A masterpiece of the historian's art, Hugh Thomas's The Spanish Civil War remains the best, most engrossing narrative of one of the most emblematic and misunderstood wars of the twentieth century. Revised and updated with significant new material, including new revelations about atrocities perpetrated against civilians by both sides in this epic conflict, this "definitive work on the subject" (Richard Bernstein, the New York Times) has been given a fresh face forty years ...

The Beetle is the celebrated Victorian horror story by Richard Marsh, originally published in serialized form in 1897, which at first enjoyed even greater popularity than Bram Stoker’s Dracula, published in the same year.The Beetle tells the tale of an evil Ancient Egyptian spirit seeking revenge on an up-and-coming British politician, Paul Lessingham. The shape-shifting creature that pursues Lessingham is possessed of hypnotic powers and takes different ...

In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift—an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille's genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and fresh-cut wood. Then one day h...

Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol—A Ghost Story of Christmas in Five Staves when he was 31; the first edition was published on 19th December 1843 and had sold out just four days later and by the end of 1844, there were already 13 reprints. Now with numerous adaptations for film, television, radio, stage, and indeed, audiobooks, A Christmas Carol has, for many, become an essential part of Christmas!Raconteurs Audio has created this audio anthology to...

Gunter Koschorrek wrote his illicit diary on any scraps of paper he could lay his hands on. As keeping a diary was strictly forbidden, he sewed the pages into the lining of his thick winter coat and deposited them with his mother on infrequent trips home on leave. The diary went missing and it was when he was reunited with his daughter in America some forty years later that it came to light and became Blood Red Snow.The author was a keen recruit at initial training and his...

They say you can’t catch a fish with a hook.It’s 1925, a world on the cusp of change. Hitler has published Mein Kampf and Mussolini has shut down the free press in Italy.Three friends meet on a Scottish estate for a weekend of salmon fishing and convivial conversation over brandy and cigars: Winston Churchill, future world leader, ‘Bendor’, 2nd Duke of Westminster and Coco Chanel, iconic fashion entrepreneur. The narrative develops into a ...

H.G. Wells was known as the father of science fiction—but his creative geniusencompassed far more than a single literary genre. He was also a visionary, asatirist, a sociologist, and an historian.This audio anthology contains some of Wells’ lesser-known stories and is thethird in a series produced by Raconteurs Audio in collaboration with SpokenRealms.This collection includes:The Argonauts of the Air read by Tim BruceThe Treasure in the Forest read...

Raconteurs Audio and Spoken Realms team up once again to bring this second collection of short stories by H. G. Wells to audio. Written between 1894 and 1902, this anthology of thirteen stories delves into botany, flying machines, travel, distant lands and customs, virology, magic, taxidermy, journalism—and there’s even a ghost story.The collection contains:“The Dream of Armageddon” – read by Greg Wagland“The Sea Raiders” – read by Nigel Patterson“In the Avu Observatory” – ...

Herbert George Wells was one of the most prolific and visionary British writers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. H. G. Wells, as he is universally known, is now best remembered for his science fiction novels, although he wrote across many genres, including nonfiction. His fiction embraces history, science fiction, horror, satire, fantasy, and social commentary. Wells was also a futurist, foreseeing air travel, tanks (as in “The Land Ironclads”—part of this anthology) s...

"They believed they had come to the last turning of the wheel."When the Bloodmoon rose, death came rushing into the world. Now the water is bitter, blight consumes everything, and the Crone haunts the hills.While the Druid of Blackthorn searches desperately for hope, the Ovate returns from the underworld bringing omens of despair. But Idris, the young bard, Keeper of the Sacred Word, will walk through fire and iron to uncover a question no one has ever dared to ask--a questio...

"A skilled storyteller . . . Holmes presents a riveting account of Rome's decline" —Kirkus ReviewsAttila is a household name. But his true character and impact on the Roman Empire have always remained elusive. Until now.In the first major work written about Attila in decades, Nick Holmes rewrites the story of Attila and Rome. Contrary to his brutal legend, Attila was a complex and captivating personality. A great warlord who despis...

From the author of the acclaimed The Great Sea, David Abulafia's new book guides readers along the world's greatest bodies of water to reveal their primary role in human history. The main protagonists are the three major oceans—the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian—which together comprise the majority of the earth's water and cover over half of its surface. These waterways carried goods, plants, livestock, and of course people—free and enslaved—across vast expanses, transformi...