'Fresh and eager...rich in character...so infectiously alive to the simple pleasures that even now the senses quicken to read it.' Jan Morris in The Times '...a brilliant picture of traditional English rural society ... (Parson Woodforde) is now among the most unforgettable characters of English literature.' Ronald Blythe in the Introduction The world in which Parson Woodforde lived was tumultuous to say the least. Yet while the French Revolution and the American War of Independence shook and changed the world, this kindly country priest fills the pages. of his diary with the ordinariness of his life, firstly in a Somerset parish and then in rural Norfolk. He accords no more importance to the Fall of the Bastille than to the extra large crab he buys from a local fisherman or the cost of ribbons for his niece's hats. Particularly vivid are the descriptions of the gargantuan meals he enjoys with friends and neighbours, his remedies for ailments, his descriptions of East Anglian winters, his modest but unfailing generosity to the poor and his enthusiasm for local gossip. Parson Woodforde's diary provides an extraordinary portrait of life in Georgian England, but it is the diarist's humour and unpretentiousness which ensure its place among the classics of English literature.

Blending history and memoir, retired U.S. Marshal Mike Earp--a descendant of the legendary lawman Wyatt Earp--offers an exclusive and fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the most storied law enforcement agency in America, illuminating its vital role in the nation's development for more than two hundred years.Mike Earp spent his career with the U.S. Marshals Service, reaching the number three position in the organization's hierarchy before he retired. In this fascinating, eye-opening book, written with the service's full cooperation, he shares his experiences and takes us on a fascinating tour of this extraordinary organization--the oldest, the most effective, and the most dangerous branch of American law enforcement, and the least known.Unlike their counterparts in the police and the FBI, U.S. Marshals aren't responsible for investigating or prosecuting crimes. They pursue and arrest the most dangerous criminal offenders on U.S. soil, an extraordinarily hazardous job often involving gun battles and physical altercations. Earp takes us back to the service's early days, explaining its creation and its role in the border wars that helped make continental expansion possible. He brings to life the gunslingers and gunfights that have made the Marshals legend, and explores the service's role today integrating federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in the hunt for the most notorious criminals--terrorists, drug lords, gun runners.Setting his own experiences within the long history of the U.S. Marshals service, Earp offers a moving and illuminating tribute to the brave marshals who have dedicated their lives to keeping the nation safe.

The battlefield reputation of Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, long recognized as a formidable warrior, has been shaped by one infamous wartime incident. At Fort Pillow in 1864, the attack by Confederate forces under Forrest's command left many of the Tennessee Unionists and black soldiers garrisoned there dead in a confrontation widely labeled as a "massacre." In "The River Was Dyed with Blood," best-selling Forrest biographer Brian Steel Wills argues that although atrocities did occur after the fall of the fort, Forrest did not order or intend a systematic execution of its defenders. Rather, the general's great failing was losing control of his troops.

A prewar slave trader and owner, Forrest was a controversial figure throughout his lifetime. Because the attack on Fort Pillow--which, as Forrest wrote, left the nearby waters "dyed with blood"--occurred in an election year, Republicans used him as a convenient Confederate scapegoat to marshal support for the war. After the war he also became closely associated with the spread of the Ku Klux Klan. Consequently, the man himself, and the truth about Fort Pillow, has remained buried beneath myths, legends, popular depictions, and disputes about the events themselves.

Wills sets what took place at Fort Pillow in the context of other wartime excesses from the American Revolution to World War II and Vietnam, as well as the cultural transformations brought on by the Civil War. Confederates viewed black Union soldiers as the embodiment of slave rebellion and reacted accordingly. Nevertheless, Wills concludes that the engagement was neither a massacre carried out deliberately by Forrest, as charged by a congressional committee, nor solely a northern fabrication meant to discredit him and the Confederate States of America, as pro-Southern apologists have suggested. The battle-scarred fighter with his homespun aphorisms was neither an infallible warrior nor a heartless butcher, but a product of his time and his heritage.

`A shepstar's (dressmaker) son, hatched in Gutter lane', Davis became an Oxford scholar, a skilled mathematician. The story might have ended there, teaching at the University or schoolmastering. Instead he became a soldier and follower of the Earl of Essex and lost everything when he joined him in rebellion. He saved his life by turning government supergrass and in the process destroyed Essex's line of defence. His rehabilitation was tortuous, but he died a country gentleman. The book casts new light on the plotting that preceded the rebellion of 1601 and on the examinations and trial that followed it. It also describes the military career of a middle-ranking officer, who was a `conformable' Catholic, finally distinguishing him from so many others of the same name. Roger Ashley, like Davis, graduated from Worcester College (then Gloucester Hall) and has found Sir John persistently invading his spare time since postgraduate days.

The consummate soldier of Wellington's Peninsular Army
Guernsey born John Gaspard Le Marchant was an intellectual born before his time. He had a gift for languages, was a competent musician and a talented water colourist. Nevertheless, he chose a career as a soldier and cavalryman, perhaps unusually, since cavalry officers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries were not noted for their intellect. In common with many officers who were associated with the Duke of Wellington in the battles against Napoleon's First Empire, Le Marchant first saw action against the French Revolutionary armies in the Low Countries. The campaign was a debacle, but it caused Le Marchant to consider the formation, drill, equipment and tactical methods employed by the British army in the field, and resulted in his authorship of a number of important treatises on these subjects. These works were particularly well received by the Duke of York and this led to royal patronage and the adoption of several Le Marchant's ideas. His greatest achievement was certainly the creation of the Royal Military College, and his vision of a training school for military officers gave rise not only to Sandhurst, but also West Point and a number of other institutions created on his model internationally. His promotion to major-general excluded him from academic life and he was given command of a brigade of heavy cavalry in the Peninsular War, where he was, predictably, as effective in the field as he was in all his endeavours. Le Marchant fell, sabre in hand among enemy ranks, at the Battle of Salamanca having instituted a brilliant manoeuvre of cavalry which almost certainly sealed what is recognised as one of Wellington's greatest victories. This biography of by Le Marchant's son is accompanied in this special Leonaur edition by a short biography of Le Marchant's military career by historian, John William Cole.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.

John and Charles Wesley are among the most influential Christians who have ever lived. Their fearless preaching in the face of violent opposition and the rise of the Methodist movement powerfully influenced an eighteenth century England that was rife with corruption, drunkenness, crime and religious apathy. Julian Wilson provides a vividly detailed account of the Wesley brothers' lives and ministries. John Wesley travelled ceaselessly on horseback, preaching gospel sermons that transformed whole communities whilst Charles Wesley became probably the most prolific hymn writer in history. This engaging book will help you to appreciate the significance of John and Charles Wesley in their own time and understand why their spiritual legacy endures today. Content Benefits: Read this fascinating biography of John and Charles Wesley and be inspired by their passion for the gospel. * A biography of both John and Charles Wesley * Understand the beginnings of Methodism * Discover the man behind so many beloved hymns * Includes their conversion experiences, their triumphs and failures and their writings and preaching * Explores John Wesley's involvement in the abolition of slavery * Part of the Classic Authentic Lives Series * Perfect for anyone who wants to learn from the 'heroes of the faith' * Ideal for anyone who loves biographies