1916 And All That is as an extremely funny and irreverent satirical history of Ireland. The central assumption behind 1916 And All That is that, despite all of the compulsory school lessons and exams taken, there are only a few muddled facts of our history that most people retain into adulthood. We recall snatches of events, names and dates, and few of us can piece together a coherent narrative or offer up any description of events in detail. We all know ...

The Little Book of Ireland is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of fascinating, frivolous and fantastic information which no one will want to be without. Full of details about the country, past and present, this volume covers such themes as wars and rebellions, food and drink, culture, transport, religion, law and of course its famous (and occasionally infamous) men and women. A reliable reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped i...

Even those who know a great deal about the Easter Rising may not know that there were temporary ceasefires in the St Stephen's Green area, to allow the park attendants to feed the Green's ducks. Few know that the first shots of the rising were actually fired near Portlaoise and not in Dublin or indeed that both sides issued receipts: the rebels for food, the British for handcuffs. It features excerpts from a previously unpublished diary written by a member of the Jacob's garrison; the stor...

RED MAGAZINE's BEST NEW AUTHORS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT NOW'It's no secret that psychological thrillers have been the big hitters of the literary world in recent years (remember Gone Girl anyone?). Well this debut from Aly Sigdwick is set to do the same.'Who is the Lullaby Girl?Found washed up on the banks of a remote loch, a mysterious girl is taken into the care of a psychiatric home in the Highlands of Scotland. Mute and covered in...

The acclaimed author of On Royalty explores the mysteries of English identity in this "witty, argumentative book bursting with good things" ( The Daily Telegraph).A Sunday Times Top Ten BestsellerBeing English used to be easy. As the dominant culture in a country that dominated an empire that dominated the world, they had little need to examine themselves and ask who they were. But something has happened over the past cent...

With insight, humor and fascinating detail, Lacey brings brilliantly to life the stories that made England -- from Ethelred the Unready to Richard the Lionheart, the Venerable Bede to Piers the Ploughman.The greatest historians are vivid storytellers, Robert Lacey reminds us, and in Great Tales from English History, he proves his place among them, illuminating in unforgettable detail the characters and events that shaped a nation.In this volume, Lacey limns the most i...

In this groundbreaking history of Ireland, Neil Hegarty presents a fresh perspective on Ireland's past. Comprehensive and engaging, The Story of Ireland is an eye-opening account of a nation that has long been shaped by forces beyond its coasts.The Story of Ireland re-examines Irish history, challenging the accepted stories and long-held myths associated with Ireland. Transporting readers to the Ireland of the past, beginning with the first settlement in A.D. 433,...

This book provides in succinct, accessible form, a thematic rather than strictly chronological account of Irish history. It begins with a comprehensive historical portrait which presents the whole fabric of three thousand years of Irish life. For subsequent chapters the author has selected for development the significant threads of the historical web, the themes of invasion, rebellion, the Black North, and aspects of the culture, especially literary, that make the whole of Ireland the cult...

The background history of Ireland is vital to an understanding of its people and culture. <I>A Travellers History of Ireland</I> offers a chronological outline of the country up to the present day as well as an invaluable introduction to a land of poets, saints, illustrious soldiers and inspiring and persistent rebels. The book includes a comprehensive description of modern Ireland, both North and South, and of its two separate Catholic Nationalist and Protestant U...

In its two thousand years of history, London has ruled a rainy island and a globe-spanning empire, it has endured plague and fire and bombing, it has nurtured and destroyed poets and kings, revolutionaries and financiers, geniuses and visionaries of every stripe. To distill the magic and the majesty of this infinitely enthralling city into a single brief volume would seem an impossible task–yet acclaimed biographer and novelist A. N. Wilson brilliantly accomplishes it in London: A Hist...

Change is constant in human affairs and Ireland has seen its fair share over the centuries. If we are to understand Ireland's current challenges then we must grasp the complexity of its past. This concise and even-handed account describes the history of Ireland from early times. Based upon up-to-date research, the narrative covers all political, social and cultural issues of importance, right up to the autumn of 1995 with the visit of President Clinton and the end of the first year of peac...

The history of the Middle Ages [in Ireland] is so neglected that the only figure of renown is Strongbow, the man who led the Norman Invasion of Ireland in the twelfth century … There is little written about the lives of majority of men, who held no title or land, and even less about women … Indeed, so neglected are these people in history that many of the stories and people recounted … haven't been heard of in centuries. In a society born of conquest, beset with famines and plagues, and wh...