Over the course of the long 18th century (1700–1850), Britain’s ruined medieval or "Gothic" abbeys, castles and towers became the objects of intense cultural interest. Turning th
Shakespeare is the greatest dramatist in the English language, but none of his manuscripts survive. Less than half his plays were printed before he died, in editions known as quartos from their relati
Like all the great historic cities of Europe, London appears to us solid and unchanging. We feel that we can still explore the London of Dickens, Dr. Johnson, Defoe, Wren and even Shakespeare. The ver
So many things are at work in our relationship with sport. Partisanship at the most visceral level, amazement at the display of the human body operating at the extremes of power, speed and strength, a
This book takes five landmarks as the starting point for a series of journeys into the layers of history and culture of Camden Town. The World’s End pub existed in various forms since before Cam
Bloomsbury lies at the heart of cultural and intellectual London, famed for its museums, universities and literary heritage. Matthew Ingleby's new history ranges across the neighborhood to explore
From humble beginnings, Soho developed into a fashionable center for London’s nobility in the 18th century. Yet this same area was to become a poverty-stricken and decaying Victorian hub of chea
This handbook of physical fitness from the Edwardian age is both refreshingly practical and amusingly eccentric. Devoted to the sedentary workforce, dynamic good health is the aim—not giant musc
The Cocktail Book, first published in 1900, is the earliest book devoted purely to the art of the cocktail. For 30 years, including during Prohibition, it was a staple of well-stocked bars, although o
This is a book of book lists. Lists that make you smile, make you wonder, and see titles together in entirely new ways. From Bin Laden’s bookshelf to the books most frequently left in hotels, fr
Mastery of the sea has been crucial in world history: the transition from the medieval to the modern world was marked by the emergence of ships from their European home waters out into the Atlantic, I
From Leonardo da Vinci on the shifting colors of the sky to Charlotte Bronte on the wild moors of Yorkshire, and from DH Lawrence inhabiting the mind of the indomitable tortoise to the intrepid Isabel
One hundred years ago events in Russia took the world by storm. In February 1917, in the middle of World War I and following months of protest and political unrest, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated. Later t
