Although the evolution of human rights diplomacy during the second half of the 20th century has been the subject of a wealth of scholarship in recent years, British foreign policy perspectives remain largely underappreciated. Focusing on former Foreign Secretary David Owen's sustained engagement with the related concepts of human rights and humanitarianism, David Owen, Human Rights and the Remaking of British Foreign Policy addresses this striking omission by exploring the relationship between international human rights promotion and British foreign policy between c.1956-1997. In doing so, this book uncovers how human rights concerns have shaped national responses to foreign policy dilemmas at the intersections of civil society, media, and policymaking; how economic and geopolitical interests have defined the parameters within which human rights concerns influence policy; how human rights considerations have influenced British interventions in overseas conflicts; and how activism on normative issues such as human rights has been shaped by concepts of national identity. Furthermore, by bringing these issues and debates into focus through the lens of Owen's human rights advocacy, analysis provides a reappraisal of one of the most recognisable, albeit enigmatic, parliamentarians in recent British history. Both within the confines of Whitehall and without, Owen's human rights advocacy served to alter the course of British foreign policy at key junctures during the late Cold War and post-Cold War periods, and provides a unique prism through which to interrogate the intersections between Britain's enduring search for a distinctive 'role' in the world and the development of the international human rights regime during the period in question.

Suffolk has been home to monastic communities since St Felix and St Fursey founded the first monasteries in the seventh century, and today the county is home to both awe-inspiring monastic ruins and living communities of men and women devoted to prayer. This first complete survey of the monastic history of Suffolk traces the development of monasticism in the kingdom of East Anglia, its recovery after Viking destruction, and the flourishing of an extraordinary variety of communities in medieval Suffolk, ranging from the immensely powerful Abbey of Bury St Edmunds to tiny friaries and nunneries. The book examines the impact of the dissolution of the monasteries and the survival of the monastic dream, against all odds, in post-Reformation Suffolk. Finally, the book surveys the revival of religious communities in modern Suffolk to the present day, and provides a comprehensive gazeteer of all past and present monasteries in the county.

Thanks to his diary - Samuel Pepys is one of the most interesting characters in history. His life encompassed happenings of huge historical and human impact - including the execution of Charles I and the Great Fire of London."Voices from the World of Samuel Pepys" captures the spirit of Restoration London, as it grew to become a major centre of international commerce and culture. It provides accounts on all aspects of contemporary life, from the arts and entertainment to politics and religion.Pepys' diary, which he kept almost daily from 1659-1669, is the central resource, but it also includes 'voices' from all levels of society, taken from a wide variety of contemporaneous sources.

Amazing and Extraordinary Facts: Ireland takes you on an absorbing journey around Ireland to unearth the adventures, inventions, legends, firsts and birthplaces that have shaped the unique history of Ireland. From Baltimore to Barbary, Titanic to Shergar, and even the myth of the Aran jumper, this intriguing compendium of facts and stories will give you a captivating insight into The Emerald Isle, and the ideas and events that have shaped the individual identity of this remarkable country. Brief, accessible and entertaining pieces on a wide variety of subjects makes it the perfect book to dip in to. The amazing and extraordinary facts series presents interesting, surprising and little-known facts and stories about a wide range of topics which are guaranteed to inform, absorb and entertain in equal measure.