A vivid, intimate hour-by-hour account of Armistice Day 1918, including photographs: "A pleasure to read . . . full of fascinating tidbits." — The Wall Street JournalThis is the first book to focus on the day the armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany, ending World War I. In this rich portrait of Armistice Day, which ranges from midnight to midnight, Guy Cuthbertson brings together news reports, photos, literature, memoirs, and letters to show ...

A vibrant account of the remarkable novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover**, tracing its life over the last century**D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover is one of the best-known and most resonant works of the twentieth century. Originally considered obscene and unpublishable in numerous countries, its scandalous story of class divide and the English countryside is infamous. But, since the 1920s, we have repeatedly re-created

One of Britain’s best-known and most loved poets, Wilfred Owen (1893–1918) was killed at age 25 on one of the last days of the First World War, having acted heroically as soldier and officer despite his famous misgivings about the war's rationale and conduct. He left behind a body of poetry that sensitively captured the pity, rage, valor, and futility of the conflict.In this new biography Guy Cuthbertson provides a fresh account of Owen's life and formative influences: the lower-mi...

November 11, 2018, marks the centenary of the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany ending World War I. While the events of the war and its legacy are much discussed, this is the first book to focus solely on the day itself, examining how the people of Britain, and the wider world, reacted to the news of peace.In this rich portrait of Armistice Day, which ranges from midnight to midnight, Guy Cuthbertson brings together news reports, literature, memoirs, and letters to sh...

The six children of King George V and Queen Mary all lived to maturity except the youngest, Prince John. The eldest, who was Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, reigned as King Edward VIII for less than a year. His infamous romance with Mrs Simpson plunged the country into the abdication crisis and led both of them into a long period of exile. King George VI, who reluctantly and unexpectedly ascended to the throne, was a shy man, handicapped by a speech impediment and ...

“A sympathetic and believable portrait” of the American woman for whom King Edward VIII gave up the throne, with photos included (Christian Science Monitor).A woman's life can really be a succession of lives, each revolving around some emotionally compelling situation or challenge, and each marked off by some intense experience.It was the love story of the century—the king and the commoner. In December 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne to...

An intimate of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Diana Mosley was a frequent guest at their parties in Paris, or at 'the Moulin' in Orsay, where they were neighbours. Written in her inimitable style Diana Mosley paints a remarkable portrait of her friend that is also realistic with regards to her flaws. What was it about her that utterly captivated the heir to the throne and made him renounce it when he became King? It is this question which Diana Mosley seeks to answer and which she is per...

This is a fascinating portrait of royal life at Sandringham, from the early life of Albert Edward to the modern day. Drawing on letters, diaries and contemporary reports, it is a rich exploration of the private lives of Britain's royal family. From family life at the estate to the first visit of Queen Victoria, the glittering parties of the early twentieth century and all the way up to the death of King George V, the reigns of his sons and the Sandringham of today, it will...

Since its purchase in 1604 by Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, the house at Knole, Kent, has been inhabited by thirteen generations of a single aristocratic family, the Sackvilles. Here, drawing on a wealth of unpublished letters, archives and images, the current incumbent of the seat, Robert Sackville-West, paints a vivid and intimate portrait of the vast, labyrinthine house and the close relationships his colourful ancestors formed with it.Inheritance is the story o...

Christopher Hibbert’s acclaimed biography of Queen Victoria is as impressive and authoritative as the great woman herself.In 1837 an eighteen-year-old girl, raised by a German mother, inherited the throne of the United Kingdom. She was to reign as queen – and later Empress of India – for almost sixty-four years, presiding over twenty prime ministers and a period of unprecedented social and political change. Her era became synonymous with moral rigidity and colonial expansion, and t...

From the private papers of Jane Austen and Mozart to those of Anne Boleyn and Nelson, Love Letters of Great Men and Women collects together some of the most romantic letters in history.For some of these great men, love is a ‘delicious poison’ (William Congreve); for others, ‘a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music’ (Charles Darwin). Love can scorch like the heat of the sun (Henry VIII), or penetrate the depths of one’s heart like a cooling rain (Flaubert...

Edward Thomas was perhaps the most beguiling and influential of First World War poets. Now All Roads Lead to France is an account of his final five years, centred on his extraordinary friendship with Robert Frost and Thomas's fatal decision to fight in the war.The book also evokes an astonishingly creative moment in English literature, when London was a battleground for new, ambitious kinds of writing. A generation that included W. B. Yeats, Ezra Pound, Robert Frost and Ru...