Follow these Writersin KENT Ever wished you had a knowledgeable friend who could help you find out more about the places that inspired your favourite writers? This book is that friendly guide around Kent, along main roads and off beaten tracks, along country lanes and coastal paths. Whether you are on holiday in Kent or lucky enough to live in the Garden of England, dip into this book to find out more about the colourful writers, Men of Kent and Kentish Men (not forgetting some very signif...

A history of Britain told through the story of one very special pub, from "The Beer Drinker's Bill Bryson" (Times Literary Supplement)Welcome to the George Inn near London Bridge; a cosy, wood-paneled, galleried coaching house a few minutes' walk from the Thames. Grab yourself a pint, listen to the chatter of the locals and lean back, resting your head against the wall. And then consider this: who else has rested their head against that w...

For more than half a century Betjeman's writings have awakened readers to the intimacy of English places - from the smell of gaslight in suburban churches, to the hissing of backwash on a shingle beach. Betjeman is England's greatest topologist: whether he's talking about a townhall or a teashop, he gets to the nub of what makes unexpected places unique.This new collection of his writings, arranged geographically, offers an essential gazetteer to the physical landmarks of Betjeman ...

Why did London Underground once employ a one-legged man to ride up and down the escalators at Earl's Court tube station? What did Hitler plan to do with Nelson's Column? Why is London's only medieval mummy a prostitute named Clarice la Claterballock? How did a beer flood in Tottenham Court Road drown nine people? Where can you see a pair of Queen Victoria's knickers?Containing chapters covering London past and present; buildings and streets; famous and unexpected Londoners; arts, li...

From prize-winning historical novelist Louise Allen, this book presents nine walks through both the London Jane Austen knew and the London of her novels! Follow in Jane's footsteps to her publisher's doorstep and the Prince Regent's vanished palace, see where she stayed when she was correcting proofs of Sense and Sensibility and accompany her on a shopping expedition – and afterwards to the theatre. In modern London the walker can still visit the church where Lydia Bennett married Wickham,...

Strange laws, heroic deeds, surprising revelations, and quirky stories that have shaped the unique history of Britain’s capital.London’s long history is extraordinarily rich—and whether your interest is political, social, architectural, or historical, you’ll find a variety of topics in this alternative guide to London.Learn about:· Roman ruins· Notorious crimes· Hidden tube stations· The famous London smog· Cockney rhyming...

John Betjeman began writing for the Telegraph in 1951 and continued to do so for a quarter of a century. During that time Britain underwent profound social and cultural changes. In architecture, grand Victorian edifices were pulled down to make way for gleaming brutalist monuments to the Future. In literature, a new generation of angry young men (and women) challenged convention head on. In music, pomp and circumstance gave way to the electric guitar. And in fashion, hemlines crep...

Inspired by the discovery of his childhood copy of Treasure Island, The Mail on Sunday's Frank Barrett embarks on a literary quest around Britain, from Eliot's East Coker to Austen's Bath, Winnie-the-Pooh's Hartfield to Dracula's Whitby. Armed with a lifetime of reading and his National Trust membership, Frank is on a personal odyssey through the Britain that has inspired so many writers to capture it in lines or verse, the homes that they lived in, the museums that remember them. There will ...

There is nothing quite like an old photograph or an interesting item of memorabilia for rousing a memory and stimulating an interest in the heritage and history of one's hometown. Sunderland Through Time author Keith Cockerill returns to the city of his birth for a second nostalgic pictorial tour of Wearside. Each of his images is accompanied by a look at one or more associated mementoes - an approach that will bring alive the absorbing history of Sunderland for the reader. Using a stunnin...

An A - Z illustrated guide to what you can see in the Cotswolds, with word and pen the Author describes this wonderful part of England. From the strange sounding Cotswold towns and villages such as Acton Turville and Wyck Rissington with this guide you will be shown sides of the Cotswolds that the average visitor often misses, the text is brought to life with well over 100 pen and ink sketches of Gargoyles and Hobbit like church entrances, Public monuments to medieval punishment tools, Cas...

The Little Book of Yorkshire 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. The county's most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters, royal connections and literally hundreds of wacky facts about Yorkshire's landscape, cities, towns and villages (plus some authentically bizarre bits of historic trivia), come together to ...

Nuneaton Street by Street Through Time is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this part of the country. Reproduced in full colour, this is an exciting examination of Nuneaton, the famous streets and the famous faces, and what they meant to the people of this area throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. Looking beyond the exquisite exterior of these well-kept photos, readers can see the historical context in which they are set, and through the author's factual...