England Memoir

Charles II of England remains one of the most easily identifiable and best known of England’s monarchs. Deprived of his throne following the execution of his father, he contended with hardship and exile before achieving a peaceful restoration and the beginning of what would be remembered as a colorful period of English history. His reign also led to the creation of the two-party system that would shape English and later British politics for centuries to come.

Charles I is one of the most instantly recognizable of the English monarchs. During his reign, the relationship between king and Parliament changed radically, with revolutionary results. A man of deeply held convictions whose refusal to compromise brought about conflict and civil war, King Charles I almost destroyed the English monarchy forever.

John Wycliffe was known as the “Morning Star” of the Reformation. His doctrines of strict adherence to the Bible and his attacks on the wealth and corruption of the Catholic Church would be the spark that would later ignite the fires of the Protestant Reformation.

Florence Nightingale is usually thought of for her work in the Crimean War, where, as the “Lady with the Lamp”, she tirelessly nursed wounded soldiers at all hours of the night and day. But while these two years were a significant part of her life, she was also much more.

One man has probably done more good and saved more lives than any single public official of the Victorian era. The man being described was an engineer, city planner, bridge builder, and landscape architect; his name was Sir Joseph Bazalgette. Probably best remembered as the man who designed the London sewer network, he almost single-handedly eliminated virulent epidemics and changed the River Thames from an open sewer into one of the cleanest urban rivers in the world. He also transformed the face of London forever.

In 1888, between August and November, the women of London’s East End were terrorized by a deranged serial killer. A man was stalking the streets at night, seizing random women who worked those streets and killing them. This man mutilated his victim’s bodies after death, removing body parts and organs.

William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, permanently changing the landscape of the English countryside and the course of English history. No one debates his importance; whether the influence was good or bad is a much more involved conversation. To understand English history over time, it is important to understand the transition from Anglo-Saxon history of the country to the Anglo-Norman control that existed until approximately the 15th century.

There are many versions of Queen Elizabeth I of England; the beautiful young Tudor Queen courted by all the princes of Europe; a fearless virgin warrior in white velvet, rousing her troops on the battlefield; an irascible old woman in a powdered wig, surrounded by fawning young men. A formidable woman, Elizabeth I ruled alone at a time when Europe was a hotbed of conflict, dominated by empire-seeking Kings with opposing religious beliefs.

Since his death in the year 1547, King Henry VIII has been celebrated as a chivalrous pioneer and reviled as a brutal tyrant, but he has never been ignored. Henry was responsible for the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church, the ramifications of which reverberated through subsequent centuries of European history. Domestically, Henry revolutionized the English Constitution, elevating his own status to that of a God.

William Shakespeare is one of the most recognizable names in the world. Regardless of country, language, age, or gender, people are familiar with the Bard’s work and his contributions to literature, theater, art, and music. His genius was so evident that he became famous and respected throughout England in his own lifetime, eventually earning the attention and patronage of the king himself.

George Stephenson is one of the world’s most famous engineers. His pioneering work on steam-powered locomotion would supercharge the industrial revolution in the United Kingdom and help bring about the heyday of the British Empire.

Dating back to the fifth century, the legend of King Arthur, his Queen Guinevere, and the Knights of the Round Table is an integral part of British national mythology. From its beginning as a few lines of Latin text written in a sixth-century monk’s hand, Arthurian legend has blossomed over the years into a unique universe built on the real foundations of Britain’s Dark Ages and the principles of ancient chivalry.

The Queen of Great Britain and Ireland for 63 years, Queen Victoria’s life was one of magnificent proportions. Victoria’s childhood was difficult and lonely, but from the time she took the throne aged just 18, she blossomed into a powerful woman, both frivolous and formidable. In her later years, Victoria struggled to find balance between her wish to live a very private life as a widow and her duty to live the very public life of a queen and later empress.

Modern society tends to portray men of history to be great saints or great sinners. In fact, biographers are often inclined, depending on their personal predilections, to portray their subjects as one of these two extremes, especially when someone is seen by a certain group as an example of religious ideals or values. Writers are often afraid that if any of the person's mistakes come to light, it will somehow disqualify them from being admired.

As is so often the case with a serial killer, the first murder was largely ignored. She was a "fallen woman", a prostitute barely worthy of police notice. But then there was another victim, killed and butchered while plying her illicit trade. The police took notice and, by the time the third body was found, also mutilated and filleted like a fish, the public took notice too. An outcry began to swell from the good people of the city.

Of all the great actors of the 20th century, none personifies acting royalty more than Laurence Olivier. Some of this is simply due to the fact that he was actually knighted in 1947, along with a lengthy list of other honors. Of course in addition to the literal sense of the term, there is undeniably a manner in which Olivier qualifies as acting royalty. It is not for nothing that Spencer Tracy once referred to Olivier as "the greatest actor in the English-speaking world".

When people think of the British Royal family, and more specifically where they live, the first image that often pops into mind is that of stately Buckingham Palace, with its changing of the guard and the occasional royal coach leaving or entering. Others may think of the royal country estate of Windsor Castle, a favorite of both Britain's longest-reigning and second longest-reigning monarchs.

From their very beginnings, England and Scotland fought each other. Emerging as unified nations from the early medieval period, their shared border and related aristocracy created endless causes of conflict. Every century from the 11th to the 16th was colored by such violence, and there were periods when not a decade went by without some act of violence marring the peace. Out of all of this, the most bitterly remembered conflict is Edward I's invasion during the late 13th century.

Barbara Windsor's life has been anything but ordinary. From her humble East End roots to her role as the fearsome EastEnders matriarch Peggy Mitchell, via Carry On, and her association with the infamous Kray twins in London's swinging 60s, hers is one of British entertainment's most intriguing stories. This exclusive publication pulls no punches as it delves deep into the colorful life of this unique national treasure.

In 1605, Guy Fawkes was one of over a dozen conspirators in the famous Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to assassinate England's King James I. When the plot was discovered on the 5th of November, Fawkes and other conspirators were quickly convicted and executed, and the King asked his subjects to remember the 5th November as "the joyful day of deliverance".