Search results for ""amberley publishing""

This illustrated history portrays one of England’s finest counties. It provides a nostalgic look at Somerset’s past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites. The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England’s archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts. Somerset has a huge variety of landscapes, the flat marshlands of the Somerset Levels contrasting with the Mendip, Quantock and Blackdown Hills and the moorlands of Exmoor, as well as a coastline along the Bristol Channel. Somerset was an important part of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex and the region became prosperous in the Middle Ages through the wool trade. Although coal mining was developed in the north of the county and Yeovil became a centre of the aircraft and defence industries, much of Somerset is still largely rural, with the county town of Taunton in the heart of the county. Somerset draws many visitors to its historic attractions, not least the city of Bath with its Roman remains and Georgian architecture, the cathedral city of Wells and the town of Glastonbury with its striking Tor and abbey ruins. This book will help the reader to discover its remarkable history.

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This is an illustrated history of England’s largest and most historically diverse county. It provides a nostalgic look at Yorkshire’s ancient, medieval and industrial past, and highlights some of its most important historic sites, as well as the changing face of its towns and cities. The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England’s archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts. Historic England: Yorkshire will explore the four corners of the county from the industrial centre of Sheffield to the beauty of historic York. Yorkshire is a county of huge contrasts with vast swathes of unspoilt, beautiful countryside, littered only with picturesque villages, and long stretches of ever-changing coastline. West Yorkshire towns like Huddersfield, Halifax and Bradford were the beating heart of the Industrial Revolution and the steel towns of South Yorkshire like Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield were fuelled by the coal mining industry. The county contains two national parks, the North Yorkshire Moors and the Yorkshire Dales, both Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is also filled with historic castles, cathedrals and abbeys, including Richmond Castle, Fountains Abbey and York Minster. This book will help you to uncover its vibrant and fascinating history.

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This illustrated history portrays one of England’s finest major cities. It provides a nostalgic look at Birmingham’s past and highlights the special character of some of its most important historic sites. The photographs are taken from the Historic England Archive, a unique collection of over 12 million photographs, drawings, plans and documents covering England’s archaeology, architecture, social and local history. Pictures date from the earliest days of photography to the present and cover subjects from Bronze Age burials and medieval churches to cinemas and seaside resorts. Birmingham has long been an important centre in the West Midlands but during the Industrial Revolution it grew to become England’s second city. The myriad of manufacturing businesses in Birmingham created a dynamic local economy and the city prospered. Although the town was heavily bombed in the Second World War and its infrastructure was badly damaged, the city was redeveloped post-war, with many areas being rebuilt from scratch. Birmingham continued to be regenerated in subsequent decades and today it is a powerful commercial city of international importance.

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Mary Tudor has always been known as ‘Bloody Mary’, the name given to her by later Protestant chroniclers who vilified her for attempting to re-impose Roman Catholicism in England. Although a more nuanced picture of the first queen regnant has since emerged, she is still stereotyped, depicted as a tragic and lonely figure, personally and politically isolated after the annulment of her parents’ marriage and rescued from obscurity only through the good offices of Katherine Parr. Although Henry doted on Mary as a child and called her his ‘pearl of the world’, her determination to side with her mother over the annulment both hurt him as a father and damaged perceptions of him as a monarch commanding unhesitating obedience. However, once Mary had finally been pressured into compliance, Henry reverted to being a loving father and Mary played an important role in court life. As Melita Thomas points out, Mary was a gambler – and not just with cards. Later, she would risk all, including her life, to gain the throne. As a young girl of just seventeen she made the first throw of the dice, defiantly maintaining her claim to be Henry’s legitimate daughter against the determined attempts of Anne Boleyn and the king to break her spirit.

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Stationary steam engines were the quiet powerhouses of the Industrial Revolution. They provided the driving force behind every manufacturing process for well over a century, as well as drainage of mines and allowing clean water supplies for the majority of our towns and cities. From a small sewage pump at the edge of a field of a few horsepower, to a 12,000 horsepower leviathan rolling armoured plate for battleships, these wonders of the steam age kept working for many decades, unseen by many, but often loved by the men who operated and maintained them. The engine houses they were kept in could be plain or ornate, and a rich variety of boilers provided the steam for them. This book looks at all of these aspects and what it was like to run a large steam engine for industry. The legacy of these iron giants is seen in the dozens of engines preserved for posterity all over the UK, in museums or in their original locations, giving thousands of people the chance to see them or enjoy getting involved in their preservation. This book is part of the Britain’s Heritage series, which provides definitive introductions to the riches of Britain’s past, and is the perfect way to get acquainted with stationary steam engines in all their variety.

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St Albans has a long and fascinating history from its pre-Roman settlement as Verlamion, through the Roman municipium of Verulamium, the Benedictine monastery dedicated to Alban, the first British Christian martyr, to the charter borough and market created by Edward VI in 1553 and the city designated by royal edict in 1877. The town’s location on the ancient Watling Street linking London with the Midlands and the North West has ensured its significance in each of these periods. In this book, local author Kate Morris portrays episodes in the social life of the charter borough and market, when the town gained in popularity with City merchants and professional folk, often as their ‘second home’. Morris reveals lesser-known events and characters of the Early Modern period of the town’s history. Some of the tales and happenings revealed are not untypical of those in other English towns, but their telling in this context will appeal to all those with an interest in St Albans and its history, and the book’s period illustrations and modern photography will delight.

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In The End of the Woodhead Route: Electric Trains Stop Here, transport historian Stephen Heginbotham takes a fresh look at this famous and much mourned route. Perhaps the most keenly missed stretch of track in the entire country, the possibility of the Woodhead Route being reopened remains an ever present issue when the state of the nation’s railways is discussed. Utilising a superb selection of previously unpublished photographs from the camera of Ian Blackburn, the true story behind this iconic part of the British landscape is told.

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Scotland boasts a huge variety of landscapes, from spectacular mountain and moorland scenery, beautiful lochs, remote islands and wonderful coastline, to its cultural heritage stretching back through the centuries from medieval times and earlier, its unspoilt towns and villages, through the impact of the Industrial Revolution to its dynamic cities of today. All of these legacies reveal a proud and fascinating country. In Scotland Revealed, photographer Shahbaz Majeed has captured the huge variety of scenery, natural and man-made, that makes Scotland special. For Scotland’s proud inhabitants and its many visitors this book is a must. Look through these photographs and you will quickly see why this stunning country has such enduring appeal.

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Covering industrial steam throughout the British Isles over several decades, the terrific photographs featured here, captured by David Letcher, document a period of our industrial development that is now long gone. Steam-powered workhorses helped turn Britain into an industrial powerhouse, and these wonderful photographs show these locomotives in a variety of settings – a long way from the steam heritage railways of today. Published for the first time here in a selection curated by transport author Stephen Heginbotham, the photographs offer a richly rewarding and nostalgic tribute to the final years of steam on our industrial railways.

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Like the railway industry in the nineteenth century, Britain was a major player in supplying the world with buses, particularly double-deckers. The principal contributors in the mid-twentieth century were AEC, Daimler and Leyland Motors. Buses were exported throughout the world either as complete vehicles or as a chassis with locally assembled bodywork completing the bus. As early as 1911, Leyland Motors sold five single-deck charabancs to Lisbon Tramways and three to Cape Town Electric Tramways. It says something for the endurance of the British-built chassis when examples of the Daimler CVG in Hong Kong and the AEC Regent III in Lisbon both managed to attain well over twenty-five years of service for their respective operators. As London Transport found itself with a surfeit of serviceable buses in the 1960s, hundreds of redundant RTs, RTLs and RTWs were snapped up by the Ceylon Transport Board. Redundant Atlanteans and Daimler Fleetlines found favour with both KMB and CMB while sixty AEC Swifts saw further service with the Public Transport Association (PTA) and the Education Department on the island of Malta. This book features previously unpublished photographs of British buses in China, India, South Africa, Portugal and Hong Kong.

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Author and historian David Paul brings us a selection of strange and mythical tales from across Yorkshire, from the Wolds, Dales and Moors to its lesser-known rural landscape, from the coast to its towns, villages and cities, including a whole range of places, events and people that are seldom mentioned in standard histories or guides. Interesting remains, strange happenings, hoaxes, witchcraft and incredible legends are all featured in Illustrated Tales of Yorkshire. Included is an unusual mix of the curious, the quaint and the mysterious, where even those who know this northern county well will find something new and surprising.

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Bhagat Singh was an Indian nationalist considered to be one of the most influential revolutionaries of the Indian independence movement. His reputation has outshone all participants in the struggle up to and almost including Mahatma Gandhi. Upon first hearing it, this seems incredible. He was only twenty-three when executed on the charge of murder, having already received a life sentence for bombing the Central Assembly in Delhi. But it must be remembered that pre-independence India had two rival approaches to the quest for freedom: one based on the creed of nonviolent Gandhism; the other a Marxist revolutionary call-to-arms movement championed by Bhagat Singh. Had he lived, the history of the Indian subcontinent would have been very different. In their attempt to punish Bhagat Singh, the British authorities used controversial legislative powers to make an Ordinance supposedly aimed at preserving ‘peace, order and good government’. This was used to try, convict and hang Bhagat Singh and two of his co-conspirators. The Ordinance was never approved by the Central Assembly, nor was it approved by British Parliament. A three-judge Special Tribunal was mandated to complete a hearing into the crimes of Bhagat Singh and his comrades within a fixed period. The 457 prosecution witnesses were not even allowed to be cross-examined.

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Whilst Richard I is one of medieval England’s most famous kings he is also the most controversial. He has variously been considered a great warrior but a poor king, a man driven by the quest for fame and glory but also lacking in self-discipline and prone to throwing away the short-term advantages that his military successes brought him. In this reassessment W. B. Bartlett looks at his deeds and achievements in a new light. The result is a compelling new portrait of ‘the Lionheart’ which shows that the king is every bit as remarkable as his medieval contemporaries found him to be. This includes his Muslim enemies, who spoke of him as their most dangerous and gallant opponent. It shows him to be a man badly let down by some of those around him, especially his brother John and the duplicitous French king Philip. The foibles of his character are also exposed to the full, including his complicated relationships with the key women in his life, especially the imposing contemporary figure of his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and his wife, Berengaria, with whom he failed to produce an heir, leading to later suggestions of homosexuality. This is a new Richard, one for the twenty-first century, and a re-evaluation of the life story of one of the greatest personalities of medieval Europe.

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Have you ever wondered what the Tudors ate? What was served at the courtly feasts of Henry VIII, or what kept peasants alive through the harsh winters of the sixteenth century? The Tudor Cookbook provides over 250 recipes from authentic period manuals for starters, mains, desserts and drinks, from chicken blancmange to white pease pottage with seal and porpoise. It even covers vegetarian dishes – the Tudors designed dishes of vegetables to look like meat to be cooked during religious festivals when abstinence from meat was required. A few of the more outlandish ingredients and methods of cooking are now illegal, but the rest of the recipes have been trialled; many are delicious and surprising.

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At a time of emerging women leaders, the life of Elizabeth Milbanke, Viscountess Melbourne, the shrewdest political hostess of the Georgian period, is particularly intriguing. It was Byron who called her ‘Lady M’ and it was Byron’s tempestuous and very public affair with Elizabeth’s daughter-in-law Lady Caroline Lamb that was the scandal of the age. Lady M rose above all adversity, using sex and her husband’s wealth to hold court among such glittering figures as Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, the Whig leader and wit Charles James Fox and the playwright Sheridan. Her many lovers included Lord Egremont, Turner’s wealthy patron, and the future George IV. Elizabeth schemed on behalf of her children and her ambitions were realised when her son William Lamb (‘Lord M’) became the young Queen Victoria’s confidant and Prime Minister. Based upon primary research - diaries, archives and extensive correspondence between Lady M and Lord Byron - Colin Brown examines the Regency period and its pre-Victorian code of morals from the perspective of a powerful and influential woman on the 200th anniversary of her death.

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London’s rail freight traffic is dictated by the geography of the city. When railways first came to London, each line was built by a different company seeking to link their area to the capital. There was no through service from one side of London to the other, and indeed the railway companies were prevented from entering the central area of the City and West End. In order to transfer freight traffic from one company to another, the various railway companies made links to the orbital North London Railway, which ran from Broad Street station in the east to Richmond in the south-west, and also had a route into the east London docks. Traffic from north to south London was dictated by the River Thames and the need to maintain height for navigation to the upriver docks and wharves. Thus there were no bridges east of London Bridge until Tower Bridge (road) opened in 1894, and no others until the QE2 bridge at Dartford (also road) opened in 1991. Most cross-river traffic, which these days includes traffic to and from the Channel Tunnel, used the route through Kensington Olympia and the river bridge at Chelsea. This book takes the freight routes around London geographically, in an anti-clockwise direction, starting in east London north of the Thames and ending in south-east London. It covers the period since 1985 when BR blue gave way to corporate sectors with different liveries and on into privatisation, and shows the various types of locomotives used, and freight traffic carried over this period.

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Love it or loathe it, the British press is a remarkable institution. Sometimes referred to as the fourth estate and accused of wielding power without responsibility, it has often been a channel for the dissemination of information that those at the top of the pyramid of power would rather stayed hidden. The press has also delighted in scraping the bottom of the barrel of public interest, deliberately manipulating facts and revelling in gossip and scandal. But where did this naughty child start? Ruth Herman takes the reader back to the early days of the British press. Grub Street follows the unsuccessful attempts of the government to strangle it at birth and looks at how an army of journalists found their feet and honed their craft. It considers the personalities who wrote fearlessly and the role played by some of English literature’s most famous names. Printers and booksellers played a big part in the development of the press, and they are given their own share of the limelight. Along with stories of sedition and insider trading, Grub Street looks at the remarkable variety of content that appeared in these early periodicals, including the earliest examples of writing targeted at women and the often bizarre or downright astonishing advertising that shared the same pages. There have always been two sides to the press: one that serves the greater good with noble intent, and another preoccupied with profit, scandal, and circulation. This is not a modern phenomenon.

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The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was American television at its best. In the sixties, spy series just didn’t come any cooler than this. Almost a direct result of the success of Bond in the cinemas, this series spawned a whole wave of copycat TV shows and its influence is still being felt today. The recent Kingsman films and comics owe more than a passing nod to the show for inspiration. A remarkable array of different products was issued in connection with this series - everything from bubblegum to wristwatches. Few other shows at this time came close to the range of products issued. There were quite possibly more U.N.C.L.E. products issued in the US alone, during the sixties, than for any other TV series being produced at that time. In this book the reader will find a vast array of those items.

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John Carlson takes a new look at the north-western rail scene. Focusing mainly on the years 1975 to 1985, this collection of around 180 colour and black-and white-images, almost all previously unpublished, takes a look the regions railways in the 1970s and 1980s. Captured here are images that encapsulate intercity expresses at speed and rest, show freight being shunted and hauled in yards and on main lines, and portray the enthusiasts and passengers that photograph and ride them. Although focusing on the region’s major railway centres, such as Carlisle, Preston and Manchester, branch lines and out of the way vantage points have not been neglected.

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Sir John Betjeman was born at the start of the twentieth century, and lived to become Poet Laureate, an accomplished writer and campaigner, and something of a national treasure. All his life he loved churches, which are woven into his poetic output. He wrote extensively about churches and architecture, telling a journalist in 1955 ‘If I have a mission, it is to show people things which are beautiful so that they will very soon realise what is ugly. When you look at things, instead of just looking through them, life starts absolutely crackling with interest and excitement.’ Now, Betjeman’s particular way of looking at churches is in danger of being lost in the face of a more academically driven and forensic art-historical approach. This book picks out some of the buildings, especially churches, which Betjeman was particularly fond of. It highlights and celebrates Betjeman’s more poetic, parochial and personal response to the built environment, and his evocation of the English parish church through the ordinary and the charm of hassocks, old incense and oil lamps. Highlighting his religious, aesthetic and social pre-occupations, this book is both gazetteer and commentary on his own particular vision of England and architecture, which deserves to be celebrated afresh.

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Two things made the battleship possible: the harnessing of steam for propulsion and Britain’s vast industrial power in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. With these two massive powerhouses available to ship designers, it was inevitable that change would come to the seas. For a short while France led the way with the launching of the Gloire, but Britain soon stole the limelight with the launch of HMS Warrior in 1863. The moment her keel hit the water the naval world was turned upside down and all other warships were rendered obsolete. But that event was as nought compared to the astonishing revolution in warship building caused by the launch in 1906 of the mighty Dreadnought. If Warriorhad caused a great upheaval, the impact of Dreadnought was positively Krakatoan. Such was her impact on the naval world that her very name became generic. All battleships built before her were classed as ‘pre-Dreadnought’ and all battleships built post-1906 came to be known as ‘Dreadnoughts’. This is their story.

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Whether your interest is police, fire, ambulance or associated emergency and rescue services, this fully illustrated book of nearly 200 images captures the 999 services of the west of England going about their daily business. Covering the region stretching from South Gloucestershire to Cornwall, and from Weston-super-Mare to the Hampshire border, West of England Emergency Service Vehicles often captures the emergency services responding live to incidents on land, sea and in the air. Complementing the police (including the Avon & Somerset, Dorset and Devon & Cornwall forces), fire and ambulance services are the RNLI and Coastguard, Air Ambulance, the Bristol Airport Fire Service and specialist vehicles such as the latest HART (Hazardous Area Response Team) vehicles and an Ebola ambulance as well as the Alcohol Recovery Unit and vintage preserved fire appliances. Following on from his London’s Emergency Service Vehicles, author Dave Boulter offers a real flavour of the modern emergency scene in the west of England, making this lavishly illustrated volume a must for anyone with an interest in emergency vehicles.

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Cambridge was at the forefront of the struggle for women to get the right to vote in Britain a century ago. Millicent Fawcett, who later became the national leader of the non-militant Suffragists and arguably one of the most influential women in Britain of the last 100 years, lived in Cambridge and founded the Cambridge Women’s Suffrage Association, and leading militant suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst also gave talks at riotous meetings in the city. Author Sue Slack has been researching the archives in Cambridge to write this account of the role that Cambridge women played in the struggle for votes for women from the late nineteenth century to the first Act of Parliament in 1918 that granted women over the age of thirty the right to the vote and the Act of 1928 that gave women equal voting rights to men. Alongside the famous names are accounts of the many other roles that women of Cambridge took up in the fight for the right to vote. Many were involved in work during the First World War, including the founder of the Save the Children Fund; others were Pacifists. Some joined the International Women’s Suffrage League. Many led local welfare and education reform after the war or founded local groups such as the WI or Girl Guides, and others went on to become the first women MPs, barristers, magistrates and surgeons in the country. This fascinating survey of Cambridge’s role at the heart of the women’s suffrage movement includes contemporary photographs and newspaper stories that are not widely known today.

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Like all towns and cities in the UK, Blackpool has changed over the years, and continues to do so. This much-loved seaside resort has developed from just a few houses fronting its 7 miles of ‘Golden Beach’ in the mid- to late 1700s, to what it is today with its famous Tower, three piers, Golden Mile, Illuminations, Comedy Carpet and Pleasure Beach. In the intervening period many attractions along the promenade have come and gone and the whole 7 miles developed with hotels and houses. Lost Blackpool shows the many well-known attractions and buildings – such as the Big Wheel, The Palace, Derby Baths, Yates’s and Central station – that are no longer part of the landscape, as well as many of the shops, schools, pubs, cinemas and churches of the ‘other’ Blackpool behind the seafront. Lost Blackpool is a book that will appeal not only to the town’s residents but also the many visitors who come here every year to sample its delights.

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Robert Wilton Bungey was unquestionably an RAF hero. From the very beginning of the Second World War he was patrolling Germany’s border with the AASF. In the retreat from France he survived frantic day and night bombing missions flying obsolete, outclassed Fairey Battles against overwhelming odds. Many others didn’t survive. When Fighter Command desperately needed pilots in the Battle of Britain, he volunteered. He survived again when his Hurricane was shot down near the Isle of Wight. Converting to Spitfires, he commanded such aces as Jean ‘Pyker’ Offenberg, Paddy Finucane and Bluey Truscott, his leadership from-the-front gaining their trust and respect. While he was CO of 452 (RAAF) Squadron, it topped Fighter Command’s monthly tallies three times in a row. Later, commanding RAF Hawkinge, he was linked with air-sea rescue and Combined Operations Command. After more than three years of active war service, he returned to Australia for Sybil, his English bride waiting with a son he had never seen. But this story of triumph against all the odds has an extraordinary ending: at once a terrible tragedy and something of a miracle… Spitfire Leader is illustrated with many photographs never before published.

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Being a lover of steam locomotives is a bit like chasing a setting sun - with the real diehards searching out survivors further and further from their home territory. Many enthusiasts would mark August 1968 as the end of ‘proper’ steam locomotives in the United Kingdom, the date when British Rail withdrew their final examples. However, for those in the know, steam continued to contribute to the British economy in industrial settings for nearly a further two decades. In the coal and ironstone mining industry, in power generation, in chemical factories, steelworks and foundries, small, rugged locomotives continued to toil away on a daily basis. Some were lovingly cared for, while others were worked into the ground. The author discovered colliery steam by accident and often explored this world while accompanied by his younger, equally enthusiastic, brother. This led them to some of the more obscure and less traditionally scenic parts of the country, but some of these industrial settings had a haunting beauty of their own. The photographs featured here give a taste of this particular setting for steam workhorses.

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The sprawling urban conurbation that is Swindon began life as an Anglo-Saxon defensible settlement atop a limestone hill. Old Swindon would likely have remained a sleepy market town were it not for the Industrial Revolution. The subsequent acceleration in Swindon’s growth began with the construction of the Wilts & Berks Canal in 1810, though the real transformative factor came between 1841 and 1842 with the historic decision by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Daniel Gooch to establish their Great Western Railway works in Swindon, leading to the birth of a new town: New Swindon. Today’s Swindon is a surprising, multilayered, creative hotspot that is home to artists and writers of every genre and calibre. In Secret Swindon, author Angela Atkinson explores some of the lesser-known episodes and characters in the history of this Wiltshire town, bringing to life tales of those who have lived in it and the places they inhabited.

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Tudor London was a vibrant capital city, the very hub of English cultural and political life. The thriving metropolis had a strong royal presence, at the long established Tower of London and Westminster, and later at the palaces of Whitehall, Bridewell and St James’s, built by Henry VIII to host his glittering court. Anne Boleyn was assigned a house in the Strand, with gardens running down to the river, while Elizabeth I stayed occasionally at Somerset House. The great and the good gravitated to the city too: Erasmus lodged with Sir Thomas More and his family in Bucklesbury, off Cheapside; Sir Walter Raleigh wrote poetry in his study in Durham House, overlooking the Thames and William Shakespeare lodged in Silver Street. Like today, streets and areas grew up with their own distinct personality: Bankside and Shoreditch were the first theatre and entertainment districts where the Globe Theatre was built to sit alongside the bear-baiting rings. Londoners themselves, and the many immigrants who flocked from the continent, created a lively, raucous society in the streets, markets and the hundreds of inns and ale-houses. Everyday Life in Tudor London vividly recreates this colourful city.

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The Viking Conquest of England in 1016 – a far tougher and more brutal campaign than the Norman Conquest exactly half a century later – saw two great warriors, the Danish prince Cnut and his equally ruthless English opponent King Edmund Ironside, fight an epic campaign. Cnut sailed in two hundred longboats, landing first in September 1015 on the Wessex coast with 10,000 soldiers. The two forces fought each other to the point of exhaustion for the next fourteen months. It was a war of terrifying violence that scarred much of England, from the Humber to Cornwall. It saw an epic siege of the great walls of London and bruising set-piece battles at Penselwood, Otford, and the conclusive Danish victory at Assandun on 18 October 1016. Edmund’s death soon afterwards finally resolved a brutal, bloody conf lict and ended with Cnut becoming the undisputed king of England. This book tells the extraordinary story of Cnut the Great’s life. Cnut was far removed from the archetypal pagan Viking, being a staunch protector of the Christian Church and a man who would also become Emperor of the North as king of Denmark and Norway. His wife, Emma of Normandy, was a remarkable woman who would outlive the two kings of England that she married. Their son Harthacnut would be the second and last Danish king of England, but the greatness of his dynasty did not long survive his death. This saga also features the incompetent Æthelred the Unready, the ferocious Sweyn Forkbeard and the treacherous Eadric Streona, recreating one of the great stories of Dark Age England.

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This engaging book follows the history of the Lotus 2+2 coupés from the Elan through to the Evora. The authors cover the Elan model history from start to finish of the range with details of the changes made through the years. They then follow the developments of the Elite through the Eclat to the Excel, including coverage of the attempt to break into the ‘executive’ market. The book finishes with the development and history of the Evora, including coverage of the return of Lotus to racing and the creation of its fastest production car ever with the Evora 430GT. The book also includes a buyer’s guide with details of what to look out for on each model and where to find replacement parts, along with estimates of time needed to complete restorations. Complete with original photography and tips and advice for current and potential owners, this book is a must for all Lotus fans.

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Central Bristol History Tour is a fascinating insight into the history of this famous old port city and shows just how much it has changed during the course of the centuries. Readers are invited to follow local author and historian Anthony Beeson as he guides them through its streets and alleyways, pointing out the well-known and lesser-known landmarks along the way.

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Hull History Tour is a unique insight into the fascinating history of this famous old fishing port and shows just how much it has changed during the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Readers are invited to follow author and historian Paul Chrystal as he guides them through its streets and alleyways, pointing out the well-known and lesser-known landmarks along the way.

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How and why did the US become the most successful economy in history? One of The Economist's Best Books of 2017, America, Inc explains the rise of America’s economic power and how so many US businesses have succeeded. In a winning, accessible style, Bhu Srinivasan boldly takes on four centuries of American enterprise, revealing the unexpected connections that link them. The story is entertaining, eye-opening and sweeping in its reach. America, Inc takes us on a journey through the inventions, techniques and industries that drove America forward: from the telegraph, the railroad, guns, radio and banking to flight, suburbia and sneakers, culminating with the Internet and mobile technology at the turn of the twenty-first century. We learn how Andrew Carnegie’s early job as a telegraph messenger boy paved the way for his leadership of the steel empire that would make him one of history’s richest men; how the gunmaker Remington reinvented itself in the postwar years to sell typewriters; and how the inner workings of the Mafia mirrored the trend of consolidation and regulation in more traditional business. Reliving the heady early days of Silicon Valley, we are reminded that the start-up is an idea as old as capitalism itself.

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From its early origins, Worcester developed into a medieval cathedral city, and in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries into an industrial centre with a reputation for gloves, porcelain and engineering. This extraordinary history has given Worcester a proud and distinctive history, which is embodied in the many fine buildings that have shaped the city. Worcester in 50 Buildings explores the history of this rich and vibrant community through a selection of its greatest architectural treasures. From the imposing cathedral and the Queen Anne-style Guildhall to more recent additions such as the award-winning Hive, which houses libraries, archives, archaeology and other services, this book celebrates the city’s architectural heritage in a new and accessible way. Local archaeologist James Dinn guides the reader on a tour of the city’s historic buildings and modern architectural marvels.

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The art of tattoos goes back hundreds, if not thousands, of years and today they are more popular than ever, but how many people really know the story behind tattoos? With a fascination for the Victorian tattoo craze, and the way the story behind these manmade marks has evolved over the years, Tina Brown is the perfect author to guide you through the fascinating, sometimes surprising, history that led to their current popularity. A global adventure spanning centuries, this guide, lavishly illustrated with a wealth of images and drawing on contemporary interviews with respected tattoo artists around the world, is sure to delight anyone with an interest in thehistory behind the art of tattoos.

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The gin craze seems to have taken over the world in recent times, but how many gin lovers have ever stopped to really wonder about the origins of their favourite tipple? How many know about its European connections or its medicinal value? And what were the gin palaces that everyone raves about really like? This fascinating little book will take you behind the scenes on a journey spanning hundreds of years, bringing the story of this much-loved drink up to date. Tina Brown invites you to join her to discover the new and old tastes, the distillers, the effect gin has had on people’s lives and just about everything else to do with gin!

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In this stunning, full-colour book, John Kinross explores the fascinating history behind the smaller, lesser-known churches of Herefordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire and the Welsh borders. Areas characterised by their rural beauty and agricultural charm, it is no surprise that they are home to such extraordinary relics. From the tiny church of St David, Rhulen, in Radnorshire to the even smaller church of Hope Bagot, St John, with its nearby well and wild flowers, each site tells a different tale. Beautifully illustrated and extremely informative, Churches of the Marches is a must-read that pinpoints the ecclesiastical treasures of our Marches.

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One of the most evocative reminders of Victorian ingenuity at the British seaside is the much-loved cliff lift. This simple method of transporting people up and down the cliff side has been a feature of our coast, and a few inland towns, for over 150 years and has recently undergone a renaissance at places as varied as the National Coal Mining Museum, Legoland and the Centre for Alternative Technology. The cliff lift, otherwise termed the cliff railway or tramway, is also known as a funicular railway. The word ‘funicular’ is defined as ‘of rope or tension’, in other words a cable-hauled railway or tramway. The lifts were directly descended from cable-hauled railways, prevalent in mines and quarries, but also early passenger lines, where an engine or winding gear hauled loads up steep slopes. The term ‘cliff lift’ also generally encompasses the elevator-type lifts that were erected at some resorts. This book illustrates, mainly in colour, all the principal cliff lifts and railways that have been built in the British Isles, along with associated cable tramways, since their inception in the Victorian age. In addition to featuring all the surviving lifts, this book includes others which are long gone, and serves as a fine record of these charming and unique structures.

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Starting in October 1980 as a small coach operator with two coaches and a service from Glasgow to London, Stagecoach rapidly developed throughout Scotland in the 1980s and 1990s when it purchased three major Scottish Bus Group companies and a number of smaller independent operators before floating on the stock market as a plc. After initially relying on the second-hand vehicle market, which produced a wide variety of buses, it ultimately began purchasing new vehicles that like their predecessors were painted in the company’s corporate livery. Stagecoach has always been an operator that has attracted a wide enthusiast following and this book traces the development of the company from its humble beginnings to its current major status.

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The old county of Sussex is one of the most beautiful in England, but beneath its rural idyll lies a history that is surprising and often shocking. Local author and historian Christopher Horlock brings us some of the county's strange and mythical tales, bringing together a whole range of places, events and people that are seldom mentioned in standard histories or guides. Interesting remains, strange happenings, hoaxes, witchcraft and unusual memorials are featured, along with some new reminiscences on smuggling. Several little-known hill figures are featured, plus some famous individuals not usually associated with Sussex, including Guy Fawkes, Vincent van Gogh and John F. Kennedy. It’s an unusual mix of the curious, the quaint and the mysterious, where even those who know Sussex well will find something new and surprising.

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This book covers the tractor models that have stood out, from the early twentieth century to the present day, either because of their innovative design and engineering features or because they set new standards in reliability and popularity. Beginning with the background to the development of the first tractor, Jonathan Whitlam takes us on a fascinating journey through a variety of tractor types, both large and small, and their stand-out features. This includes the Fordson F, the first mass produced tractor which set the pattern for future tractor design; the Field Marshall, which introduced diesel engines for tractors; the Ferguson TE20 with its novel three-point linkage; the Massey Ferguson 35 and later 135, which stand out for sheer popularity; and the John Deere 3640, with its powerful six-cylinder engine and advanced cab. The book also describes the computerised systems featured in many of the latest tractors. Accompanied by superb colour photography of all the tractors, this book has something for every tractor and agricultural machinery enthusiast.

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How do you aim a tank gun? What are the best tactics on the battlefield? How cramped was it inside a Second World War tank? How did it feel to take a hit from enemy fire? Allied victory in the Second World War was due in no small part to the tanks and their crews who fought after D-Day in 1944. In order to beat the effective Panzer tanks and overwhelm the occupying German forces in France, the Allied tanks arrived in their thousands by landing craft and even by glider. The Tank Manual gathers together original documents about the key Allied tanks in the Battle of Normandy. This is a fascinating collection of manuals for crew, training instructions and battle reports. Most were supremely practical, others betray the harsh reality of fighting conditions, and show readers the guidance tank crew had to hand as they went into battle. The Tank Manual covers the US M4 Sherman Medium Tank and M5 Stuart Light Tank, and the British Cromwell and Churchill infantry tank.

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Diana Rowden was a woman of the finest character. As an agent with the Special Operations Executive (SOE), she was dropped into France alongside Noor Inayat Khan and worked in the Resistance stronghold of the Franche-Comté department. Hunted at every turn by the Gestapo, Diana worked tirelessly for the Allied war effort, playing a part in the sabotage of the Peugeot factory at Sochaux and delivering frequent radio messages. In the ultimate tale of intrigue, Gabrielle McDonald-Rothwell relates how Diana’s escapades ended in betrayal by one of her own colleagues, and describes the final desperation of the concentration camp where her war ended. This full biography, untold until now, attempts for the first time to honour Diana’s service to her country. At a time when the use of female secret agents was controversial and marred by establishment prejudices, Diana’s tragic life is here given its full recognition. Although she was later Mentioned in Despatches and awarded an MBE and the Croix de Guerre, this little known individual has all but vanished from the annals of Second World War history. This is a story of a woman who, with a singular bravery and devotion to duty, distinguished herself as one of the SOE’s finest agents.

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Anne Boleyn’s unconventional beauty inspired poets - and she so entranced Henry VIII with her wit, allure and style that he was prepared to set aside his wife of over twenty years and risk his immortal soul. Her sister had already been the king’s mistress, but the other Boleyn girl followed a different path. For years the lovers waited; did they really remain chaste? Did Anne love Henry, or was she a calculating femme fatale? Eventually replacing the long-suffering Catherine of Aragon, Anne enjoyed a magnificent coronation and gave birth to the future Queen Elizabeth, but her triumph was short-lived. Why did she go from beloved consort to adulteress and traitor within a matter of weeks? What role did Thomas Cromwell and Jane Seymour of Wolf Hall play in Anne’s demise? Was her fall one of the biggest sex scandals of her era, or the result of a political coup? With her usual eye for the telling detail, Amy Licence explores the nuances of this explosive and ultimately deadly relationship to answer an often neglected question: what choice did Anne really have? When she writes to Henry during their protracted courtship, is she addressing a suitor, or her divinely ordained king? This book follows Anne from cradle to grave and beyond. Anne is vividly brought to life amid the colour, drama and unforgiving politics of the Tudor court.

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At the heart of the English Civil War stands the wife of Charles I, Henrietta Maria. She came to England in 1625 at the age of fifteen, undermined by her greedy French entourage, blocked by the forceful Duke of Buckingham and weighed down by instructions from the Pope to protect the Catholics of England. She was only a girl, and she had hardly a winning card in her hand; yet fifteen years later she was the terror of Parliament. We see Henrietta Maria in the portraits of van Dyck, and hear her voice in the letters which she wrote to her husband and many others. She is a historic queen who inherited from her father, the great French statesman Henri IV, undying convictions about royal and divine authority and about just governance. There was always brutal violence in the background of her life from the early moments (her father was assassinated when she was six months old); she lived through civil war both in England and in France (the Fronde); she was tortured by the fate of Charles I; but her spirit – and her family – prevailed. Two of her children sat on the throne of England (Charles II and James II) and three of her grandchildren followed them (William III, Mary II and Anne). Her life is a story of elegance, courage, wit, energy and family devotion on a grand scale.

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The InterCity 125s were introduced into passenger service from 1976 and instantly revolutionised rail travel. As the world’s fastest diesel trains, they heralded significant journey-time reductions, reversing declining demand without requiring the construction of new lines to accommodate them. At each end of the train a sleek 2,250 hp power car with its iconic shape made the 125 an instantly recognisable train, while the distinctive noise produced by the original turbocharger resulted in a train that commanded attention wherever it went. Privatisation saw the 125s refurbished and repainted as they remained at the forefront of their new owners’ fleets. 125 Group was formed in 1994 by a small group of enthusiasts to provide a focus point for information and news regarding the HST. Since then it has grown into a preservation organisation with over 500 members, restoring and now operating the prototype HST power car No. 41001, owning and operating three Mk 3 coaches and still providing a quality quarterly magazine. With an array of fascinating photographs and insights, 125 Group tells the story of an enduring icon of Britain’s railways.

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The ‘fine city’ of Norwich has a long and intriguing history. Famous for its Norman cathedral built across an ancient crossroads and its imposing castle dominating the skyline, Norwich can simultaneously claim to have been second city of the kingdom and – for some, at least – a relatively quiet backwater. The city is well known as a centre for shoe manufacturing, brewing, weaving and chocolate and mustard production, but despite the Industrial Revolution, natural phenomena and man-made upheavals, Norwich has managed to hold on to more medieval churches than any city north of the Alps, as well as many other fascinating pieces of built heritage. Much has been written about the city, but Secret Norwich aims to explore some of the lesser-known aspects of its history. From the forgotten origins of our best-known parks, through burial planning, plague, pox and pleasure gardens, and via libraries, larceny and landscapes, this book draws on more obscure stories and sources to tell remarkable stories about Norwich’s people, events and buildings, appealing to anyone with an interest in the history of this beguiling city.

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The county of Buckinghamshire holds many delights, from the rolling Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, to the meandering routes of the Great Ouse and River Thames, and breathtaking views from the surrounding hills. Buckinghamshire is also blessed with some of the finest gardens in England and there is history and heritage aplenty, from Bletchley Park to the Roald Dahl Museum, as well as many wonderful historic houses that tell fascinating tales of Buckinghamshire's varied past. 50 Gems of Buckinghamshire is overflowing with stunning photographs and interesting facts to draw you closer to the places you already know and love and to tempt you to discover new gems of your own.

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