British History

In 1815 the Battle of Waterloo brought to an end the Napoleonic Wars and the European continent opened up once again to British tourists. The nineteenth century was to be an age driven by steam technology, mass-industrialisation and movement, and, in the footsteps of the Grand Tourists a hundred years earlier, the British middle-classes flocked to Europe to see the sights. In Tourists, the voices of these travellers – puzzled, shocked, delighted and amazed – are brought vividly to life.

1539. Anne of Cleves wins the dangerous prize of becoming Henry VIII’s fourth wife. From the start, Anne’s royal blood, education and fierce intelligence count for nothing as the king pursues young Katherine Howard. Katherine is a pawn in the political manoeuvres of her ambitious family; unprepared for the dangers that await, she steps into their trap. At her side is kinswoman Jane Boleyn, who has served - and betrayed - one queen already: her sister-in-law Anne, who died on Henry’s scaffold. Will Jane betray a second queen to the headsman?

The thrilling true story of a British Army soldier who was determined to break free from Japanese captivity in World War II. Corporal Roy Pagani staged a daring escape from the Burma-Thailand Railway of Death, after already escaping twice from captivity, and set out to walk 1,000 miles to freedom in India through some of the most challenging landscape in the world. Along to way he endures great hardships, joins a guerrilla force, launches daring raids against the Japanese and faces betrayal and torture at every step. Can he make it to freedom where none have yet succeeded?

In The Weight of Vengeance, Bickham provides a provocative new account of America's forgotten war, underscoring its significance for both sides by placing it in global context. This shifting balance of power provided the United States with the opportunity to challenge Britain's dominance of the Atlantic world. territorial expansion.

In this fascinating and informative audiobook, Professor David Wilson tells the stories of Britain's serial killers from Jack the Ripper to the extraordinary Suffolk Murders case. David Wilson has worked as a prison governor and as a profiler and has been described as the UK's leading expert on serial killers. His work has led him to meet several of the UK's deadliest killers and build up fascinating insights into what makes a serial killer - and who they are most likely to target.

Building on meticulous research, unpublished sources and exclusive interviews, Between the Waves journeys back to the roots of ideological conflict that formed between major political figures in the fight for the future of Europe – Charles de Gaulle, Harold Macmillan, Jean Monnet, Enoch Powell and Margaret Thatcher.

Dynamite and Davey: The Explosive Lives of the British Bulldogs is the triumphant but ultimately tragic story of Tom Billington and Davey Boy Smith. Cousins born just a couple of years apart in a small mining town near Wigan, Tom and Davey discovered the art of wrestling as schoolboys. Tom went on to become the Dynamite Kid, arguably the greatest and most pioneering wrestler in history, but his short temper and determination to reach the top of a sport dominated by naturally bigger men would be his undoing.

The story of the British Army has many sides to it, being a tale of heroic successes and tragic failures, of dogged determination and drunken disorder. It involves many of the most vital preoccupations in the history of the island - the struggle against continental domination by a single power, the battle for empire - and a cast of remarkable characters: Marlborough, Wellington and Montgomery among them.

When he died in 1820, King George III had presided over the longest reign by a monarch in England’s history and ruled the British Empire during one of its most turbulent and important periods, but he was remembered by the unappealing sobriquets "The Mad King” and ”The King Who Lost America".

The legendary ‘Red Devils’ were among the finest combat troops of the Second World War. Created at Churchill’s instigation in June 1940, they began as a single parachute battalion of 500 men and grew into three 10,000-strong airborne divisions: the 1st, 6th and 44th Indian, each composed of parachutists and glider-borne troops. Wearing their distinctive maroon berets, steel helmets and Dennison smocks, they served with distinction in every major theatre of the conflict and played a starring role in some most iconic airborne operations in history.

In Surviving Slavery in the British Caribbean, Randy M. Browne looks past the familiar numbers of life and death and into a human drama in which enslaved Africans and their descendants struggled to survive against their enslavers, their environment, and sometimes one another.

As the horror of Nazism tightened its grip on Germany, Jews found themselves trapped and desperate. For many, their only hope of salvation came in the form of a small, bespectacled British man: Frank Foley. Working as a Berlin Passport Control Officer, Foley helped thousands of Jews to flee the country with visas and false passports, personally entering the camps to get Jews out, and sheltering those on the run from the Gestapo in his own apartment. Described by a Jewish leader as "the Pimpernel of the Jews," Foley was an unsung hero of the Holocaust.

Murder Stalks Oxford’s Hallowed Shrines The ancient traditions of All Hallow’s Eve come alive for Felicity in a terrifyingly personal way when Oxford’s muffled bells toll another death. Can Felicity prevent the next one? This gripping contemporary suspense story, set against the background of Oxford’s rich history, challenges Antony and Felicity as they face the complications of personal, family and professional demands. Could the Medieval Latin document Felicity is translating for the good sisters at the Convent of the Incarnation have anything to do with the repeated attacks?

Discover the untold story of "King James I of England: The King The Vatican Could Not Kill." Journey through the shadows of political intrigue and religious turmoil as James G. Battell unveils the miraculous survival of a monarch whose faith defied Jesuit assassination attempts and thwarted Vatican plots. In this captivating biography, explore the divine interventions and steadfast courage that propelled King James I through a tumultuous reign, revealing a tale of faith, resilience, and the unwavering sovereignty of God. As readers embark on this gripping journey, they will delve into the ...

First light, Ascension morning. From the top of the tower at the College of the Transfiguration, voices rise in song. Felicity's delight turns to horror when a black-robed body hurtles over the precipice and lands at her feet, the strange emblem of a double-headed snake clutched in his hand. Matters grow murkier as Felicity and Antony, leading a youth pilgrimage through rural Wales, encounter the same sinister symbol as they travel. Lurking figures follow them through the land of dragons and old Celtic saints. Then a body is found face-down in a well … An Idyllic pilgrimage through Wales ...

The fighting in North Africa during World War II is commonly overlooked, aside from the famous battle at El Alamein that pitted the British under General Bernard Montgomery against the legendary 'Desert Fox', Erwin Rommel. But while the Second Battle of El Alamein would be the pivotal action in North Africa, the conflict in North Africa began all the way back in the summer of 1940 when Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared Italy’s entrance into the war.

A new understanding of the post-World War II era, showing what occurred when the British Empire wouldn't step aside for the rising American superpower - with global insights for today.

In this remarkable narrative history, acclaimed author Mark Urban tells the story of World War II through the eyes of this brave regiment. In many ways, the fighting Fifth's journey reflects Britain - early losses turned to eventual victory through ingenuity, daring and exceptional bravery.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Elizabeth II: The Steadfast by Douglas Hurd, read by Jeremy Clyde. Elizabeth II is the longest-serving monarch who ever sat on the English or British throne. Yet her personality and influence remain elusive. This book, by a senior politician who has spent significant periods of time in her company, and is also a distinguished historian, portrays her more credibly than any other yet published.

The modern history of Africa was, until very recently, written on behalf of the indigenous races by the white man, who had forcefully entered the continent during a particularly hubristic and dynamic phase of European history. In 1884, Prince Otto von Bismarck, the German chancellor, brought the plenipotentiaries of all major powers of Europe together to deal with Africa's colonization in such a manner as to avoid provocation of war.