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SAS the Great Train Raid
A WARTIME MISSION UNLIKE ANY OTHERAutumn 1943: the SAS hijack a train, raid deep into enemy territory, and liberate a concentration camp. A mission so extraordinary, yet so secret, that barely any record exists.Via first-hand testimonies and long-hidden files, Damien Lewis has unearthed the incredible details, bringing to life an astonishing tale of bravery, daring and determination which showcases the SAS at their very finest.****PRAISE FOR SAS THE GREAT TRAIN RAID'A staggering feat of bravery kept secret for decades, but now the SAS train raid on a concentration camp during the Second World War is detailed in an incredible new book' SUNDAY EXPRESS'Long-hidden files and unseen personal accounts reveal a daring rescue mission from an Italian concentration camp' DAILY TELEGRAPH'There is an enduring appeal about the SAS in Britain, the United States and beyond, in an age when we need heroes who were fighting the good fight more than ever' SUNDAY TIMES'In autumn 1943 the SAS pulled off one of the most audacious missions of the Second World War. And yet the Great Train Raid to liberate Pisticci concentration camp has been relatively unknown until now' TIMES RADIO'Fittingly titled as it features a train and was totally crazy. An unbelievable mission deep into enemy territory to free prisoners from arguably the first concentration camp to come to the attention of the allies... I've read the book cover to cover and it's absolutely astonishing what these people did' TONY LIVESEY, BBC RADIO 5 LIVE
£10.99
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1966
'The great book on 1966 that needed writing.'PAUL HAYWARD, OBSERVER'Panoramic and polemic.'JONATHAN NORTHCROFT, SUNDAY TIMES-A vivid portrait of the world in 1966, centred around the storied World Cup tournament and its backdrop, published to mark the 60th anniversary.1966, with London declared 'a swinging city' and John Lennon proclaiming the Beatles 'more popular than Jesus', the year's football World Cup convenes an international community standing at an inflection point, emerging from the long shadow of the Second World War and hurtling towards the future.Propelled by social change, civil rights movements and technological advancement serve as beacons of hope and possibility. Yet, Cold War tensions, the escalation of the Vietnam War, and the space race between America and the Soviet Union project a different image. As China's Cultural Revolution begins, and talks are initiated to reunify Germany, football has the potential to inflame ideological rivalries, unite old enemies, and allow nations to demonstrate their prowess on a global stage.Through the prism of the extraordinary tournament and the eight teams that reached the quarter finals - England, West Germany, Uruguay, Argentina, Portugal, Soviet Union, North Korea and Hungary - Michael Calvin provides a vivid portrait of a critical moment in world history. Examining the sporting, social and cultural significance of the competition and its backdrop, this hugely entertaining book brings to life a world and a sport caught in a tide of change, and shows how this critical year would change both forever.-'England's one World Cup victory needed this book. An absorbing account of what 1966 actually meant... by the writer who has covered more aspects of how the English game actually works than any other.'MIGUEL DELANEY, INDEPENDENT'A tremendous accomplishment. Rich, compelling and highly readable.'SEB STAFFORD-BLOOR, THE ATHLETIC'Fascinating and enthralling. A book that will capture your imagination.'DARREN LEWIS, DAILY MIRROR
£22.00
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The Price of Victory
The final instalment of N.A.M. Rodger's definitive, authoritative trilogy on Britain's naval historyAt the end of the French and Napoleonic wars, British sea-power was at its apogee. But by 1840, as one contemporary commentator put it, the Admiralty was full of 'intellects becalmed in the smoke of Trafalgar'. How the Royal Navy reformed and reinvigorated itself in the course of the nineteenth century is just one thread in this magnificent book, which refuses to accept standard assumptions and analyses.All the great actions are here, from Navarino in 1827 (won by a daringly disobedient Admiral Codrington) to Jutland, D-Day, the Battle of the Atlantic and the battles in the Pacific in 1944/45 in concert with the US Navy. The development and strategic significance of submarine and navy air forces is superbly described, as are the rapid evolution of ships (from classic Nelsonic type, to hybrid steam/sail ships, then armour-clad and the fully armoured Dreadnoughts and beyond) and weapons. The social history of officers and men - and sometimes women - always a key part of the author's work, is not neglected.Rodger sets all this in the essential context of politics and geo-strategy. The character and importance of leading admirals - Beatty, Fisher, Cunningham - is assessed, together with the roles of other less famous but no less consequential figures. Based on a lifetime's learning, it is the culmination of one of the most significant British historical works in recent decades.Naval specialists will find much that is new here, and will be invigorated by the originality of Rodger's judgements; but everyone who is interested in the one of the central threads in British history will find it rewarding.
£20.00
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Roman Empire by Train With Alice Roberts
Explore the Ancient Roman Empire as you've never seen it before with the acclaimed anthropologist and Sunday Times bestselling author of Domination, Alice Roberts.AS SEEN ON CHANNEL 4Join Professor Alice Roberts as she travels two thousand miles through Italy, France and Spain in search of a greater understanding of the Roman Empire and its legacy.From Naples to Pompeii, Rome to Turin, Nîmes to Narbonne and Tarragona to Cartagena, Roberts visits sites both on and off the beaten track to reveal new perspectives on one of history's greatest civilisations.Along the way, she meets leading historians and archaeologists who bring the Roman world to life. Alice explores what life was like for ordinary citizens of the Roman Empire, as well as examining the key developments in technology, law, politics, health and education that remain to this day and how these fed into the birth, expansion and collapse of the empire.Featuring Alice's own experiences from the journey itself, including her drawings and personal anecdotes, this book delivers more depth and context than the TV series, with up-to-date discoveries and facts about one of history's greatest empires.Whether you want to follow Alice's journey yourself or enjoy the ride from the comfort of your home, Roman Empire by Train with Alice Roberts is both an immersive travelogue and an accessible guide to the rise and fall of the Roman Empire.
£22.00
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V-Force
'Impressive... Glancey has written an engaging and affectionate account of the V-bombers, not least the figures who made it all possible.' Telegraph THE THREE VERY DIFFERENT models of V class bomber comprising Britain's strategic nuclear strike force - Vickers Valiant, Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor - marked a radical change in post-war bomber design. From the time they first entered service between 1955 and 1957, these charismatic, high-flying jets stole the public imagination. Theirs, though, was a terrible beauty. In 1956, over the South Australian desert, Valiant WZ366 was the first British aircraft to drop an operational atomic bomb. The V-bombers were Britain's premier Cold War aircraft. But frictions in Anglo-American relations alongside developments in radar and surface-to-air missiles led to the Royal Navy taking over Britain's nuclear deterrent role in 1968. Despite this, the V-bombers enjoyed a second life in conventional roles, most notably when Vulcans undertook the longest bombing raids in history in the 1982 Falklands War. V-Force sets these formidable, haunting aircraft in the story of the development of twentieth-century weapons of mass destruction, military rivalries and international politics. It is both an extraordinary ode to the V-bombers and a unique lens through which to view Britain's Cold War experience.
£11.99
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The Discovery of Britain
'Robb has found a new format for writing history just as Craig Brown found a fresh way to write biography' - Alan Johnson'Rarely does history feel so beguiling' - The Observer'A treasure house of a book' - The Spectator'Entertaining . . . offers a fresh way of seeing the nation's past' - The iTaking you on a time-travelling adventure around the 'spindly, sea-wracked islands' we call home, The Discovery of Britain is history that's panoramic and intimate, poignant and shocking, seriously funny, and enlightening in the most surprising way.In the hands of the prize-winning author of The Discovery of France, and often from the unique vantage point of his bicycle, we encounter an entertaining cast of characters foreign and homegrown, drop in on places and events, and dwell on the successes and catastrophes across British history. From ancient settlements swallowed up by the sea and the creation of Stonehenge to the advent of multiculturalism and recent political earthquakes, all is seen as it's never been seen before.With intriguing maps and illustrations throughout, The Discovery of Britain can be devoured whole or each chapter read in the time it takes to change a bicycle tyre or drink a cup of coffee. The wonderful choice of how to enjoy this original and sweeping history of Britain is yours.
£12.99
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Said the Dead
From the author of A Ghost in the Throat, an unforgettable book - both history and ghost story - that will leave you gasping by its final page.In the city of Cork, a derelict Victorian mental hospital is being converted into modern apartments. One passerby has always flinched as she passes the place. Had she lived in another time, she too might have found herself held within those walls.Now, she notices a sign: FOR SALE.It is the first of many signs. Guided by an irresistible impulse, she follows them. Soon, she is trespassing, stealing, absconding from the routine of mother, spouse, daughter, as she uncovers a chorus of startling voices: those of the women who knew the hospital best. They murmur from archives and old records. They haunt from stairwells and walls. In them - and in one figure in particular -- she may find meaning and solace, righteous anger, salvation even. Or her final vanishing?A work of sublime intensity and tenderness, Said the Dead breaks the boundaries between worlds -- past and present, imagined and real, fact and fiction -- to make something new and lasting: an experience full of danger, full of love and full of truth.Praise for the work of Doireann Nì Ghrìofa'The effect is electric, like seeing a ghost returned to life.' New Statesman 'Obliterates every clear definition of genre and form . . . Astounding and utterly fresh.' Irish Independent'Lush, lyrical prose that dazzles readers from the get-go . . . sumptuous, almost symphonic, in its intensity.' Sunday Times'Past versus present, blood versus milk, birth versus death . . . dichotomies abound, but the questions of women's lived experiences and who history remembers link them all.' Paris Review
£18.99
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Dad's Army
The remarkable story of the real 'Dad's Army', from the bestselling historian of The Secret Life of Bletchley Park'Impeccably researched and deliciously entertaining, Dad's Army shines a bright searchlight on to an organization dismissed for far too long as humorously incompetent' - Giles Milton, author of the The Stalin AffairWith the threat of invasion from Hitler's forces looming large in 1940, British men of all ages and backgrounds assembled under the banner of the Home Guard. At its height, this voluntary force, much later nicknamed 'Dad's Army', was made up of almost two million volunteers prepared to defend every corner of the kingdom. Numerous notable figures were involved including George Orwell, A. A. Milne, and C. S. Lewis; many women took part too, including in the Women's Home Defence Force, which was formed in 1941.In Dad's Army, Sunday Times bestselling author Sinclair McKay tells the remarkable story of these courageous, highly trained and often pioneering men and women through original archival research, vivid storytelling and insights into the beloved television comedy that has shaped the national memory of the Home Guard.Far from the stereotype of charming incompetence, McKay shows that the Home Guard were in fact entirely serious in their approach. Many volunteers had fought in the First World War, and radical veterans from the Spanish Civil War taught new techniques in lethal guerilla fighting.Chocolate-box village greens throughout the country were reimagined as bloody battlefields, with duties including rifle and mortar training, night-time patrols and manning anti-aircraft guns - all on top of volunteers' everyday jobs. Yet all of this was underpinned by an essential good humour, with moments of levity and camaraderie vital in keeping up a much-needed spirit of defiance.With its vibrant personalities and touch of nostalgia, Dad's Army tells this extraordinary story in full colour.'One of my favourite historians' Dan Snow
£22.00
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Raise Your Soul
An intimate portrait of Yanis Varoufakis's political awakening, told through the history of his extraordinary family'Gripping and unforgettable. It reads like a thriller' BRIAN ENODramatic in scope and deep in feeling, Raise Your Soul traces three generations swept up in the whirlwind of history, across a century of occupation, civil war, Cold War fracture and economic crisis, from 1924 to the present.At its heart are Eleni, Anna, Trisevgeni, Georgia and Danaë - the women who shaped the visionary economist most, and whose resilience and courage inspire us to resist the forces of authoritarianism that still haunt our world.'Written with a historian's grasp of events, an economist's rationalisation of how things work and, most of all, a storyteller's understanding of the human condition, this is not just Varoufakis's story, but ours' IRVINE WELSH'Beautiful and inspiring, I couldn't put it down' ROSIE HOLT'Fierce ... to sit with Varoufakis's words is a gift' ESTHER ANATOLITIS
£12.99
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Forgotten Forests
Ancient trees, some over a thousand years old, are dotted around the British Isles, the last survivors of a lost world. Now, new scientific studies of these trees and of fossilised forests and of our oldest wooden artifacts can help us to understand the many woodlands that have disappeared from our landscapes.Locked in ice for more than twenty thousand years, the lands that now make up Britain and Ireland were some of the last settled by humans. The earliest people, Mesolithic hunter-gatherers like Cheddar Man, arrived around eleven thousand years ago to find dense forests. While they lived lightly, they did introduce fire, which they used to create clearings, and this was the beginning of the reshaping of Britain's forests.When Neolithic farmers migrated to Britain from Europe some six thousand years ago, it meant a violent end to the hunter-gatherers' way of life. It also indicated a dramatic change for the ecosystems. Forests were cleared for fields, trees and plants fed to livestock and predators hunted. A wild, forested world became one of agriculture and villages.As humans learned to work bronze, then iron, they also used wood in myriad ways, building homes, then cathedrals, hand tools then furniture and early machines, boats and eventually immense ships. The forests of Britain and Ireland fuelled the burgeoning human civilisation, from the Romans, Anglo Saxons, Vikings and Normans, to the British, Scottish, Welsh and Irish peoples through to the present day. In that time our woodlands have changed beyond recognition, but clues to their story remain. Biologist and Britain's first senior officer for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty Jonathan Mullard retraces the history of the forgotten forests of Britain and Ireland, piecing together historical records going as far back as the written word and archaeological evidence going back far further. The result is a wealth of arcane anecdotes and the latest scientific understanding of our natural history, as well as a fascinating journey through the forests, landscapes and human history of Britain.
£10.99
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I, Vera
'Vera Gedroits was a true medical heroine: outrageous, intrepid and devoted to saving lives. Miranda Seymour's genius as a story teller brings this astonishing woman blazing back to life. I shall never forget her' LADY ANTONIA FRASER'Miranda Seymour has written a wonderful and unputdownable book about an astonishing woman' MEL GIEDROYCVera Gedroits was a towering, sweet-faced lesbian princess, an ardent supporter of workers' rights who regularly performed true medical miracles of surgery. On one occasion, she even frogmarched an inquisitive Rasputin out of a ward for wounded officers.While working for César Roux at the world's best known medical institute in Lausanne, Vera became the world's first woman surgeon. Off the back of this, she was appointed by the doomed Tsarina to teach the women of the Romanov family how to be nurses.In 1919, Vera was sent to Kyiv, where her hospital reforms, innovative work and academic papers crowned an extraordinary career. During the troubled 1920s, in times of extreme danger, she completed a remarkable series of memoirs. The princess-surgeon's prose, including a startling candid account of her early years as a revolutionary factory doctor, has been compared to that of Pasternak.Some years later, Vera and her widowed lover Countess Maria Nirod were seized in the middle of the night and taken away at gunpoint during the Soviet purge of scientific intellectuals. Their whereabouts for the next few months were never disclosed. Vera's pension was cancelled. The hospital and institute were closed. Living in extreme poverty, Vera died two years later of uterine cancer. She was just 61.The princess's name was removed from official Soviet medical records; her tremendous contribution to medicine and the radical improvements to wartime surgery she pioneered as the first female battlefield surgeon have remained unacknowledged to this day. Now, Miranda Seymour uncovers the riveting story of a daring and brilliant woman who chose to make Ukraine her homeland, someone adored by her friends and patients and whose achievements as an administrator and bold reformer invite comparisons to Florence Nightingale.'The extraordinary story of an extraordinary woman, whose unprecedented career as a surgeon, and also as a writer, made her a participant in every aspect of late Tsarist and early Soviet history, and at every level of Russian society … Miranda Seymour tells her story with compelling passion and the most extraordinarily wide understanding of the history and politics, the medicine and literature of the times. A remarkable book' MICHAEL FRAYN
£25.00
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Sunday Best
An evocative celebration of the seventh day in all its rich varietyClosed shops and roast dinners. Bulky newspapers and the hum of lawnmowers. Strolls to nowhere in particular and visiting snoozing grandparents. Television theme tunes cueing bath time and a sudden dread of the looming week ahead…Through an assortment of rituals and activities, Sundays came to be the unique day in our week - whether tedious, pleasant or somewhere in-between. But have they changed over time? Has anything interesting ever happened on a Sunday? Have we forgotten how to do Sunday? And, in our rushed modern lives, should we now try to recapture that distinctive, unhurried Sunday feel?Offering answers to those questions and more through a mix of travelogue and social history, Sunday Best entertainingly charts the story of what author Daniel Gray argues is the People's Day. Told through Sundays whiled away in places from the Hebrides to Hyde Park - via Sunderland, Scarborough, the Peak District and beyond - Gray's latest book is a charming journey in time and place.
£9.99
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Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee
A Waterstones Best History Book 2025A BBC History Magazine Book of the Year 2025'Learned, entertaining and highly approachable' BOB MORTIMER'A treat' ALICE LOXTON'Five stars from me…' AL MURRAYAn unmissable collaboration between two comedy legends - an irresistible, family-friendly deep dive into the murky lives of the British monarchy.Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee, Harry, Dick, John, Harry three. One, two, three Neds, Richard Two, Henries, four, five, six, then who?Charlie Higson has always been fascinated by the story of the monarchy: from the b*stardly to the benevolent, the brilliant to the brutal. In this wonderful new book, using the famous rhyme he learned at school as his trusty guide, Charlie takes us through the history of this bizarre and long-lasting institution, introducing readers to every single ruler since poor Harold got it in the eye at the Battle of Hastings (or did he?).Who were all these people, and what did they do? It's all here. Bloody treachery? Check. Unruly incest? Check. A couple of Cromwells? Check. The War of Jenkins Ear? Sadly, for Robert Jenkins, check.A rip-roaring journey that takes in the Normans, Plantagenets, Tudors, Stuarts, Hanoverians and Windsors, not to mention the infamous Blois (how can we forget them?), Willie, Willie, Harry, Stee is an utterly engrossing and grossly entertaining guide to who ruled when and whether they were any good at it.
£10.99
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Entitled
THE SUNDAY TIMES #1 BESTSELLERA Book of the Year in The Times and Financial Times'This isn't a book; it's a case for revolution' CAMILLA LONG, SUNDAY TIMES'A damning cannonball of truth through the York ramparts' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Surely has a claim to the title of book of the year, for its seismic impact' JANINE GIBSON, FINANCIAL TIMES'This book has changed the way its readers think. Possibly the most important book that touches on the British monarchy since the days of Thomas Payne' WILL LLOYD'As represented in the book's pages, the royal family, with its appendages and penumbra, can be seen as an impossible entity, toxic to those in it and attached to it, and subtly contaminating the rest of us.' DAVID AARONOVICHDrawing on four years of research, numerous FOI requests and interviews with over a hundred people who have never spoken out before, the book traces the lives of the late Queen's second son and his ex-wife through their childhoods, courtship, marriage, divorce, careers, and royal and charitable activities.Having still lived together until their departure from Royal Lodge in 2025, they claimed to be 'the happiest divorced couple in the world'. The book investigates the reality of their relationship and their love lives. It charts Andrew's record in the Falklands, his business activities and reveals details of how the couple have been able financially to sustain their extravagant lifestyles. It also recounts the full story of their links with Jeffrey Epstein.Chronicling their lives in parallel, the picture that emerges is of a spoilt former prince unable to connect and a former duchess pushed by her insecurities into a desperate need to maintain the attention her 'royal' status brought. Rigorously researched and packed full of revelations, this is eye-watering biography at its best.'This isn't just a royal biography. It's a study in reputational collapse and the danger of unchecked power inside Britain's most protected institution' THE STANDARD'A catalyst for Andrew's de-princing' THE TIMES
£10.99
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Blitz
'An exceptional piece of work; powerful, vivid and compelling' Rowland White, author of Vulcan 607The Second World War was not only fought in the skies above Europe or on distant beaches. Between 1939 and 1945, Hitler's aerial onslaught crashed into lives across the UK night after night, killing more than 60,000 civilians and leaving millions homeless. May 2026 marks the 85th anniversary of the end of the Night Blitz. But the aerial assault on Britain did not stop in May 1941. For too long, 'The Blitz' - from the German 'Blitzkrieg' or lightning war - has been framed as a few desperate months from September 1940 that mainly affected London. In reality, the scope of the attack on the home front was far more widespread, and far more devastating. Now, John Nichol tells this supposedly familiar narrative - one of the most important events in British history - afresh. Beginning with a search to understand his mother's experiences of the blitz on Tyneside - drawing on fragments of memory and the unanswered questions she left behind - Nichol ranges outward to reveal a truly national history. From Dover to Glasgow, Cardiff to Manchester, he uncovers astonishing accounts of catastrophe and resilience. Of 'ordinary' men, women and children catapulted into harm's way. Of heroic firefighters battling infernos, the unflinching bravery required to defuse unexploded bombs, families wiped out in an instant, communities left bereft by a single blast.Using interviews with survivors, official records and eyewitness testimonies, Nichol gives voice to the unsung heroes who endured explosions, fire and fear, but found the courage to run towards danger. He brings the story up to date by speaking to people involved in similar situations: mass casualty events, the deadly blaze at Grenfell Tower, bomb disposal in modern warfare and individual acts of astonishing bravery. And as new military threats emerge, Nichol asks whether the country still has such resilience today.At once gripping and compassionate, BLITZ is the definitive account of a nationwide struggle that shaped the course of the war and the spirit of a generation.The book includes maps, colour endpapers, and two plate sections with 38 photos and archival images.'The story of a whole nation as only Nichol can write, BLITZ is a wonderful book perfectly anchored in the human experience' Dr Robert Lyman MBE FRHistS, co-author of Victory to Defeat: The British Army 1918-40'A truly powerful and engaging narrative. The way Nichol weaves the story of the Blitz with more recent accounts makes for an excellent read' Andy Saunders, military historian and author'An important book which takes the myth of the storybook Blitz Spirit and redefines it. Absolutely fantastic' Professor Lucy Easthope, author of When the Dust Settles: Searching for Hope After Disaster
£25.00
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The Pocket Guide to Wales
A fascinating introduction to Wales/Cymru, giving an overview of its places, people, customs and culture. In an age of global influences, Wales has managed to keep its identity and language distinct, despite being conquered by its more powerful neighbour 750 years ago. This guide offers insight into its attractions, with towns, castles and landscapes inextricably linked to princes, kings, saints, poets, sports, musicians, events, customs and tales, and, most importantly, to its people and its language. The book looks at customs and celebrations, the meaning of place-names, National Parks, castles, mountains, coasts, towns and other tourist attractions as well as delving into its history, mythology, outdoor activities, arts, language and culture.
£8.99
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The Buried City
**THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POMPEII**'The best book on Pompeii I've ever read' STEPHEN FRY'An essential read for anyone interested in this extraordinary place' TELEGRAPH'Brilliant' TOM HOLLANDA vast area of Pompeii is being excavated for the first time, revealing astonishing insights into how people really lived. In this revelatory new history, Director of Pompeii Gabriel Zuchtriegel shares the untold stories that are at last emerging.Pompeii is a world frozen in time. There are unmade beds, dishes left drying, tools abandoned by workmen, bodies embracing with love and fear. And alongside the remnants of everyday life, there are captivating works of art: lifelike portraits, exquisite frescos and mosaics, and the extraordinary sculpture of a sleeping boy, curled up under a blanket that's too small.The Buried City reconstructs the catastrophe that destroyed Pompeii on 24 August 79 CE, but it also offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the city as it was before: who lived here, what mattered to them, and what happened in their final hours. It offers us a vivid sense of Pompeii's continuing relevance, and proves that ancient history is much closer to us than we think.'A fascinating new book about what we are still learning about this most haunting of all lost cities... deeply moving' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Makes the familiar magical' DAN SNOW
£10.99
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Servus
'The most important book you'll ever read about ancient Rome.' - Rebecca Wragg Sykes, author of KINDRED 'Forget white marble statues and philosophical debates: Emma Southon takes you on a journey through the hell of ancient slavery that defined the classical world as few other things - a true masterwork of historical enquiry. - Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Director General of Pompeii The 'electrifying' untold story of slavery in the Roman Empire by the author of A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.We associate the Romans with majesty and greatness: we marvel at their straight roads and innovative underfloor heating, at the dominance of their army and navy, at the grandeur of their palaces and temples. But the Romans were also enslavers. They built an empire on the backs of millions of people snatched from their homes in the aftermath of war, kidnapped from the streets, sold into slavery as punishment or, simply, born enslaved.Servus takes us into the invisible spaces of the Roman world, where millions of enslaved lives were unwillingly dedicated to the perpetuation of the empire that owned them. From the fields of wheat required to give every Roman their daily bread, to the actors and gladiators who provided their circuses, and the miners who kept Rome a city of gold and marble, enslaved people were the bedrock of the Roman Empire. These enslaved people were ubiquitous, but silenced. Through the fragments they left behind, historian Emma Southon traces the pain and tragedy of their lives alongside the love stories, lifelong friendships, small victories and hard-won freedoms.Servus tells the truth about the Roman empire and the unseen lives that made it so dominant.---'A much-needed corrective to centuries of obfuscations and misunderstandings. Servus is a challenging read yet a simultaneously sensitive and even entertaining one, striking that peculiar balance that . . . only Emma can fully achieve.' Jane Draycott, author of FULVIA'Electrifying, rousing and flowing with passion, this deeply researched book zips along in a way that defies expectation. What a skill Southon has for maintaining an energetic yet empathetic tone while bringing such dark realities to light.' - Daisy Dunn, author of THE MISSING THREAD
£25.00
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Regina
From Cleopatra to Grace Kelly, an epic new history of royal women that shatters the myths we have built around them. Stories about royal women form some of our most foundational myths about femininity, and yet their legacies have been almost entirely constructed by the words and images created by men. In Regina, acclaimed historian Kate Williams leads us deep into a world of queens, empresses, princesses, mistresses and courtiers, uncovering how their ambitions were shaped, celebrated and often thwarted, exposing a tangled web of women and power that spans thousands of years. Ranging from the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia to the opulent courts of the pre-modern world and the last days of colonialism, Williams delves into the lives of these remarkable women, revealing both their trials and triumphs as they navigate political intrigue, family rivalries and personal sacrifices.From Hatshepsut and Boudica, through Tudor queens Catherine of Aragon and Lady Jane Grey, to Queen Victoria's contemporaries Yaa Asantewaa of Ghana and Queen Lili'uokalani of Hawaii, and right up to Princess Diana, this is a thrilling, globe-spanning story of queens and royal woman, of female power through the ages that unlocks how we understand women, politics and power today.
£25.00
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Freedom Round the Globe
'This book is FANTASTIC. So giddy and interesting is the journey . . . What a triumph. I loved it.' - Christopher Clark, author of Revolutionary Spring'Extraordinary . . . offers thrilling narrative, sharp analysis, and encouragement to liberty's defenders while presenting a carrousel of fascinating figures' - Tiya Miles, author of All That She CarriedA fresh and surprising history that reckons with a defining global moment on its 250th anniversary: The American Revolution.In this authoritative revisionist history, Sarah M. S. Pearsall restores the shock, drama and world-altering flux of 1776, revealing how the fires of change that sparked the American Revolution were igniting all around the world. From St. Kitts to Kolkata, Ghana to Guangzhou, all kinds of people, not just the men declaring independence in Philadelphia, asserted their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.As we approach the 250th anniversary of the Revolution, Freedom Round the Globe tells a story the world needs to hear, of the fraught origins of a nation that by turns perplexes, fascinates and horrifies us. It is a story of global transformation and revolutionary fervour, of triumph as well as tragedy, and of the insurgents, lovers, and dreamers who dared to imagine better societies.'A syncopated dance of ideas delivered with a poetic touch. Global in scope and local in depth, it is chock full of unexpected insights' - Jefferson Cowie, author of Freedom's Dominion
£22.00
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The Invention of Good and Evil
AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR 'Blending insights from evolutionary biology, cognitive science and anthropology, Sauer has made a heroic effort to chart how morality has changed' Economist 'The best thing on morality I have ever read' Paul Bloom 'A brisk, engaging survey covering five million years of human history' Financial Times The history of humankind is punctuated by a series of transformational leaps. Just as good and evil cannot exist without the other, each new configuration for how we live together - how we distinguish and enforce right from wrong - was accompanied by new sins. Collaboration gives rise to division; culture requires exclusion; and justice demands punishment. The morality of early civilisations is markedly different from that in the dark ages or the enlightenment. As for the present day, did morality follow us here? Or did it lead the way? Philosopher and professor of Ethics Hanno Sauer traces the path of our moral transformations from our earliest ancestors to this very moment and beyond.
£12.99
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Things We Found in the Ground
In this guide-that's-not-a-guide, metal detectorist cousins Ellie and Lucie explore their local landscape, getting to grips with the hobby, history and themselves along the way. 'Enchanting and visceral' DR MADELEINE PELLING'Brilliantly witty and magnificently down to earth' DR REBECCA STRUTHERS'A joyful account of unearthing history, one discovery at a time' SALLY COULTHARD'An uplifting dive into the world of metal detecting' LARA MAIKLEM'A joyful read, brimming with personal experience and unique insight' HELEN CARRBeginning with their first meeting in over 20 years at their grandfather's home in Lincolnshire, the two cousins - Eleanor and Lucilla - quickly learn that each has a fascination with unearthing historic artifacts, which will set them off on their metal detecting journey …Over many weeks and months spent digging countless holes, the pair make startling discoveries: about the objects they find and what they tell us about our ancestors, about themselves and who they are as people, and about the power of community, as they forge connections with local villagers, detectorists and history lovers along the way.This charming tale of (self-)discovery will capture the hearts and minds of those seeking escapism through the buried history that we walk over every day.
£20.00
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Fatherhood
An ambitious history of masculinity and family, from the Bronze Age to the contemporary 'crisis of men', Fatherhood dares to offer a more caring and affirmative vision of the roles men play at home and in the world.'Superbly intelligent . . . a rewarding Sapiens-style big history' - The Sunday Times'A lightness of touch that recalls Bill Bryson or Craig Brown at their non-fiction best' - The ObserverWhat is fatherhood, and where did it come from? How has the role of men in families and society changed across thousands of years? What does the history of fatherhood reveal about what it means to be a dad today?From the anxious philosophers of ancient Athens and Henry VIII's obsessive quest for an heir, to Charles Darwin's theories of human origins, Bob Dylan's take down of 'The Man', and beyond, historian Augustine Sedgewick shows how successive generations of men have shaped our understanding of what it means to be and have a father, and in turn our ideas of who we are, where we come from and what we are capable of.
£10.99
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The Edge of Cymru
In the course of a year Julie Brominicks walked around the edge of Wales, having left her job in environmental education at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth. As an English incomer and a Welsh learner with a long association with the country, she was interested in what Wales meant, and how she did, or didn't, fit in to it.Brominicks' observations of the places and people she discovers around Wales are lively and well-written, although this is her journey (in many senses of that word) the narrative is at least as interested in who she meets and what she sees, especially of 'ordinary life'. She brings the everyday to life in thought-provoking ways, her book a new way of looking at the place where we live and the people with whom we live our lives, knowingly and unknowingly. Her writing is lyrical, studded with engaging and striking coinages and images which take the reader along the journey with her, both entertained and informed. The Edge of Cymru is a refreshingly new way of looking at place, identity, memory and belonging, especially through an environmental lens. It rewards the reader, whether they are interested in Wales specifically, or the world generally.
£12.99
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