Englishman Ed Brown has been left standing at the altar. Hoping to leave behind memories of his ex-fiancée and get a fresh start, he takes a teaching job in Endon, a rural Alberta town, rather crudely described by a local as a one-horse town at the arse-end of nowhere. Despite the small talent pool, Ed is determined to put on a school production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Mikado, but the local pastor is opposed to the production and has the power to prevent the children of his ...

This is a book about two people, the authors parents, Jack and Joan Verney, who lived through remarkable times and did some extraordinary things. Born in Britain after the First World War, they were shaped by the Great Depression, the Second World War, and post-war austerity. Among their extraordinary actions: Jack ran away from home at a time when rebellion against parental authority was a rare phenomenon; he and Joan took the chance of getting married on the basis of a few meetings befor...

This account of British life in the wake of World War I is "social history at its very best . . . insightful and utterly absorbing" ( Minneapolis Star-Tribune).As the euphoria of Armistice Day in 1918 quickly subsided, there was no denying the carnage that the Great War had left in its wake. Grief and shock overwhelmed the psyche of the British people—but from their despair, new life would slowly emerge.For veterans with faces demolished in the tre...

The fascinating and enjoyable account of the lives of women during World War One from bestselling author and award-winning former BBC Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie.'5 stars are nowhere near enough. A fabulous book in every respect!' - READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'A lucid, compelling and highly readable examination of the Great War but from a totally different angle. Highly recommended.' - READER REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐'A m...

This book unmasks one of the greatest human interest stories in Canadian history: the emigration of tens of thousands of children from Britain, from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, to become home children in Canada. Through first-hand accounts and archived materials, Corbett sensitively and accurately records the pilgrimage of the children who, against great odds, proved that Canada was the promised land. Today Barnardo Children and their descendants are legion, and they are counted amo...

The Second World War had been under way for a year when Marie and John Williamson welcomed two English brothers to join them and their two children in their small house in north Toronto for the duration of the conflict. Marie wrote over 150 letters to the boys’ mother, Margaret Sharp, imagining that she could make Margaret feel she was still with her children. She shepherded the boys through education decisions and illnesses, eased them into a strange new life, and rejoiced when they embra...

In the early years after Confederation in Canada, the rising nation needed workers that could take advantage of the abundant resources. Until the time of the Depression, 100,000 impoverished children from the British Isles were sent overseas by well-meaning philanthropists to solve the colony’s farm-labour shortage. They were known as the "home children," and they were lonely and frightened youngsters to whom a new life in Canada meant only hardship and abuse. This bundle of titles tells t...

In the winter of 1868 a name Montreal society associated with art, good breeding, and culture became fodder for scandal mongers. The Notman name, synonymous with fine photography, was suddenly making headlines featuring the words "abortion" and "suicide." A dozen years earlier, two brothers fled their native Scotland . They were attracted to Montreal by its reputation for making the fortunes of go-getting Scotsmen. One was destined for fame, the other for notoriety. William Notman, the old...

It was a blustery late spring day in 1954 and a young Oxford medical student flung himself over the line in a mile race. There was an agonising pause, and then the timekeeper announced the record: three minutes, fifty-nine point four seconds. But no one heard anything after that first word - 'three'. One of the most iconic barriers of sport had been broken, and Roger Bannister had become the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. To this day, more men have conquered Mount Everest t...

An enjoyable history of one of the long vanished branch line stations on the Great Western Railway.East Garston is no more. The site remains, but there is little to show where this once bustling village railway station and its level crossing once stood. East Garston handled a wide variety of agricultural freight, as well as passengers and parcels.In this book we learn when East Garston was built and why. The impact the station had on the surrounding area is explained and th...

Joan Bakewell has led a varied, sometimes breathless life: she has been a teacher, copywriter, studio manager, broadcaster, journalist, the government's Voice of Older People and chair of the theatre company Shared Experience. She has written four radio plays, two novels and an autobiography - The Centre of The Bed. Now in her 80s, she is still broadcasting. Though it may look as though she is now part of the establishment - a Dame, President of Birkbeck College, a Member of the H...

A glorious insight into the history, landscape and people of Britain, from The Sunday Times bestseller.The first rail link between England and Scotland, the Preston to Edinburgh line transformed some of the most remote and inaccessible communities of Britain and fuelled the growth of resorts such as Blackpool and Morecambe Bay. Beginning at Preston, Michael Portillo takes a detour through the spectacular scenery of the Settle & Carlisle line, including the famous Ribblehead Viaduct...