Nicknamed both “Mobtown” and “Charm City” and located on the border of the North and South, Baltimore is a city of contradictions. From media depictions in The Wire to the real-life trial of police officers for the murder of Freddie Gray, Baltimore has become a quintessential example of a struggling American city. Yet the truth about Baltimore is far more complicated—and more fascinating.To help untangle these apparent paradoxes, the editors of Baltimore Revisited...

Did King Cnut really believe that he could turn back the tide? Was Robert Bruce inspired by the perseverance of a spider? Was Queen Victoria never amused? In the 2,000 years of recorded British history, numerous stories have emerged and been passed down through the generations. Some reinforce or add colour to a historically correct perception of a particular individual or event. Others may have been deliberately contrived or fabricated to conceal or distort the truth. Either way, these pop...

Which king's guards massacred a group of his supporters by mistake? Who had an oversized tongue and had to slobber when they ate food? Who was so large when they died that they had to be buried in a square coffin? Who survived seven assassination attempts? As you can tell from the bizarre questions above, it wasn't all thrones and sceptres for British kings and queens. Some of them were completely batty, and others were downright vicious. On the other hand, some monarchs were an icon to th...

An exploration of the British monarchy from the retreat of the Romans up until the modern day. This compendium volume of two earlier books is fully revised and updated.The monarchy is one of Britain’s longest surviving institutions – as well as one of its most tumultuous and revered. In this masterful book, David Starkey looks at the monarchy as a whole, charting its history from Roman times, to the Wars of the Roses, the chaos of the Civil War, the fall of Charles I and Cromwell's...

Kings & Queens of England is an entertaining account of the larger-than-life characters that have ruled England through the ages. Divided into easy-reference chapters based on the ruling dynasties of England, it follows the fascinating history of monarchs from the first Saxon kings to the Windsors of the present day.Author Nigel Cawthorne paints vivid portraits of a mixed bunch of rulers ranging from the drunken and debauched merry monarch Charles II to the idealized domes...

She was the first woman to inherit the throne of England, a key player in one of Britain’s stormiest eras, and a leader whose unwavering faith and swift retribution earned her the nickname “Bloody Mary.” Now, in this impassioned and absorbing debut, historian Anna Whitelock offers a modern perspective on Mary Tudor and sets the record straight once and for all on one of history’s most compelling and maligned rulers.Though often overshadowed by her long-reigning sister, Elizabeth I,...

An "evocative, visceral [and] haunting" look at one of history's bloodiest and most tumultuous reigns ( Daily Telegraph, UK)."Compelling . . . Seven hundred years of history pass lightly but with absolute assurance under Mr. Massie's hand." — The Wall Street JournalThis panoramic history of one of the world's most fascinating royal families tells the complete story of the Stuarts, from the first king to the last. Charting ...

Another classic converted by eBooksLib.com. This little book is meant for those who have never read any Welsh history before. It is not taken for granted that the reader knows either Latin or Welsh.

"The best biography of Richard III that has been written."—A. L. Rowse, Chicago TribunePaul Murray Kendall's masterful account of the life of England's King Richard III has remained the standard biography of this controversial figure.

An insight into one of history's most cunning, yet overlooked, events...Medieval London comes to life in Paul Doherty's gripping retelling of this early attempt to steal the Crown Jewels, the first great bank raid in history.'Doherty tells the tale with verve incorporating much fascinating historical detail' - Historical Novels ReviewIn the reign of King Charles II (1660 - 1685), there was a famous attempt to steal the crown...

Mary Tudor was the first female English sovereign a ruling queen who was not simply the consort of the king. Yet little is known about this complex woman, whose reputation for ruthlessness belied her emotional fragility and who, like her half-sister Elizabeth, had to survive from childhood in the turbulent Tudor court.David Loades explores the twisting path whereby Princess Mary, daughter of a rejected wife, Catherine of Aragon, and a capricious father - Henry VIII - endured disfav...

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...