'A very readable history of the British way of life viewed through its homes' Choice Magazine In recent years house histories have become the new frontier of popular, participatory history. People, many of whom have already embarked upon that great adventure of genealogical research, and who have encountered their ancestors in the archives and uncovered family secrets, are now turning to the secrets contained within the four walls of their homes and in doing so finding a direct link to earlier generations. And it is ordinary homes, not grand public buildings or the mansions of the rich, that have all the best stories. As with the television series, A House Through Time offers readers not only the tools to explore the histories of their own homes, but also a vividly readable history of the British city, the forces of industry, disease, mass transportation, crime and class. The rises and falls, the shifts in the fortunes of neighbourhoods and whole cities are here, tracing the often surprising journey one single house can take from an elegant dwelling in a fashionable district to a tenement for society's rejects. Packed with remarkable human stories, David Olusoga and Melanie Backe-Hansen give us a phenomenal insight into living history, a history we can see every day on the streets where we live. And it reminds us that it is at home that we are truly ourselves. It is there that the honest face of life can be seen. At home, behind closed doors and drawn curtains, we live out our inner lives and family lives.

Maeve O'Riordan opens the doors of the country house (or the big house as it is often referred to) in Ireland to reveal the lives of women among the Irish ascendancy. Drawing on personal records from twelve different families, the reader is provided with unprecedented insights into the female experience among the privileged landed class at a time of social upheaval in Ireland. Space is given to these women's voices as they navigated the limited roles available to women at the time. Unmarried women are not excluded and their efforts at forging careers and identities outside the home are also uncovered. Though their names are now forgotten, women like Mabel O'Brien - who was depicted as wife, mother and society woman in her husband Dermod's painting The Jewel (pictured on the front) - contributed to the public success of their families through their dutiful, private roles. Their marriages forged important social links and their commitment to home duties ensured that the family residence was a centre of prestige. Women of the Country House in Ireland will appeal to anyone interested in the history of women or the ascendancy. It invites you to step into the country houses of Ireland and, for the first time, to get to know the women who lived within their grand drawing rooms before the onset of the First World War and the Irish War of Independence.

The Tudors are England's most notorious royal family. But, as Leanda de Lisle's gripping new history reveals, they are a family still more extraordinary than the one we thought we knew. The Tudor canon typically starts with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, before speeding on to Henry VIII and the Reformation. But this leaves out the family's obscure Welsh origins, the ordinary man known as Owen Tudor who would fall (literally) into a Queen's lap--and later her bed. It passes by the courage of Margaret Beaufort, the pregnant thirteen-year-old girl who would help found the Tudor dynasty, and the childhood and painful exile of her son, the future Henry VII. It ignores the fact that the Tudors were shaped by their past--those parts they wished to remember and those they wished to forget. By creating a full family portrait set against the background of this past, de Lisle enables us to see the Tudor dynasty in its own terms, and presents new perspectives and revelations on key figures and events. De Lisle discovers a family dominated by remarkable women doing everything possible to secure its future; shows why the princes in the Tower had to vanish; and reexamines the bloodiness of Mary's reign, Elizabeth's fraught relationships with her cousins, and the true significance of previously overlooked figures. Throughout the Tudor story, Leanda de Lisle emphasizes the supreme importance of achieving peace and stability in a violent and uncertain world, and of protecting and securing the bloodline. Tudor is bristling with religious and political intrigue but at heart is a thrilling story of one family's determined and flamboyant ambition.

This book presents the original text and English translations of the medieval and post-medieval records, documents, poems and chronicles relating to Owain Glyndwr (1357?-1415, revolutionary and the last native Welshman to hold the title Prince of Wales), his career and his legacy. In addition, textual notes and essays on the historical, social and literary context of these documents will provide up-to-date perspectives and commentary on the man and his times. For the first time, historians, literary scholars, students and the general reader will be able to view a wide range of materials collected in a single volume and will be able to assess for themselves the significance of Glyndwr in Welsh, English and European history from the late Middle Ages into the Renaissance - and to redress the imbalance of historical accounts past and present. The high profile international contributors include: John K. Bollard, Independent Scholar of Welsh Kelly DeVries, Loyola University, Maryland Helen Fulton, University of York Rhidian Griffiths, Independent Scholar Elissa R. Henken, University of Georgia Michael Livingston, The Citadel Alicia Marchant, University of Western Australia Scott Lucas, The Citadel William Oram, Smith College Gruffydd Aled Williams, Aberystwyth University

This book is the first comprehensive history of medical student culture and medical education in Ireland from the middle of the nineteenth century until the 1950s. Utilising a variety of rich sources, including novels, newspapers, student magazines, doctors' memoirs, and oral history accounts, it examines Irish medical student life and culture, incorporating students' educational and extra-curricular activities at all of the Irish medical schools. The book investigates students' experiences in the lecture theatre, hospital, dissecting room and outside their studies, such as in 'digs', sporting teams and in student societies, illustrating how representations of medical students changed in Ireland over the period and examines the importance of class, religious affiliation and the appropriate traits that students were expected to possess. It highlights religious divisions as well as the dominance of the middle classes in Irish medical schools while also exploring institutional differences, the students' decisions to pursue medical education, emigration and the experiences of women medical students within a predominantly masculine sphere. Through an examination of the history of medical education in Ireland, this book builds on our understanding of the Irish medical profession while also contributing to the wider scholarship of student life and culture. It will appeal to those interested in the history of medicine, the history of education and social history in modern Ireland.

This interdisciplinary collection investigates the forms that authority assumed in nineteenth-century Ireland, the relations they bore to international redefinitions of authority, and Irish contributions to the reshaping of authority in the modern age. At a time when age-old sources of social, political, spiritual and cultural authority were eroded in the Western world, Ireland witnessed both the restoration of older forms of authority and the rise of figures who defined new models of authority in a democratic age. Using new comparative perspectives as well as archival resources in a wide range of fields, the essays gathered here show how new authorities were embodied in emerging types of politicians, clerics and professionals, and in material extensions of their power in visual, oral and print cultures. These analyses often eerily echo twenty-first-century debates about populism, suspicion of scholarly and intellectual expertise, and the role of new technologies and forms of association in contesting and recreating authority. Several contributions highlight the role of emotion in the way authority was deployed by figures ranging from Daniel O'Connell to W.B. Yeats, foreshadowing the perceived rise of emotional politics in our own age. This volume demonstrates that many contested forms of authority that now look 'traditional' emerged from nineteenth-century crises and developments, as did the challenges that undermine authority. CONTRIBUTORS: Marguerite Corporaal, Patrick Geoghegan, Patrick Maume, Michelle McCann, Caroline M. McGee, James H. Murphy, Shane Nagle, Niamh NicGhabhann, Richard Parfitt, Colleen M. Thomas, Tom Walker

In this tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, Karl-Werner Antrack looks at her life and those that affected it. He looks in detail at the many conspiracy theories surrounding her death, and how it has affected those that Diana left behind, and the 'revelations' revealed by those she is said to have trusted while alive. The state of the world post-Diana is also looked at including the war on Iraq, and Britain's relations with the US. Altogether, this book is a useful compilation of much of the hype which has surrounded the death of Princess Diana, but at the heart of it we must remember she was a loving mother who cared for all those less fortunate than herself, and it is hopefully this memory that shall live on...

In May 1983, in the wake of her victory in the Falklands, Mrs Thatcher won the second of her three general election victories. Liverpool, going not for the first or last time against the grain, elected a Labour council that vowed to be different. In an environment of mass unemployment in which Liverpool felt abandoned by an indifferent government, the council resolved to join others across the land in refusing to set a budget that would hurt the poorest. It was at first wildly popular, but the scene soon became set for a battle between the city and central government that would shape the future of Liverpool. Published to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the 1983 election, Militant Liverpool: A City on the Edge sets out an even-handed assessment of events with oral testimonies from many of the key protagonists. Thirty years on, Liverpool has to some extent reinvented itself as a visitor destination, but it is again facing major spending cuts while its deep seated social problems remain. This book sheds new light on what is for some a dark period in the city's past, best forgotten, while for others is a memory of the city that refused to lie down and die and a continuing inspiration.

'A rich achievement full of glorious anecdotes' Hugo Vickers A Royal Christmas is a Christmas pudding of a book, enticingly full of silver threepenny pieces. Organised thematically, it covers such topics as Christmas and conflict in the 20th century, Christmas pastimes, festive feasts, Christmas and the Commonwealth, and many more, to reveal the many ways in which the Royal Family have celebrated the festive season through the ages. Jeremy Archer has delved into the Royal Archives to uncover the personal thoughts of many members of the Royal Family during the Christmas period. What comes over most strongly from Queen Victoria's journals is the importance of family: the joys they shared, the trials they endured, and the carefully-selected gifts they exchanged. Although there is much happiness, tragedy is a common bed-fellow, particularly in earlier times. And conflict is seldom very far away. But this is a celebration - both of an enduring festive season and an extraordinary family. 'An easy to read treat for royal enthusiasts, skilfully assembled to highlight significant episodes in our history from the comic to the tragic informative and enjoyable' Sarah Bradford 'Jeremy Archer has an eye for an anecdote and a clever way of arranging his material. The result is like an enormous bran tub: dip in, and you're sure to find something to keep you entertained' Kathryn Hughes, The Mail on Sunday

Nowhere in Britain is more closely associated with a form of language than Liverpool. Yet the history of language in Liverpool has been obscured by misrepresentation and myth-making and narratives of Liverpool's linguistic past have scarcely done justice to the rich, complex and fascinating history which produced it. Scouse: A Social and Cultural History presents a ground-breaking and iconoclastic account which challenges many of the forms of received wisdom about language in Liverpool and presents an alternative version of the currently accepted history. Ranging from the mid eighteenth century to the present, the book explores evidence from a host of different sources including the first histories of Liverpool, a rare slaving drama set in the port, a poor house report which records the first use of 'Scouse' (the dish), nineteenth century debates on Gladstone's speech, the 'lost' literature of the city, early to mid twentieth century newspaper accounts of Liverpudlian words, idioms and traditions, little-known essays which coined the use of 'Scouse' to refer to the language of Liverpool, aspects of popular culture in the 1950s and 60s, the Lern Yerself Scouse series, and examples drawn from contemporary literature. In addition the analysis draws on recent developments within the fields of sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology - particularly with regard to the study of language and identity and the relationship between language and a sense of place - in order to provide a radically new understanding of 'Scouse' in terms of its history, its representation, and its contemporary social and cultural significance.

Dominating the city from its volcanic rock, Edinburgh Castle is one of the oldest fortified places in Europe. This natural stronghold has been occupied for thousands of years, shifting its shape as it was adapted for new uses and against new threats. The castle has long been a royal residence and a focus for national pride - a place of strength where kings and queens could enjoy relative safety in turbulent times, and national treasures could be securely stored. It has been at the heart of Scotland's major events, fought over, held and recaptured time after time. In fact, it is the most besieged place in Great Britain, and remained in military use well into the past century. Over the years Edinburgh Castle has attracted countless visitors with an interest in Scotland's dramatic history. This book invites visitors to explore the castle and learn about its extraordinary history and discover some of its fascinating secrets.

Shortlisted for the ALCS Gold Dagger Award for Nonfiction A brilliant work of historical true crime charting a pivotal event in the l9th century, the Phoenix Park murders in Dublin, that gripped the world and forever altered the course of Irish history, from renowned journalist, former New Yorker London editor, and Costa Biography Award finalist Julie Kavanagh. Ireland, 1879-1882. After 700 years of British rule, the post-Famine generation of Irish tenant farmers began to push back against the reigning feudal system of landownership. The charismatic political leader, Charles Stewart Parnell, headed up the Land League, a revolutionary movement that promised to restore land and power to the people through a series of protests, strikes, and boycotts. After what became known as the Irish Land War had escalated into nationwide anarchy, Parnell and two associates were incarcerated without trial in Kilmainham Gaol. In April 1882, Parnell secretly forged the Kilmainham Treaty, a pact in which he pledged to work diplomatically with British Prime Minister William Gladstone for peace and the eventual independence of Ireland from England. It was a moment of real hope and a potential turning point in history, one that Gladstone himself described as "golden." Yet it would be shattered one sunlit evening, on May 6, l882, as Gladstone's emissary, Lord Frederick Cavendish, who had arrived that day in Dublin, and Thomas Burke, the undersecretary for Ireland, were ambushed and stabbed to death while strolling through Phoenix Park in Dublin. The murders were funded by American supporters of Irish independence and carried out by the Invincibles, a militant faction of republicans armed with specially made surgeon's blades. The impact of the assassinations was so cataclysmic that it destroyed the peace pact, almost brought down the government, and set in motion repercussions that would last long into the twentieth century. In a story that spans Donegal, Dublin, London, Paris, New York, Cannes, and Cape Town, Julie Kavanagh traces the crucial events that came before and after the murders. From Parnell's passionate affair with an Irish MP's wife, Katharine "Kitty" O'Shea, which eventually caused his downfall, to Queen Victoria's prurient obsession with the assassinations; from the investigation spearheaded by Superintendent John Mallon, the "Irish Sherlock Holmes," who tirelessly tracked down each member of the Invincibles, to the eventual betrayal and clandestine escape of leading Invincible James Carey and his murder on the high seas; The Irish Assassins brings us intimately into this fascinating story that shaped Irish politics and engulfed an empire. This is an unputdownable book from one of our most "compulsively readable" (Guardian) writers.

Reframing Irish Youth in the Sixties focuses on the position of youth in the Republic of Ireland at a time when the meaning of youth was changing internationally. It argues that the reformulation of youth as a social category was a key element of social change. While emigration was the key youth issue of the 1950s, in this period young people became a pivotal point around which a new national project of economic growth hinged. Transnational ideas and international models increasingly framed Irish attitudes to young people's education, welfare and employment. At the same time, Irish youths were participants in a transnational youth culture that appeared to challenge the status quo. This book examines the attitudes of those in government, the media, in civil society organisations and religious bodies to youth and young people, addressing new manifestations of youth culture and new developments in youth welfare work. In using youth as a lens, this book takes an innovative approach that enables a multi-faceted examination of the sixties, providing fresh perspectives on key social changes and cultural continuities.

In this greatly admired work by John Seymour, first published in 1966, the celebrated advocate of self-sufficiency and of man's living as close as possible to nature describes a journey of four months spent on a British waterways hire cruiser - the 'Water Willow' - in which he and his family travelled the water roads of England, from Nottingham to Llangollen and then back by a devious route across the Midlands to the Wash.

With a keen eye, a vivid pen and just about the right number of prejudices about canals and their management, Seymour delves into engineering history, offers fascinating descriptions of the people and the boats he met en route (and the public houses he patronized), and offers a still dependable guide for those who dream of exploring England's relatively un-crowded and colourful canal system.

Jacob Rees-Mogg is one of the most prominent and controversial figures in contemporary British politics. He is a man who divides opinion in his own party, in Parliament and across the country. An arch-Brexiteer with significant business interests and a large personal fortune, he has long been a vocal critic of the European Union and of Prime Minister Theresa May's attempts to negotiate a Brexit deal. As chairman of the powerful anti-EU organisation the European Research Group, he has also been a thorn in the side of those seeking to dilute Brexit. While many people mock him for his impeccable manners and traditional attitudes - he has been dubbed `the Honourable Member for the eighteenth century' - an equally great number applaud him for his apparent conviction politics. Undoubtedly, Rees-Mogg stands out among the current crop of MPs and his growing influence cannot be ignored. In this wide-ranging unauthorised biography of the Conservative Member of Parliament for North East Somerset, Michael Ashcroft, bestselling author of Call Me Dave: The Unauthorised Biography of David Cameron, turns his attention to one of the most intriguing politicians of our time.

The geology of the Cairngorms was created on a timeline that stretches back hundreds of millions of years. Much of the land is underlain by granite that formed deep within the Earth's crust and 'surfaced' as the overlying layers of rock were stripped away by ice, wind and water. The bedrock is hard, and although the area has been heavily glaciated, still boasts 18 Munros, the highest of Scotland's peaks. The area attracts climbers, walkers and assorted adventurers who want to pit themselves against some of the most challenging conditions to be found anywhere in the UK. The plants and animals of the Cairngorms need to be hardy to survive the severe winter conditions. The higher reaches of the mountains are rich in montane vegetation such as lichen-rich heath and other habitats support many rare species.

John Grigg's four volume life of Lloyd George is one of the great political biographies. This, the final volume, opens with Lloyd George's succession to the Premiership in December 1916, when Britain faced starvation and defeat through the German U-boat campaign, its allies France, Russia and Italy were tottering, the Liberal Party was bitterly divided and unrest in Ireland was growing. Worst of all, military chiefs regarded themselves as at least the equals of the government. To resolve these crises required ruthlessness, political genius and leadership of the highest order. In this thrilling book we see one of Britain's most resourceful Prime Ministers in brilliant action, steering his country to victory. It is a tragedy John Grigg didn't live to complete his magnum opus but what exists is a masterpiece. Faber Finds is reissuing the four volumes: The Young Lloyd George, Lloyd George: The People's Champion 1902-1911, Lloyd George: From Peace to War 1912-1916, Lloyd George: War Leader 1916-1918. 'With the volume, Grigg crowns the edifice of one of the great biographies of our time.' Anthony Howard - Sunday Times 'A fitting climax to a path-breaking study.' John Campbell, Independent, Books of the Year 'Superb... the fullest account we shall ever have of Lloyd George's career as a wartime Prime Minister. It is a fascinating story and is told with panache, vigour, clarity and impartiality by a great biographer... brings out as never before the brilliance of Lloyd George's finest hour.' Robert Blake, Evening Standard 'A major publishing event... Grigg mingles factual precision, high-interest value and judgements which are mostly as wise as they are forthright.' Roy Jenkins, Sunday Telegraph, Books of the Year 'Gripping... essential... This wonderful biography, clear and authoritative, every page a lesson in how to write narrative history, well up to its preceding volumes, recreates both a time of acute national danger and an extraordinary man.' Max Egremont, Financial Times

'A delightful book ... the perfect companion as you wait for the 8.10 from Hove' Observer After the Beeching cuts of the 1960s, many railways were gradually shut down. Rural communities were isolated and steam trains slowly gave way to diesel and electric traction. But some people were not prepared to let the romance of train travel die. Thanks to their efforts, many lines passed into community ownership and are now booming with new armies of dedicated volunteers. Andrew Martin meets these volunteer enthusiasts, finding out just what it is about preserved railways that makes people so devoted. From the inspiration for Thomas the Tank Engine to John Betjeman's battle against encroaching modernity, Steam Trains Today will take you on a heart-warming journey across Britain from Aviemore to Epping.

This book brings together new research on loyalism in the 26 counties that would become the Irish Free State. It covers a range of topics and experiences, including the Third Home Rule crisis in 1912, the revolutionary period, partition, independence and Irish participation in the British armed and colonial service up to the declaration of the Republic in 1949. The essays gathered here examine who southern Irish loyalists were, what loyalism meant to them, how they expressed their loyalism, their responses to Irish independence and their experiences afterwards. The collection offers fresh insights and new perspectives on the Irish Revolution and the early years of southern independence, based on original archival research. It addresses issues of particular historiographical and political interest during the ongoing 'Decade of Centenaries', including revolutionary violence, sectarianism, political allegiance and identity and the Irish border, but, rather than ceasing its coverage in 1922 or 1923, this book - like the lives with which it is concerned - continues into the first decades of southern Irish independence. List of contributors: Frank Barry, Elaine Callinan, Jonathan Cherry, Seamus Cullen, Ian d'Alton, Sean Gannon, Katherine Magee, Alan McCarthy, Pat McCarthy, Daniel Purcell, Joseph Quinn, Brian M. Walker, Fionnuala Walsh, Donald Wood

THE TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE Drowned. Buried by sand. Decimated by plague. Plunged off a cliff. This is the forgotten history of Britain's lost cities, ghost towns and vanished villages: our shadowlands. 'A beautiful book, truly original . . . It is a marvellous achievement.' IAN MORTIMER, author of The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England 'Well researched, beautifully written and packed with interesting detail.' CLAIRE TOMALIN 'An exquisitely written, moving and elegiac exploration.' SUZANNAH LIPSCOMB 'Consistently interesting . . . Green's passion and historical vision bursts from the page, summoning up the past in surround sound and sensual prose.' CAL FLYN, THE TIMES (author of Islands of Abandonment) Historian Matthew Green travels across Britain to tell the forgotten history of our lost cities, ghost towns and vanished villages. Revealing the extraordinary stories of how these places met their fate - and exploring how they have left their mark on our landscape and our imagination - Shadowlands is a deeply evocative and dazzlingly original account of Britain's past. 'An eloquent tour of lost communities.' PD SMITH, GUARDIAN 'A haunting, lyrical tour around the lost places of Britain.' CHARLOTTE HIGGINS, author of Under Another Sky 'A miraculous work of resurrection, stinging in a perpetual present'. IAIN SINCLAIR, author of The Gold Machine 'Beautifully written.' SUNDAY TIMES 'Startling.' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Splendid.' THE HERALD 'Compelling.' HISTORY TODAY 'Excellent.' THE SPECTATOR 'Fascinating.' DAILY MAIL 'Accomplished.' CAUGHT BY THE RIVER 'Outstanding.' MIRROR

A historian, poet and autobiographer, A. L. Rowse (1903-1997) moved through the worlds of academia, politics and publishing; those he encountered upon the way came in for witty and vitriolic diatribes in his journals. On their first publication in 2003 these diaries were already widely anticipated - Rowse himself had suggested in his lifetime that there would be much to scandalise and entertain in them, and they didn't disappoint this prediction. Winston Churchill, G. M. Trevelyan, T. S. Eliot and John Betjeman are among the famous characters who came under his gaze, and whose conversations and opinions of one another he recorded.

Compiled and edited by Richard Ollard, the diaries stretch from the 1920s - when Rowse first left his native Cornwall to study at Cambridge - to the 1960s, a fascinating and personal study of the most turbulent decades in recent history.

Founded in 1961, Studia Hibernica is devoted to the study of the Irish language and its literature, Irish history and archaeology, Irish folklore and place names, and related subjects. Its aim is to present the research of scholars in these fields of Irish studies and so to bring them within easy reach of each other and the wider public. It endeavours to provide in each issue a proportion of articles, such as surveys of periods or theme in history or literature, which will be of general interest. A long review section is a special feature of the journal and all new publications within its scope are there reviewed by competent authorities.

There may not be a more fascinating a historical period than the late fourteenth century in Europe. The Hundred Years' War ravaged the continent, yet gallantry, chivalry, and literary brilliance flourished in the courts of England and elsewhere. It was a world in transition, soon to be replaced by the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration -- and John of Gaunt was its central figure.In today's terms, John of Gaunt was a multibillionaire with a brand name equal to Rockefeller. He fought in the Hundred Years' War, sponsored Chaucer and proto-Protestant religious thinkers, and survived the dramatic Peasants' Revolt, during which his sumptuous London residence was burned to the ground. As head of the Lancastrian branch of the Plantagenet family, Gaunt was the unknowing father of the War of the Roses; after his death, his son usurped the crown from his nephew, Richard II. Gaunt's adventures represent the culture and mores of the Middle Ages as those of few others do, and his death is portrayed in The Last Knight as the end of that enthralling period.

With a foreword by Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey who concludes that: `This is the world that Ruth Binney has brought so wonderfully to life in her book'. Inside the country house, what exactly were the duties of the master's valet and the lady's maid? How did these fit into the daily routine? And what were the protocols for visitors? The answers to these, and many more questions, are revealed in this entertaining and intimate guide to the self-contained world of the country house. Here you'll learn the rules of etiquette essential both upstairs and down -for both residents and visitors -marvel at the intricacies of housekeeping, and enter a bygone age of hunts, house parties and grand balls. All these aspects of country house life, and many more, are introduced here through the contemporary maxims used to instruct the members of the household and their guests, from running a large kitchen to entertaining royalty. Each is brought to life with both practical detail and direct, compelling quotes and illustrations from period manuals and advice books, giving every entry a totally authentic feel and `voice'. Rounding off the book is an informative list of houses to visit, stressing the features that relate directly to the descriptions included in the book.