Notions of what is scandalous vary from age to age, but our fascination with all things outrageous remains the same. Whether the sexual disgraces of the Victorian era or the political outrages of modern times, the shocking and the immoral never cease to cause a stir among the masses. Bestselling partnership Ed Rayner and Ron Stapley return with their latest collection of fascinating historical facts, this time about weird and wonderful scandals throughout the ages. From th...

History is full of myths, legends, fables, folklore, misinformation and misconceptions. Whether they have come about inadvertently or deliberately, many have become part of the public imagination. This book presents some of the most popular and enduring of these myths from the time of the American and French revolutions to the two world wars and beyond. Arranged within well defined geographical or thematic sections, and through a mix of short and long entries, each topic i...

An updated edition of Ben Pimlott’s classic biography of the Queen: ‘There is no better biography of Elizabeth II.’ PETER HENNESSY, Independent on Sunday‘A magisterial biography and the only one that seriously deals with her constitutional and political role' Tim Shipman, Sunday TimesThe royal family have been through a tumultuous decade, but with the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton, Prince Philip’s 90th birthday and the forthcoming Diamond Jubilee cele...

'Highly enjoyable' – Ancestors'A fascinating recreation of the Tower as the life-and-death blood of the nation' – Oxford TimesServing as both a palace and a prison, the Tower of London has been at the centre of more intrigue, terror and crucial turning points in history than any other site in England. Diehl and Donnelly take us behind the grim, grey walls which circumscribe England's grea...

A landmark work of narrative history, Paris 1919 is the first full-scale treatment of the Peace Conference in more than twenty-five years. It offers a scintillating view of those dramatic and fateful days when much of the modern world was sketched out, when countries were created—Iraq, Yugoslavia, Israel—whose troubles haunt us still.Winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize • Winner of the PEN Hessell Tiltman Prize • Win...

During her long reign, Queen Victoria was the target of no fewer than eight assassination attempts. In seven of these cases her life was saved by poor marksmanship or misfiring weaponry, but one assailant managed to strike her with a finely wrought cane. Remarkably, all eight of her attackers lived to tell their tales, and were variously incarcerated in asylums, deported to Australia, or in a few cases eventually released into society again.Paul Thomas Murphy shows how these obscur...

One of the greatest historians writing today gives us a defining portrait of the incomparable Winston ChurchillIn his landmark biography of Winston Churchill, acclaimed historian John Keegan offers a very human portrait of one of the twentieth century's enduring symbols of heroic defiance. From Churchill's youth as a poor student to his leadership during World War II, Keegan reveals a man whose own idea of an English past—eloquently embodied in his speeches—allowed...

The true story for fans of the PBS Masterpiece series Victoria, this page-turning biography reveals the real woman behind the myth: a bold, glamorous, unbreakable queen—a Victoria for our times. Drawing on previously unpublished papers, this stunning portrait is a story of love and heartbreak, of devotion and grief, of strength and resilience.**NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYTHE NEW YORK TIMES • ESQUIRE • THE CHICAGO PUB...

Adam Zamoyski first wrote his history of Poland two years before the collapse of the Soviet Union. This substantially revised and updated edition sets the Soviet era in the context of the rise, fall and remarkable rebirth of an indomitable nation.In 1797, Russia, Prussia and Austria divided Poland among themselves, rewriting Polish history to show that they had brought much-needed civilisation to a primitive backwater. But the country they wiped off the map had been one of Europe’s...

**Leading historians explore what might have been if nine of the most decisive moments in modern history had never happened.“A welcome, optimistic assault on an intellectual heresy that has done much, much more harm than good.” –Sunday Times (UK)**What if there had been no American War of Independence? What if Ireland had never been divided? What if Britain had stayed out of the First World War? What if Hitler had invaded Britain or had defeated the Soviet Union? W...

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour.Elizabeth II is the longest lived and, after Queen Victoria, second longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. From her coronation in 1953 to her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Queen Elizabeth II has stood on the world stage as the figurehead for Britain.The Queen: History in an Hour tells the story of the Queen Elizabeth II’s life and long reign, her royal duties, service during the Second World War, public perception an...

“[A] shimmering and rather wonderful biography.” —The GuardianWhen Queen Victoria died in 1901, she had ruled for nearly sixty-four years. She was the mother of nine and grandmother of forty-two and the matriarch of royal Europe through her children’s marriages. To many, Queen Victoria is a ruler shrouded in myth and mystique, an aging, stiff widow paraded as the figurehead to an all-male imperial enterprise. But in truth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarc...