The daring flights of the early balloonists that were the first steps on mankind’s upward journey to the Moon and beyond have been strangely neglected, and their names have been largely forgotten. This book helps to redress that situation. James Sadler was an extraordinary English pioneer who overcame many obstacles to achieve his dream of flying. Born the son of an Oxford pastry cook in 1753, he defied his lowly upbringing to become the first Englishman to build an air balloon. When not f...

The Star-Crossed Renaissance (1941) examines the attitude of the thinkers of Renaissance England toward astrology, Was Shakespeare, for example, a believer in astrology? This book provides a comprehensive and thoroughly-researched answer.

A facsimile edition of Bradshaw's Handbook of 1863, the book that inspired the BBC television series 'Great British Railway Journeys'.When Michael Portillo began the series 'Great British Railway Journeys', a well-thumbed 150-year-old book shot back to fame. The original Bradshaw's guides had been well known to Victorian travellers and were produced when the British railway network was at its peak and as tourism by rail became essential. It was the first n...

BY THE AUTHOR OF THE NO. 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE-WINNER, THE FIVE, THE WOMEN KILLED BY JACK THE RIPPER***'***Under her pen, history comes alive' Professor Dame Sue Black'A fabulous 18th-century tale. Hallie Rubenhold tells it beautifully' Telegraph***'***As a historian and storyteller, Rubenhold is in a league of her own' Lite...

Eavesdropping on Jane Austen's England explores the real England of Jane Austen's lifetime. It was a troubled period, with disturbing changes in industry and agriculture and a constant dread of invasion and revolution. The comfortable, tranquil country of her fiction is a complete contrast to the England in which she actually lived. From forced marriages and the sale of wives in marketplaces to boys and girls working down mines or as chimney sweeps, this enthralling social history...

The enthralling Sunday Times-bestselling biography of the shepherd boy who changed the world with his revolutionary engineering and whose genius we still benefit from today**'**A biography of great verve … brings back to vivid life a man who should never have been forgotten' Andrew Marr'An evocative biography of Britain's greatest civil engineer … Glover catches the thrill of Telford's engineering quite bea...

A Grim Almanac of Glasgow is a day-by-day catalogue of 366 ghastly tales from around the city. Full of dreadful deeds, strange disappearances and a multitude of mysteries, this almanac explores the darker side of Glasgow's past. Here are stories of tragedy, torment and the truly unfortunate with diverse tales of brutal murders, tragic suicides, and macabre events, including the experiments of Dr Andrew Ure, who, in 1818, applied electricity to the dead body of an ...

Criminal incidents, accidents, whippings, beatings, jail escapes and hangings were all part of Dublin's 'brilliant parade' in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, including actors, clergymen, scientists, politicians and rogues and rascals of every hue. Hopkins describes the poverty, soup kitchens, food riots, street beggars and workhouses that were all a feature of Dublin life. He also introduces us to the weird, wonderful, and often downright strange customs and pastimes of Dubliners st...

George III's behaviour has often been odd, but now he is deranged, with rumours circulating that he has even addressed an oak tree as the King of Prussia. Doctors are brought in, the government wavers and the Prince Regent manoeuvres himself into power.Alan Bennett's play explores the court of a mad king, and the fearful treatments he was forced to undergo. It is about the nature of kingship itself, showing how by subtle degrees the ruler's delirium erodes his authority and status....

A century after Queen Victoria's death, debate still rages surrounding her relationship with her gillie, John Brown. Were they ever married? What was the extraordinary hold he had over her? This biography aims to shed new light on these questions and to discover the truth behind Brown's hold on his royal employer.Following the death of Prince Albert in 1861, the Queen found solace in the companionship of John Brown, who had commenced his royal employment as a stabl...

There have been more prisons in London than in any other European city. Of these, Newgate was the largest, most notorious and worst. Built during the twelfth century, it became a legendary place - the inspiration of more poems, plays and novels than any other building in London. It was a place of cruelty and wretchedness, at various times holding Dick Turpin, Titus Oates, Daniel Defoe, Jack Sheppard and Casanova. Because prisons were privately run, any time spent ...

This scarce book was first published in 1908 and is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. It provides an absorbing insight into the history of a selection of Manchester streets and their occupants - Cheetham Hill Road, Withy Grove, Shuderhill, Rochdale Road, and Oldham Road. A fascinating read for any local historian. With nine full page illustrations. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasing...