The Tudor Navy is a subject which is very unevenly known. The last significant general histories were written at the end of the last century. Since then much detailed research has been undertaken, particularly on the Armada, the end of Henry VIII's reign and the early Elizabethan period. As a result, it has been generally thought that the navy went through a series of booms and slumps during the sixteenth century. Further research on the intervening periods now presents a much more even pi...

Henry’s fifth queen is best known to history as the stupid adolescent who got herself fatally entangled with lovers and ended up on the block. However, there was more to her than that. She was a symptom of the power struggle that was going on in the court in 1539–40 between Thomas Cromwell and his conservative rivals, among whom the Howard family figured prominently. The Howards were an ambitious clan, and Catherine’s marriage to Henry appeared to signify their triumph. However, her weakne...

'A paradise - tall, slender, grey-eyed, possessing an extreme pallor.' The contemporary view of Henry VIII's younger sister, Princess Mary Rose, as one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe, was an arresting one. Glorious to behold, this Tudor princess, with her red hair flowing loose to her waist, was also impossible for Henry to control. She first married the King of France, a match of great importance to Henry's diplomatic plans. He was dead within three months, 'danced to death' b...

First Published in 2004. The majority of our large manufacturing cities are in decline—thousands of acres of their former industrial greatness have become gigantic scrapheaps. New industries with new technologies no longer make it necessary to locate industry in cities, and social and fiscal pressures are drawing people out into the countryside. Thus a conflict is growing with cities dying for lack of industry and new housing— whilst conservationists resist the spread of development into t...

From the Canadian in charge of the joint military command in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, this is the real on-the-ground story of one of NATO's bloodiest, most decisive and misunderstood operations: The battle of Panjwayi, the defining moment of "Operation Medusa."In the summer of 2006, David Fraser was the Canadian general in charge of NATO's Regional Command South, a territory spanning six Afghan provinces surrounding the Arghandab Valley. Birthplace of the ...

TWELVE INSCRUTABLY TWISTED TALES...Unusual, weird and wonderful, herein are twelve stories from the minds of four supremely talented — and twisted — authors.From the curse of the living dead to vengeance from beyond the grave, from the darkest corner of Africa to the bowels of the local cemetery, these tales are as unique and as mysterious as…well, a Chinese Tattoo!For fans of JA Konrath's Jack Daniels mystery series, this collection...

Deep in the jungles of India, nature lived as the Creator intended. Yes, there were those who were predator and those who were prey. But balance was maintained, and the symmetry of Life's plan would take your breath away.Then Man came to the jungle.Taking all and leaving nothing, this new King of the Beasts left naught but death and destruction in his wake. Jungles burned, fear took hold, and both the hunter and hunted died in what could only be called the Great Slaughter.

The first figureheads that were carved to represent the names of British warships appeared during the reign of Henry VIII; the last ones were carved in the early years of the twentieth century. During the intervening three hundred and fifty years it is estimated that some 5000 ships of the Royal Navy carried a figurehead of some description. This book follows the development of these diverse carvings, examining how the figurehead carvers interpreted the names and the symbolism incorporated...

Daniel O’Connor has led a remarkable life as a priest, scholar, missionary and teacher. His ten years as chaplain and lecturer in St Stephen’s College, Delhi and his years as Principal of the College of the Ascension, Selly Oak established him as one of the leading scholars of missionary activity during the time of the British Empire and afterwards.Identifying closely with post-colonialism his writings on C. F. Andrews and Verrier Elwin provide a rich resource for the history of la...

A collection of spine tingling poetry by the masters of the genre including Edgar Allan Poe, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Lord Byron.

Means to be God, and do as pleases himself Martin Luther observed. It was a shrewd comment, not merely on the divorce in which the King was then embroiled, but upon his whole career. Henry VIII was self righteous, and convinced that he enjoyed a special relationship with the Almighty, which gave him a unique claim upon the obedience of his subjects. He subdued the church, sidelined the old nobility, and reorganised the government of his realm, all in the name of that Good Lordship which wa...

Thomas Cromwell was a self-made lawyer who served first Cardinal Wolsey and then Henry VIII. His time with Wolsey served him well in his work for the king after the cardinal’s fall from power in 1529. Cromwell’s time in office from 1530 until his execution in 1540 was one of the most crucial periods in English history. This biography explores Cromwell’s relationship with Henry VIII and why it failed. It also shows how he manipulated the politics of the court that eventually destroyed him. ...