Search results for ""author roy"

The Edinburgh Art Book showcases one of the most beautiful cities in the world through the eyes of its artists. There is so much to wonder at in this lovely book. Its enthusiasm reveals a passion for both contemporary art and the lovely city of Edinburgh and it will renew memories and inspire visits and revisits to all its haunts. The Edinburgh Art Book is a pocket-sized gallery of the city's incredible treasures, and a charming, colourful homage to Edinburgh’s iconic monuments and most beautiful spots, as seen through the eyes of its artists. There is even a map in the book to encourage you to walk around the city and see how the artists have interpreted the buildings and the sites that inspired them. Some of the treasures picture include: - Affectionate depictions of the Royal Mile and The Mound and quirky images of lofty monuments that will raise a smile. - Childhood memories evoked by the fun and colourful images of the seaside at Portobello and sledges in the snow at Warrander Park. - Intimate portraits of shady corners in Stockbridge and sunlit alleys in Circus Lane

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Whitaker's 2021 contains a comprehensive explanation of every aspect of national and local government infrastructure in the UK, astronomical and tidal data for 2021, guides to UK law, education and taxation, overviews of the water, energy and transport industries, essential calendar information, chapters on royalty and peerage, complete results for each constituency from the last UK General Election and an up-to-date list of MPs, government departments and public bodies, directory listings of trade unions and professional bodies, sports results and records, reviews of the year 2019-20 - covering the arts, science and politics - and monthly summaries of the year's news. Whitaker's is also an excellent introduction to world politics with in-depth profiles of international organisations, the European Union and every country of the world.A totally unique combination of every aspect of UK infrastructure, current affairs, world politics, history, finance, astronomical data and reviews of the year, 'Whitaker's remains the most comprehensive compendium of information in the English language' (Jon Snow) and will save hours of research and cross-referencing between different sources.

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This timely follow-up to Conway’s highly successful Marine Art of Geoff Hunt (2004) presents the considerable artistic output of Britain’s leading marine painter since 2003. This new volume is heavily illustrated with images ranging from large paintings to sketchbook drawings with text written by the artist himself. The new book reflects Hunt's developing career during a time in which he served a five-year term as President of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, worked on large-scale paintings such as the definitive Mary Rose,and also completed numerous outdoor sketches and paintings. The book is divided into six sections: 1. The Sea Painter's World, an introduction to the artist's studio work at Merton Place, London and his plein air work on the River Thames; 2. Home Waters; 3. The Mediterranean; 4. In the Wake of Nelson; 5. North America and 6. The West Indies and Beyond. This concept sets Geoff's work in a broadly geographical context, showcasing the artist's freer plein air style alongside the exhaustively researched maritime history paintings to which he owes his standing as Britain’s leading marine artist.

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This fully illustrated history is divided geographically according to the sequence of succeeding Thai kingdoms. Each section follows a historical chronology, covering accounts of major events during each reign, with an assessment of the character of individual kings and their particular achievements, together with those of other major players. This record of events is blended with descriptive passages about monuments surviving today that are relevant to and help illuminate the history. Political development is thus paralleled by Thailand's cultural development, especially in relation to the religious and royal architecture. Thailand's historical progression has been complex, and although the foundations of national identity - religion and monarchy in particular - were established in the earliest days of statehood dating back to the 13th century, it is only in comparatively recent times that all elements - social, political, cultural and linguistic - have cohered into what is recognizable today as Thai and Thailand. By linking the text to existing landmarks the history provides both an enjoyable read in its own right and a fascinating guide to the monuments and buildings that visitors can see on their travels around the country.

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In 1813 George Walton joined the Rifle Brigade at a recruiting party outside St Philip's Church in Birmingham and subsequently kept a journal of his daily life throughout the years of his army service until 1839 when he retired. George's narrative gives us a fascinating ism insight into the life of an ordinary soldier of that time as he served on the front line before becoming a schoolmaster sergeant, travelling all over the UK and Ireland. What is particularly remarkable is George's eyewitness description of the Battle of Waterloo from the perspective of a soldier involved in the fighting who lived to tell the tale! Later chapters explain what became of George after his military service, including the astonishing matrimonial scandal in which he was the injured party. With British armed forces, including George's beloved Rifles, still putting their lives at risk on active service, George's family feel that he would be happy that this record of his experiences could in a small way help today's servicemen and women. Therefore royalties from this, publication will be donated to charities and organisations which support our armed forces.

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In OSCAR WILDE AND THE NEST OF VIPERS, the fourth in Gyles Brandreth's acclaimed Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries series featuring Oscar Wilde and Arthur Conan Doyle, the Prince of Wales asks Oscar to investigate a scandalous crime at the very heart of Victorian high society. 'Intelligent, amusing and entertaining' Alexander McCall Smith The story opens in the spring of 1890 at a glamorous reception hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Albemarle. All London's haut monde is there, including the Prince of Wales, who counts the Albemarles as close friends. Although it is the first time Oscar and Bertie have met, Oscar seems far more interested in Rex LaSalle, a young actor, who disarmingly claims to be a vampire.However, what begins as a diverting evening ends in tragedy. As the guests are leaving, the Duchess is found murdered, two tiny puncture marks in her throat. No one has entered the house; no one has left. Desperate to avoid another scandal, the Prince of Wales asks Oscar to investigate the crime. What he discovers threatens to destroy the very heart of the Royal Family.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY INSIGHT INVESTMENT SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2019.'An accessible primer on all things quantum' - Sunday TimesQuantum physics is strange. It tells us that a particle can be in two places at once. Indeed, that particle is also a wave, and everything in the quantum world can be described entirely in terms of waves, or entirely in terms of particles, whichever you prefer. All of this was clear by the end of the 1920s. But to the great distress of many physicists, let alone ordinary mortals, nobody has ever been able to come up with a common sense explanation of what is going on. Physicists have sought 'quanta of solace' in a variety of more or less convincing interpretations. Popular science master John Gribbin takes us on a delightfully mind-bending tour through the 'big six', from the Copenhagen interpretation via the pilot wave and many worlds approaches. All of them are crazy, and some are more crazy than others, but in this world crazy does not necessarily mean wrong, and being more crazy does not necessarily mean more wrong.

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_______________‘One of the best books yet written on data and algorithms. . .deserves a place on the bestseller charts.’ (The Times) You are accused of a crime. Who would you rather determined your fate – a human or an algorithm?An algorithm is more consistent and less prone to error of judgement. Yet a human can look you in the eye before passing sentence.Welcome to the age of the algorithm, the story of a not-too-distant future where machines rule supreme, making important decisions – in healthcare, transport, finance, security, what we watch, where we go even who we send to prison. So how much should we rely on them? What kind of future do we want?Hannah Fry takes us on a tour of the good, the bad and the downright ugly of the algorithms that surround us. In Hello World she lifts the lid on their inner workings, demonstrates their power, exposes their limitations, and examines whether they really are an improvement on the humans they are replacing.A BBC RADIO 4: BOOK OF THE WEEKSHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE AND 2018 ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE

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A #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller. Every time Gwen closed her eyes, she saw him in her nightmares. Now her eyes are open, and he’s not going away. Gwen Proctor won the battle to save her kids from her ex-husband, serial killer Melvin Royal, and his league of psychotic accomplices. But the war isn’t over. Not since Melvin broke out of prison. Not since she received a chilling text… You’re not safe anywhere now. Her refuge at Stillhouse Lake has become a trap. Gwen leaves her children in the protective custody of a fortified, well-armed neighbor. Now, with the help of Sam Cade, brother of one of Melvin’s victims, Gwen is going hunting. She’s learned how from one of the sickest killers alive. But what she’s up against is beyond anything she feared—a sophisticated and savage mind game calculated to destroy her. As trust beyond her small circle of friends begins to vanish, Gwen has only fury and vengeance to believe in as she closes in on her prey. And sure as the night, one of them will die.

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'Pratchett uses his other world to hold up a distorting mirror to our own . . . he is a satirist of enormous talent' The Times The Discworld is very much like our own - if our own were to consist of a flat planet balanced on the back of four elephants which stand on the back of a giant turtle, that is . . . ___________________'Destiny is important, see, but people go wrong when they think it controls them. It's the other way around.' Three witches - Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick - have gathered on a lonely heath. A king has been cruelly murdered, his throne usurped by his ambitious cousin. An infant heir and the crown of the kingdom, both missing . . . Witches don't have these kind of dynastic problems themselves – in fact, they don’t have leaders. Granny Weatherwax was the most highly-regarded of the leaders the witches don't have. But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more complicated than certain playwrights would have you believe . . . ___________________The Discworld novels can be read in any order but Wyrd Sisters is the second book in the Witches series.

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A Puffin Book - stories that last a lifetime.THE FAMILY FROM ONE END STREET by Eve Garnett is the story of everyday life in the big, happy Ruggles family who live in the small town of Otwell. Father is a dustman and Mother a washerwoman. Then there's all the children - practical Lily Rose, clever Kate, mischievous twins James and John, followed by Jo, who loves films, little Peg and finally baby William. A truly classic book awarded the Carnegie Medal as the best children's book of 1937.Eve Garnett was born in 1900 in Worcestershire, and studied art at Chelsea Polytechnic and the Royal Academy School of Art. Whilst a student, she sketched the people of the East End slums and was haunted by the poverty she had witnessed, resolving to do something to bring the plight of the working-class family to people's attention. The Family from One End Street was originally published by Frederick Muller in 1937, followed by The Further Adventures of the Family from One End Street in 1956, and Holiday at Dew Drop Inn in 1962. She died in 1991.

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Before George R. R. Martin there was Dorothy Dunnett . . . PERFECT for fans of A Game of Thrones. 'She is a brilliant story teller, The Lymond Chronicles will keep you reading late into the night, desperate to know the fate of the characters you have come to care deeply about.' The Times Literary SupplementPawn in Frankincense is the fourth book in the series -----------------------------'It seems to me that on the whole we run more risks with Mr Crawford's protection than without it . . .'It is 1552 and the royal galley Dauphine, under the command of Francis Crawford of Lymond, sails the glittering but dangerous Mediterranean looking for a lost son. Yet as the search grows more urgent, Lymond knows he is being drawn deeper into the intricate web of his enemy Gabriel, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St John, who is already weaving a subtle tapestry of revenge.It is a journey that will lead Lymond to Constantinople and the court of Suleiman the Magnificent where a terrible game will be played with deadly and incalculable consequences . . .'Marvellous, breathtaking' The Times 'Melodrama of the most magnificent kind' The Guardian

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Read the thrilling, tempestuous story of the 'first' Queen of England. Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror, was the first woman to be crowned Queen of England and formally recognised as such by her subjects. Beyond this, however, little is known of her. No contemporary images of her remain, and the chroniclers of her age left us only the faintest clues as to her life. Who was this spectral queen? In this first major biography, Tracy Borman sifts through the evidence to uncover an extraordinary story. Matilda was loving and pious, possessed strength, ambition and intelligence, and was fiercely independent. All of these attributes gave her unparalleled influence over William. Although Matilda would provide an inspiring template for future indomitable queens, these qualities also led to treachery, revolt and the fracturing of a dynasty. Matilda: Wife of the Conqueror, First Queen of England takes us from the courts of Flanders to the opulence of royal life in England. Alive with intrigue, rumour and betrayal, it illuminates for the first time the life of an exceptional, brave and complex queen pivotal to the history of England.

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**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER**An inventive biography of one of the most famous ships of all time - recently discovered off the coast of America- Endeavour is an alluring combination of history, adventure and science. From Johnson's Dictionary to campaigns for liberty, the Enlightenment was an age of endeavours. It was also the name given to a commonplace, coal-carrying vessel bought by the Royal Navy in 1768 for an expedition to the South Seas. No one could have guessed that Endeavour would go on to become the most significant ship in the history of British exploration. Endeavour famously carried Captain James Cook on his first great voyage, but her complete story has never been told before. Here, Peter Moore sets out to explore the different lives of this remarkable ship - from the acorn that grew into the oak that made her, to her rich and complex legacy.'Fascinating and richly detailed... Peter Moore has brought us an acute insight into the ship that carried some of the most successful explorers across the world. A fine book that's definitely worth exploring' MICHAEL PALIN

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A young sailor with the weight of the world on his shoulders, a brother in the line of fire, and the greatest naval battle of all time…Jutland, 1916: In the icy waters of the North Sea, the Royal Navy awaits the challenge of the Kaiser’s High Sea Fleet.Sub-lieutenant Nick Everard could never have imagined the terror he would face as his destroyer races to launch its torpedoes into the blazing guns of a horizon obscured by dreadnoughts.But when the steering-gear on HMS Warspite jams, it is up to Nick, along with his brother, Hugh, to save thousands of lives.Dramatic, action-packed and brimming with suspense, The Blooding of the Guns launches the epic career of Nicholas Everard, and is perfect for fans of C. S. Forrester, Max Hennessy and Alan Evans.Praise for Alexander Fullerton‘The most meticulously researched war novels that I have ever read’ Len Deighton‘His action passages are superb and he never puts a period foot wrong’ Observer‘The research is unimpeachable and the scent of battle quite overwhelming’ Sunday Times

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This title is packed with step-by-step colour photography & a comprehensive techniques section. Impress your friends and loved ones with your cake decoration skills - whatever the occasion. Ann Pickard sets out 25 fun and fabulous cakes that are ideal for that special celebration, including an enchanting fairy castle, a delightful Jack-in-the-box, mouth-watering chocolate ruffles, a Halloween Pumpkin, baby's cradle and a figgy pudding. No prior knowledge is needed - Ann has simplified the process in an ingenious way, so even beginners will be amazed by the fantastic results they can achieve following her fully illustrated step-by-step instructions. Making royal icing, covering the cake, creating a range of cake characters and piping hair and grass are just some of the basic techniques carried through the 25 projects that are suitable for the beginner to the more advanced cake maker. Whatever the occasion, the personal touch will mean so much more and the guest of honour will be delighted to receive a cake that has been custom-made just for them.

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WINNER OF THE 2023 WORLD FANTASY AWARD FOR BEST NOVELNothing complicates life like Death.Lanie Stones, the daughter of the Royal Assassin and Chief Executioner of Liriat, has never led a normal life. Born with a gift for necromancy and a literal allergy to violence, she was raised in isolation in the family’s crumbling mansion by her oldest friend, the ancient revenant Goody Graves.When her parents are murdered, it falls on Lanie and her cheerfully psychotic sister Nita to settle their extensive debts or lose their ancestral home—and Goody with it. Appeals to Liriat's ruler to protect them fall on indifferent ears… until she, too, is murdered, throwing the nation's future into doubt.Hunted by Liriat’s enemies, hounded by her family’s creditors and terrorised by the ghost of her great-grandfather, Lanie will need more than luck to get through the next few months—but when the goddess of Death is on your side, anything is possible.

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Securing the Commonwealth examines how eighteenth-century American writers understood the highly speculative financial times in which they lived. Spanning a century of cultural and literary life, this study shows how the era's literature commonly depicted an American ethos of risk taking and borrowing as the peculiar product of New World daring and the exigencies of revolution and nation building. Some of the century's most important writers, including Cotton Mather, Benjamin Franklin, Royall Tyler, Charles Brockden Brown, and Judith Sargent Murray, believed that economic and social commonwealth-and one's commitment to that commonwealth-might be grounded in indebtedness and financial insecurity. These writers believed a cash-poor colony or nation could not only advance itself through borrowing but also gain reputability each time it successfully paid off a loan. Equally important, they believed that debt could promote communality: precarious public credit structures could exact popular commitment; intricate financial networks could bind individuals to others and to their government; and indebtedness itself could evoke sympathy for the suffering of others. Close readings of their literary works reveal how these writers imagined that public life might be shaped by economic experience, and how they understood the public life of literature itself. Insecure times strengthened their conviction that writing could be publicly serviceable, persuading readers to invest in their government, in their fellow Americans, and in the idea of America itself.

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Brought back into print in the 1990s to wide acclaim, re-designed new editions of Robert van Gulik's Judge Dee Mysteries are now available.Written by a Dutch diplomat and scholar during the 1950s and 1960s, these lively and historically accurate mysteries have entertained a devoted following for decades. Set during the T'ang dynasty, they feature Judge Dee, a brilliant and cultured Confucian magistrate disdainful of personal luxury and corruption, who cleverly selects allies to help him navigate the royal courts, politics, and ethnic tensions in imperial China. Robert van Gulik modeled Judge Dee on a magistrate of that name who lived in the seventh century, and he drew on stories and literary conventions of Chinese mystery writing dating back to the Sung dynasty to construct his ingenious plots.Murder in Canton takes place in the year 680, as Judge Dee, recently promoted to lord chief justice, is sent incognito to Canton to investigate the disappearance of a court censor. With the help of his trusted lieutenants Chiao Tai and Tao Gan, and that of a clever blind girl who collects crickets, Dee solves a complex puzzle of political intrigue and murder through the three separate subplots "the vanished censor," "the Smaragdine dancer," and "the Golden Bell."An expert on the art and erotica as well as the literature, religion, and politics of China, van Gulik also provides charming illustrations to accompany his engaging and entertaining mysteries.

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It's been 45 years since the end of the Zurvan reign. The Earth is a peaceful planet where solar panels cover the deserts and green pastures feed communities who have phased out currency in place of a local trade system. Michael and Melody are benevolent Sararan leaders who have assembled a democratically elected council in Geneva to regulate the less populated world, but a darkness grows in the west. Letters from Native American tribes find their way to the council describing a disturbing resonance near Shaktis sunken palace. With the Zurvan Order having signed a treaty of alliance years before, the royal Immortal couple is puzzled as to the origin of this mysterious demonic signal. Meanwhile, Melody's ambassador finds who she believes to be the reincarnation of Pavonis: a young adventurous girl from the Balkans named Devonia. All Melody wants is a pupil to teach, but Michael wants a son, and becomes increasingly weary from both his wife's reluctance to bear children and his deteriorating mental state from engaging in shadow wars in Africa. Between Michael's perception of betrayal he feels from Melody, and his complex emotions regarding his forced indoctrination into the Zurvan Order almost a half century earlier, Michael seeks meaning at his mother's grave where a former enemy befriends him there; a woman who knew him at his darkest hour, her web of seduction spun and waiting...

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The German Tiger I and Tiger II (known to the Allies as the 'King Tiger' or 'Royal Tiger') were the most famous and formidable heavy tanks of the Second World War. In their day their awesome reputation inspired such apprehension among Allied soldiers that the weaknesses of these brilliant but flawed designs tended to be overlooked. Anthony Tucker-Jones, in this illustrated history, tells the story of their conception and development and reconsiders their operational history, and he dispels the legends and misunderstandings that have grown up around them. The Tigers were over-engineered, required raw materials that were in short supply, were time-consuming to manufacture and difficult to recover from the battlefield. Only around 1,300 of the Tiger I and fewer than 500 of the Tiger II were produced, so they were never going to make anything more than a local impact on the outcome of the fighting on the Western and Eastern fronts. Yet the myth of the Tigers, with their 88mm guns, thick armour and brutal profiles, has grown over time to the extent that they are regarded as the deadliest tanks of the Second World War. Anthony Tucker-Jones's expert account of these remarkable fighting vehicles is accompanied by a series of colour plates showing the main variants of the designs and the common ancillary equipment and unit markings. His book is an essential work of reference for enthusiasts.

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As a new wave of interplanetary exploration unfolds, a talented young planetary scientist charts our centuries-old obsession with Mars.'Beautifully written, emotive - a love letter to a planet' DERMOT O'LEARY, BBC Radio 2Mars - bewilderingly empty, coated in red dust - is an unlikely place to pin our hopes of finding life elsewhere. And yet, right now multiple spacecraft are circling, sweeping over Terra Sabaea, Syrtis Major, the dunes of Elysium and Mare Sirenum - on the brink, perhaps, of a discovery that would inspire humankind as much as any in our history. With poetic precision and grace, Sarah Stewart Johnson traces the evocative history of our explorations of Mars. She interlaces her personal journey as a scientist with tales of other seekers - from Galileo to William Herschel to Carl Sagan - who have scoured this enigmatic planet for signs of life and transformed it in our understanding from a distant point of light into a complex world. Ultimately, she shows how its story is also a story about Earth: it is a foil, a mirror, a tell-tale reflection of our own anxieties and yearnings to find - if we're lucky - that we're not alone.'Elegantly written and boundlessly entertaining' Sunday Telegraph'Beguiling' The Times'Johnson's prose swirls with lyrical wonder, as varied and multi-hued as the apricot deserts, butterscotch skies and blue sunsets of Mars' Anthony Doerr, New York Times Book Review'Elegantly crafted' Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal

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This innovative study reveals the creative world of a Native community. Once seminomadic hunters and gatherers who traveled by horse wagon, canoe, and dog sled, the Dene Tha of northern Canada today live in government-built homes in the settlement of Chateh. Their lives are a distinct blend of old and new, in which traditional forms of social control, healing, and praying entwine with services supplied by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a nursing station, and a Roman Catholic church. Many older cultural beliefs and practices remain: ghosts linger, reincarnating and sometimes causing deaths; past and future are interpreted through the Prophet Dance; “animal helpers” become lifelong companions and sources of power; and personal visions and experiences are considered the roots of true knowledge. Why and how are such striking beliefs and practices still vital to the Dene Tha? Drawing on extensive fieldwork at Chateh, anthropologist Jean-Guy Goulet delineates the interconnections between the strands of meaning and experience with which the Dene Tha constitute and creatively engage their world. Goulet’s insights into the Dene Tha’s ways of knowing were gained through directly experiencing their lifeway rather than through formal instruction. This experiential perspective makes his study especially illuminating, providing an intimate glimpse of a remarkable and enduring Native community.

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In the spring of 1940 Canada sent hundreds of highly trained volunteers to serve in Britain's Royal Air Force as it began a concerted bombing campaign against Germany. Nearly half of them were killed or captured within a year. This is the story of one of those airmen, as told through his own letters and diaries as well as those of his family and friends.Joey Jacobson, a young Jewish man from Westmount on the Island of Montreal, trained as a navigator and bomb-aimer in Western Canada. On arriving in England he was assigned to No. 106 Squadron, a British unit tasked with the bombing of Germany. Joey Jacobson's War tells, in his own words, why he enlisted, his understanding of strategy, tactics, and the effectiveness of the air war at its lowest point, how he responded to the inevitable battle stress, and how he became both a hopeful idealist and a seasoned airman. Jacobson's written legacy as a serviceman is impressive in scope and depth and provides a lively and intimate account of a Jewish Canadian's life in the air and on the ground, written in the intensity of the moment, unfiltered by the memoirist's reflection, revision, or hindsight. Accompanying excerpts from his father's diary show the maturation of the relationship between father and son in a dangerous time.

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The title of political theorist Alan L. Mittleman's captivating new book is drawn from the patriarch Jacob's blessing to his children and grandchildren. The blessing contains the promise that Judah will become a royal house, perhaps forever. Kings, of course, ceased in Israel, but politics did not. Regime replaced regime. National independence was compromised and lost, regained and lost again. Yet the attention to things political was never lost. Old texts were applied to new political realities. Political awareness and thought, constantly transformed and adapted to new historical exigencies, persisted among the Jews. In The Scepter Shall Not Depart from Judah, Mittleman looks at some of the central problems of political philosophy—such as fundamental rights and the common good—from the point of view of rabbinic Judaism. At the same time, he considers conceptual issues in Judaism—such as covenant and tradition—from the perspective of political philosophy. Mittleman's sources range from the ancient rabbis to contemporary political theorists, making this volume an important one for courses and research in both Jewish studies and political theory.

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First full-length examination of bastardy in Scotland during the period, exploring its many ramifications throughout society. The question of illegitimacy was as important and complex in Scotland as elsewhere in the Middle Ages. This book examines its legal, political, and social implications there between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. It explores illegitimacy in relation to royal succession and to the inheritance of ordinary estates; investigates the role it played in major political events; and considers how being, or having, a bastard affected the lives of elite women,and the careers of people in ecclesiastical life. Scotland's earliest surviving legal treatise, Regiam Majestatem, denied inheritance rights to offspring legitimated by the intermarriage of their parents, while the law of the Church regarded such children as legitimate and, by implication, capable of inheritance. The volume scrutinises the tension between these two positions, alongside contemporary evidence which provides new insights into legal theory and practice concerning inheritance and birth status. By contextualising illegitimacy within its socio-political as well as legal settings, it challenges existing assumptions about the meaning and significance of bastardy in the Scottish middle ages.

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In New World Drama, Elizabeth Maddock Dillon turns to the riotous scene of theatre in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world to explore the creation of new publics. Moving from England to the Caribbean to the early United States, she traces the theatrical emergence of a collective body in the colonized New World—one that included indigenous peoples, diasporic Africans, and diasporic Europeans. In the raucous space of the theatre, the contradictions of colonialism loomed large. Foremost among these was the central paradox of modernity: the coexistence of a massive slave economy and a nascent politics of freedom. Audiences in London eagerly watched the royal slave, Oroonoko, tortured on stage, while audiences in Charleston and Kingston were forbidden from watching the same scene. Audiences in Kingston and New York City exuberantly participated in the slaying of Richard III on stage, enacting the rise of the "people," and Native American leaders were enjoined to watch actors in blackface "jump Jim Crow." Dillon argues that the theater served as a "performative commons," staging debates over representation in a political world based on popular sovereignty. Her book is a capacious account of performance, aesthetics, and modernity in the eighteenth-century Atlantic world.

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A powerful reimagining of the world in which a young Charles Darwin developed his theory of evolution. When Charles Darwin returned to Britain from the Beagle voyage in 1836, the most talked-about scientific books of the day were the Bridgewater Treatises. This series of eight works was funded by a bequest of the last Earl of Bridgewater and written by leading men of science appointed by the president of the Royal Society to explore "the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God, as manifested in the Creation." Securing public attention beyond all expectations, the series offered Darwin’s generation a range of approaches to one of the great questions of the age: how to incorporate the newly emerging disciplinary sciences into Britain’s overwhelmingly Christian culture. Drawing on a wealth of archival and published sources, including many unexplored by historians, Jonathan R. Topham examines how and to what extent the series contributed to a sense of congruence between Christianity and the sciences in the generation before the fabled Victorian conflict between science and religion. Building on the distinctive insights of book history and paying close attention to the production, circulation, and use of the books, Topham offers new perspectives on early Victorian science and the subject of science and religion as a whole.

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Do you know who your enemies are? Your neighbor? Your boss? Your butcher? Your wife? Only the Voltarians know for sure. Theyve infiltrated our worldand theyre prepping it for a power play unlike any youve ever seen. Even Jettero Heller, a leading Voltarian, doesnt know whom he can trust. Beset by double crossing body doubles and backstabbing identity shifters, he discovers that the most dangerous battle of all is about to begin... against a most surprising enemy. In this web of espionage, intrigue and betrayal, even Voltarian Royal Combat Engineer Jettero Heller doesnt know who he can trust. Hes hard at work creating a gasoline substitute to fuel his 68 Caddy in a Long Island automobile racea development that could have dramatic consequences for the entire human race. As such, he poses a grave threat to the powers that be. Now, his treacherous fellow Voltarian, Soltan Gris, has formed a secret alliance with a cabal that includes a dirty DC politician, a ruthless billionaire industrialist and a mysterious media madman. Their mission: terminate Jettero Heller. Beset by double-crossing body doubles and backstabbing identity shifters, Heller discovers that the most dangerous battle of all is about to begin against THE ENEMY WITHIN.

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Winner of the 2019 Dzanc Prize for Fiction Set in small-town West Virginia in the twilight of the eighties, Call It Horses tells the story of three women—niece, aunt, and stowaway—and an improbable road trip. Frankie is an orphan (or a reluctant wife). Mave is an autodidact (or the town pariah). Nan is an artist (or the town whore). Each separately haunted, Frankie, Mave, and Nan—with a hound in tow—set out in an Oldsmobile Royale for Abiquiú and the desert of Georgia O’Keeffe, seeking an escape from everything they’ve known. Frankie records the journey in letters to her aunt Mave’s dead lover, a linguist named Ruth, sketching out her troubled life and her complicated relationship with Mave, who became her guardian when Frankie was orphaned at sixteen. Slowly, one letter at a time, Frankie exposes the ruins of herself and her fellow passengers: things that chase them, that died too soon, that never lived. With lush prose and brutal empathy, Frankie tells Ruth—and herself—the story of liminality experienced by a woman standing just outside of motherhood, fulfillment, and love.

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In May 2013 it will be exactly 1450 years since the arrival on Iona of Columba, the imperious and energetic Irishman of royal descent who founded its famous monastery and became Scotland's best known Celtic saint. To celebrate this important anniversary, Iona Cathedral Trust has commissioned a new book by the historian Rosalind K. Marshall. Using a wide variety of sources and taking into account the results of the most recent historical and archaeological research, she charts the many developments on Iona throughout the centuries, investigating why it has had such an enduring influence on Scottish life. In our own apparently secular age, thousands of people visit the tiny and remote Hebridean island each year to experience its unique atmosphere of tranquil spirituality. Columba's wood and wattle buildings have long since vanished, replaced by a Benedictine abbey of stone, but after the Reformation it fell into neglect, languishing for two hundred years as no more than a romantic ruin. In the early twentieth century, however, it was restored by the Church of Scotland's Iona Cathedral Trust and by the charismatic, controversial George MacLeod, founder of the Iona Community, an experiment in Christian living which flourishes to this day.

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What on Earth are the Voltarians up to now? Fast cars … and fast women. Start your engines! Voltarian Royal Officer Jettero Heller is putting the pedal to the metaland the action is about to shift into high gear. Behind the wheel of his souped-up Caddy, Hellers in a race against timenot to mention against suicide car bombers and accelerator bulletsand the fate of his top-secret mission hangs in the balance. But his greatest challenge is yet to come: a fight to the death high atop the Empire State Building. Meanwhile, Hellers sworn enemy Soltan Gris has his own battles to fight … and hes learning that, sometimes, love hurts. Especially in the hands of a couple of sadistic sweethearts named Miss Pinch and Candygirls who really get under his skin. When all is said and done, his only recourse is plastic surgery. But the operation takes a wicked turn, leaving him with more than he bargained for. Much, much more. Just call him Mr. Big Stuff. People of Earth take note: there is nothing more seductive, more tantalizing or more terrifying than AN ALIEN AFFAIR.

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Presents the best of the collection of African art and artefacts held by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The African art collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, offers a portal into the life and politics of a large and complex continent with a wealth of history and culture. The highlighted works in this volume have been selected to illuminate different societies and periods, and to offer an introduction to traditions within the wider field of African art. They are presented through the framework of their original contexts: refined bronze sculptures made for royal palaces, spiritual figures powerfully rendered in wood or stone for shrines, vibrant luxury textiles, masks for public celebrations, art made for export, and trenchant contemporary photography intended for global art markets. By examining the places where these objects were first encountered by viewers – the palaces of Mangbetu kings, the busy streets of Lagos, or a gallery in London – vivid stories emerge about who made, paid for, used and enjoyed these artworks. Taken together, they evoke the brilliance and variety of artistic traditions across a vast continent.

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On December 15, 1868, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius (1794–1868), Professor of Botany at the University of Munich and director of the Royal Botanic Garden, was carried to his grave in a coffin covered with fresh palm leaves. The fronds were a reference to his groundbreaking Natural History of Palms: a work in three volumes, published between 1823 and 1853. This encyclopedic treasury of 240 exquisite chromolithographic illustrations was based on von Martius’s expeditions through Brazil and Peru. From 1817 to 1820, he traveled over 2,250 km (1,400 miles) through the Amazon basin to investigate natural history and native tribes with zoologist Johann Baptist von Spix. The result was an unrivaled catalogue of all known genera of the palm family, outlining the modern classification of palms, describing all the palms of Brazil, and producing the first maps of palm biogeography. Von Martius’s folio is unusual in its inclusion of cross-sectioned diagrams, conveying the architecture of these mighty trees, which central Europeans would have found hard to imagine accurately. Equally remarkable are the color landscapes showing various palms—often standing alone in simple and elegant beauty.

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The graphic novel adaptations of the #1 New York Times bestselling Wings of Fire series continue to set the world on fire! Daring mission... or deadly mistake? Winter has been a disappointment to his royal IceWing family his whole life. When his sister, Icicle, runs away from Jade Mountain Academy, fleeing terrible crimes and possibly planning to commit more, Winter knows that they both need a second chance to make things right - if only he can find her. Winter's new clawmates, Moon, Qibli, and Kinkajou, won't let him make this dangerous journey alone. They don't seem to understand that IceWings, the most superior of all dragon tribes, can fix their own problems. When their search leads the dragonets straight into Queen Scarlet's vicious talons, Winter is grateful to have some help. But even the bravest dragons can't follow him to the Ice Kingdom, where he'll have to face the greatest threat of all: his own family. An epic dragon fantasy series for 9+ readers With vibrant and captivating illustrations by Mike Holmes, this is a one-of-a-kind reading experience The Wings of Fire series has been a New York Times bestseller

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A magical memoir about childhood in India by the daughter of Lord Louis and Edwina Mountbatten; a glimpse into the lives and loves of some of the 20th century's leading figures.Pamela Mountbatten was born at the end of the 1920s into one of Britain's grandest families. The daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten and his glamorous wife Edwina Ashley, she was brought up by nannies and governesses as she was often parted from her parents as they dutifully carried out their public roles. A solitary child, she learned to occupy her days lost in a book, riding or playing with the family's animals (which included at different times a honey bear, chameleons, a bush baby, two wallabies, a lion, a mongoose and a coati mundi). Her parents' vast social circle included royalty, film stars, senior service officers, politicians and celebrities. Noel Coward invited Pamela to watch him filming; Douglas Fairbanks Jr. dropped in for tea and Churchill would call for 'a word with Dickie'.After the war, Pamela truly came of age in India, while her parents were the Last Viceroy and Vicereine. This introduction to the country would start a life-long love affair with the people and the place.

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Kensington and Chelsea - one of the wealthiest spots on planet Earth - is also one of the most unequal. A short walk from Harrods, families cannot buy enough food to feed themselves. Desperate overcrowding is found in the shadow of ultraluxury property developments. A 20 minute bus ride across the borough can encompass a 30 year difference in life expectancy.Emma Dent Coad, a councillor in Kensington and Chelsea since 2006, and has spent her life fighting for those left behind in the Royal Borough. That fight became all the more urgent when, just a few days after she was unexpectedly and triumphantly elected MP for the area, the Grenfell Tower disaster occurred, illustrating to the country and the world just how neglected the most vulnerable members of our society had become.One Kensington lays bare the appalling degree of mismanagement and neglect that has made Kensington and Chelsea a grim symbol of an ever more divided country: a glimpse of a wider future of hollowed-out local government and cynical corruption. But through the depth of community connections and tireless political organising, it also suggests a potentially hopeful future for a new Britain.

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If ever there was a real pilot's aeroplane it was the Hunter, an outstanding multi-purpose aircraft which excelled in the roles of interceptor fighter, ground attack, reconnaissance, research vehicle and two-seater trainer, not to mention its dramatic displays in formation aerobatic performances. The Hawker Hunter is one of the world's greatest aircraft. For decades pilots have enthused about it, extolling the virtues of its smooth, aerodynamic lines, 4 x 30mm cannon, Rolls-Royce Avon engine, and its outstandingly honest handling characteristics combined with a lively performance. Who can ever forget the glory days of the unforgettable aerobatic displays with the Black Knights, Black Arrows and Blue Diamonds? This book vividly recalls operations in Europe with Fighter Command and 2nd TAF, and in Cyprus, the Middle East and the Far East, where Hunters in the ground-attack role operated against rebels in Aden and Malaysia respectively. The Hunter was undoubtedly a classic thoroughbred of its time from the stables of one of the finest fighter manufacturers in the world. Here, we read the details of it's fascinating story, told from the perspective of the men who actually flew this outstanding aircraft through history.

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A new era in world history began when Atlantic maritime trade among Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas opened up in the fifteenth century, setting the stage for massive economic and cultural change. In Making Money, Colleen Kriger examines the influence of the global trade on the Upper Guinea Coast two hundred years later—a place and time whose study, in her hands, imparts profound insights into Anglo-African commerce and its wider milieu. A stunning variety of people lived in this coastal society, struggling to work together across deep cultural divides and in the process creating a dynamic creole culture. Kriger digs further than any previous historian of Africa into the records of England’s Royal African Company to illuminate global trade patterns, the interconnectedness of Asian, African, and European markets, and—most remarkably—the individual lives that give Making Money its human scale. By inviting readers into the day-to-day workings of early modern trade in the Atlantic basin, Kriger masterfully reveals the rich social relations at its core. Ultimately, this accessible book affirms Africa’s crucial place in world history during a transitional period, the early modern era.

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No struggle has been more contentious or of longer duration in Mexican national history than that between a centripetal power in the capital and the centrifugal federalism of the Mexican states. Much as they do in the United States, such tensions still endure in Mexico, despite the centralising effect of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-20. Timothy E. Anna turns his attention upon the crucial postindependence period of 1821-35 to understand both the theoretical and the practical causes of the development of this polarity. He attempts to determine how much influence can be ascribed to such causes as the model of the United States, the effect of European thinkers, and the shifting self-interest of various leaders and groups in Mexican society. The result is a nuanced and thoughtful analysis of the development of one of the defining characteristics of the Mexican nation: regional power and sovereignty of the state. Forging Mexico, 1821-1835 is a study both of the political history of the first republic and of the struggle to forge nationhood. Timothy E. Anna is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Manitoba. His books include The Fall of the Royal Government in Mexico City and The Mexican Empire of Iturbide.

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Like most empires, the Ming court sponsored grand displays of dynastic strength and military prowess. Covering the first two centuries of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Martial Spectacles of the Ming Court explores how the royal hunt, polo matches, archery contests, equestrian demonstrations, and the imperial menagerie were represented in poetry, prose, and portraiture. This study reveals that martial spectacles were highly charged sites of contestation, where Ming emperors and senior court ministers staked claims about rulership, ruler-minister relations, and the role of the military in the polity. Simultaneously colorful entertainment, prestigious social events, and statements of power, martial spectacles were intended to make manifest the ruler’s personal generosity, keen discernment, and respect for family tradition. They were, however, subject to competing interpretations that were often beyond the emperor’s control or even knowledge. By situating Ming martial spectacles in the wider context of Eurasia, David Robinson brings to light the commensurability of the Ming court with both the Mongols and Manchus but more broadly with other early modern courts such as the Timurids, the Mughals, and the Ottomans.

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In the late nineteenth century a resurgent Jacobite movement emerged in Britain and the United States, highlighting the virtues of the Stuart monarchs in contrast to liberal, democratic, and materialist Victorian Britain and Gilded Age America. Compared with similarly aligned protest movements of the era – socialism, anarchism, nihilism, populism, and progressivism – the rise of Jacobitism receives little attention.Born in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Jacobitism had been in steep decline since the mid-eighteenth century. But between 1880 and 1910, Jacobite organizations popped up across Britain, then spread to the United States, publishing royalist magazines, organizing public demonstrations, offering Anglo-Catholic masses to fallen Stuart kings, and praying at Stuart statues and tombs. Michael Connolly explains the rise and fall of Anglo-American Jacobitism, places it in context, and reveals its significance as a response to and a driver of the political forces of the period. Understanding the Jacobite movement clarifies Victorian Anglo-American anxiety over liberalism, democracy, industrialization, and emerging modernity. In an age when worries over liberalism are again ascendant, Jacobitism in Britain and the United States, 1880–1910 traces the complex genealogy of this unease.

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Sharpen your knowledge of swords with Kristen B. Neuschel as she takes you through a captivating 1,000 years of French and English history. Living by the Sword reveals that warrior culture, with the sword as its ultimate symbol, was deeply rooted in ritual long before the introduction of gunpowder weapons transformed the battlefield. Neuschel argues that objects have agency and that decoding their meaning involves seeing them in motion: bought, sold, exchanged, refurbished, written about, displayed, and used in ceremony. Drawing on evidence about swords (from wills, inventories, records of armories, and treasuries) in the possession of nobles and royalty, she explores the meanings people attached to them from the contexts in which they appeared. These environments included other prestige goods such as tapestries, jewels, and tableware—all used to construct and display status. Living by the Sword draws on an exciting diversity of sources from archaeology, military and social history, literature, and material culture studies to inspire students and educated lay readers (including collectors and reenactors) to stretch the boundaries of what they know as the "war and culture" genre.

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A FLAME TREE SKETCHBOOK. Beautiful and luxurious, the sketchbooks combine high-quality production with magnificent art. Perfect as a gift, the thick paper stock makes them ideal for sketching and drawing. Features a wide range of well-known and modern artists, with new artworks published throughout the year. BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED. The highly crafted covers are printed on foil paper, embossed then foil stamped, complemented by the luxury binding and bookmark ribbons. The covers are created by our artists and designers who spend many hours transforming original artwork into gorgeous 3d masterpieces that feel good in the hand, and look wonderful on a desk or table. THE ARTIST. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous centre for botanical and mycological knowledge. Kew has a gallery dedicated to the paintings of the remarkable Victorian artist Marianne North, who had a great eye for botanical detail. She set out in 1871 on a painterly progress through world flora. North’s journey to South Africa was among her last, along with trips to the Seychelles and Chile. THE FINAL WORD. As William Morris said, "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

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The Black Dog Opera Library is the best, easiest and most informative and budget-friendly way to enjoy four of the greatest operas of all time. Finally available again, and packaged with gorgeous new covers, each book in the library includes the complete opera on 2 CDs, featuring world-class performances and orchestras; the complete libretto, plus its English translation; an exciting history of the opera; a biography of the composer; a synopsis of the story, broken down by act and scene; and dozens of photographs and drawings depicting performances, singers, sets, costumes, and more.The Marriage of Figaro features Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Heather Harper, Judith Blegen, Geraint Evans, Teresa Berganza, and Birgit Finnil?, with Daniel Barenboim conducting the English Chamber Orchestra.Also available:La Boh?me featuring Nicolai Gedda and Mirella Freni, with Thomas Schippers conducting the Orchestro e Coro del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma;?Carmen featuring Grace Bumbry, Jon Vickers, Mirella Freni, and Kostas Paskalis, with Rafael Fru?beck de Burgos conducting the Orchestra of the Th??tre National de l'Op?ra. La Traviata featuring Beverly Sills, Nicolai Gedda, and Rolando Panerai, with Aldo Ceccato conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.Listen. Enjoy. Learn.

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With details on everything from Big Ben to Brick Lane, this is the only guide a native or traveller needs. Whether you’ve called London your home for decades or just arrived last night, there’s information in the Not For TouristsGuide to London that you need to know. This map-based, neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood guide will help you master this amazing city like an expert. Packed with more than 150 maps and thousands of listings for restaurants, shops, theatres, and under-the-radar spots, you won’t find a better guide to London. Want to score tickets to a big Arsenal or Chelsea football match? NFT has you covered. How about royal sightseeing at Buckingham Palace? We’ve got that, too. The best Indian restaurant, theatre experience, bookstore, or cultural site—whatever you need—NFT puts it at your fingertips. This light and portable guide also features: An invaluable street index Profiles of more than one hundred neighbourhoods Listings for museums, landmarks, the best shopping, and more You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to solve the mysteries of London; NFT has all the answers!

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Susan Elia MacNeal introduced the remarkable Maggie Hope in her acclaimed debut, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary. Now, as World War II sweeps the continent and England steels itself against German attack, Maggie Hope, former secretary to Prime Minister Winston Churchill, completes her training to become a spy for MI-5. Spirited, strong-willed, and possessing one of the sharpest minds in government for mathematics and code-breaking, she fully expects to be sent abroad to gather intelligence for the British front. Instead, to her great disappointment, she is dispatched to go undercover at Windsor Castle, where she will tutor the young Princess Elizabeth in math. Yet castle life quickly proves more dangerous—and deadly—than Maggie ever expected. The upstairs-downstairs world at Windsor is thrown into disarray by a shocking murder, which draws Maggie into a vast conspiracy that places the entire royal family in peril. And as she races to save England from a most disturbing fate, Maggie realizes that a quick wit is her best defense, and that the smallest clues can unravel the biggest secrets, even within her own family.

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Following his resignation from the Government after the disastrous Gallipoli campaign, Winston Churchills political career stalled. Never one to give in, Churchill was determined to continue fighting the enemy. He was already a Major in the Territorial Reserve and he was offered promotion to Lieutenant Colonel and with it command of a battalion on the Western Front. On 5 January 1916, Churchill took up his new post with the 6th (Service) Battalion, Royal Scots Fusiliers. The battalions adjutant was Captain Alexander Dewar Gibb who formed a close relationship with Churchill that lasted far beyond their few weeks together in the war. Dewar Gibb subsequently wrote an account of his and Churchills time together in the trenches. Packed with amusing anecdotes and fascinating detail, Gibbs story shows an entirely different side to Churchills character from the forceful public figure normally presented to the world. Churchill proved to be a caring and compassionate commander and utterly fearless. Despised on his arrival, by the time he departed he was adored by his men. Supplemented with many of Churchills letters, the observations of other officers and additional narrative this is the most unusual and absorbing account of this part of Churchill's life that has ever been told.

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