John Davidson was born at Barrhead, East Renfrewshire on 11th April 1857.In 1862 his family moved to Greenock and there he began his education at Highlanders' Academy. Davidson would now spend many years at school and the beginnings of a career in various industries before gaining employment in various schools.By now literature was a large part of his activities and his first published work was ‘Bruce, A Chronicle Play’ in 1886. Four other plays quickly followed including t...

On Saturday, August 29, 1835, we left London by the mail, and arrived the morning following at Exeter, where we went to the cathedral, which Abou called one of the bishops’ churches. We proceeded the same evening to Falmouth, which we reached on Monday 31st. During the journey, Abou’s remarks were highly creditable to him; he expressed himself quite astonished at the rate of travelling, which he had ascertained by comparing the mile-stones we had passed with the time, as indicated by a wat...

Brought to you by Penguin.From the remarkable man whose life inspired the heartstopping film, ‘I Swear’, a book that offers extraordinary insight into what it’s like to live with a severe form of Tourette’s Syndrome: a fascinating, complex condition that’s more common than most of us think ( 1 in 100 schoolchildren have the condition) , and yet is chronically misunderstood.Born in the 1970s on the Scottish Borders, John’s was twelve when his tics first arri...

A dark and riveting thriller that reimagines the life and mission of the Spanish nationalist enlisted to murder Leon Trotsky: Based on a true chapter of world history and ten years of research, here is the story of the real-life reluctant soldier and killer, Ramón Mercader—the obedient assassinRamón Mercader was plucked from the front of the Spanish Civil War by the Soviets and conscripted to murder the great intellectual Leon Trotsky, a leader of the Bolshevik Revo...

Evil Is Coming – Worse than You ImagineWe live in an anxious age. Long-held certainties, cherished beliefs, and social trust are crumbling. Don’t expect things to get better. For too long we have taken our Christian heritage—the heritage upon which America was built—for granted. But we’re rapidly, and now inevitably, losing the Christian culture that shaped the American republic. What will take its place is a despotism—and a new paganism, worse than the old, becaus...

William Ewart Gladstone is the fourth son of Sir John Gladstone of Fasque, Kincardineshire, first baronet. He was born on the 29th of December, 1809, at Liverpool, where his father, who had originally come from Leith, was then famous as a successful merchant, and as an influential friend and partisan of Canning. The name was originally spelt Gladstanes or Gledstanes; gled being Lowland Scottish for a hawk, and stanes meaning rocks. It is still not uncommon in many parts of rural Scotland t...

This is a true story of our childhood recollection of the rink rats growing up from grade school and my eventual walk with greatness with Wayne Gretzky and the promise he made to me at the end of our forty-minute stroll in 1983 in Winnipeg.The friendship and camaraderie that are forged that can become lifelong bonds.This ongoing retroactive tale of the "hero," and the importance they have in our lives growing up and the age-old adage of never judging anyone until you walk a m...

If ever crime reached into your life, there was one number to call. Whitehall 1212: Scotland Yard. At the end of the line help would be summoned. Aid would be directed to your assistance, your rescue.Each case, told from of the point of view of the Police Inspector investigating, is a baffling conundrum. But step by step evidence is revealed, the story pulled apart and put back together. Justice will not be denied.

In 1890 W B Yeats and Ernest Rhys founded a poetry club. Based mainly at Fleet Street’s immortal ‘Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese’ pub with occasional appearances at the Domino room in the Café Royal poets gathered together to dine and drink.Whilst it was based on a core of poets many others attended on an ad hoc basis including Oscar Wilde, Francis Thompson & Lord Alfred Douglas. The camaraderie, banter and poetry that played out in their dreams, ambitions and for many, their difficult li...

The stereotypical image of a poet is one of unknown talent starving in a garret and who’s faithfulness and legacy to the art is discovered only after their death.In some cases this is undoubtedly true, but Poets being human and with the same building blocks of physical and mental health as the rest of us, also had the same afflictions and problems as the rest of us.The long roll call of names and the truncated legacies that were left behind is filled with these lost talents...

‘A dime a dozen’ as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English ‘cheap as chips’ but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit ‘A Rhyme a Dozen’ as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears.1 - A Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poems, 12 Poets, 1 Topic - Ballads - An Introduction2 - The Ballad ...

‘A dime a dozen’ as known in America, is perhaps equal to the English ‘cheap as chips’ but whatever the lingua franca of your choice in this series we hereby submit ‘A Rhyme a Dozen’ as 12 poems on many given subjects that are a well-rounded gathering, maybe even an essential guide, from the knowing pens of classic poets and their beautifully spoken verse to the comfort of your ears.01 - A Rhyme A Dozen - 12 Poems, 12 Poets, 1 Topic - Trains - An Introduction02 - A Song of ...