Search results for ""Crown""

In 1938, Arthur Calder-Marshall, a young British novelist and communist visited Trinidad, just a year after the ‘Butler Riots’ had rocked the oil-belt in the south of the island and demonstrated that the British colonial hold over the island could not be sustained for long. Calder-Marshall’s account of his stay, first published in 1939, is insightful, unsparing in its exposure of appalling social conditions, and sometimes just humanly entertaining in its satirical description of, for instance, the hypocrisy of those of the middle-class who thought of themselves as radicals but would not perform in a play with actors who were too black. It is highly readable, with a novelist’s eye for characters and situations, adding to the slim body of writing about 1930’s Trinidad by C.L.R. James, A.H. Mendes and Ralph de Boissiere. It documents just how stifling was the hand of Crown Colony government in reinforcing white privilege in Trinidad, and it shows the huge gulf between the Trinidad being promoted as a destination for tourists, and the abysmal quality of housing and health-care that inflicted premature death on the urban poor. If Calder-Marshall does not have enough to say about the lives of rural Indo-Trinidadians, he is acute on the growth of race and revolutionary political consciousness amongst the most advanced sections of the Afro-Trinidadian working class. One valuable chapter records his interview with the then trade union leader, Adrian Cola Rienzi, on the global nature of radical anti-colonialism, connecting Rienzi’s work with Sinn Fein in Ireland and the workers’ struggle in Trinidad. Calder-Marshall’s was a sadly rare voice amongst the white British left as a critic of empire, in comparison to the covertly racist paternalism of the mainstream of the Labour Party.

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New investigations into a pivotal era of the thirteenth century. The years between 1258 and 67 comprise one of the most influential periods in the Middle Ages in England. This turbulent decade witnessed a bitter power struggle between King Henry III and his barons over who should control the government of the realm. Before England eventually descended into civil war, a significant proportion of the baronage had attempted to transform its governance by imposing on the crown a programme of legislative and administrative reform far more radical and wide-ranging than Magna Carta in 1215. Constituting a critical stage in the development of parliament, the reformist movement would remain unsurpassed in its radicalism until the upheavals of the seventeenth century. Simon de Montfort, the baronial champion, became the first leader of a political movement to seize power and govern in the king's name. The essays collected here offer the most recent research into and ideas onthis pivotal period. Several contributions focus upon the roles played in the political struggle by particular sections of thirteenth-century society, including the Midland knights and their political allegiances, aristocratic women, and the merchant elite in London. The events themselves constitute the second major theme of this volume, with subjects such as the secret revolution of 1258, Henry III's recovery of power in 1261, and the little studied maritime theatre during the civil wars of 1263-7 being considered. Adrian Jobson is an Associate Lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University. Contributors: Sophie Ambler, Nick Barratt, David Carpenter, PeterCoss, Mario Fernandes, Andrew H. Hershey, Adrian Jobson, Lars Kjær, John A. McEwan, Tony Moore, Fergus Oakes, H.W. Ridgeway, Christopher David Tilley, Benjamin L. Wild, Louise J. Wilkinson.

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'The Duchess does indeed seem a remarkable woman . . . this is an engaging book' Lynn Barber, Daily TelegraphWhen Emma Watkins, the pony-mad daughter of a Welsh farmer, imagined her future, she imagined following in her mother's footsteps to marry a farmer of her own. But then she fell in love with David Manners, having no idea that he was heir to one of the most senior hereditary titles in the land. When David succeeded his father, Emma found herself becoming the chatelaine of Belvoir Castle, ancestral home of the Dukes of Rutland.She had to cope with five boisterous children while faced with a vast estate in desperate need of modernisation and staff who wanted nothing to change - it was a daunting responsibility. Yet with sound advice from the doyenne of duchesses, Duchess ‘Debo’ of Devonshire, she met each challenge with optimism and gusto, including scaling the castle roof in a storm to unclog a flooding gutter; being caught in her nightdress by mesmerised Texan tourists and disguising herself as a cleaner to watch filming of The Crown. She even took on the castle ghosts . . .At times the problems she faced seemed insoluble yet, with her unstoppable energy and talent for thinking on the hoof, she won through, inspired by the vision and passion of those Rutland duchesses in whose footsteps she trod, and indeed the redoubtable and resourceful women who forged her way, whose homes were not castles but remote farmhouses in the Radnorshire Hills.Vividly written and bursting with insights, The Accidental Duchess will appeal to everyone who has visited a stately home and wondered what it would be like to one day find yourself not only living there, but in charge of its future.

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An important center of dancehall reggae performance, sound clashes are contests between rival sound systems: groups of emcees, tune selectors, and sound engineers. In World Clash 1999, held in Brooklyn, Mighty Crown, a Japanese sound system and the only non-Jamaican competitor, stunned the international dancehall community by winning the event. In 2002, the Japanese dancer Junko Kudo became the first non-Jamaican to win Jamaica’s National Dancehall Queen Contest. High-profile victories such as these affirmed and invigorated Japan’s enthusiasm for dancehall reggae. In Babylon East, the anthropologist Marvin D. Sterling traces the history of the Japanese embrace of dancehall reggae and other elements of Jamaican culture, including Rastafari, roots reggae, and dub music. Sterling provides a nuanced ethnographic analysis of the ways that many Japanese involved in reggae as musicians and dancers, and those deeply engaged with Rastafari as a spiritual practice, seek to reimagine their lives through Jamaican culture. He considers Japanese performances and representations of Jamaican culture in clubs, competitions, and festivals; on websites; and in song lyrics, music videos, reggae magazines, travel writing, and fiction. He illuminates issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class as he discusses topics ranging from the cultural capital that Japanese dancehall artists amass by immersing themselves in dancehall culture in Jamaica, New York, and England, to the use of Rastafari as a means of critiquing class difference, consumerism, and the colonial pasts of the West and Japan. Encompassing the reactions of Jamaica’s artists to Japanese appropriations of Jamaican culture, as well as the relative positions of Jamaica and Japan in the world economy, Babylon East is a rare ethnographic account of Afro-Asian cultural exchange and global discourses of blackness beyond the African diaspora.

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Master storyteller Ralph Moody tells the thrilling story of a plucky horse who refused to quit, a down-on-his-luck jockey who didn’t let horrendous accidents keep him out of the saddle, and a taciturn trainer who brought out the best in both. During the Great Depression, Seabiscuit captured the hearts of Americans from the streets to the White House, winning more money than any horse at that time and shattering speed records across the country. In this real-life story Moody captures the hoof-pounding excitement of the explosive early races to an unforgettable showdown with the feared Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Moving and inspirational, Come on Seabiscuit! is a reminder of the qualities that make a real American champion. Ralph Moody is best known for his eight Little Britches books, which have delighted generations of readers and are all available in Bison Books editions. Ralph Moody captured the hearts of young readers everywhere with his beloved Little Britches saga. In this Bison Books edition of his 1963 classic, Moody brings to life the story of a knobby-kneed little colt called Seabiscuit, who against all odds became one of the most celebrated racehorses of all time. Although Seabiscuit was the grandson of the legendary Man O' War, he was neither handsome nor graceful. His head was too big, his legs too short, and his gallop was awkward. His owners gave up on Seabiscuit when he was two, raced him too heavily, and tried unsuccessfully to sell him. It took the keen eyes of trainer Tom Smith to recognize the heart, courage, and gallant determination of Seabiscuit, the qualities of a truly great horse. Smith's unfailing patience and astute treatments, the love and skill of jockey Red Pollard, and the continued support of owner Charles Howard forged Seabiscuit into a champion.Purchase the audio edition.

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Take a fun and engaging illustrated journey through modern art history, from Impressionism to Minimalism, to meet key artists and make crafts inspired by their work.Modern Art for Kids, the debut book in the Art Stars series, is a charmingly illustrated hands-on guide packed with fun facts, amazing stories about the lives of artists, and arty-crafty activities for interactive learning. Filled with bite-sized summaries, the aim of this book is to inspire curious kids with interesting art topics and expose them to the freedom of creativity and the power of imagination. Explore these and more incredible artists and art movements: Claude Monet (Impressionism) – Make your own serene Paper Pond Lilies. Vincent van Gogh (Post-Impressionism) – Use expressive swirls to make a Salty Night. Sonia Delaunay (Orphism) – Experiment with bright colors and shapes by making Colorful Lollipops. Frida Kahlo (Surrealism) – Channel the artist and her work by making an upcycled Flower Crown. Andy Warhol (Pop Art) – Set up your own “Factory” and make a Recycled Tray Print. So journey through the ages, let your imagination run wild, and become an art star! The Art Stars series introduces kids to the story of art through fun illustrated biographies of influential artists paired with simple hands-on activities inspired by their work. For thousands of years, people have been making and enjoying art. From miniature paintings to monumental sculptures, art is a universal language to express beliefs and feelings. Over the course of history, art historians have tried to organize all the different styles and types of art into movements. You don’t need to know anything about art to enjoy it, but learning the fascinating stories of artists and art movements will help you enjoy it even more.

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Are sex scandals simply trivial distractions from serious issues or can they help democratize politics? In 1820, George IV's "royal gambols" with his mistresses endangered the Old Oak of the constitution. When he tried to divorce Queen Caroline for adultery, the resulting scandal enabled activists to overcome state censorship and revitalize reform. Looking at six major British scandals between 1763 and 1820, this book demonstrates that scandals brought people into politics because they evoked familiar stories of sex and betrayal. In vibrant prose woven with vivid character sketches and illustrations, Anna Clark explains that activists used these stories to illustrate constitutional issues concerning the Crown, Parliament, and public opinion. Clark argues that sex scandals grew out of the tension between aristocratic patronage and efficiency in government. For instance, in 1809 Mary Ann Clarke testified that she took bribes to persuade her royal lover, the army's commander-in-chief, to promote officers, buy government offices, and sway votes. Could women overcome scandals to participate in politics? This book also explains the real reason why the glamorous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, became so controversial for campaigning in a 1784 election. Sex scandal also discredited Mary Wollstonecraft, one of the first feminists, after her death. Why do some scandals change politics while others fizzle? Edmund Burke tried to stir up scandal about the British empire in India, but his lurid, sexual language led many to think he was insane. A unique blend of the history of sexuality and women's history with political and constitutional history, Scandal opens a revealing new window onto some of the greatest sex scandals of the past. In doing so, it allows us to more fully appreciate the sometimes shocking ways democracy has become what it is today.

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Runner-up, Violet Crown Award, Writer's League of Texas, 2008 Renowned for his "brilliant legislative mind" and political oratory—as well as for bicycling to Congress in a rumpled white linen suit and bow tie—U.S. Congressman Bob Eckhardt was a force to reckon with in Texas and national politics from the 1940s until 1980. A liberal Democrat who successfully championed progressive causes, from workers' rights to consumer protection to environmental preservation and energy conservation, Eckhardt won the respect of opponents as well as allies. Columnist Jack Anderson praised him as one of the most effective members of Congress, where Eckhardt was a national leader and mentor to younger congressmen such as Al Gore. In this biography of Robert Christian Eckhardt (1913-2001), Gary A. Keith tells the story of Eckhardt's colorful life and career within the context of the changing political landscape of Texas and the rise of the New Right and the two-party state. He begins with Eckhardt's German-American family heritage and then traces his progression from labor lawyer, political organizer, and cofounder of the progressive Texas Observer magazine to Texas state legislator and U.S. congressman. Keith describes many of Eckhardt's legislative battles and victories, including the passage of the Open Beaches Act and the creation of the Big Thicket National Preserve, the struggle to limit presidential war-making ability through the War Powers Act, and the hard fight to shape President Carter's energy policy, as well as Eckhardt's work in Texas to tax the oil and gas industry. The only thorough recounting of the life of a memorable, important, and flamboyant man, Eckhardt also recalls the last great era of progressive politics in the twentieth century and the key players who strove to make Texas and the United States a more just, inclusive society.

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Following World War II, millions of U.S. Catholics were poised to attain the American dream, while at Vatican Council II, the liberal vision of the church seemed finally to triumph. Yet by the end of the twentieth century, American Catholicism was in crisis, plagued by grave ideological divisions; a dwindling pool of priests, nuns, and monks; and declining financial resources. What went wrong? In Tracing the Sign of the Cross, Marian Ronan identifies the roots of this crisis in an inability on the part of American Catholics to mourn a variety of losses suffered in the last third of the twentieth century. Drawing on the work of four writers with distinctively Catholic imaginations, Ronan argues that endless battles over sexuality and gender in particular have kept American Catholics from confronting these losses, thus jeopardizing the future of Catholicism. The writings of James Carroll, the archetypal liberal American Catholic, form the basis of Ronan's exploration of the church in the decades following Vatican II. Carroll's writings, especially his memoir, An American Requiem, seem to embody the very engagement with loss Ronan calls for-yet a highly gendered pattern of resistance to mourning emerges throughout Carroll's writing. Ronan discerns a similar Catholic "inability to mourn" in the early works of the novelist Mary Gordon, the feminist philosopher of science Donna Haraway, and the essayist Richard Rodriguez. While Gordon's characters gradually engage their profound losses, Haraway's female cyborg dons a crown of thorns, and Rodriguez confronts his own gay/brown identity-contributing in all cases to a new and chastened vision of the church. Framed by the author's own personal experience, Tracing the Sign of the Cross is an intimate and persuasive account of Catholic possibility in a postmodern world.

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The Ramáyana epic centers around Rama, the crown prince of the city of Ayódhya, providing a profound meditation on the paradox of the hero as both human and divine. After rescuing a sage from persecution by demons. Rama attends a tournament in the neighboring city of Míthila where he wins the prize and the hand of Sita, the princess of Míthila. But a court intrigue involving one of the king’s junior wives and a maidservant forces Rama into a fourteen-year banishment to the jungle with his wife, Sita, and his loyal brother Lákshmana. When Sita is abducted by the demon king Rávana, Rama goes to the monkey capital of Kishkíndha to seek help in finding her. It is there that he meets Hánuman, the greatest of the monkey heroes. In exchange for the assistance of the monkey troops in discovering where Sita is held captive, Rama has to help Sugríva win the monkey throne over his brother, Valin. In the final book of the set, Hánuman leaps across the ocean to the island citadel of Lanka, where he scours the city for the abducted Princess Sita. But when Hánuman reveals himself to the princess and offers to carry her back to Rama, she nevertheless insists that Rama must come himself to avenge the abduction. Included in this set: Ramáyana Book I: Boyhood By Valmíki. Translated by Robert Goldman. 424 pages / 978-0-8147-3163-5 Ramáyana Book II: Ayódhya By Valmíki. Translated by Sheldon I. Pollock. 652 pages / 978-0-8147-6716-0 Ramáyana Book III: The Forest By Valmíki. Translated by Sheldon I. Pollock. 436 pages / 978-0-8147-6722-1 Ramáyana Book IV: Kishkíndha By Valmíki. Translated by Rosalind Lefeber. 415 pages / 978-0-8147-5207-4 Ramáyana Book V: Súndara By Valmíki. Translated by Robert Goldman and Sally Sutherland Goldman. 538 pages / 978-0-8147-3178-9

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Approximately 150,000 Irish officers and men joined the British Army during the First World War. What happened to them when they returned home? What determining role (if any) did they play? Most importantly, did they fall victims of selective revolutionary violence and face the wrath of the IRA for having fought for the British Crown in 1914-1918? As steamers anchored in Dublin Bay and men disembarked, they began to follow different paths according to their expectations, political beliefs, and often according to the possibilities their mother-land would consent to offer them. Transfers of loyalty and transfers of military skills characterised the demobilisation of those Great War veterans. Hundreds pledged allegiance to the Irish Republican Army while thousands joined the ranks of the Royal Irish Constabulary and the British Army. After the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, ex-servicemen consolidated the institutions of the new Irish Free State whereas a minority remained loyal to the idea of an Irish Republic. Those who refrained from taking an active part in the transformation of Ireland found themselves in a society plagued by unemployment and ongoing unrest. Largely forgotten in history, their stories beg to be heard. The centenary of the War of Independence and the Civil War represents an unexpected yet welcome moment to challenge traditional narratives and shed light on the contribution of Great War veterans to the Irish Revolution. What happened in Ireland was far from being an isolated case in European history. Re-mobilisations and re-engagements of Great War veterans characterised the internal dynamics within other European countries and states undergoing post-war transformations, revolutions or civil conflicts. Drawing on archives in in England, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and on hitherto unsolicited testimonies, Emmanuel Destenay tracks the trajectories of these shadows from the trenches, unveiling their hopes, expectations and uncertainties.

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'Yankee Mission is a jewel in Julian Stockwin's crown as a master in naval fiction, with a ship-to-ship fight so vivid that the battle's sounds and scents fly off the pages like lethal wooden splinters' - Quarterdeck1812. Off the coast of Brazil, HMS Java, a proud British 38-gun frigate, is captured in battle by the American USS Constitution - signaling across the world's oceans a challenge to Britain's naval premiership that cannot be ignored.Back in England Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is enjoying a moment of normal life with his wife and his newborn son. With his Thunderer in dock receiving some well-earned repairs he is, momentarily, without a command. It's a position the Admiralty does not leave him in for long, and he is soon given a mission: engage the young republic in a fair fight, frigate against frigate, and restore the Navy's reputation. And they have just the ship and crew for him . . . Tyger. But on reaching the US east coast, Kydd and his trusted Tygers realise that the hardest part of their mission will be drawing out one of the Yankee men-o'-war to engage in battle - especially once the Americans get wind of his purpose. It's a tall order, requiring every ounce of the crew's guile and persistence - and when fortune turns against them, Kydd finds not only his career, but his life, hanging in the balance.Praise for Julian Stockwin's Kydd series:'A very readable and enjoyable story . . . I can only recommend that you go out, beg, borrow or buy, and enjoy' - Bernard Cornwell 'In Stockwin's hands the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world' - Guardian'The characterization is first-class, and the reader quickly becomes involved with all that happens' - Historical Novels Review

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'A riveting take on an extraordinary relationship' - Richard Eden, Daily Mail'A fresh and original approach' - Hugo Vickers, Royal BiographerShe was 'sugar pink' innocence; he was a handsome war hero. Both had royal blood coursing through their veins. The marriage of Britain's Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in November 1947 is remembered as the beginning of an extraordinary, lifelong union but success was not guaranteed. Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy plunges us back into the 1940s when a teenage princess fell in love with a foreign prince. Cue fears of a flirtatious 'Greek' fortune hunter stealing off with Britain's crown jewel and Philip's supporters scrambling to reframe him as a good fit for the Royal Family. Drawing on original newspaper archives and the opinions of Elizabeth and Philip's contemporaries, historian Dr Tessa Dunlop discovers a post-war world on the cusp of major change. Unprecedented polling on Philip's suitability was a harbinger of pressures to come for a couple whose marriage was branded the ultimate global fairytale. Theirs was a partnership like no other. Six years after Elizabeth promised to be an obedient wife Philip got down on bended knee at the coronation and committed himself as the Queen's 'liege man of life and limb.' Published 75 years after their marriage, this deeply touching history explores the ups and downs, the public appeal and the private tensions that defined an extraordinary relationship. The high stakes involved might have devoured a less committed pair - but Elizabeth and Philip shared a common purpose, one higher even than marriage, with roots much deeper than young love. Happy and Glorious, for better or for worse, how did their union succeed? Monarchy was the magic word.

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This signature book describes the multiplicity of currencies that have been used in and around the island over the centuries, and how these culminate in the Singapore dollar today. The authors trace the impact, sometimes dramatic, of political and economic events and technological forces shaping these currencies. Singapore has followed its own development path, from the days when, in the first few decades of the colonial settlement, local merchants resisted currency reforms imposed on the island by the East India Company. Greater monetary autonomy was achieved in the second half of the 19th century when Singapore became a Crown colony in its own right. The drive towards self-representation culminated in full internal self-government in 1959, independence from British colonial rule in 1963 as part of the Federation of Malaysia, and the status of a sovereign nation in 1965. The introduction of Singapore's own currency in 1967 was a national milestone. In 1971, Singapore established the Monetary Authority of Singapore with the sovereign power to undertake monetary policy as it deemed most appropriate. Money has evolved from coins minted from precious metals to those struck from baser metals, to notes issued first by commercial banks and later by governments. The journey from commodity-based money to a purely fiat money has unfolded in parallel. The use of money in its electronic and more 'weightless' forms has also become increasingly common. The powerful effects this trend will have on the nature of money and banking are still unfolding. All these issues, and more, are examined in this book, published to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of Singapore's central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in January 1971.

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"The photos here are undeniably spectacular — but the exploration of the costume ball’s history is worth sticking around for, too." —Natural Diamonds Tiaras have always inspired a great fascination and the most beautiful and influential women have been painted, photographed and admired whilst wearing them. Even in the 21st century they are still worn and continue to inspire special poise, elegance and sophistication. This lavishly illustrated book includes exclusive photographs, many repro­duced for the first time, of a variety of Royal tiaras together with those of French and Russian Imperial provenance, including four stunning tiaras designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria. Geoffrey Munn has also been granted privileged access to the archives of many famous jewellers, including Boucheron, Cartier, Van Cleef and Arpels and Fabergé, for his research. The regal images of some of the most prestigious jewels in the world will captivate the reader and ensure turning the page to the next enticing image becomes irresistible. Many of these mes­merising tiaras also have great historical signifi­cance and their provenance is fully explained here. Among the con­temporary pieces referred to are tiaras belonging to Jamie Lee Curtis, Vivienne Westwood, Elton John and Madonna, that were made by Galliano, Slim Barratt and Versace. The scholarly text, which incorporates more than 400 illustrations, includes chapters on tiaras as crown jewels, Russian style tiaras, tiaras as works of art and the relationship between the tiara and the costume ball. Tiaras – A History of Splendour is a magnificent work that will enthral all those interested in fashion and style, jewellery, European history and Royalty. “… beautifully written and magnificently produced… for anyone interested in social history, it’s as good a read as you are likely to have this year.” Daily Telegraph “A truly majestic book” Antiques Info “… elegantly melds social history, fashion criticism and an appreciation of the jeweler’s art.” Town & Country

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The final part of Krish Day’s Indian trilogy. The Secrets of Rajpur illuminates, in a quaint and satirical vein, the impossibility of recording on paper the infinitely variegated impulses of human desire. Nearing the end of a long political career, the Minister of Education meditates on a fitting memorial to his tenure in office. His Personal Assistant, a lively and ambitious young woman who is also his lover, proposes an updated version of the Kāma Sūtra as a gift to newly-weds. Drawing on private experience, and viewing modern Indian society as still beset by prurience and age-old puritanism, she believes the authorities ought to actively promote a wholesome rapport between men and women, tutoring the young on what’s what and what’s where. The Ministerial Committee charged with the revision of the ancient text is paralysed by ill-humoured debate and bickering, unable to agree on the indelicate wording and descriptions to be censored. When news of the Ministerial initiative leaks to the press, a storm of protests gathers force. Religious groups, women’s associations, self-appointed guardians of national purity, take to the streets with vociferous and often violent demonstrations. With insistent calls for resignation, the Minister suffers a near-fatal stroke. The lady assistant flees town, to find comfort in the arms of her aged mentor, finally managing a tantric ashram for the conjugal rejuvenation of elderly couples. Embedded in the comic narrative are the tales of three women, each a facet of sexuality distinct from the message of the Kāma Sūtra. A temple dancer, whose journey of faith, finds her at the profligate service of man. A young English woman, whose deranged fate unveils uncommon sensual talents, that finally crown her consort of a Prince. A Spanish gitano dancer unveiling a novel eroticism to reawaken the sated manhood of a decadent race.

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"Hall’s consummate history is not just the story of the evolution of one of the world’s great collections… The book is also a through-the-keyhole insight into the shifting tastes, good or bad, of 1,000 years of monarchs."- The TimesThe Royal Collection is the last great collection formed by the European monarchies to have survived into the twenty-first century. Containing over a million artworks and objects, it covers all aspects of the fine and decorative arts, from paintings by Rembrandt and Michelangelo to grand sculpture, Fabergé eggs and some of the most exquisite furniture ever made. The Royal Collection also offers a revealing insight into the history of the British monarchy from William the Conqueror to Queen Elizabeth II, recording the tastes and obsessions of kings and queens over the past 500 years. With unprecedented access to the royal residences of St James' Palace, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, Art, Passion & Power traces the history of this national institution from the Middle Ages to the present day, exploring how royalty used the arts to strengthen their position as rulers by divine right and celebrating treasures from the Crown Jewels to the "Abraham" tapestries in Hampton Court Palace. Author Michael Hall examines the monarchy's response to changing attitudes to the arts and sciences during the Enlightenment and celebrates the British monarchy's role in the democratisation of art in the modern world. Packed with glimpses of rarely seen artworks, Art, Passion & Power is a visual treat for all art enthusiasts. Accompanying the BBC television series and a major exhibition at the Royal Academy, Art, Passion & Power is the definitive statement on the British monarchy's treasures of the art world.

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A brilliant portrait of the most famous woman in the world and her place in it, written by the renowned royal biographer and author of Queen of Our Times, Robert Hardman._____________________________'Dazzling, poignant and full of delicious surprises; the true story of how Elizabeth II took on the world - and won. The Crown is fictional. Here is the real thing.' - Andrew Roberts'In Queen of the World Robert Hardman anatomizes from almost every conceivable angle the workings of soft power in creating the present Queen's global role ... His book is a veritable reference work and cornucopia, overflowing with significant anecdotes, people, traditions and incidents.' - Times Literary Supplement_____________________________On recent world history, one leader stands apart. Queen Elizabeth II saw more of the planet and its people than any other head of state, and engaged with them like no other monarch in British history. After her coronation, she visited over 130 countries across the ever-changing globe, acting as diplomat, stateswoman, pioneer and peace-broker, while also managing the responsibilities of a mother and grandmother, and her sixty-four-year marriage to the late Prince Philip.She transformed her father's old empire into the Commonwealth, her 'family of nations', and came to know its leaders better than anyone. In 2018, they would gather in her own home to endorse her eldest son, the Prince of Wales, as her successor.With extensive access to the Queen's family and staff, Hardman tells a true story full of drama, intrigue, exotic and even dangerous situations, heroes, rogues, pomp and glamour - and, at the centre of it all, the woman who genuinely won the hearts of the world for seventy glorious years._____________________________'Superb' - Peter Hennessy'Hardman's book, filled with new details, will be an essential source for any historian of modern Britain. It's also a glorious read' - William Shawcross, Spectator

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Immerse yourself in the second book the Castles in their Bones series from the New York Times bestselling author of the Ash Princess series.'A page-turner that brilliantly blends magic, romance, and adventure' BooklistSeduction. Conquest. The Crown.Princesses Daphne, Beatriz, and Sophronia have trained their entire lives for one purpose: to bring down nations. Their mother, Empress Margaraux of Bessemia, is determined to rule the continent of Vesteria, and her daughters are her weapons. Promised for marriage since birth, they are her ticket across enemy lines. And also her decoys.Still, not even Empress Margaraux can control the stars. Sent to their new kingdoms, orders in hand, the princesses have found their own paths, changing the course of their mother's plans entirely - and tragically. Sophronia chose love, and for that, she lost her life. Daphne and Beatriz can hardly believe their sister is dead, but both are determined to avenge her. And now, separated by a continent - and their mother's lies - they see more clearly with every passing day that they might not be working toward the same end.The stars whisper of death, but Daphne and Beatriz are just beginning to understand the true power coursing through their veins. And their mother will do anything to keep them under her thumb - even if it means killing them all.PRAISE FOR LAURA SEBASTIAN'Sebastian weaves the story together with a firm handle on pacing and worldbuilding, placing twists and turns throughout as characters leave their assigned countries' School Library Journal, on Stardust in their Veins'...the worldbuilding is rich, clearly defined, and easy to follow' Kirkus Reviews, on Stardust in their Veins'Made for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Sabaa Tahir' Bustle, on Ash Princess

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**WINNER OF PULITZER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY****WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD (Nonfiction)**Shortlisted for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown AwardFinalist, LA Times Book PrizeA landmark biography of one of the twentieth century's most compelling figures, rewriting much of the known narrative.Les Payne, the renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, embarked in 1990 on a nearly thirty-year-long quest to interview anyone he could find who had actually known Malcolm X - including siblings, classmates, friends, cellmates, FBI moles and cops, and political leaders around the world. His goal was ambitious: to transform what would become hundreds of hours of interviews into a portrait that would separate fact from fiction.The result is this magisterial work that conjures a never-before-seen world of its protagonist, whose title is inspired by a phrase Malcolm X used when he saw his followers stir with purpose to overcome the obstacles of racism. Setting his life not only within the political struggles of his day but also against the larger backdrop of American history, this remarkable masterpiece traces his path from street criminal to devoted moralist and revolutionary.An author who saw Malcolm X speak and could not stand the phrase 'we may never know', Payne writes cinematically from start to finish and delivers extraordinary revelations - from a hair-raising scene of Malcolm's clandestine meeting with the KKK, to a minute-by-minute account of his murder in Harlem in 1965, in which he makes the case for the complicity of the American government.Introduced by Payne's daughter and primary researcher, Tamara Payne, who, following her father's death, heroically completed the biography, The Dead Are Arising is a penetrating and riveting work that affirms the centrality of Malcolm X to the African American freedom struggle and the story of the twentieth century.

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Baseball books span the spectrum from the All-Stars to the has-beens but invariably overlook the endless string of things that could have happened but didn't. Baseball’s Memorable Misses fills that void, pointing out little-known facts perfect for both rabid and casual fans. Who knew that Willie Mays never won an RBI crown or that Stan Musial hit the most home runs in one day but never led his league in a season? Nolan Ryan had zero Cy Young Awards despite owning records for strikeouts and no-hitters. Roger Clemens, on the other hand, had a record seven Cy Youngs and two 20-strikeout games but zero no-hitters.There were also zero no-hitters by Greg Maddux, who has more wins than any living pitcher. Players took zeroes and sometimes double-zeroes as uniform numbers. Veteran baseball writer Dan Schlossberg delves into the previously-unknown world of baseball zeroes, exploring everything from Christy Mathewson's zero runs allowed in the 1905 World Series to the three perfect games pitched in Yankee Stadium. This book also reveals that there were zero no-hitters pitched by Pirates at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field even though visiting pitchers did not fall victim to that hex. There have been zero players who hit five home runs in one game but two who have hit five in one day. This is a book of Almost But Not Quite (ABNQ for short) but also a book that suggests baseball's second century can be almost as intriguing as its first. With the help of author Doug Lyons, who wrote the foreword, and celebrated baseball cartoonist Ronnie Joyner, this is also a utilitarian volume, perfect for the living room coffee table or even the bathroom. Like the game itself, Baseball’s Memorable Misses is fun--and perfect for rain delays in season or off-season enjoyment.

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Pioneering investigation of the royal pardon, at a time of major change in the system of English justice, showing the important part it continued to play. The letter of pardon was a document familiar to the king's subjects in the middle ages; imbued with symbolic resonance as the judgement of the monarch, it also served a practical purpose, offering a last hope of reprieve from thedeath sentence or life as an outlaw. The fourteenth century in particular was a pivotal time of change for the system of English justice, and saw the evolution of a legal structure still recognisable today, yet the role of the royal pardon adapted and endured. This book offers the first comprehensive study of the royal pardon in fourteenth-century England, using evidence drawn from legal and literary texts, parliamentary records, yearbooks, and plea rolls to examine the full influence of royal mercy. Its implications go well beyond legal history, encompassing the major political and constitutional debates of the period, the theological underpinnings of royal mercy, and the social context of the law. Chapters analyse the procedures of pardoning, the role of royal mercy at moments of political upheaval (such as at the Peasants' Revolt), and the range of views expressed by legal theorists, parliamentary representatives, and by the diverse range of people who at one time or another had reason to seek royal mercy. The appendices provide full lists of all those who acted as "intercessors" for mercy; comprising over 1000 names, they reveal the role of women and personal servants of the crown, alongside the great nobles of the realm, in providing access to royal grace. Dr HELEN LACEY is Lecturer in Late Medieval History at Mansfield College, University of Oxford.

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Documents assembled from a wide range of sources sheds vivid light on the lives and careers of the Franciscan movement. The Franciscans, frequently known as Greyfriars, were inspired by the charismatic figure of Francis of Assisi (+1226). Pledged to a life of penitence and evangelical poverty, they strove to bring Christianity to life through theirexample and preaching. In the late summer of 1224 they reached England, where they quickly established a presence at Canterbury, London, Oxford and Northampton. Attracting a large number of recruits from the universities, the regular and secular clergy and laymen, they spread rapidly throughout the country, establishing communities in the cities and principal boroughs. The custody of York, with its friaries of Beverley, Boston, Doncaster, Grimsby, Lincoln, Scarborough and York, a regional cluster, began with the friars' arrival in the cathedral cities of Lincoln and York before 1230. The custody reached from Whitby to Spalding. Although several monastic ruins adorn the landscape of northern Lincolnshire and much of Yorkshire, the seven friaries have left little visible trace, and there are few vestiges of the friars' once teeming archives and impressive libraries. However, despite the dispersal of these documents, there are other sources which illuminate the friars' ministry and shine a spotlight upon an individual friar. This biographical register of 1,704 friars draws upon a range of materials, including the wardrobe accounts, the episcopal registers, papal documents the probate registers, urban records, chronicles and diverse sources, illuminating their daily lives and activities, from studying the liberal arts and theology to celebrating Mass andhearing confessions. While some friars are represented by a single entry, other lives are better chronicled, particularly those who were active in the universities, the service of the crown and the local community. MICHAEL ROBSON is a fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge.

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An important center of dancehall reggae performance, sound clashes are contests between rival sound systems: groups of emcees, tune selectors, and sound engineers. In World Clash 1999, held in Brooklyn, Mighty Crown, a Japanese sound system and the only non-Jamaican competitor, stunned the international dancehall community by winning the event. In 2002, the Japanese dancer Junko Kudo became the first non-Jamaican to win Jamaica’s National Dancehall Queen Contest. High-profile victories such as these affirmed and invigorated Japan’s enthusiasm for dancehall reggae. In Babylon East, the anthropologist Marvin D. Sterling traces the history of the Japanese embrace of dancehall reggae and other elements of Jamaican culture, including Rastafari, roots reggae, and dub music. Sterling provides a nuanced ethnographic analysis of the ways that many Japanese involved in reggae as musicians and dancers, and those deeply engaged with Rastafari as a spiritual practice, seek to reimagine their lives through Jamaican culture. He considers Japanese performances and representations of Jamaican culture in clubs, competitions, and festivals; on websites; and in song lyrics, music videos, reggae magazines, travel writing, and fiction. He illuminates issues of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class as he discusses topics ranging from the cultural capital that Japanese dancehall artists amass by immersing themselves in dancehall culture in Jamaica, New York, and England, to the use of Rastafari as a means of critiquing class difference, consumerism, and the colonial pasts of the West and Japan. Encompassing the reactions of Jamaica’s artists to Japanese appropriations of Jamaican culture, as well as the relative positions of Jamaica and Japan in the world economy, Babylon East is a rare ethnographic account of Afro-Asian cultural exchange and global discourses of blackness beyond the African diaspora.

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Winter 1981. Poland is in turmoil. The Communist regime is close to collapse and the CIA wants to help it on its way. They ask for MI6 assistance but insist the MI6 Station in Warsaw is not involved. Why not? And who will the Americans accept? MI6 agent Thomas Dylan is sent from Moscow. His wife has just witnessed a murder and the Russian authorities want her out of the country. But when Thomas and Julia arrive in Warsaw the bullets start to fly. Two American agents disappear near the Polish lakes, a terrified Polish sailor jumps ship in Middlesbrough and a Polish peasant claims to have found the lost crown of a medieval King. Somebody needs to work out what's happening. And quickly. Because back in London a KGB killer is on the loose. AUTHOR: Brian Landers started writing newspaper columns to help pay his university bar bills and since then has written articles for various journals, newspapers and websites. He was once interviewed for a job at the government spy agency GCHQ in Cheltenham but decided that travelling the world would be more exciting. His first full time role was helping a former Director General of Defence Intelligence and a motley collection of ex-spooks set up a political intelligence unit in the City of London. Out of this sprang the character of Thomas Dylan, a novice who over the years progresses through the labyrinthine world of British Intelligence. Later, as a director of Waterstone's and then of Penguin his love of writing was rekindled. His first book, Empires Apart was published in the UK, US and India and was largely written while commuting to work. He has an MBA from London Business School and in 2018 he was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

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For ten years Gary McKinnon became the unwilling focus of Anglo-US diplomatic relations. A computer systems analyst living in London, he firmly believed that the US government was withholding vital information about the presence of UFOs. The unremarkable lives of he and his mother Janis changed dramatically one morning in March 2002 when Gary phoned to tell her that he had been arrested and spent four hours at his local police station being interviewed about hacking into US government computers. Paul J McNulty, the then U.S Attorney for Virginia, announced that Gary was indicted in Alexandria, Virginia on November 12th that year, and simultaneously announced that the United States intended to extradite him. Two years later, on 7 October 2004, the US government filed a request for Gary's extradition and on 7 June 2005 he was arrested. Extradition to the US seemed certain and so, fearing that Gary would take his own life rather than face being taken away to face seven counts of up to ten years each, Janis's extraordinary battle began. Janis Sharp spent the following ten years and seven months fighting her son's extradition. In October 2012 she finally won her battle and in December 2012 the Crown Prosecution Service announced that Gary would not face charges in the UK either. These two announcements were a spectacular victory for Janis and spoke volumes about her relentless fight to save Gary's life. Saving Gary McKinnon is the true story of a mother's fight to save her son from living out the rest of his life behind bars. The US judiciary had all the might of the world's greatest power. But it had not reckoned on Gary's mother.

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A bread-making masterclass for home bakers, featuring simple, satisfying breads, loaves, and rolls made from a range of flours, including gluten-free varieties In The Bread Book, Éric Kayser - founder of the legendary French bakery Maison Kayser and bestselling author of The Larousse Book of Bread makes baking bread from scratch both accessible and exciting. Kayser begins with the fundamentals of bread-making, offering primers on traditional leavening techniques, types of flour, and essential ingredients, as well as a helpful glossary. Each recipe is explained with concise, easy-to-follow instructions, and includes prep, proofing, and baking times to aid with time management. Step-by-step photography demystifies the more complex breadmaking processes, and a handy troubleshooting section addresses common breadmaking dilemmas. The collection of 60 recipes includes foolproof versions of boulangerie and international staples; healthy recipes featuring heritage grains - from high-protein lentil and chickpea flours to low-gluten and gluten-free varieties made with einkorn, buckwheat, spelt and rye, as well as a mouthwatering range of sweet loaves and brioches. Clear, comprehensive, and beautifully produced,The Bread Book is a kitchen shelf essential for the modern home baker. Chapters and recipes include: Classic Breads : Baguette; Boule; Heritage Wheat Bread; No-Knead Bread; Rye Loaf Breads with Heritage Grains : Corn and Sunflower Seed Bread; Grape Seed Bread; Hemp Bread; Rice Flour and Buckwheat Bread; Quinoa Flour Bread Breads of the World : Bao Buns; Challah; Naan; Pita; Rosemary Focaccia Stuffed Loaves : Cheese Bread; Fig, Hazelnut, and Fennel Bread; Matcha and Candied Orange Bread; Mixed Fruit and Nut Crown; Olive Bread Brioches : Babka; Chocolate and Banana Brioche; Ekmek with Raisins and Pecans; Japanese Milk Bread with Pistachios and Cherries; Pain Au Lait

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A Sherlock Holmes Escape Book: The Adventure of the Tower of London is a unique form of puzzle book, in which the reader must solve the riddles to escape the pages. The fourth title in this ingenious series of Sherlock Holmes Escape Books, The Adventure of the Tower of London is an exhilarating combination of escape room, puzzle book and adventure story. Inspired by the urban craze for escape rooms, where players tackle puzzles while trapped in a locked room, it is an escape room in the form of a locked book, filled with codes, ciphers, riddles and red herrings, and a clever Code Wheel set into the cover. In the latest adventure in the series, readers will take on the role of the world’s foremost consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes’s nemesis Moriarty has locked Sherlock’s friend, the musician Odon von Mihalovic, with the Crown Jewels in a cage in Tower Bridge the night before a special ceremony is due to be held for the Queen. Holmes and Watson are themselves trapped in the nearby Tower of London by Moriarty, and they must work through the night and against the clock to find and free Odon from the cage to prevent him being disgraced in the ceremony the following morning. Combines riddles, logic puzzles, timed challenges, mathematical brain-teasers, maps and mazes. The fourth title in the series of bestselling Sherlock Holmes ‘escape room’ puzzle books Creates an interactive adventure based around two of Victorian London’s most famous landmarks Aimed at puzzle/escape room fans, Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts and those interested in popular mathematics and the early history of computing From the authors of two previous books in the series, A Sherlock Holmes Escape Book: The Adventure of the British Museum and A Sherlock Holmes Escape Book: The Adventure of the Analytical Engine

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A compelling new biography of Camilla, Queen Consort, that reveals how she transformed her role and established herself as one of the key members of the royal family. For many years, Camilla was portrayed in a poor light, blamed by the public for the break-up of the marriage between Prince Charles and Lady Diana. Initially, the Queen refused to see or speak to her, but, after the death of Prince Philip, the Duchess became one of the Queen's closest companions. Her confidence in Camilla and the transformation she saw in Prince Charles since their wedding resulted in her choosing the first day of her Platinum Jubilee year to tell the world that she wanted Camilla to be Queen Consort not the demeaning Princess Consort suggested in 2005 Angela Levin uncovers Camilla’s rocky journey to be accepted by the royal family and how she coped with the brutal portrayal of her in Netflix's The Crown. The public have witnessed her tremendous contribution to help those in need, especially during Covid. Levin has talked to many of the Duchess’s long-term friends, her staff and executives from the numerous charities of which Camilla is patron. She reveals why Camilla concentrates on previously taboo subjects, such as domestic violence and rape. Most of all, Levin tells the story of how Camilla has changed from a fun-loving young woman to one of the senior royals’ hardest workers. She has retained her mischievous sense of humour, becoming a role model for older women and an inspiration for younger ones.Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall is both an extraordinary love story and a fascinating portrait of an increasingly confident Queen Consort. It is an essential read for anyone wanting a greater insight into the royal family.

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“[A] landmark book…[a] bold reframing of the history of the British Empire.”—Caroline Elkins, Foreign AffairsAn award-winning historian places the corporation—more than the Crown—at the heart of British colonialism, arguing that companies built and governed global empire, raising questions about public and private power that were just as troubling four hundred years ago as they are today.Across four centuries, from Ireland to India, the Americas to Africa and Australia, British colonialism was above all the business of corporations. Corporations conceived, promoted, financed, and governed overseas expansion, making claims over territory and peoples while ensuring that British and colonial society were invested, quite literally, in their ventures. Colonial companies were also relentlessly controversial, frequently in debt, and prone to failure. The corporation was well-suited to overseas expansion not because it was an inevitable juggernaut but because, like empire itself, it was an elusive contradiction: public and private; person and society; subordinate and autonomous; centralized and diffuse; immortal and precarious; national and cosmopolitan—a legal fiction with very real power.Breaking from traditional histories in which corporations take a supporting role by doing the dirty work of sovereign states in exchange for commercial monopolies, Philip Stern argues that corporations took the lead in global expansion and administration. Whether in sixteenth-century Ireland and North America or the Falklands in the early 1980s, corporations were key players. And, as Empire, Incorporated makes clear, venture colonialism did not cease with the end of empire. Its legacies continue to raise questions about corporate power that are just as relevant today as they were 400 years ago.Challenging conventional wisdom about where power is held on a global scale, Stern complicates the supposedly firm distinction between private enterprise and the state, offering a new history of the British Empire, as well as a new history of the corporation.

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An Air Force loadmaster in the Vietnam War is shot out of the sky, then saved by falling into a banyan. An artist inherits a hundred years of photographic portraits, all of the same doomed American chestnut. A hard-partying undergraduate in the late 1980s electrocutes herself, dies, and is sent back into life by creatures of air and light. A hearing- and speech-impaired scientist discovers that trees are communicating with one another. These four, and five other strangers—each summoned in different ways by trees—are brought together in a last and violent stand to save the continent’s few remaining acres of virgin forest. In his twelfth novel, National Book Award winner Richard Powers delivers a sweeping, impassioned novel of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of—and paean to—the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, The Overstory unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond, exploring the essential conflict on this planet: the one taking place between humans and nonhumans. There is a world alongside ours—vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see that world and who are drawn up into its unfolding catastrophe. The Overstory is a book for all readers who despair of humanity’s self-imposed separation from the rest of creation and who hope for the transformative, regenerating possibility of a homecoming. If the trees of this earth could speak, what would they tell us? "Listen. There’s something you need to hear."

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A Times Best Book on the Royal Family of the Year 2022 This is a biography of the Queen Mother with all the dull bits stripped out. When told that Lady Mountbatten was being buried at sea, the Queen Mother replied cheerfully. ‘Dear old Edwina, she always did like to make a splash!’ During her lifetime, the Queen Mother was as famous for her clever quips, pointed observations and dry-as-a-Martini delivery style as she was for being a member of the Royal Family. She was also famed for her fondness for ‘drinky-poos’ – usually a gin and Dubonnet or three. Now, Do Let’s Have Another Drink recounts 101 biographical vignettes – one for each year of her long, remarkable life, including her coming-of-age during World War I, the abdication of her brother-in-law, the truth about her tragic nieces and her relationship with her two daughters over half a century of widowhood. The book is a skimming-stone biography – the story of a life without the boring bits – and a travel guide to a world that no longer exists. Stepping into the Queen Mother’s rarefied universe is a little like falling through the looking glass. The book rightly celebrates her sense of humour but also explores her enmities and feuds, including the truth about her behaviour towards Wallis Simpson, Nerissa Bowes-Lyon and Diana, Princess of Wales. For fans of The Crown and featuring new revelations, never before published, and colourful anecdotes about the woman the high society photographer Cecil Beaton once described as ‘a marshmallow made on a welding machine’, Do Let’s Have Another Drink is a delightful celebration of one of the most consistently popular members of the Royal Family.

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**A Financial Times Best Summer Book 2023**Out now: a gripping look at the rise of the microchip and the British tech company behind the blueprint to it all.'A gripping and inspiring read.' Sir James Dyson'A revealing and insightful biography of the company whose blueprints define the digital world.' Chris Miller, author of CHIP WAR: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology'[A] sparkly corporate biography.' Financial Times__________One tiny device lies at the heart of the world's relentless technological advance: the microchip. Today, these slivers of silicon are essential to running just about any machine, from household devices and factory production lines to smartphones and cutting-edge weaponry.At the centre of billions of these chips is a blueprint created and nurtured by a single company: Arm.Founded in Cambridge in 1990, Arm's designs have been used an astonishing 250 billion times and counting. The UK's high-tech crown jewel is an indispensable part of a global supply chain driven by American brains and Asian manufacturing brawn that has become the source of rising geopolitical tension.With exclusive interviews and exhaustive research, The Everything Blueprint tells the story of Arm, from humble beginnings to its pivotal role in the mobile phone revolution and now supplying data centres, cars and the supercomputers that harness artificial intelligence.It explores the company's enduring relationship with Apple and numerous other tech titans, plus its multi-billion-pound sale to the one-time richest man in the world, Japan's Masayoshi Son.The Everything Blueprint details the titanic power struggle for control of the microchip, through the eyes of a unique British enterprise that has found itself in the middle of that battle.__________

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Set in Williams' New York Times bestselling fantasy world, the second book of The Last King of Osten Ard returns to the trials of King Simon and Queen Miriamele as threats to their kingdom loom . . .The kingdoms of Osten Ard have been at peace for decades, but now, the threat of a new war grows to nightmarish proportions.Simon and Miriamele, royal husband and wife, face danger from every side. Their allies in Hernystir have made a pact with the dreadful Queen of the Norns to allow her armies to cross into mortal lands. The ancient, powerful nation of Nabban is on the verge of bloody civil war, and the fierce nomads of the Thrithings grasslands have begun to mobilize, united by superstitious fervor and their age-old hatred of the city-dwellers. But as the countries and peoples of the High Ward bicker among themselves, battle, bloodshed, and dark magics threaten to pull civilizations to pieces. And over it all looms the mystery of the Witchwood Crown, the deadly puzzle that Simon, Miriamele, and their allies must solve if they wish to survive.But as the kingdoms of Osten Ard are torn apart by fear and greed, a few individuals will fight for their own lives and destinies-not yet aware that the survival of everything depends on them.Praise for Tad Williams'One of my favourite fantasy series' - George R. R. Martin, author of A Game of Thrones'Ground-breaking . . . changed how people thought of the genre and paved the way for so much modern fantasy, including mine' - Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Kingkiller Chronicle'One of the main reasons I started writing fantasy . . . Tad Williams' work is an essential part of any science fiction and fantasy library' - Christopher Paolini, author of the Inheritance Cycle series

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From the international bestselling author of Dexter come a brilliant new thriller starring Riley Wolfe: a master thief, expert at disguise, and not averse to violence when it's needed. ********'Another blockbuster from a can't-miss master. Enjoy the ride." - David Baldacci'The Dexter creator's new hero-thief is a blast...Far-fetched, foulmouthed and very funny.' - Mark Sanderson, The Times'Vastly entertaining, and written with verve and charm, it ushers in a character that is impossible to forget.' - Geoffrey Wansell, Daily Mail********It's no accident, though, that Riley targets the wealthiest 0.1 percent and is willing to kill them when they're in his way: he despises the degenerate and immoral rich and loves stealing their undeserved and unearned valuables.In this series launch, Riley aims for an extraordinary target in a heist that will make history. Riley will try to steal the Crown Jewels of Iran. Yes, these jewels are worth billions, but the true attraction for grabbing them comes down to one simple fact: it can't be done. Stealing these jewels is absolutely impossible. The collection is guarded by space-age electronics and two teams of heavily armed mercenaries. No one could even think of getting past the airtight security and hope to get away alive, let alone with even a single diamond from the Imperial Collection.No one but Riley Wolfe. He's always liked a challenge. But this challenge may be more than even he can handle. Aside from the impenetrable security, Riley is also pursued by a brilliant and relentless cop who is barely a step behind him.With the aid of his sometime ally, a beautiful woman who is a master art forger, Riley Wolfe goes for the prize that will either make him a legend-or, more likely, leave him dead.

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Of the five Tudor monarchs, only one was ever born to rule. While much of King Henry VIII's reign is centred on his reckless marriage choices, it was the foundations laid by Henry and Queen Katherine of Aragon that shaped the future of the crown. Among the suffering of five lost heirs, the royal couple placed all their hopes in the surviving Princess Mary. Her early life weaves a tale of promise, diplomacy, and pageantry never again seen in King Henry's life, but a deep-rooted desire for a son, a legacy of his own scattered childhood, pushed Henry VIII to smother Mary's chance to rule. An affair soon produced an unlikely heir in Henry Fitzroy, and while one child was pure royalty, the other illegitimate, the comparison of their childhoods would show a race to throne closer than many wished to admit. King Henry's cruelty saw his heirs' fates pivot as wives came and went, and the birth Princess Elizabeth, saw long-term plans upended for short-term desires. With the death of one heir hidden from view, the birth of Prince Edward finally gave the realm an heir born to rule, but King Henry's personal desires and paranoia left his heirs facing constant uncertainty for another decade until his death. Behind the narrative of Henry VIII's wives, wars, reformation and ruthlessness, there were children, living lives of education among people who cared for them, surrounded by items in generous locations which symbolised their place in their father's heart. They faced excitement, struggles, and isolation which would shape their own reigns. From the heights of a surviving princess destined and decreed to influence Europe, to illegitimate children scattered to the winds of fortune, the childhoods of Henry VIII's heirs is one of ambition, destiny, heartache, and triumph.

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Sir Hardy Amies was one of Britain’s foremost fashion designers who led a fascinating double life as a couturier and an intelligence officer during the Second World War. Sir Hardy’s work for the Belgian resistance effort as part of the Special Operations Executive, was so significant that he was awarded l’Ordre de la Couronne, or Order of the Crown, by the Belgian Government in 1948. Not only did Sir Hardy conduct these operations, but he also simultaneously developed his burgeoning fashion business through the British Board of Trade’s drive to promote UK manufacturing throughout the conflict. He was a man who at once epitomised and challenged the reality of being homosexual in an era when society was deeply unaccepting. He was thrust into what was an overtly macho and potentially hostile environment and, against that backdrop, made a valuable and courageous contribution to the war effort. Born into what we would consider a lower middle-class family, he was handsome, cultured and gregarious and effortlessly traversed the post-war world of high society, launching his haute couture house to great acclaim, gaining clients ranging from film stars to royalty. His work for Queen Elizabeth II saw him awarded the CVO in 1977 and this was elevated to the KCVO, Knight Commander of the Victorian Order in 1989. Her Majesty’s warmth of feeling towards Sir Hardy is evident in the many hand-written thank-you letters she sent him over the course of their long working relationship. Sir Hardy, who lived until the age of 93, could have been dismissed as a lightweight character from the frivolous world of fashion. However, despite a not-particularly extensive formal education, he was highly intelligent, extremely well-travelled and spoke three languages, and his story encapsulates the extraordinary cultural and societal turbulence of the twentieth century.

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'A riveting take on an extraordinary relationship' - Richard Eden, Daily Mail'A fresh and original approach' - Hugo Vickers, Royal BiographerShe was 'sugar pink' innocence; he was a handsome war hero. Both had royal blood coursing through their veins. The marriage of Britain's Princess Elizabeth to Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten in November 1947 is remembered as the beginning of an extraordinary, lifelong union but success was not guaranteed. Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy plunges us back into the 1940s when a teenage princess fell in love with a foreign prince. Cue fears of a flirtatious 'Greek' fortune hunter stealing off with Britain's crown jewel and Philip's supporters scrambling to reframe him as a good fit for the Royal Family. Drawing on original newspaper archives and the opinions of Elizabeth and Philip's contemporaries, historian Dr Tessa Dunlop discovers a post-war world on the cusp of major change. Unprecedented polling on Philip's suitability was a harbinger of pressures to come for a couple whose marriage was branded the ultimate global fairytale. Theirs was a partnership like no other. Six years after Elizabeth promised to be an obedient wife Philip got down on bended knee at the coronation and committed himself as the Queen's 'liege man of life and limb.' Published 75 years after their marriage, this deeply touching history explores the ups and downs, the public appeal and the private tensions that defined an extraordinary relationship. The high stakes involved might have devoured a less committed pair - but Elizabeth and Philip shared a common purpose, one higher even than marriage, with roots much deeper than young love. Happy and Glorious, for better or for worse, how did their union succeed? Monarchy was the magic word.

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In the 1960s, Hong Kong was probably the most dynamic city in the world. Adjacent to Communist China, the most populous nation on Earth, the city bustled with life. What was it like to cross the Fragrant Harbour daily to attend a British Army School eight thousand miles from the United Kingdom? This is a teenage schoolboy's recollection of the most exciting days of his life. Whether you have been to Hong Kong or not, it is an exhilarating read. Back cover blurb Faced with a straight choice between a boarding school in England or three years at a British Army School in Hong Kong, Mark Harland chose the latter. In 1966 Hong Kong was exhilarating, dynamic and evolving into the richest jewel in the British Empire. Across the border, Communist China, the most populous country on earth, was in turmoil with Mao Tse-Tung's Red Guards running amok and maintaining their version of law and order in the most brutal fashion. How did it affect the Crown Colony, a mere pin-prick on the map of the Middle Kingdom? The author traces his arrival by cargo ship on a steaming hot August night and recounts his memories. Using three consecutive years of progress at St. Georges School in Kowloon as a template for this book, Mark Harland interlinks the everyday events of colonial life into a melange of history, geography and politics. Whether you have lived in Hong Kong or not, the account of those 'One Thousand Days' will leave you feeling that you, too, crossed the 'Fragrant Harbour' twice a day to attend a school administered by the British Army six thousand miles away from either Agincourt or Aldershot.

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Now a major TV series on Prime Video The eighth novel in the Wheel of Time series - one of the most influential and popular fantasy epics ever published.Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn, has conquered the city of Illian, struck down Sammael the Forsaken and shattered the armies of the invading Seanchan. Nynaeve, Aviendha and Elayne have broken the Dark One's hold on the world's weather and are poised to retake the throne of Andor. And Egwene al'Vere, leader of the exiled Aes Sedai, marches her army towards the White Tower.But Rand and the Asha'man that follow him are slowly being corrupted by the madness that comes to the male wielders of the One Power. If they cannot remove the Dark One's taint from the True Source then none will survive to fight the Last Battle against the Shadow.And as Rand struggles to maintain his sanity the Seanchan launch their counter-strike.'Epic in every sense' Sunday Times'With the Wheel of Time, Jordan has come to dominate the world that Tolkien began to reveal' New York Times'[The] huge ambitious Wheel of Time series helped redefine the genre' George R. R. Martin'A fantasy phenomenon' SFXThe Wheel of Time series:Book 1: The Eye of the WorldBook 2: The Great HuntBook 3: The Dragon RebornBook 4: The Shadow RisingBook 5: The Fires of HeavenBook 6: Lord of ChaosBook 7: A Crown of SwordsBook 8: The Path of DaggersBook 9: Winter's HeartBook 10: Crossroads of TwilightBook 11: Knife of DreamsBook 12: The Gathering StormBook 13: Towers of MidnightBook 14: A Memory of LightPrequel: New SpringLook out for the companion book: The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time

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Now a major TV series on Prime Video The third novel in the Wheel of Time series - one of the most influential and popular fantasy epics ever published.The Land is One with the Dragon - and the Dragon is One with the Land.The Shadow lies across the Pattern of the Age, and the Dark One has turned all his power against the prison that binds him. If it fails he will escape and nothing will stand in the storm that blows then . . . save the man that was born to battle the darkness: Rand al'Thor, the Dragon Reborn.But to wage his war Rand must find Callandor, ancient Sword of the Dragon . . . and the Forsaken will shatter the world to thwart him.'Epic in every sense' Sunday Times'With the Wheel of Time, Jordan has come to dominate the world that Tolkien began to reveal' New York Times'[The] huge ambitious Wheel of Time series helped redefine the genre' George R. R. Martin'A fantasy phenomenon' SFXThe Wheel of Time series:Book 1: The Eye of the WorldBook 2: The Great HuntBook 3: The Dragon RebornBook 4: The Shadow RisingBook 5: The Fires of HeavenBook 6: Lord of ChaosBook 7: A Crown of SwordsBook 8: The Path of DaggersBook 9: Winter's HeartBook 10: Crossroads of TwilightBook 11: Knife of DreamsBook 12: The Gathering StormBook 13: Towers of MidnightBook 14: A Memory of LightPrequel: New SpringLook out for the companion book: The World of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of TimeAlso look out for The Complete Wheel of Time Box Set, a box set containing all fifteen novels in this monumental series, presented in a sturdy box with a wood-finish effect.

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'Yankee Mission is a jewel in Julian Stockwin's crown as a master in naval fiction, with a ship-to-ship fight so vivid that the battle's sounds and scents fly off the pages like lethal wooden splinters' - Quarterdeck1812. Off the coast of Brazil, HMS Java, a proud British 38-gun frigate, is captured in battle by the American USS Constitution - signaling across the world's oceans a challenge to Britain's naval premiership that cannot be ignored.Back in England Captain Sir Thomas Kydd is enjoying a moment of normal life with his wife and his newborn son. With his Thunderer in dock receiving some well-earned repairs he is, momentarily, without a command. It's a position the Admiralty does not leave him in for long, and he is soon given a mission: engage the young republic in a fair fight, frigate against frigate, and restore the Navy's reputation. And they have just the ship and crew for him . . . Tyger. But on reaching the US east coast, Kydd and his trusted Tygers realise that the hardest part of their mission will be drawing out one of the Yankee men-o'-war to engage in battle - especially once the Americans get wind of his purpose. It's a tall order, requiring every ounce of the crew's guile and persistence - and when fortune turns against them, Kydd finds not only his career, but his life, hanging in the balance.Praise for Julian Stockwin's Kydd series:'A very readable and enjoyable story . . . I can only recommend that you go out, beg, borrow or buy, and enjoy' - Bernard Cornwell 'In Stockwin's hands the sea story will continue to entrance readers across the world' - Guardian'The characterization is first-class, and the reader quickly becomes involved with all that happens' - Historical Novels Review

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This is a comprehensive look at how France influenced the American Revolutionary War in a variety of ways; intellectually, financially, and militarily. It raises the crucial question of whether America could have won its independence without the aid of France.The book begins with an overview of the intellectual and ideological contributions of the French Enlightenment thinkers, called the philosophes, to the American and French revolutions. It then moves to cover the many forms of aid provided by France to support America during the Revolutionary War. This ranged from the covert aid France supplied America before her official entry into the war, to the French outfitters and merchants who provided much-needed military supplies to the Americans. When the war began, the colonists thought the French would welcome an opportunity to retaliate and regain their country. France also provided naval assistance, particularly to the American privateers who harassed British shipping and contributed to the increased shipping rates which added to Great Britain's economic hardships. France's military involvement in the war was equally as important.America's First Ally looks at the contributions of individual French officers and troops, arguing that America could not have won without them. Desmarais explores the international nature of a war which some people have called the first world war. When France and Spain entered the conflict, they fought the Crown forces in their respective areas of economic interest. In addition to the engagements in the Atlantic Ocean, along the American and European coasts and in the West Indies, there are accounts of action in India and the East Indies, South America and Africa.Also included are accounts drawn from ships' logs, court and auction records, newspapers, letters, diaries, journals, and pension applications.

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Readers and playgoers who are new to Shakespeare (and even more seasoned veterans who would like to appreciate him more than they do) often find themselves puzzled: what is going on? His characters speak in verse rather than in the patterns of everyday speech. They are figures that ordinary humans seldom encounter—kings, queens, dukes, cardinals, and generals. Some of the plays are set in places even the most seasoned traveler is unlikely to have visited—Bohemia, Illyria, and the ancient Greek cities of Asia Minor—and in times from the distant past—imperial Rome, medieval Venice, Homer's Troy. What's more, the plots pursue events that seemingly have little to do with the daily round of modern lives—contention for a royal crown, assassination, shipwreck, occult visitation. Robert Fallon's small book is designed to dispel some of this apparent strangeness. It shows readers that what may at first seem unfamiliar to them is in fact close to their own lives. Kings and queens emerge as recognizable fathers and mothers, dukes and earls as squabbling siblings of any era. Exotic locales might be any present-day village or city block. And the plots resemble stories to be found in the pages of our morning newspaper. Shakespeare's language takes some getting used to, but even a brief acquaintance with its cadence and imagery will offer a glimpse of its glories. In How to Enjoy Shakespeare, Mr. Fallon explores Shakespeare's familiarity in five sections dealing with language, theme, staging, character, and plot, each abundantly illustrated with episodes and quotations from the plays. He writes in easily accessible prose in a book designed to make modern readers and audiences feel comfortable with the Bard.

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An elderly man aggressively defends his private domain against all comers—including his daughter;a policeman investigates an impossible horror show of a crime; a father witnesses one of the worst things a parent can imagine; the abuse of one child fuels another’s yearning; an Iraqi war veteran seeks a fellow soldier in his hometown but finds more than she bargains for . . .The Best Horror of the Year showcases the previous year’s best offerings in short fiction horror. This edition includes award-winning and critically acclaimed authors Adam L. G. Nevill, Livia Llewellyn, Peter Straub, Gemma Files, Brian Hodge, and more.For more than three decades, award-winning editor and anthologist Ellen Datlow has had her finger on the pulse of the latest and most terrifying in horror writing. Night Shade Books is proud to present the ninth volume in this annual series, a new collection of stories to keep you up at night.Table of Contents: Summation 2016 - Ellen Datlow Nesters -- Siobhan Carroll The Oestridae -- Robert Levy The Process is a Process All its Own -- Peter Straub The Bad Hour -- Christopher Golden Red Rabbit -- Steve Rasnic Tem It's All the Same Road in the End -- Brian Hodge Fury -- DB Waters Grave Goods -- Gemma Files Between Dry Ribs -- Gregory Norman Bossert The Days of Our Lives -- Adam LG Nevill House of Wonders -- C.E. Ward The Numbers -- Christopher Burns Bright Crown of Joy -- Livia Llewellyn The Beautiful Thing We Will Become -- Kristi DeMeester Wish You Were Here -- Nadia Bulkin Ragman -- Rebecca Lloyd What’s Out There? -- Gary McMahon No Matter Which Way We Turned -- Brian Evenson The Castellmarch Man -- Ray Cluley The Ice Beneath Us -- Steve Duffy On These Blackened Shores of Time -- Brian Hodge Honorable Mentions

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From master storyteller and New York Times-bestseller Tad Williams comes the second book in the landmark epic fantasy saga of Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. Tad Williams introduced readers to the incredible fantasy world of Osten Ard in his internationally bestselling series Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. The trilogy inspired a generation of modern fantasy writers, including George R.R. Martin, Patrick Rothfuss, and Christopher Paolini, and defined Tad Williams as one of the most important fantasy writers of our time. 



“One of my favorite fantasy series.” —George R. R. Martin “Groundbreaking.” —Patrick Rothfuss “One of the great fantasy epics of all time.” —Christopher Paolini BOOK TWO: STONE OF FAREWELL It is a time of darkness, dread, and ultimate testing for the realm of Osten Ard, for the wild magic and terrifying minions of the undead Sithi ruler, Ineluki the Storm King, are spreading their seemingly undefeatable evil across the kingdom. With the very land blighted by the power of Ineluki’s wrath, the tattered remnants of a once-proud human army flee in search of a last sanctuary and rallying point—the Stone of Farewell, a place shrouded in mystery and ancient sorrow. An even as Prince Josua seeks to rally his scattered forces, Simon and the surviving members of the League of the Scroll are desperately struggling to discover the truth behind an almost-forgotten legend, which will take them from the fallen citadels of humans to the secret heartland of the Sithi—where near-immortals must at last decide whether to ally with the race of men in a final war against those of their own blood. After the landmark Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn trilogy, the epic saga of Osten Ard continues with The Heart of What Was Lost. Then don’t miss the sequel trilogy, The Last King of Osten Ard, beginning with The Witchwood Crown!

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This series [pushes] the boundaries of knowledge and [develops] new trends in approach and understanding. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW Of necessity, historians of the late Middle Ages have to rely on an eclectic mix of sources, ranging from the few remaining medieval buildings, monuments, illuminated manuscripts and miscellaneous artefacts, to a substantial but often uncatalogued body of documentary material, much of it born of the medieval administrator's penchant for record keeping. Exploring this evidence requires skills in lateral thinking and interpretation - qualities which are manifested in this volume. Employing the copious legal records kept by the English Crown, one essay reveals the thinking behind exceptions to pardons sold by successive kings, while another, using clerical taxation returns, adds colour to contemporary criticism of friars for betraying their vows of poverty. Case studies of the registers of two hospitals, one in London the other in Canterbury, lead to insights into the relations of their administrators with civic and spiritual authorities. A textual dissection of the epilogues in William Caxton's early printed works focuses on the universal desire for commemoration. Other essays about royal livery collars and the English coinage are nourished by material remains, and where contemporary records fail to survive, as in the listing of burials in parish churches, notes kept by sixteenth-century heralds and antiquaries provide clues for novel identifications. The book-ends are exemplars of the historian's craft: the one, taking as its starting point the will of Ralph, Lord Cromwell, explores in forensic detail how his executors coped with their enormous task in a time of civil war; the other,by examining research into the economy of fifteenth-century England undertaken since the 1880s, provides an over-view which scholars of the period will find invaluable. Contributors: Martin Allen, Christopher Dyer, David Harry, Susanne Jenks, Maureen Jurkowski, Simon Payling, Euan Roger, Christian Steer, Sheila Sweetinburgh, Matthew Ward.

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A detailed examination of the patronage rights exerted over the church by the nobility, illuminating the complex network of relationships between them, the Church, and the clergy. While there has been work on the nobility as patrons of monasteries, this is the first real study of them as patrons of parish churches, and is thus the first study to tackle the subject as a whole. Illustrated with a wealth of detail, it will become an indispensable work of reference for those interested in lay patronage and the Church more generally in the middle ages. Professor David Carpenter, Department of History, King's College London This book provides the first full-length, integrated study of the ecclesiastical patronage rights of the nobility in medieval England. It examines the nature and extent of these rights, how they were used, why and for whom they were valuable, what challenges lay patrons faced, and how they looked to the future in making gifts to the Church. It takes as its focus the thirteenth century, a critical period for the survival and development of these rights, being a time of ambitious Church reform, of great change in patterns of land ownership in the ranks of the higher nobility, and of bold assertion by the English Crown of its claims to control Church property. The thirteenth century also saw a proliferation of record keeping on the part of kings, bishops and nobility, and the author uses new evidence from a range of documentary sources to explore the nature of the relationships between the English nobility, theChurch and its clergy, a relationship in which patronage was the essential feature. Dr Elizabeth Gemmill is University Lecturer in Local History and Fellow of Kellogg College. University of Oxford.

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