Search results for ""history press""

Join Emelia Moorgrim and her cat, Monty Marmalade, as they courageously use their time-travel watch to journey through history, untangle mysteries and find the monsters before they cause too much trouble.Inspired by items at Norfolk Heritage Centre and Norfolk landmarks, this book adventures through the ages with many monsters in the pages!

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In his New History of England, leading historian Jeremy Black takes a cool and dispassionate look at the vicissitudes of over two millennia of English history.

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The Little Book of Edinburgh is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no-one will want to be without. Here we find out about the most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters and literally hundreds of wacky facts. Geoff Holder’s new book contains historic and contemporary trivia on Edinburgh. There are lots of factual chapters but also plenty of frivolous details which will amuse and surprise. A reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something you never knew. Discover the real story of Greyfriars Bobby (he was a publicity stunt), meet the nineteenth-century counterparts of our favourite modern detectives, from Jackson Brodie to John Rebus, seek out historical sites from the distant past to the Second World War, and tangle with the Tattoo and freak out with the Festival. A remarkably engaging little book, this is essential reading for visitors and locals alike.

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In January 1547 Henry VIII lay dying. His heir was just 9 years old and all England waited expectantly to see who would hold the reins of power until Edward VI came of age. Within days of Henry's death, the privy council overturned the terms of his will and Edward Seymour, Duke of Somerset was named Lord Protector. It was a decision that the men in power would come to regret. For nearly three years, Somerset was ‘king in all but name’, the most powerful man in England. But though he was a skilled soldier and leader on the battlefield, Somerset's political skills were not so well-honed. His single-mindedness and his overbearing attitude towards the privy Councillors alienated the very men whose support he most needed. When they lost patience with him, the scene was set for conflict. Despite energetic opposition, his religious reform was his greatest success and the establishment of the Book of Common Prayer, which laid the foundation of the Anglican Church, was to be his most enduring achievement. However, his efforts to lessen the authoritarian rule imposed by Henry VIII and to improve the well-being of the common folk led to widespread rebellion, and as his attempt to subdue the Scots failed, England faced war with France. To the people Edward Seymour was the 'Good Duke'. To his fellow Councillors he was a traitor. This is a story of Tudor ambition, power and the ultimate price of failure.

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Of the 2.3 million National Servicemen conscripted during the Cold War, 4,200 attended the secret Joint Services School for Linguists, tasked with supplying much-needed Russian speakers to the three services. The majority were in RAF uniform, as the Warsaw Pact saw air forces become the greatest danger to the West. After training, they were sent to the front lines in Germany and elsewhere to snoop on Russian aircraft in real time. Posted to RAF Gatow in Berlin, ideally placed for signals interception, Douglas Boyd came to know Hitler’s devastated former capital, divided as it was into Soviet, French, US and British sectors. Pulling no punches, he describes the SIGINT work, his subsequent arrest by armed Soviet soldiers one night on the border, and how he was locked up without trial in solitary confinement in a Stasi prison. The Solitary Spy is a unique account of the terrifying experience of incarceration and interrogation in an East German political prison, from which Boyd eventually escaped one step ahead of the KGB.

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The Normans were a relatively short-lived cultural and political phenomenon. The emerged early in the tenth century and had disappeared off the map by the mid-thirteenth century. Yet in that time they had conquered England, southern Italy and Sicily, and had established outposts in North Africa and in Levant. Having traced the formation of the Duchy of Normandy, Trevor Rowley draws on the latest archaeological and historical evidence to examine how the Normans were able to conquer and dominate significant parts of Europe.In particular he looks at their achievements in England and Italy and their claim to a permanent legacy, as witnessed in feudalism, in castles, churches and settlement and in place-names. But equally from the political stage. The reality is that, even within this short time-span, the Normans changed as time and place dictated from Norse invaders to Frankish crusaders to Byzantine monarchs to Feudal overlords. In the end their contribution to medieval culture was largely as a catalyst for other, older traditions.

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In the early hours of Thursday, 8 August 1963, sixteen masked men ambushed the Glasgow–Euston mail train at Sears Crossing in Buckinghamshire.Making off with a record haul of £2.6 million, the robbers received approximately £150,000 each (over £2 million in today’s money). While twelve of the robbers were jailed over the next five years, four were never brought to justice – they evaded arrest and thirty-year prison sentences, and lived out the rest of their lives in freedom. In stark contrast to the likes of Ronnie Biggs, Buster Edwards and Bruce Reynolds, they became neither household names nor tabloid celebrities.Who were these men? How did they escape detection for so long? And how, almost sixty years later, are their names still not common knowledge? In No Case to Answer, Andrew Cook gathers and examines decades of evidence and lays it out end to end. It’s time for you to draw your own conclusions.

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Physics is the science that studies how our universe behaves: from the tiny subatomic world of particle physics to the cosmos of astrophysics and so much more in between.Mind Maps: Physics helps the reader to understand the importance of physics and to learn its language by exploring ten mind maps, which are powerful tools for visual learning and understanding. Complex ideas are explained using text and illustrations that are easy to follow. Featuring specially commissioned, hand-drawn maps, diagrams and doodles, together with an expert analysis of concepts, this book provides a wealth of visual information to explore and discover.

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The true story of Crabb's colourful life and his mysterious disappearance in 1945.

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A motorcycle should be simple: one engine, two wheels. But, back in 2009, Fred Jourden and Hugo Jézégabel couldn’t find any that fitted their specifications – so they decided to make their own. Leaving their 9–5 jobs, they set up Blitz Motorcycles in Paris, creating a garage where they would build only the most beautiful and unique motorcycles, all hand-designed, custom-built and tailored to the rider. This was the start of an adventure that would take them from strength to strength, and from garage to desert to mountain. Blitz Motorcycles: A Vision of Custom Motorcycles presents first the vision and then the motorcycles in one strikingly illustrated volume.

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‘Hollman combines scrupulous research with spellbinding storytelling; The Queen and the Mistress will keep you turning the pages.’ - Sylvia Barbara Soberton, author of Ladies-In-Waiting: The Women Who Served Anne Boleyn‘A must-read for anyone interested in medieval women’s or royal history.’ - Catherine Hanley, author of Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior‘In The Queen and the Mistress, Gemma Hollman challenges much of the misinformation and misconceptions which have surrounded both women for centuries ... A triumph of historical research and interpretation.’ - Sharon Bennett Connolly, author of Ladies of Magna Carta: Women of Influence in Thirteenth Century England‘The Queen and the Mistress is an absorbing and masterful historical work, which you might not even notice because it is also incredibly fun. Hollman writes with obvious joy and sensitivity towards her subjects, bringing these complex women and their world to glorious life. I couldn’t put it down.’ - Eleanor Janega, Going Medieval PodcastIN A WORLD WHERE MAN IS KING, CAN WOMEN REALLY HAVE IT ALL – AND KEEP IT?Philippa of Hainault was Queen of England for forty-one years. Her marriage to Edward III, when they were both teenagers, was more political transaction than romantic wedding, but it would turn into a partnership of deep affection. The mother of twelve children, she was the perfect medieval queen: pious, unpolitical and fiercely loyal to both her king and adopted country.Alice Perrers entered court as a young widow and would soon catch the eye of an ageing king whose wife was dying. Born to a family of London goldsmiths, this charismatic and highly intelligent woman would use her position as the king’s favourite to build up her own portfolio of land, wealth and prestige, only to see it all come crashing down as Edward himself neared death.The Queen and the Mistress is a story of female power and passion, and how two very different women used their skills and charms to navigate a tumultuous royal court – and win the heart of the same man.

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An Austro-Hungarian with a dark streak, Victor Lustig was a man of athletic good looks, with a taste for larceny and foreign intrigue. He spoke six languages and went under nearly as many aliases in the course of a continent-hopping life that also saw him act as a double (or possibly triple) agent. Along the way, he found time to dupe an impressive variety of banks and hotels on both sides of the Atlantic; to escape from no fewer than three supposedly impregnable prisons; and to swindle Al Capone out of thousands of dollars, while living to tell the tale. Undoubtedly the greatest of his hoaxes was the sale, to a wealthy but gullible Parisian scrap-metal dealer, of the Eiffel Tower in 1925. In a narrative that thrills like a crime caper, best-selling biographer Christopher Sandford tells the whole story of the greatest conman of the twentieth century.

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On the night of 4 April 1793, two lovers were preparing to compel a cleric to perform a secret ceremony. The wedding of the sixth son of King George III to the daughter of the Earl of Dunmore would not only be concealed – it would also be illegal.Lady Augusta Murray had known Prince Augustus Frederick for only three months but they had already fallen deeply in love and were desperate to be married. However, the Royal Marriages Act forbade such a union without the King’s permission and going ahead with the ceremony would change Augusta’s life forever. From a beautiful socialite she became a social pariah; her children were declared illegitimate and her family was scorned.In Forbidden Wife Julia Abel Smith uses material from the Royal Archives and the Dunmore family papers to create a dramatic biography set in the reigns of Kings George III and IV against the background of the American and French Revolutions.

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‘A wonderful account of a life filled with far more ups and downs than its subject’s languid demeanour ever suggested.’ Miles Jupp.Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, you’d recognise David Tomlinson’s face – genial and continually perplexed, he was Mr Banks in Mary Poppins, Professor Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug. To many, he’s the epitome of post-war British comedy.But at times his life was more tragedy than comedy. A distinguished RAF pilot in the Second World War, his first marriage was to end in horrific tragedy and his next romance ended with his lover marrying the founder of the American Nazi Party. He did find love and security in his second marriage, but drama still played its part in his life – from the uncovering of an earthshattering family secret to the fight for an autism diagnosis for his son, up against the titans of the British medical establishment.Tomlinson may have died over twenty years ago, but his star continues to shine. In Disney’s British Gentleman, Nathan Morley reveals the remarkable story of one of Disney’s most beloved icons for the very first time.

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Bright, attractive and well-connected, in any other family the Churchill sisters – Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary – would have shone. But they were not in any other family, they were Churchills and neither they nor anyone else could ever forget it. From their father – ‘the greatest Englishman’ – to their brother, golden boy Randolph, to their eccentric and exciting cousins, the Mitford Girls, they were surrounded by a clan of larger-than-life characters which often saw them overlooked. Marigold died when she was very young but her three sisters lived lives full of passion, drama and tragedy …Diana, intense and diffident; Sarah, glamorous and stubborn; Mary, dependable yet determined – each so different but each imbued with a sense of responsibility toward each other and their country. Far from being cosseted debutantes, these women were eyewitnesses at some of the most important events in world history, including at the Second World War Conferences of Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam. Yet The Churchill Girls is not a story set on the battlefields or in Parliament; it is an intimate saga that sheds light on the complex dynamics of family set against the backdrop of the tumultuous twentieth century.Accomplished biographer Rachel Trethewey draws on unpublished family letters from the Churchill archives to bring Winston and Clementine’s daughters out of the shadows and tell their remarkable stories for the first time.

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Having taken on the role of Roger Moore’s executive assistant in 2002, Gareth Owen became the right-hand man to an icon, as well as his co-author, onstage co-star and confidant. Gareth was faithfully at Roger’s side for fifteen years until his passing in 2017. In this affectionate and amusing book, the author recounts his times with Roger Moore and gives a unique and rare insight into life with one of the world’s most beloved actors. Roger always said, ‘Gareth knows me better than I know myself.’ For all his celebrity, Roger Moore was quite reserved. In interviews he rarely spoke about himself, much preferring to tell fun tales about others. But his trusted sidekick was with him throughout his worldwide travels, his UK stage shows, his writing process and his book tours, as he received his Knighthood, and as he rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous. There were genuinely hilarious, heartfelt and extraordinary moments to be captured and Gareth Owen was there to share them all.

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Much has changed in Swansea over the years and this short but comprehensive history chronicles the development of the city from the earliest times to today.The Little History of Swansea traces the growth of the medieval town, the rise of the Port of Swansea, the industrial heritage of the area and the fate that befell the town during the Second World War. Here you can read about the odd and unusual happenings, as well as the more traditional history that has made the city what it is today.

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Fleet Air Arm Handbook is the most comprehensive review available of the Royal Navy’s air power during the war years. Starting with a brief history, the book progresses with a full war diary of all the major operations in a gripping narrative account. We see the different functions of the Fleet Air Arm – to protect the essential supplies brought by merchant ships, and their close support of sea and ground forces, both from carriers at sea and bases ashore. In-depth analysis reveals what life was like in the Fleet Air Arm during the war; the food, accommodation, training, activities, uniform, and the relationship between aircrew and their shipmates aboard the Royal Navy’s carriers. Each squadron, wing and carrier air group is listed along with their operations and locations. This is a well-researched tribute to an important force and is essential reading for anyone interested in naval or aviation activity during the Second World War.

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Between 1890 and 1930, Arts and Crafts architecture proliferated within the Cotswolds. The range and quality of the buildings was exceptional as the region provided the perfect environment for the Movement’s ideals and principles. Arts and Crafts architects relished the robust vernacular precedent as it channelled their ideas and stimulated their imaginations. Its rational basis and dependence on craft skills had lasting value, and it was no coincidence that the most influential aspect of their work was its emphasis on conservation.The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Cotswolds has attracted much interest in recent decades, the appeal of the simple life and of traditional values detached from the pressures of modern society having as much allure now as it did a century ago. Most of these studies have referred to the work of architects in the region, but the subject has not received the specialist attention it deserves. Until now. This book examines the impact of the Movement on the Cotswold landscape, on the survival of its building traditions and on modern attitudes to building conservation. After an introductory section which outlines the Movement’s origins and beliefs and its architectural principles, the main part of the book provides a guide to the general characteristics associated with Arts and Crafts building in the Cotswolds.There are separate chapters on the various types of new commission that were undertaken, from small and large country houses and cottages to village halls and almshouses, not to mention the numerous repair and remodelling jobs on existing buildings that had become derelict following the social and economic upheavals of industrialisation. The final chapter looks at the late flowering of architectural work in the region during the interwar period and beyond, and the legacy of this important body of work at a local and national level.

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Brighton’s residents have a reputation for their vivid eccentricity. This book does not set out to prove whether this is true or not, but is a documentation of what stands out to the photographer, however exciting or mundane it may seem. A lot of the photographs are as much about the environment that the person is in as they are about that person. From there on it is up to the viewer to build a narrative.

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Take a photographic journey into London’s often overlooked advertising history and see how the capital’s businesses of old made use of hand-painted signs to inform, advertise and appeal to consumers. This intriguing book profiles hand-painted advertising from across the city and investigates the companies that commissioned the signs that now appear faded – like ghosts – on the brickwork of buildings. It is a snapshot of a time that is almost forgotten but which lives on through the sometimes haunting presence of ghost signs on the city’s streets. Richly illustrated with 150 full-colour signs, this collection reveals the many varied industries and businesses of London’s past. Fading Ads of London is a must for all true local historians.

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They ruled the streets of London in the 1960s. Half a century later, Ronnie and Reggie Kray, unrepentant purveyors of violence and murder, hold more fascination than ever before. Portrayed as charismatic gangsters on the big screen, the saga of the twins, their firm and their thirty-odd years behind bars is one that is determinedly and deliberately embellished with every passing year. Yet it is only recently that the stark, unvarnished truth about the twins has started to emerge after being so cunningly concealed behind the façade of charitable deeds and East End loyalties. Bestselling author Jacky Hyams has carefully re-examined some of the stories, the lies and the myths to reveal a very different portrait of the twins and those closest to them. She reveals the complexity of their relationships and their closest bonds, and contests the police’s belief that Ronnie Kray senselessly murdered ‘one of their own’. Ronnie Kray is said to have described he and his twin as ‘vicious, elegant bastards’. It is one of the few truths ever uttered by either of them.

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Born into the gap between the eras of austerity and boom, David grew up in Merseyside amid an inexorable tide of progress, developing a fascination with the past. With a vivid eye for detail and boundless childhood curiosity for everything from steam trains to ‘My Old Man’s a Dustman’, his account documents the uneasy relationship between worlds old and new. Featuring unique photographs and authoritative observations on architecture, social and local history based on forty years' work in museums and heritage conservation, Escaping Suburbia offers a different view of the ‘swinging’ sixties.

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Jane Austen is the world’s bestselling novelist – 200 years after her death. We seem to have a never-ending appetite for the swooning of Sense & Sensibility; smouldering passion of Pride & Prejudice – resulting in a near constant supply of film adaptations and spin-off books. The fan market for Austen – the Austenites - is huge and international. Her novels are about to celebrate their bicentennials (Sense & Sensibility 2011). 30,000 visitors each year to Chawton, Hamspshire and Jane Austen Centre, Bath. This book will reveal the real Jane: bitchy, gossipy, badly behaved at times as well as show the side we all love: the writer, sister, true romantic.

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The greatest airborne operation in history commenced on 17 September 1944. Nine days later nearly four out five of the British 1st Airborne Division and their Polish comrades would be killed, wounded or captured as Germany secured her last great battlefield victory of the war. The ferocious and gallant actions in Arnhem and Oosterbeek have fascinated historians and students ever since. Drawing extensively on eye-witness experience and unit diaries, and providing a detailed tactical and technical analysis of the arms, equipment and practices of the day, Arnhem: Nine Days of Battle provides a fascinating day-on-day account of one of the most iconic actions of the Second World War. Supported by battle maps, timelines, troop diagrams as well as touring guides – this is the perfect companion for the armchair historian or the intrepid battlefield traveller.

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The sixth book in a thrilling series of mediaeval mysteries by C.B. Hanley. November 1217: Edwin Weaver is back in his home village of Conisbrough. But if he thinks life is going to be peaceful, he’s wrong: the new bailiff is unpopular and cruel, and soon his murdered corpse is discovered. Everything points to the culprit being a foreigner, and the villagers are happy to have an outsider take the blame; Edwin isn’t so sure and is determined to investigate. However, his former friends, all with something to hide, are increasingly hostile to him and resent his interference. The more he discovers, the more he is convinced that the stranger is innocent, but this comes with dangers of its own. With the sheriff due to arrive any day expecting to supervise a swift execution, Edwin and his wife Alys must join forces to solve the mystery before it is too late.

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Thalidomide: patented in Germany as a non-toxic cure-all for sleeplessness and morning sickness. A wonder drug with no side effects. We know differently now. Today, thalidomide is a byword for tragedy and drug reform – a sign of what happens when things aren’t done ‘the right way’. But when it was released in the 1950s, it was the best thing since penicillin – something that doctors were encouraged to prescribe to all of their patients. Nobody could anticipate what it actually did: induce sleeping, prevent morning sickness, and drastically harm unborn children. But, whilst thalidomide rampaged and ravaged throughout most of the West, it never reached the United States. It landed on the desk of Dr Frances Kelsey, and there it stayed as she battled bureaucracy, patriarchy, and the Establishment in an effort to prove that it was dangerous. Frankie is her story.

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Petrol stations have been with us for 100 years. They have been built on countless rural and industrial landscapes, often becoming a linchpin of the communities they serve. Men and women in slightly oily overalls would fill up your car’s tank, wipe the windscreen and even check the oil for you. Football coins, Green Shield Stamps, soup bowls or wine glasses might be handed over to keep your custom – all in the days when a single £1 note was enough to buy hundreds of miles of happy motoring. This vivid, illustrated history takes the reader on a journey from collecting a tin can at the local ironmonger’s to filling up on the forecourt, and on to the possibility of not using petrol at all.

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A lone man wanders from swamp to swamp searching for himself, a wolf-girl visits Wales and eats the sheep, a Welsh criminal marries an 'Indian Princess', Lakota men re-enact the Wounded Knee Massacre in Cardiff and, all the while, mountain women practise Appalachian hoodoo, native healing and Welsh witchcraft. These stories are a mixture of true tales, tall tales and folk tales, that tell of the lives of migrants who left Wales and settled in America, of the native and enslaved people who had long been living there, and those curious travellers who returned to find their roots in the old country. They were explorers, miners, dreamers, hobos, tourists, farmers, radicals, showmen, sailors, soldiers, witches, warriors, poets, preachers, prospectors, political dissidents, social reformers, and wayfaring strangers. The Cherokee called them: 'the Moon-Eyed People'.

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More than 400 million years ago, the oldest rocks in Somerset were formed. On those rocks, a county was built over thousands of years; from prehistoric man and Roman invasion, through a Pitchfork Rebellion and two world wars to where we are today. Revolution, wassailing, Templars and alchemists – all can be found in this friendly guide to Somerset’s colourful history.

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Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Heydrich, Bormann, Hess – names synonymous with power and influence in the Third Reich. Perhaps less familiar are Carin, Emmy, Magda, Margaret, Lina, Gerda and Ilse … These are the women behind the infamous men – complex individuals with distinctive personalities who were captivated by Hitler and whose everyday lives were governed by Nazi ideology. Throughout the rise and fall of Nazism these women loved and lost, raised families and quarrelled with their husbands and each other, all the while jostling for position with the mighty Führer himself. And yet they have been treated as minor characters, their significance ignored, as if they were unaware of their husband’s murderous acts, despite the evidence that was all around them: the stolen art on their walls, the slave labour in their homes, and the produce grown in concentration camps on their tables. Nazi Wives explores these women in detail for the first time, skilfully interweaving their stories through years of struggle, power, decline and destruction into the post-war twilight of denial and delusion.

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Five Million Tides is the story of Cornwall’s Helford River from the Stone Age to the dawning of the twenty-first century. From prehistoric pioneers and their megalithic successors, this account goes on to expose a remarkable truth: the Helford became one of Europe’s most significant waterways during the Iron Age and Roman periods. Despite being mainland Britain’s southernmost safe haven, it has not always been a place of good fortune – once a thriving seat of Celtic Christianity the river would ultimately become more synonymous with lawless seafarers. Nor could it be relied upon for sanctuary from every storm, as the graves of mariners in its village churchyards attest. Although now overshadowed by its more famous sibling estuaries, the Helford is an enigmatic beauty of the family whose rich past deserves wider knowledge.

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Twisting and turning its way through great cities and towns is the eternal navigation: a network of canals that fed the industrial growth of our country. Nowadays we might consider our waterways a place to find peace and relaxation, but under that tranquil surface hides a turbulent past.Storyteller and narrowboat dweller Ian Douglas has salvaged a wealth of stories from the depths. Murder and mystery, heroes and love, devils and oatcakes are all wrapped up in this wonderful book – but beware … you will never see the towpath in the same way again!

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What was the secret of The White Trout? Who owned a great boat called 'The Wave Sweeper'? What gave the giant jellyfish its sting? Here you will find the answers, as well as some traditional facts and modern musings. Wild Waves and Wishing Wells is full of hidden story treasures, lost lore and watery whimsy. These stories of the waters of Ireland have been selected by writer and storyteller Órla Mc Govern, and illustrated by Gala Tomasso. Dive in for adventures not to be missed.

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What will happen when the ties are cut? Whatever view you take on Brexit, innovative ideas are needed to thrive. The UK needs to get itself into shape. This book suggests how. We consider radical ideas to reform the voting system, transform the economy via a whole range of initiatives, including a sovereign wealth fund, drastically improve health, welfare and education provision and secure Britain’s place in a fast-changing world. Most commentaries criticise what others do. Britain Post Brexit spells out what needs to be done.

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Stroud is a compact cultural soup of stories waiting to be told. Rupert's photographs take you under the skin of the people in this unique town, at times part of the picture-perfect Cotswolds it occupies and at times set very apart.

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The blackout went into effect three days before the declaration of war and transformed nocturnal London into a criminal’s paradise. As the city pulled together in the face of terrible adversity, the bomb-ravaged streets became the stalking grounds for killers, rapists, looters and gangs. The number of bodies retrieved during the Blitz made it impossible for the authorities to autopsy them all, providing cover to those who worked with blades, guns and more sinister tools. Scotland Yard – its resources stretched to the limit – did its best to tackle a rogues’ gallery born of bombs and blackout, and crimes that continue to fascinate from history’s darkest corners. In Dark City, award-winning crime writer Simon Read paints a vivid picture of the other side of wartime London, from the Blackout Ripper and the Acid Bath Murders, to the notorious Rillington Place killer and his house of corpses.

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When the Queen Elizabeth 2 entered service in 1969 she was the last of the great transatlantic liners and the sole survivor of a bygone era. The modern ship was 963 feet long, 70,000 gross tons, and boasted a service speed exceeding 30 knots. The QE2 made an instant impact worldwide and went on to have an illustrious career spanning four decades. This long-awaited new edition presents the colourful history of the Cunard Line and an engrossing narrative of the ship’s eventful history, including construction and launch, service in the Falklands War, various mishaps, the sale of Cunard to Carnival, and the introduction of the new flagship Queen Mary 2. Also covered is the ship’s final decade, leading up to her eventual sale to become a floating hotel in Dubai. The story ends with a personal afterword by Commodore Ronald Warwick, recounting his long and unique association with the renowned vessel.

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In May 1940 Francis Suttill was commissioned into the East Surrey regiment of the British Army. He was later recruited by the SOE, and after being trained during the summer of 1942, Suttill was chosen to create a new resistance network in northern France, based in Paris, with the operational name Physician. His code name was Prosper and his assumed identity was François Desprées. The circuit of agents grew fast until June 1943, when the Gestapo discovered letters, instructions, crystal sets and addresses in a car and false ID papers in an apartment. Over the next three months, more then eighty agents died or were killed, mostly in concentration camps. Major Suttill DSO would be killed in Sachsenhausen in May 1945. Rumours of betrayal by MI6, even of the involvement of Winston Churchill, have abounded ever since. For the first time, Major Suttill’s son tells the whole story of the tragedy basing his meticulous research on primary sources.

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Artisan Bristol is the culmination of interviews and studio visits with some of the city’s finest makers, and reveals their personal relationship to the area and how it inspires their work. From ceramicists to glassblowers, silversmiths to textile designers, here traditional methods blend with modern, cutting-edge techniques to create wonderful and unique objets d’art.

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The Jaguar name is synonymous with style, power, performance, luxury and an intangible element of Britishness. It’s hard to imagine its humble origins in a Blackpool backstreet as the Swallow Sidecar Company. Jaguar Cars was formed in 1945, and the metamorphosis began: superb engines, knockout design, epic racing victories and thrilling sports saloons followed. Over the years it has become a living legend. Here, Giles Chapman captures the astounding story of this iconic car company with a collection of beautiful pictures.

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When Hitler ordered the north of Nazi-occupied Norway to be destroyed in a scorched earth retreat in 1944, everything of potential use to the Soviet enemy was destroyed. Harbours, bridges and towns were dynamited and every building torched. Fifty thousand people were forcibly evacuated – thousands more fled to hide in caves in sub-zero temperatures. High above the Arctic Circle, the author crosses the region gathering scorched earth stories: of refugees starving on remote islands, fathers shot dead just days before the war ended, grandparents driven mad by relentless bombing, towns burned to the ground. He explores what remains of the Lyngen Line mountain bunkers in the Norwegian Alps, where the Allies feared a last stand by fanatical Nazis – and where starved Soviet prisoners of war too weak to work were dumped in death camps, some driven to cannibalism. With extracts from the Nuremberg trials of the generals who devastated northern Norway and modern reflections on the mental scars that have passed down generations, this is a journey into the heart of a brutal conflict set in a landscape of intense natural beauty.

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Leafy avenues, artisan eateries and eclectic inhabitants encapsulate the Cardiff suburbs of Canton and Pontcanna. Mark’s photographs take you under the skin of the people and places in this unique area of the city, capturing impromptu moments and creating a picture of everyday life here.

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For most prisoners of war in the Second World War, life behind bars was nothing like the films. The tales of brave escape attempts told in accounts such as the iconic film The Great Escape are exciting enough, but how much of the detail is true? In Great Escapes ex-RAF officer and researcher for the RAF Escaping Society Terry Treadwell tells the incredible tales of some of the lesser known attempts to escape POW camps. All the amazing details are from real-life escape attempts, but as this book reveals, fact is often more extraordinary than fiction. Using personal accounts, authentic reports from German guards and debrief documents in the National Archives, Terry Treadwell traces the astounding stories of these heroic escapees. Some were successful, others not, but in each case the inspired methods devised and executed by the prisoners show bravery and ingenuity on a greater scale than any film. With incredible stories such as the Wooden Horse, the French Tunnel and the Colditz Ghost, this ground-breaking new book tells the stories of some of the bravest, and most reckless, men in history.

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When Jim Body joined Great Northern Railway in 1916, he could never have imagined that it would become ‘the family business’, with both his son Geoff and his grandson Ian taking to the rails. Through the eyes of three generations of Bodys, the rail industry changed beyond recognition, going through two world wars, grouping, nationalisation, the end of steam and privatisation before ending up as the industry we know today. With tales that include being suspected of spying, dealing with dramatic flooding, and the first Glastonbury Festival, Three Generations of Railwaymen is a rare behind-the-scenes look at one family’s life and experiences in the railway industry.

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Beginning in 1936, just two years after Ron Buckley started what was to be almost half a decade working for the railways, London Midland Steam shows the changes in locomotive power taking place throughout the London Midland and Scottish Railway and its successor, the London Midland Region of British Railways. The photographs show the design work of Samuel Johnson, Henry Fowler, John Aspinall, George Hughes and William Stanier, featuring celebrated locomotives such as Fowler’s three-cylinder ‘Royal Scot’ class and Stanier’s impressive ‘Princess Royal’ and ‘Princess Coronation’ classes, as well as the ‘Black Five’ and ‘Jubilee’ classes. With previously unpublished images from Buckley’s archive and expert captions from Brian Dickson, London Midland Steam is a unique look at the glory days of steam.

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When Henry VIII passed through Canterbury in 1532, a young woman in her mid-twenties named Elizabeth Barton, widely revered as a visionary and prophetess, burst into his presence and warned him that he was ‘so abominable in the sight of God that he was not worthy to tread on hallowed ground’. Two years later, the self-same ‘Holy Maid of Kent’ would suffer a grisly fate at Tyburn and trigger a wave of bloody repression that consumed not only Sir Thomas More, but two other less widely-known individuals, whose exceptional sacrifices were, arguably, even more compelling. One was a combative cleric as renowned for his integrity as his intellect, prepared to sacrifice both life and country in defence of Queen Catherine of Aragon and the old religion; the other a courtier-turned-ascetic, plucked from the shelter of the cloister by a religious and political revolution, in which he had little stake beyond the dictates of his own conscience. For these three unique individuals of widely contrasting backgrounds, temperaments and motives, drawn together at a critical watershed in English history by a common cause and destiny, the path to Tyburn was a long and painful one, paved with fear, hardships, vilification and intrigue.

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A chance meeting in 1936 gave Lisa and Jimmy Sheridan the opportunity of a lifetime. Keen amateur photographers, their company Studio Lisa was engaged by the then Duke and Duchess of York to take casual photographs of their family, including the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, at their homes Royal Lodge and at 145 Piccadilly, London. At a time of traditional formality, when it was unheard of for mere unknowns to be given such an opportunity, the hiring of Studio Lisa proved to be a revolutionary and popular move on the part of the royals as it humanised them in the eyes of their subjects. They soon struck up an unlikely friendship with Lisa and Jimmy – a friendship that would span over 30 years and yield 13 separate photographic sessions, the last of which included Queen Elizabeth’s young children. This volume charts the story of Studio Lisa, from its humble beginnings right through to the granting of two Royal Warrants. For the first time Studio Lisa’s cache of remarkable royal photographs is brought together, producing a marvellous collector’s item and a treasure thankfully preserved for posterity.

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