The world of the circus has a long and colourful history but it was with a man named Philip Astley that the ‘modern’ circus was founded. It was 250 years ago, in April 1768, that Astley pegged out a circular ride on the banks of the river Thames and gave performances of trick riding to a paying audience. Trick riding was nothing new, so what made Astley so...

Wife to Richard, Duke of York, mother to Edward IV and Richard III, and aunt to the famous ‘Kingmaker’, Richard, Earl of Warwick, Cecily Neville was a key player on the political stage of fifteenth-century Britain England.

Mythologically rumoured to have been known as ‘the Rose of Raby’ because of her beauty and her birth at Raby Castle, and as ‘Proud Cis’...

Full with innovative, sculptural and outrageous footwear this book celebrates all shoes from the pump to the platform and the court shoe to the stiletto.

Shoes are no longer regarded just for their practical purpose of protecting the feet as they have now become iconic works of art that would not look out of place displayed in a gallery. Collectable Names...

Innovator. Tyrant. Consummate showman. Passionate lover of women.

After the death of King Louis XIII in 1643, the French crown went to his first-born son and heir, four-year old Louis XIV. In the extraordinary seventy-two years that followed, Louis le Grand - France’s self-styled ‘Sun King’ - ruled France and its people, leaving his unique and permanent mark...

When Mary Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VIII, succeeded to the throne of England in 1553 it was with wild rejoicing and a degree of popularity rarely seen on the accession of a British monarch. Yet at her death five years later she was almost universally reviled and hated by her people so much so that she was posthumously awarded the sobriquet Bloody Mary.

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For 150 years, up and down the country, from large cities to rural areas and the remotest islands and highlands, district nurses have been visiting the sick in their own homes. Here they have provided healthcare, and given moral support and advice to people of all ages the length and breadth of Britain.

Follow the story of how, in the 1860s, the Liverpool...

Which racing motorcycles or sidecar outfits have made the strongest contributions to the Isle of Man TT over the last century? If you had to choose twenty-five individual machines for a fantasy museum, which ones would they be? Matthew Richardson has made his choices, and describes each one in vivid detail in this perceptive and highly illustrated book. He...

When you think about the 1970s, what comes to mind? Flares? Queen? Rocky?

The 1970s was one of the most exciting, innovative and colourful decades of recent history. With major events in music, film and television, the introduction of new technology, and the rising tide of socio-political change, the decade played a key role in British social history.

This...

''Gardening is where science meets art, where nature meets nurture and where food and health unite.''

In an age of clean eating and fad diets, the term super food has become synonymous with inflated prices and overstated claims about the disease-fighting, anti-aging, life-enhancing powers of certain foods.

Sales of fruits and vegetables like kale, beetroot...

Mankind has always had a morbid fascination with poisonous plants; how their poisonous properties were discovered and developed will most likely be left unknown. Over the centuries poisonous plants have been used to remove garden pests, unwanted rivals and deceitful partners. They have also been used for their medicinal qualities, as rather dangerous...

Trailblazing Women of the Georgian Era offers a fascinating insight into the world of female inequality in the Eighteenth Century. It looks at the reasons for that inequality – the legal barriers, the lack of education, the prejudices and misconceptions held by men – and also examines the reluctance of women to compete on an equal footing. Why did so many...

In 9th century England Bishop Ælfheah the Bald is dabbling with magic. By collecting folk remedies from pagan women he risks his reputation. Yet posterity has been kind, as from the pages of Bald’s book a remedy has been found that cures the superbug MRSA where modern antibiotics have failed. Within a few months of this discovery a whole new area of medical...

THE LADY LORD MAYORS OF NORWICH 1923–2017 offers an entertaining and revealing insight into the diverse lives, both personal and civic, of seventeen remarkable women, who from 1923 to 2017, have each held the honour of being First Citizen of the City of Norwich in Norfolk, England. Moreover, the pioneer Ethel Colman, daughter of the mustard giant Jeremiah...

Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall...these fictional masterpieces are all recognised as landmarks of English Literature. Still inspirational and challenging to readers today, upon release in the mid-nineteenth century they caused a veritable sensation, chiefly due to their subject matter and unconventional styles. But the greatest...

VERY few authors can ever dream of coming close to the legacy left by A A Milne. He remains a household name in almost every corner of the globe thanks to a phenomenally popular collection of whimsical children’s stories about a boy named Christopher Robin and his beloved teddy bear.

Generations of children have grown up loving the tales of Winnie The Pooh...