British History

*Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, New Statesman, Air Mail, and more * Longlisted for the Chautauqua Prize * Recipient of a Whiting Grant* A “haunting and elegant” (The Wall Street Journal) story about love, faith, the search for utopia—and the...

On November 29, 1781, Captain Collingwood of the British ship Zong commanded his crew to throw overboard one-third of his cargo: a shipment of Africans bound for slavery in America. The captain believed his ship was off course, and he feared there was not enough drinking water to last until landfall. This book is the first to examine in detail the deplorable killings on the Zong, the lawsuit that ensued, how the murder of 132 slaves affected debates about slavery, and the way we remember the infamous Zong today.

Twenty of the most crucial moments in Britain's history. BBC History Magazine asked a selection of leading historians to choose and describe the twenty most important turning points in British history from AD 1000 to 2000. Collected together, their choices present a new way of looking at our nation's story.

Did you know that the first people who settled on the grey-green islands of Great Britain were Black? How about that some of the Roman soldiers who invaded and even ruled Britain were Black, too? After that there were Black Tudors, Georgians and Victorians. In this easy-to-digest chronological journey through our shared history, award-winning author Atinuke brings her experience as an oral storyteller to carry listeners through the fascinating history of Black people in Britain.

At his death in 1994, Ralph Ellison left behind roughly two thousand pages of his unfinished second novel, which he had spent nearly four decades writing. Long awaited, it was to have been the work Ellison intended to follow his masterpiece, Invisible Man. Five years later, Random House...

‘Focuses a razor light on the plight of one of our most iconic birds. Inspirational!’ Tim Birkhead Curlews are Britain’s largest wading bird, known for their evocative calls which embody wild places; they provoke a range of emotions that many have expressed in poetry, art and music. A bird...

A behind-the-scenes look into the life of Meghan Markle and her romance with Prince Harry—a dishy, delightful must-listen filled with exclusive insights for anyone obsessed with the Royal Family. Leslie Carroll’s books on royalty are “an irresistible combination of People Magazine and the...

Robert Wedderburn (1762-1834/5) was one of the most charismatic, irascible, and radical intellectuals of the eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Atlantic world. Born to an enslaved woman and a slavemaster in Jamaica, and moving in the radical working-class circles of London, Wedderburn made his name as a fiery political writer and orator—before dying, forgotten, in poverty. From award-winning scholar Ryan Hanley, this is the first full-length biography of a man increasingly recognized as central to Black radical political thought in the Revolutionary Atlantic.

In January 1972, a peaceful civil rights march in Northern Ireland ended in bloodshed. Troops from Britain's 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment opened fire on marchers, leaving 13 dead and 15 wounded. Seven of those killed were teenage boys. The day became known as 'Bloody Sunday'. The events occurred in broad daylight and in the full glare of the press. Within hours, the British military informed the world that they had won an 'IRA gun battle'. This became the official narrative for decades until a family-led campaign instigated one of the most complex inquiries in history.

Continuing his exploration of British history, Timothy Venning examines the turning points of the period from the death of William I to the reign of Edward III and a little beyond. He discusses the crucial junctions at which history could easily have taken a different turn and analyzes the possible results.

Oliver Cromwell's death in 1658 sparked a period of unrivaled turmoil and confusion in English history. In less than two years, there were close to ten changes of government; rival armies of Englishmen faced each other across the Scottish border; and the Long Parliament was finally dissolved after two decades. Why was this period so turbulent, and why did the republic, backed by a formidable standing army, come crashing down in such spectacular fashion?

This oral history documents the story of Oasis as told by the fans who were there. Discover never-before-seen perspectives charting the rise, fall, and rise again of Liam and Noel Gallagher and the British rock band whose music defined a generation. A few years after Definitely Maybe topped the...

The British have a relationship with their food that is unlike that of any other country. Once something that was never discussed in polite company, it is now something with which the nation is obsessed. But are we at last developing a food culture or are we just going through the motions? Eating for England is an entertaining, detailed, and somewhat tongue-in-cheek observation of the British and their food, their cooking, their eating, and how they behave in restaurants.

In 1940 Winston Churchill established the Special Operations Executive to "set Europe ablaze". Three years later David Smiley and Billy McLean were parachuted into Northern Greece and crossed the border into Albania to do just that. For the next eight months Smiley mediated between the competing resistance factions and organized them to conduct ambushes and acts of sabotage on fascist armies and infrastructure.

Now a Major Motion Picture starring Dame Judi Dench from director Stephen Frears. History’s most unlikely friendship—this is the astonishing story of Queen Victoria and her dearest companion, the young Indian Munshi Abdul Karim. In the twilight years of her reign, after the devastating...

A groundbreaking account of how Britain became the base of operations for the exiled leaders of Europe in their desperate struggle to reclaim their continent from Hitler, from the New York Times bestselling author of Citizens of London and Those Angry Days When the Nazi blitzkrieg rolled over...

This book is a testament to how low human nature can get and offers a comprehensive breakdown of the cases’ key dates before looking into the gritty details. In the chapters, you will learn about the origin of the word “serial killer”, dispel common myths about murderers, and get one step closer to understanding why people kill.

The 19th century witnessed some of the most far-reaching social and political changes in English history. In volume 4, we trace the arc of England's march to worldwide imperial dominance along with the nation's reckoning with her poorest citizens. It is a story of contrast and courage. The contrast is between those with titles, money, and power...and those lacking any or all of these.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 10 BEST BOOKS THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW 2011 NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post The New Yorker Chicago Tribune The Economist Nancy Pearl, NPR Bloomberg.com Library Journal Publishers Weekly...

An evocative journey into early medieval Britain, where myth and wilderness intertwine – brought to life by Amy Jeffs’ original linocut art. Step into the wilderness of early medieval Britain with Wild, a captivating collection of myths, legends, and reimagined tales from the sixth to...