British Life

For many, she was simply the last of King Henry VIII’s many wives, but Catherine Parr was much more than that. She had a unique and incredible history all of her own. Catherine was a dynamic figure who survived more than her fair share of hardship. Even before she married Henry, she found herself caught up in the drama of England’s Reformation, and at one point, she was even held hostage in her own home by religious radicals.

Milly-Molly-Mandy lives in a tiny village in the heart of the countryside, where life is full of everyday adventures! Join the little girl in the candy-striped dress as she goes blackberry picking, gets ready to throw a party and goes to her village fete – whatever Milly-Molly-Mandy and her...

One of the most beautiful and brilliant women of her time, Gladys Deacon dazzled, as much as she puzzled, the glittering social circles in which she moved. Born in Paris to American parents in 1881, she suffered a traumatic childhood after her father shot her mother's lover dead. Educated in...

‘A delightful odyssey through the history, nostalgia, fascination and British love of cake. Quirky, charming, and fun.’ PRUE LEITH The British take cakes seriously. We hold strong opinions about how to bake a brownie with the perfect squidge, the correct proportions of icing to sponge, and...

A poignant, challenging and witty memoir by one of Britain’s most senior journalists about the history of - and resistance to - immigration in the UK. In April 1968, Conservative MP Enoch Powell delivered a speech that was to frame the debate about immigration in the UK for the next 50 years. ‘We must be mad, literally mad, as a nation to allow the annual inflow of some 50,000 dependents,’ he said. ‘It is like watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre.’ Kamal Ahmed was six months old at the time of Powell’s speech.

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Charles I: An Abbreviated Life by Mark Kishlansky, read by John Sackville. The tragedy of Charles I dominates one of the most strange and painful periods in British history as the whole island tore itself apart over a deadly, entangled series of...

This audiobook includes a foreword read by Ben's brother and fellow international rugby player, Tom Youngs, as well as a bonus audio-exclusive conversation between the two brothers. In his unique, touching and honest memoir, rugby union legend Ben Youngs bares it all for the first time. Ben...

When playing a game of wits, never ever go up against the woman they call the Hellion . . . LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD... Whether it's business or pleasure, Lord Robert Carlisle never backs down from a dare. But finding a husband for scandalous Mariah Winslow? It's one challenge he instantly regrets...

The personal accounts of three young women who joined up in 1940. In the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone against Germany. The British Army stood at just over one and a half million men, while the Germans had three times that many, and a population almost twice the size of ours from which to...

Milly-Molly-Mandy lives in a tiny village in the heart of the countryside, where life is full of everyday adventures! Join the little girl in the candy-striped dress as she enjoys her first ever visit to the seaside, goes to a concert and has a picnic with her friends – whatever...

The bestselling, critically acclaimed new women’s history book from Philippa Gregory for 2025 – adapted for teen and YA readers! SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH AUDIO AWARDS 2025! Today, when we think of women of the past, we often think of the 1800s and 1900s – crinolines and stage coaches...

From the New York Times bestselling author of Elizabeth the Queen comes the first major biography of Prince Charles in more than twenty years—perfect for fans of The Crown. Sally Bedell Smith returns once again to the British royal family to give us a new look at Prince Charles, the oldest...

Dive into Brighton’s darkest corners in Death Comes Knocking – uncovering the true crimes that inspire the bestselling Roy Grace series, by Peter James and long-serving detective Graham Barlett. Fans of Peter James and his bestselling Roy Grace series of crime novels know that his books draw...

The Gazette Box Set is a vivid eye-witness portrait of British life, capturing the turbulent and colourful events in British history and re-telling them in the words of those who were there. Presented in six volumes and performed by an outstanding company of award-winning actors including Dame Eileen Atkins, Cheryl Campbell, Nigel Davenport, Alex Jennings, Richard Johnson OBE, Hugh Laurie CBE, Michael Maloney, Geoffrey Palmer OBE, Michael Pennington, Prunella Scales CBE, Samuel West, John Wood CBE and full supporting cast.

A sinister, sophisticated debut thriller by “a remarkable new voice to watch” (J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author), Man of the Year has been lauded by Shelf Awareness as “an impressive slow burn that builds suspense and cracks the whip at the end…redolent with menace and ego...

In his smash-hit debut The World According to Kaleb, we learnt how Kaleb feels about everything from existentialism to comb-overs, and why he doesn't want to visit the Mediterranean. In this follow-up, Kaleb casts his focus closer to home to examine what people like to get up to in the great outdoors. You'll go gravy wrestling in Lancashire, nettle eating in Somerset, and venture to Hereford for the significant occasion that is Best Dressed Stick.

Friendship is found far from home. Set in the years before WW2 and travelling from London to the island of Guernsey, The Guernsey Girls is the first in a touching series from Mary Wood, author of The Jam Factory Girls. 'Wood is a born storyteller' – Lancashire Evening Post January 1936. After...

With Muse of Fire, Michael Korda, the bestselling author of Alone and Hero, takes a novel approach to World War I by telling its history through the lives of the soldier-poets whose verses memorialize the war's unimaginable horrors. He begins with Rupert Brooke and the halcyon days before violence engulfed his generation—destroying the self-contented world of Edwardian England—and ends with the tragic death of Wilfred Owen, killed only days before the armistice brought an end to a war that took over 25,000,000 lives.

The life and adventures of Thomas Cochrane, a young man who rose from midshipman to admiral, are so extraordinary that, to paraphrase Patrick O’Brian, one has to suspend disbelief. In fact, O’Brian admitted to using Cochrane as the model for his character Jack Aubrey. Second only to Nelson...

As World War I drew to a close, change reverberated through the halls of England's country homes. As the sun set slowly on the British Empire, the shadows lengthened on the lawns of a thousand stately homes. In The Long Weekend, historian Adrian Tinniswood introduces us to the tumultuous, scandalous, and glamorous history of English country houses during the years between world wars.