A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARCompelling, moving and unexpected portraits of London's poor from a rising star British historian - the Dickensian city brought to real and vivid life.Until now, our view of bustling late Georgian and Victorian London has been filtered through its great chroniclers, who did not themselves come from poverty – Dickens, Mayhew, Gustave Doré. Their visions were dazzling in their way, censorious, often theatrical...

'A delightful mix of classic crime fiction and Robert Galbraith' - IAN MOORE'Witty, compelling and an intriguing fiendish murder' - J.M. HALL'Brilliantly entertaining and fiendishly fun' - PHILIPPA EASTA dead art historian. Cold War skulduggery.A reluctant Danish sleuth. And an extremely hungry dog.Eminent art historian Dame Charlotte Lazerton is dead. Her body was found at the foot of her stairs, guarded by her Irish w...

'A rollicking and masterfully crafted tale' - CHRIS FROST'A charming and witty murder mystery' - GUY MORPUSSA dead art historian. Cold War skulduggery.A reluctant Danish sleuth. And an extremely hungry dog.Dame Charlotte Lazerton - eminent art historian and mentor of Danish academic Torben Helle - is dead. And to make things worse, she was found partially eaten by her Irish wolfhound, Mortimer...

A Viking tale of myth and magic.All is not well at the Viking court of Jelling. Home to the mysterious Yelling Stones (three witches turned into stone), it's always been a place of power and a haven for 'the old ways'. But troubling news has reached King Gorm's court - not that fourteen-year-old princess Astrid is concerned that. She's far more worried that her family prefers her inside sewing, or planning her marriage, rather than letting her explore the forest or ride her beautif...

This study offers a radical reassessment of a crucial period of political and cultural history. By looking at some 400 songs, many of which are made available to hear, and at their writers, singers, and audiences, it questions both our relationship with song, and ordinary Britons' relationship with Napoleon, the war, and the idea of Britain itself.

Charles Dibdin (1745-1814) was one of the most popular and influential creative forces in late Georgian Britain, producing a diversity of works that defy simple categorisation. He was an actor, lyricist, composer, singer-songwriter, comedian, theatre-manager, journalist, artist, music tutor, speculator, and author of novels, historical works, polemical pamphlets, and guides to musical education. This collection of essays illuminates the social and cultural conditions that made such a varie...

'A glorious debut' - SUNDAY EXPRESS'An affectionate homage to classic murder mysteries' - DAILY MAIL'Recommended reading for a long winter night' - GUARDIANA snowstorm. A country house. Old friends reunited.It's going to be murder...Torben Helle - art historian, Danish expat and owner of several excellent Scandinavian jumpers - has been dragged to a remote Nor...

Dickensian London is brought to real and vivid life in this innovative, accessible social history, revealing the true character of this place and time through the stories of its street denizens—shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2023London, 1857: A pair of teenage girls holding a sign that says "Fugitive Slaves" ask for money on the corner of Blackman Street. After a constable accosts them and charges them with begging, they end up in court, where national n...

Dickensian London is brought to real and vivid life in this innovative, accessible social history, revealing the true character of this place and time through the stories of its street denizens—shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize 2023London, 1857: A pair of teenage girls holding a sign that says "Fugitive Slaves" ask for money on the corner of Blackman Street. After a constable accosts them and charges them with begging, they end up in court, where national n...

Summer in Venice. A Masquerade ball. And a disappearing corpse.Torben Helle has arrived in the Floating City. Desperate to escape from two looming book deadlines, he is rescued by an invite from his old friend Frances to join her at the Venice Biennale. She promises plenty of Venetian sun, stunning architecture and countless lavish parties, starting with a masquerade ball on a private island.But the party is cut short when Torben stumbles upon the body of c...

'A hugely accomplished debut' EVA DOLAN'A love letter to the classic country house murder mystery' J.M. HALL'A fiendishly clever mystery as cunning as Christie' WILLIAM HUSSEYA snowstorm. A country house. Old friends reunited.It's going to be murder...Torben Helle - art historian, Danish ex-pat and owner of several excellent Scandinavian jumpers - finds himself dragg...

For three centuries, ballad-singers thrived at the heart of life in London. One of history's great paradoxes, they were routinely disparaged and persecuted, living on the margins, yet playing a central part in the social, cultural, and political life of the nation. This history spans the Georgian heyday and Victorian decline of those who sang in the city streets in order to sell printed songs. Focusing on the people who plied this musical trade, Oskar Cox Jensen interrogates their craft an...