Search results for ""The History Press""
The History Press Ltd Royal Leamington Spa Revisited: Images of England
Featuring over 200 photographs and supporting captions that show what life was really like years ago, this book presents the history of the beautiful spa town that grew from a tiny village. It further explores the town's history with particular emphasis on leisure and entertainment. It is suitable for locals and visitors alike.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Elizabeth Robins: Staging a Life
Beautiful and talented, versatile and charismatic, Elizabeth Robins was one of the foremost actresses of her day. Yet, this enduring character was also an active and lifelong feminist. This biography examines Elizabeth's historical identity and provides a study of the social culture surrounding a woman who lived a life in the spotlight.
£11.69
The History Press Ltd Essex: A History You Can See
Including more than 100 photographs, this volume explores the colourful and fascinating history of the county of Essex, focusing on the visible reminders of the county's historic past which so often go unnoticed.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Gods and Worshippers in the Viking and Germanic World
What was paganism really like? Who were the gods and how were they worshipped? These are the questions Thor Ewing addresses in this fresh perspective on the pagan beliefs and rituals of the Viking and the Germanic world, a world which encompasses not only Scandanavia and Germany, but also Anglo-Saxon England. Gods and Worshippers explores ancient cult sites and religious gatherings, as well as burial customs and the rites of the dead, and it reveals the intimate links between religious and secular power.Using the surviving archaeological evidence as well as the recorded myths and poetry from the various regions, Ewing explores the realities of day-to-day worship, such as sacrifices and sacred space, as well as arguing that traditional magical-religious societies operated in parallel to mainstream society, according to their own distinctive morality and laws.The picture that emerges is that of a complex pattern of powers which are respected, honoured, propitiated or even cajoled. It is in this relationship between powers and people that the religion exists, and though it takes many forms it is fundamentally one of respect, honour and worship - a relationship between gods and worshippers.
£17.99
The History Press Ltd Morgan at Le Mans
A history of Morgan, a quintessentially British car maker, racing at Le Mans.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd The Archaeology and Early History of the Channel Islands
A complete survey of the archaeology of the islands from prehistoric times, through the Roman and medieval periods, down to the present day. There will also be an annotated gazetteer of museums and sites to see.
£20.25
The History Press Ltd Crewe Pubs: Images of England
This book is part of the Images of England series, which uses old photographs and archived images to show the history of Crewe's Pubs.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Arnhem 1944
The battle of Arnhem was a major turning point in World War II. It was a gamble by Montgomery, using three airborne divisions, to capture a series of bridges across the wide rivers which separated a powerful army from the plains of northern Germany.
£10.99
The History Press Ltd Icelandic Histories and Romances
The Icelandic sagas, composed between the twelfth and the nineteenth centuries, are one of the world's great literary treasures. After an extended and lively introduction to the genre, Ralph O'Connor provides new translations for five of the greatest of these sagas. We encounter a humble Icelandic scholar dreaming of a Viking past, a royal adventurer evading the horrible lusts of troll-women, a demon popping out of a lavatory, the death spasms of the old Northern gods and unnatural acts in Muslim Germany. The sagas are evocatively illustrated by Anne O'Connor.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Shipping on the Humber: The South Bank
The River Humber has been used for commercial navigation for centuries and remains today as one of the busiest stretches of waterway in Britain. Several books on the Humber concentrate on Hull, almost to the exclusion of the South Bank of the river. This collection of images, dating from the late nineteenth century to the present day, is arranged topographically: travelling from Louth and Cleethorpes upriver to the Ouse/Trent confluence. Over 150 illustrations feature keels, sloops, lighters and motor barges, all of which have been present in steadily declining numbers over the past five decades, together with the Lincolnshire boatyards where many of them were built and maintained. Other small craft are also included, such as dredgers, cross-rover ferries, pilot boats, tugs and some sea-going craft, as well as images of the docks and waterways themselves. Maps and photographs of several locations have been selected to feature aspects of the Ancholme Navigation and Louth Navigation, as well as the waterside areas of Grimsby, Immingham, New Holland, Barrow Haven, Barton Waterside, Brigg, Ferriby Sluice, Winteringham Haven, and inevitably, Hull, with which they all have had cross-Humber links.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Druids: Preachers of Immortality
Druidism was the religion of the Celts. The richest source of information about the druids is the vernacular material from Ireland and Wales. The author's familiarity with the gaelic texts strips away modern myths about the Druids.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Folklore of the Scottish Highlands
The folklore of the Scottish Highlands is unique and very much alive. Dr Anne Ross is a Gaelic-speaking scholar and archaeologist who has lived and worked in crofting communities. This has enabled her to collect information at first hand and to assess the veracity of material already published. In this substantially revised edition of a classic work first published 30 years ago, she portrays the beliefs and customs of Scottish Gaelic society, including: seasonal customs deriving from Celtic festivals; the famous waulking songs; the Highland tradition of seers and second sight; omens and taboos, both good and bad; and, chilling experiences of witchcraft and the Evil Eye Rituals associated with birth and death. Having taken her MA, MA Hons and PhD at the University of Edinburgh, Anne Ross became Research Fellow in the School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh. She then rapidly established herself as one of Britain's leading Celtic scholars. Her seminal work is "Pagan Celtic Britain" and she has also published "Druids - Preachers of Immortality" with Tempus Publishing.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Central Birmingham 1920-1970: Images of England
This companion volume to Central Birmingham 1870-1920 captures the changing face of the city over a further half century using a selection of nearly 200 old photographs, many of which have never before been published. The book portrays not just the streets and buildings but also the men, women and children of the city as they went about their daily business during both peace and war and the postwar period of rebuilding and reshaping. The photographs are once again drawn from the extensive photographic archives at Birmingham Central Library where the author is a Local Studies specialist.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Neolithic Britain
A comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the archaeology of the first farming communities in Britain and Ireland. Aimed towards the student readership, this book provides an account of the archaeology of Britain and Ireland over the period c.4000 - 2000 BC. The Neolithic is presented as a transformation of economic and technical customs and skills that led to new levels of social complexity and monument building. The chapters introduce many of the current debates and discussions in Neolithic studies, but these are set against the secure base of the rich archaeological record which is described and illustrated. Material is presented through case studies in chapters on landscape change and economic diversity, causewayed enclosures, settlement and houses, the classic Neolithic monuments (barrows and megalithic tombs, henges, cursues, stone circles), and the complex range of artefacts that characterise the Neolithic. The wider issues of the Neolithic are set in context, and the reader will be able to assess the evidence and variety of the archaeology of Britain and Ireland against the broad trends of Europe and beyond. Lists of sites and museums to visit and an extensive bibliography offer opportunities for further research and exploration.
£20.25
The History Press Ltd Barking and Dagenham
Barking and Dagenham have been sister communities on the Thames shore since Saxon times. In their earliest days communication with other parts was mainly by water since inland the area was a wilderness of marsh passable only with the greatest difficulty. We must assume that these early settlers chose these sites to give good security from attack. Modern Barking and Dagenham have only come into being because of the success of entrepreneurs like Samuel Williams who created such improvements in these Thameside areas that it was possible to promote them as sites for potential industrial development. Following the arrival of the Ford Motor Company and the rapid growth. The village of Dagenham was soon swamped by housing developments like the huge Becontree estate which accomodated the new workforce, and the modern community that we know today began to take shape. This collection of old photographs and memorabilia of Barking and Dagenham illustrates many of these changes and the book will appeal to all who live and work in this famous Thameside area.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Wandsworth: Images of London
This book is part of the Images of London series, which uses old photographs and archived images to show the history of various local areas in England, through their streets, shops, pubs, and people.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd Heirs of Ambition: The Making of the Boleyns
Heirs of Ambition: The Making of the Boleyns uncovers the story and the family behind England’s most obsessed-over queen, Anne Boleyn.From the fields of Norfolk to the royal court, via city commerce, local government, liberal education and numerous wedding bells, the Boleyns emerge as just one of many newly prosperous and ambitious families seeking to make the best of a changing world. As they struggle upwards, England is visited by famine, plague, revolt and civil war – but also opportunity.Struggling peasants in dirt-floored cottages scratch a living on tiny scraps of land. More than half are swept away by plague while revolt soaks the south-east in blood, but hope lies in the teeming, timber-framed streets of London amongst ambitious merchants who speculate and scheme. Meagre rations become venison pasties and straw-filled mattresses, featherbeds, but some things remain the same. Disease has no respect for gold and silver; war takes sons whose lives have barely begun. While the Boleyns’ new-found wealth delivered power and status, they still lived in a violent world and life could be precarious, even for a queen.From steady climb to bone-breaking fall, the Boleyns’ story is medieval life at its messy, prejudiced and unstable best.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd The Coal Black Sea: Winston Churchill and the Worst Naval Catastrophe of the First World War
On the morning of 22 September 1914, just six weeks into the First World War, three Royal Navy armoured cruisers were sunk by a German U-boat in the southern North Sea. The action lasted less than 90 minutes but the lives of 1,459 men and boys were lost – more than the British losses at the Battle of Trafalgar or in the sinking of RMS Lusitania. Yet, curiously, few have ever heard of the incident. The Coal Black Sea tells the extraordinary true story of the disaster from the perspectives of the men serving on HMS Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy, and the German submariners who orchestrated the attack. It also examines how the ignominious loss provoked widespread criticism of the highly ambitious First Lord of the Admiralty, the 39-year-old Winston Churchill. While the families of the victims grieved, Churchill succeeded in playing down the significance of the disaster and shifted the blame to those serving at sea to save his faltering career. Using a range of official and archival records, Stuart Heaver exposes this false narrative and corrects over a century of misinformation to honour those who lost their lives in the worst naval catastrophe of the First World War.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd Tobruk 1942: Rommel and the Battles Leading to His Greatest Victory
Tobruk was one of the greatest Allied victories – and one of the worst Allied defeats – of the Second World War. The 1942 fiasco rocked the very foundation of Winston Churchill’s premiership. It revived the flagging hopes of the German people and fanned the flames of Arab unrest. Furthering Rommel’s ascendency and souring relations within the British Commonwealth, it marked a turning point in Anglo-American relations in the fight against Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.Utilising a wealth of primary and secondary sources, Tobruk 1942 examines why the fortress fell to Rommel’s Axis forces in just 24 hours when it held out against repeated attacks the previous year. Comparing the 1941 and 1942 battles, this book presents a new perspective on Tobruk – the isolated Libyan fortress, and symbol of Allied freedom, which for a period in the war captured the world’s attention.
£15.17
The History Press Ltd Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader
New Zealand’s prime minister has been hailed as a leader for a new generation, tired of inaction in the face of issues such as climate change and far-right terrorism. Her grace and compassion following the Christchurch mosque shooting captured the world’s attention. Oprah Winfrey invited us to ‘channel our inner Jacindas’ as praise for Ardern flooded headlines and social media. The ruler of this remote country even made the cover of Time. In this revealing biography, journalist Madeleine Chapman discovers the woman behind the headlines. Always politically engaged and passionate, Ardern is uncompromising and astute. In her first press conference, she announced an election campaign of ‘relentless positivity’. The tactic was a resounding success: donations poured in and Labour rebounded in the polls. But has Ardern lived up to her promise? What political concessions has she had to make? And beyond the hype, what does her new style of leadership look like in practice?
£12.99
The History Press Ltd The Art of Film: Working on James Bond, Aliens, Batman and More
‘Tim Burton came in and commented, “Great, but how do they get in the car? There aren’t any doors!” Sadly, I hadn’t thought of that.’*What do *On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Great Muppet Caper have in common?**Terry Ackland-Snow worked on them, that’s what.In The Art of Film, Terry lifts the lid on his extraordinary career, from being held hostage by a wannabe film crew in Jamaica to forgetting to add doors to the Batmobile. It is an insight into a lifetime of working in the film industry, mixing the amusing anecdotes with revelations about just how the magic in these movies was created. With over 200 images, including set sketches and design plans, this is a book no film aficionado should be without!**
£22.50
The History Press Ltd Friday is the New Saturday: How a Four-Day Working Week Will Save the Economy
Friday is the New Saturday makes a compelling, provocative and timely case for societal change. Drawing on an eclectic range of economic theory, history and data, Dr Pedro Gomes argues that a four-day working week will bring about a powerful economic renewal for the benefit of all society. It will stimulate demand, productivity, innovation and wages, whilst reducing unemployment and crushing populist movements. The arguments come from both the left and right of the political spectrum to show that a polarised society can still find common ground.In the 1800s, people in the West worked six days each week, resting on Sundays. In the 1900s, firms began to give workers Saturdays off as well, realising that a two-day weekend helped the economy. In the 2000s, Friday will become the new Saturday, and we will never look back.
£16.99
The History Press Ltd Britain's Toy Car Wars: The War of Wheels Between Dinky, Corgi and Matchbox
For fifty years, Britain made the best toy cars in the world, expertly shrinking every kind of reallife vehicle and producing them in their countless, die-cast millions. Dinky Toys were the 1930s pioneers, then in the 1950s came the pocket-money Matchbox series, followed by Corgi Toys bristling with ingenious features and movie stardust.But who were the driving forces behind this phenomenon? And how did they keep putting the latest, most exciting cars into the palm of your hand year after year?In this illustrated and expanded edition of Britain’s Toy Car Wars, Giles Chapman reveals the extraordinary battle to dominate Britain’s toy car industry, and the dramas and disasters that finally saw the tiny wheels come off …
£13.07
The History Press Ltd 100 Years of Cruise Ships in Colour
This latest book from William H. Miller presents 150 photographs, all in rich colour, across a span of almost 100 years: from the 1920s to the start of the current cruising boom. It includes many early, often seasonal, liners; then the more purposeful generation of ‘floating hotels’ that began in the 1960s. There are favourites, such as the pre-Second World War Franconia, Reliance, Nieuw Amsterdam and Normandie; then, in greater numbers, a ‘fleet’ starting from the 1950s and ‘60s – ships such as the Caronia, Andes, Queen of Bermuda, Nassau, Italia, Bahama Star, Reina Del Mar, Oceanic, Skyward, Song of Norway, Hamburg, Royal Viking Star and Queen Elizabeth 2. Finally, steaming into the twenty-first century, we see the likes of the Royal Princess, Statendam, Crystal Symphony, Oriana, Queen Mary 2, Allure of the Seas and Viking Star.
£22.50
The History Press Ltd Europe in Flames: The Crisis of the Thirty Years War
‘War,’ wrote Cardinal Richelieu, ‘is one of the scourges with which it has pleased God to afflict men’. Yet the prelate’s mournful observation scarcely begins to encapsulate the full complexity and unspeakable horror of the greatest man-made calamity to befall Europe before the twentieth century. Claiming far more lives proportionately than either the First or Second World Wars, it was a contest involving all the major powers of Europe, in which vast mercenary armies extracted an incalculable toll upon helpless civilian populations as their commanders and the men who equipped them frequently grew rich on the profits. Swedish troops alone are said to have destroyed some 2,000 German castles, 18,000 villages and 1,500 towns, while other vast armies in the pay of Spain, France, the Holy Roman Emperor and a host of pettier princelings brought death to as many as 8 million souls. Rarely has such a perplexing tale been more in need of a new account that is both compelling and informed, and no less comprehensible than comprehensive.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd The South Shields Poltergeist: One Family's Fight Against an Invisible Intruder
In December 2005 a family began to experience poltergeist-like phenomena in their home. Slowly but steadily the phenomena escalated, and in July 2006 the authors were asked to investigate. This book is a chilling diary of an ongoing poltergeist case which the authors believe rivals any previously documented.
£15.99
The History Press Ltd The Tube Mapper Project: Capturing Moments on the London Underground
The Underground is the backbone of the city of London, a part of our identity. It’s a network of shared experiences and visual memories, and most Londoners and visitors to the city will at some point have an interaction with the London Underground tube and train network. The Tube Mapper project deliberately captures moments of subconscious recognition and overlooked interests, showcasing images that can be seen near or at many of London’s Underground, Overground and DLR stations. Photographer Luke Agbaimoni gave up city-scape night photography after the birth of his first child, but creating the Tube Mapper project allowed him to continue being creative, fitting photography around his new lifestyle and adding stations on his daily commute. His memorable photographs consider such themes as symmetry, reflections, tunnels and escalators, as well as simply pointing out and appreciating the way the light falls on a platform in an evening sunset. This book reveals the London every commuter knows in a unique, vibrant and arresting style.
£20.00
The History Press Ltd The Jermyn Street Shirt
Jermyn Street in St James's, London, has been the Mecca of fine British shirtmaking for more than a century. Patrons have included Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Roger Moore, the Beatles, Warren Beatty, Pierce Brosnan, the Prince of Wales, Sir Michael Caine and Ronald Reagan. Between them, these shirtmaking artisans have styled that most debonair of onscreen heroes, James Bond. Indeed, the Jermyn Street shirt is the ultimate in entry-level luxury menswear. For many years seen as a stuffy and elitist institution, the advent of Instagram has seen the doors to the world's finest shirtmakers blown open as tailoring enthusiasts come together to share their passion. The Jermyn Street Shirt includes a wealth of sartorial showbusiness anecdotes as well as style tips from some of the big screen's most dapper stars. With unique access to many of the makers, including Turnbull & Asser, Hilditch & Key and Budd, Jonathan Sothcott presents an expertly curated pictorial treasure trove of previously unseen ephemera, including celebrity shirt patterns and samples.
£22.50
The History Press Ltd The Second Age of Rail: A History of High-Speed Trains
Speed on steel wheels has fascinated engineers for nearly two centuries, and a string of stunning records in the last twenty-five years has pushed railway engineering towards new frontiers. Japan – pioneer of high-speed train technology – set the precedent with its legendary bullet trains in 1964; since then a dozen countries have joined the high-speed revolution. Today, China is setting the pace as it crafts a nationwide network of super-railways, and Morocco and Saudi Arabia are on the cusp of launching trains that travel at 300km/h. The USA lags far behind, outpaced by Asia and Western Europe, where Eurostar links London to the international high-speed network – although a new-generation railway to northern England is still missing. Here is the full story of high-speed trains, retold in a journey across countries and continents. The Second Age of Rail is railway history in the making.
£19.80
The History Press Ltd King and Outlaw: The Real Robert the Bruce
The iconic figure of Robert the Bruce has gone down through the centuries as one of the most remarkable leaders of all time. With equal parts tenacity and ruthlessness, he had himself crowned King of Scotland after murdering one of his most powerful rivals, and so began the rule of an indomitable military genius unafraid of breaking convention, and more than a few English heads. Indeed, it was under the leadership of King Robert that the Battle of Bannockburn took place – a famous victory snatched by a tiny Scots force against a larger, supposedly more sophisticated English foe. In King and Outlaw medieval expert Chris Brown explores the life of Robert the Bruce, whose remarkable history has merged with legend, and reveals the true story of the outlaw king.
£11.24
The History Press Ltd Ian Fleming's War: The Inspiration for 007
In 1953, Ian Fleming’s literary sensation James Bond emerged onto the world’s stage. Nearly seven decades later, he has become a multi-billion-pound film franchise, now equipped with all the gizmos of the modern world. Yet Fleming’s creation, who battled his way through the fourteen novels from 1953 to 1966, was a maverick – a man out of place. Bond even admits it, wishing he was back in the real war … the Second World War. Indeed, the thread of the Second World War runs through the whole of the Bond series, and many were inspired by the real events and people Fleming came across during his time in Naval Intelligence. In Ian Fleming’s War, Mark Simmons explores these remarkable similarities, from Fleming’s scheme to capture a German naval codebook that appears in Thunderball as Plan Omega, to the exploits of 30 Assault Unit, the commando team he helped to create, which inspired Moonraker.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd The Man who Never Was: The Remarkable Story of Operation Mincemeat (Now the subject of a major new film starring Colin Firth as Ewen Montagu)
Now the subject of a major new film starring Colin Firth as Ewen Montagu in Operation Mincemeat.In the early hours of 30 April 1943, a corpse wearing the uniform of an officer in the Royal Marines was slipped into the waters off the south-west coast of Spain. With it was a briefcase, in which were papers detailing an imminent Allied invasion of Greece. As the British had anticipated, the supposedly neutral government of Fascist Spain turned the papers over to the Nazi High Command, who swallowed the story whole. It was perhaps the most decisive bluff of all time, for the Allies had no such plan: the purpose of ‘Operation Mincemeat’ was to blind the German High Command to their true objective – an attack on Southern Europe through Sicily. Though officially shrouded in secrecy, the operation soon became legendary (in part owing to Churchill’s habit of telling the story at dinner). Ewen Montagu was the operation’s mastermind, and in his celebrated post-war memoir, The Man who Never Was, he reveals the incredible true story behind ‘Operation Mincemeat’.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Guide to the Crew of Titanic: The Structure of Working Aboard the Legendary Liner
Much has been written about Titanic, the British passenger liner that sank on her maiden voyage after a collision with an iceberg in 1912; however, until now little mention has been made about the intricate world of the ship’s complement, which comprised more than the total of third-class passengers alone. Titanic researcher Günter Bäbler examines in detail the working structure of the crew, including the complex arrangement of the engineering department and information on tips, salaries and hidden bonuses, while each of the 899 crew members on board is mentioned. This valuable study breathes life into the forgotten but significant story of the ship and its relationship to its crew, of whom over 75 per cent died when Titanic sank.
£13.07
The History Press Ltd The Pottery Gardener: Flowers and Hens at the Emma Bridgewater Factory
The Emma Bridgewater factory is a thriving visitor attraction and a mecca for lovers of its iconic pottery; but tucked within is a walled garden bursting with nectar-rich, jazzy-toned flowers and hen houses of rare-breed chickens. In this beautiful book, the site’s gardener, florist and poultry keeper Arthur Parkinson descriptively and visually shares his stunning work. With seasonal tips on container planting, plant profiles and helpful guides to keeping fowl and flower-arranging, The Pottery Gardener is sure to delight gardeners, hen fanciers and Emma Bridgewater fans alike.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd House Histories: The Secrets Behind Your Front Door
In House Histories, Britain’s leading house historian uncovers the hidden stories and secrets of ordinary and extraordinary houses across the country. The wide range of houses, from workers’ cottages to aristocratic mansions, offers a unique insight into our social and architectural history. Tudor farmhouses, Georgian town houses, modernist twentieth-century designs and converted factories all have a tale to tell. Melanie Backe-Hansen digs into the past of homes once occupied by famous figures such as H.G. Wells and Benjamin Disraeli, ‘Miss Moneypenny’ and the Second World War SOE recruits. Details of the daily lives of ordinary people emerge from the railway and fishermen’s cottages or silk weavers’ terraces in which they lived. From Hampstead Garden Suburb to the slum clearances of Manchester’s Hulme, the reader is taken through the centuries of change experienced by each house, exploring past occupants and architectural alterations. Entries are illustrated with a range of historic maps, photographs, prints, archive records and contemporary images. As a nation we are obsessed by property: prices, interior design and restoration, and the creation of a home. Now there is another avenue to explore: your house’s history. House Histories helps readers get started by outlining the main research sources and how to use them.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd The Cavalry that Broke Napoleon: The King’s Dragoon Guards at Waterloo
On 18 June 1815, Napoleon and Wellington took to the fields of Waterloo for one final, decisive battle – a battle that would put an end to over two decades of warfare and determine the fate of Europe. Yet, little is known about the significant contribution made by the 1st or King’s Dragoon Guards who, ultimately, helped deny Napoleon victory. As a regiment, the KDG was the greatest contributor to the charge, made by the British heavy cavalry, fielding nearly half of the Household Brigade’s sabres, but it also made the biggest sacrifice. In successfully repelling the main French assault of the day it paid a heavy price: of the 540 men who bravely fought, only thirteen of its number were still standing at the close of the battle. With the regiment severely depleted at the end of the fighting, it did not make sense for the officers and sergeants to dine separately, as was the custom. So they ate together, a tradition that continues to this day, every 18 June, with the KDG’s descendant regiment 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards. Here, Richard Goldsbrough tells the remarkable story of the KDG before, during and after the Battle of Waterloo.
£10.99
The History Press Ltd Bedlam: London's Hospital for the Mad
Bethlem Hospital is the oldest mental institution in the world, to many famously known as ‘Bedlam’: a chaotic madhouse that brutalised its patients. Paul Chambers explores the 800-year history of Bethlem and reveals fascinating details of its ambivalent relationship with London and its inhabitants, the life and times of the hospital’s more famous patients, and the rise of a powerful reform movement to tackle the institution’s notorious policies. Here the whole story of Bethlem Hospital is laid bare to a new audience, charting its well-intended beginnings to its final disgrace and reform.
£12.02
The History Press Ltd Jewish Folk Tales in Britain and Ireland
In this book of folk tales, Liz Berg shares Jewish memories: authentic tales, songs and jokes told by Jews in Britain and Ireland. Some stories moved from place to place, changing and adapting to new landscapes and taking on different textures, but the core of the story stays the same and is preserved through oral storytelling and recorded on these pages. Here are tales from the time of Domitian’s Jewish slaves working in the tin mines of Cornwall, through to the tales being told in communities today, all incorporating the wit and magic of a rich and varied culture successfully integrated into Britain and Ireland.
£13.60
The History Press Ltd prettycitylondon: The Colouring Book
Hidden away in the hustle and bustle of London are a surprising number of pockets of calm – quiet mews, flower-strewn houses on tree-lined streets, and magical shops and eateries that can still the mind and ease the stresses of a busy day. This world is brought ever closer in prettycitylondon: The Colouring Book, making it perfect to unwind with for adults and children alike. Allow the stunning, intricate images and helpful descriptions to whisk you away to a world of pastels and peace, and colour the calm back into your day.
£12.99
The History Press Ltd Women of the Durham Coalfield in the 19th Century: Hannah’s Story
The success of the Durham Coalfield and its important role in the Industrial Revolution is attributed to men of influence who owned the land and the pits, and men who worked in the coal-mining industry during the Victorian period. There has been very little written about the importance of the home life that supported the miners - their wives who, through heroic efforts, did their best to provide attractive, healthy, happy home for their husbands, often in appalling social conditions. To provide a welcoming atmosphere at home demanded tremendous resources and commitment from the miners' wives. Despite their many hardships these women selflessly put everyone in the family before themselves. They operated on less rest, less food at times of necessity and under the huge physical burden of work and the emotional burden of worry concerning the safety of their family. Women of the Durham Coalfield in the 19th Century: Hannah's Story addresses the lack of information about the role of women in the Durham Coalfield, engagingly explored through one woman's experience.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd A History of the World with the Women Put Back In
‘Who says that daughters cannot be heroic?’ Once upon a time, history was written by men, for men and about men. Women were deemed less important, their letters destroyed, their stories ignored. Not any more. This is the story of women who went to war, women who stopped war and women who stayed at home. The rulers. The fighters. The activists. The writers. This is the story of Wu Zetian, who as ‘Chinese Emperor’ helped to spread Buddhism in China. This is the story of Genghis Khan’s powerful daughters, who ruled his empire for him. This is the story of Christine de Pizan, one of the earliest feminist writers. This is the story of Victoria Woodhull, who ran for president before she could even vote for one. This is the story of the world – with the women put back in.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd East Lothian Folk Tales for Children
East Lothian's landscape has mysterious and intriguing stories sewn into it. This collection of tales has witches and wizards, magical creatures and eerie happenings. There are dragons, faeries, ghosts and selkies. You will be whispered secrets by an ancient tree, discover why the Skeleton Boy made his home in Hanging Rock Cave, and how a rat became more than just a rat. With specially selected stories for the enjoyment of 7- to 11-year-old readers, there is something to delight and amuse in every tale.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd Torn Apart: Fifty Years of the Troubles, 1969-2019
In the early twentieth century there was a war brewing on Britain’s doorstep. Northern Ireland was filled with discrimination and suspicion, a sense of foreboding that would soon erupt into full-blown rioting. As the fiftieth anniversary of the Troubles approaches, Ken Wharton takes a thorough look at the start of the Troubles, the precursors and the explosion of violence in 1969 that would last until the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. In all, the Troubles cost 50,000 casualties and nearly 2,000 civilians’ lives across Northern Ireland, the Republic and England. Utterly condemnatory of the paramilitaries, Wharton pulls no punches in his assessment of the situation then and seeks to dismiss apologists today. His sympathy lies first with those tasked with keeping order in the province, but also with the innocent civilians caught up in thirty years of bloodshed. Torn Apart is an in-depth look at the start of the Troubles, looking at the seminal moments and Northern Ireland today using the powerful testimony of those who were there at the time.
£22.50
The History Press Ltd London's Docklands: An Illustrated History
London has always been a bustling place of trade; once the docks teemed with men, ships and goods from all over the world. Now all has been transformed: starting at Canary Wharf and continuing at the Royal Docks, a vibrant new area has sprung into existence providing commerce, housing, shops and restaurants. In London's Docklands the author takes you on a journey though the historical development of the area. He outlines life at the docks, the troubled industrial relations, their heyday as the hub of the Empire's trade and their eventual demise. Discover a collection of unique buildings, hidden tunnels, pioneering voyages and historical riverside pubs.
£18.00
The History Press Ltd Standing in the Wings: The Beatles, Brian Epstein and Me
Joe Flannery has been described as the ‘Secret Beatle’, and as the business associate and partner of Brian Epstein, he became an integral part of The Beatles’ management team during their rise to fame in the early 1960s.Standing in the Wings is Flannery’s account of this fascinating era, which included the controversial dismissal of Pete Best from the group (nothing to do with London, but matters back in Liverpool), Brian Epstein’s fragility, and the importance of the Star Club in Hamburg. This book is not simply a biography, as it also considers issues to do with sexuality in 1950s Liverpool, the vagaries of the music business at that time and the hazards of personal management in the ‘swinging sixties’. At its heart, Standing in the Wings provides an in-depth look at Flannery’s personal and professional relationship with Epstein and his close links with the Fab Four. Shortly before John Lennon’s murder in 1980, it was Flannery who was one of the last people in the UK to talk to the great man. Indeed, Flannery remains one of the few ‘Beatle people’ in Liverpool to have the respect of the surviving Beatles, and this is reflected in this timely and revealing book.
£15.99
The History Press Ltd The Man City Miscellany
The ultimate book of Blues trivia, The Man City Miscellany is full of weird and wonderful facts. Including: * The only goalkeeper to have scored for City, * The name of Clive Allen’s dog, * The identity of the City player who played with a toothpick in the corner of his mouth, * Who is the ‘Invisible Man’ the City fans sing about?"I rang my secretary and said 'what time do we kick off tonight?' and she said 'every 10 minutes.'" - Alan Ball during his troubled reign of City, 1996"Apparently, decapitation is no longer a capital offence." - Joe Royle reacts to an unpunished tackle on Kevin Horlock, 1998Packed with random Man City facts, stats, lists, tables, anecdotes and quotes, from the club's record scorer to the bizarre name of the club cat, this is the ultimate trivia book for every City fan’s bookshelf.
£9.99
The History Press Ltd London Underground: Architecture, Design and History
The seminal and pioneering London Underground is more than a mass transportation network – it is a style icon, its history involving some of the most important architects and artists of their time. Exploring Frank Pick’s vision through the development of Metroland to Holden’s innovative designs, David Long expertly weaves the story of the Underground – its abundance of characters (some good, some not so good), design firsts and brand identity – with Jane Magarigal’s atmospheric photography. From suburban expansion to Blitz bombings and Soviet adulation, this book celebrates what remains a magnificent engineering and aesthetic achievement while providing an affectionate if slightly elegiac portrait of a London which is now gone for good.
£14.99
The History Press Ltd The Little History of Yorkshire
There is nothing ‘little’ about the history of England’s largest county, Yorkshire! However, this small volume condenses a rich history into a collection of stories and facts that will make you marvel at the events this county has witnessed, from Mesolithic roots to Roman heritage, from medieval splendour to the industrial revolution and beyond. Discover the development of the woolen industry in Leeds, the coal, textile and steel industries in Sheffield and Rotherham, and the rise of spa towns at Harrogate and Scarborough. Take a journey through the historic - and heroic! - struggles and celebrations of past Yorkshire people, or jump into the era of your choice to discover the who, what and why of our county’s history.
£12.00