History

The Grande Armee of Napoleon Bonaparte is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest fighting forces ever deployed. With it the (read more)

The Grande Armee of Napoleon Bonaparte is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest fighting forces ever deployed. With it the French scored a streak of historic victories that gave them an unprecedented grip on power over the European continent. At its peak it was made up of 680,000 men, a huge multi-national force of officers, infantry and cavalry, artillery and support services masterminded by a superior and highly flexible system of corps, divisions, brigades and regiments, commanded by officers in which Napoleon placed a huge degree of trust and autonomy to operate within the outlines of his strategic objectives.

Published:7 Jan 2019 (hide)

Richard Vinen's National Service is a serious - if often very entertaining - attempt to get to grips with the reality of that extraordinary (read more)

Richard Vinen's National Service is a serious - if often very entertaining - attempt to get to grips with the reality of that extraordinary institution, which now seems as remote as the British Empire itself. With great sympathy and curiosity, Vinen unpicks the myths of the two 'gap years', which all British men who came of age between 1945 and the early 1960s had to fill with National Service. This book is fascinating to those who endured or even enjoyed their time in uniform, but also to anyone wishing to understand the unique nature of post-war Britain. (hide)

Renowned World War Two historian James Holland presents an entirely new perspective on one of the most important moments in recent (read more)

Renowned World War Two historian James Holland presents an entirely new perspective on one of the most important moments in recent history, unflinchingly examining the brutality and violence that characterised the campaign.

D-Day and the 76 days of bitter fighting in Normandy that followed have come to be seen as a defining episode in the Second World War. Its story has been endlessly retold, and yet it remains a narrative burdened by both myth and assumed knowledge. In this reexamined history, James Holland presents a broader overview, one that challenges much of what we think we know about D-Day and the Normandy campaign. (hide)

This book, the second in a series of four unique War Diaries produced in conjunction with the Imperial War Museum, tells a story (read more)

This book, the second in a series of four unique War Diaries produced in conjunction with the Imperial War Museum, tells a story that is rarely heard: the experiences of a nurse working close to the Western Front in the First World War. Incredibly, Edith Appleton served in France for the whole of the conflict. Her bravery and dedication won her the Military OBE, the Royal Red Cross and the Belgian Queen Elizabeth medal among others.

Her diary details with compassion all the horrors of the 'war to end wars', including the first use of poison gas and the terrible cost of battles such as Ypres, but she also records what life was like for nurses and how she spent her time off-duty. There are moments of humour amongst the tragedy, and even lyrical accounts of the natural beauty that still existed amidst all the destruction. (hide)

On which day was history's shortest war waged and won (in roughly 40 minutes)? How was Napoleon bested by a group of rabbits in 1807? (read more)

On which day was history's shortest war waged and won (in roughly 40 minutes)? How was Napoleon bested by a group of rabbits in 1807? Why did a dispute about beer in an Oxford pub lead to over 100 deaths and 470 years of penance? Why in 1752 did Britain go to bed on 2nd September and wake up on the 14th? How did a women's march in 1917 set off the Russian Revolution?On This Day in History brings to life a key event that happened on each day of the year. (hide)

In August 1914, Kitchener's `Contemptible Little Army' was highly professional but small, equipped with only what they could carry (read more)

In August 1914, Kitchener's `Contemptible Little Army' was highly professional but small, equipped with only what they could carry - and they were facing a force of continental proportions, heavily armed and well supplied. The task of equipping the British Army was truly Herculean. Many able men had volunteered to fight in the trenches, and others would soon be called up, so this vital work was to be undertaken by the ordinary men and women left behind.

In time, the government recognised the need for skills of engineering and logistics, and many of those who had survived the onslaught were brought back home to work. Ordnance is the story of these men and women. It traces the provision of equipment and armaments from raw material through manufacture to the supply routes that gave the British Army all the material it needed to win the war. (hide)

***Stocked 20/9/2014*** The Peninsular War is one of the defining campaigns of the British Army and sealed its reputation for supreme (read more)

***Stocked 20/9/2014*** The Peninsular War is one of the defining campaigns of the British Army and sealed its reputation for supreme professionalism, heroic obstinacy and sheer perseverance. It made the reputation of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, and acts as the backdrop to the adventures of Bernard Cornwell's fictional hero Richard Sharpe. The British Army, under Sir John Moore and Wellington, ranged across the plains and mountains of Portugal and Spain and into France, taking part in 15 field actions and four bloody sieges, including Salamanca, Vitoria and Badajoz, but this is only part of the picture.

The contribution of the Spanish and Portuguese forces is frequently overlooked, but there were a further 25 field actions and 15 sieges in the Iberian peninsula as part of the savage duel between the French occupiers and native inhabitants. In this newly revised edition of The Peninsular War Atlas, Colonel Nick Lipscombe expands upon his comprehensive, non-partisan examination of the conflict with 164 original maps, accompanied by an authoritative text narrating the war. His 34 years of service in the British Army, including postings in both Spain and Portugal, give him a unique perspective on the conflict. (hide)

With a plot to grace any comic opera, the 1859-72 'Pig War' broke out when an American living on a quietly disputed small island (read more)

With a plot to grace any comic opera, the 1859-72 'Pig War' broke out when an American living on a quietly disputed small island in the Gulf of Georgia shot a British pig he found rooting up his garden produce. The authorities on nearby Vancouver Island and the military leadership of the adjacent Washington Territory both felt they had good reasons to escalate a trivial incident into a full-blown war between the United States and Great Britain. Despite the outbreak of the American Civil War, and British intervention on the Confederate side, the hot-heads were restrained and, eventually, it was decided that the problem should become one of the earliest examples of international arbitration.

Published:26 Nov 2018 (hide)

The names of few medieval monarchs and their queens are better known than Eleanor of Aquitaine, uniquely queen of France and queen (read more)

The names of few medieval monarchs and their queens are better known than Eleanor of Aquitaine, uniquely queen of France and queen of England, and her second husband Henry II. Although academically labelled medieval', their era was the violent transition from the Dark Ages, when countries' borders were defined with fire and sword. Henry grabbed the English throne thanks largely to Eleanor's dowry because she owned one third of France.

Their daughters also lived extraordinary lives. If princes fought for their succession to crowns, the princesses were traded - usually by their mothers - to strangers for political power without the bloodshed. Years before what would today be marriageable age, royal girls were despatched to countries whose speech was unknown to them and there became the property of unknown men; their duty the bearing of sons to continue a dynasty and daughters who would be traded in their turn.
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Pompeii explodes a number of myths - from the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought; the hygiene (read more)

Pompeii explodes a number of myths - from the very date of the eruption, probably a few months later than usually thought; the hygiene of the baths which must have been hotbeds of germs; and the legendary number of brothels, most likely only one, to the massive death count which was probably less than ten per cent of the population. Street Life, Earning a Living: Baker, Banker and Garum Maker (who ran the city), The Pleasure of the Body: Food, Wine, Sex and Baths, these chapter headings give a surprising insight into the workings of a Roman town. At the Suburban Baths we go from communal bathing to hygiene to erotica.

A fast-food joint on the Via dell' Abbondanza introduces food and drink and diets and street life. These are just a few of the strands that make up an extraordinary and involving portrait of an ancient town, its life and its continuing re-discovery, by Britain's leading classicist. (hide)