest centre by the 17th century, when good access to the royal palaces and to London drew prominent resi-dents to Chiswick and Ealing. Most of the land was builtover in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when Ealing claimed to be the queen of upper-middle class suburbs. Mean-while the decline of Brentford was followed by the growth of industry in much of Acton and W illesden. The modern scene is mainly one of sub-urban housing, intersected by railways and busy roads, including the M4 motorway. Contrasts nonetheless abound, with factories at Park Royal and along the Great West Road, shops and offices in Ealing Broadway and Chiswick High Road, tower-blocks and decayed terraces at Kilburn, the early garden suburb of Bedford Park, the riverside 'villages' of Old Chiswick and Strand-on-the-Green, and the landscaped grounds of GunnersburyPark and Chiswick House.
£75.00
