For a man with such conventional tastes and views, George V had a revolutionary impact. Almost despite himself he marked a decisive break with his flamboyant predecessor Edward VII, inventing the mode
On the shrouded corpse hung a tablet of green topaz with the inscription: 'I am Shaddad the Great. I conquered a thousand cities; a thousand white elephants were collected for me; I lived for a thousa
The most important writings by the great and controversial Victorian polemicist. Carlyle was one of the great figures of his age: thunderous, passionate, irascible, sceptical and idealistic. This sele
'The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again: but already it was impossible to say which was which...' Halas & Bachelor studio's classic and contro
The short, action-packed reign of James II (1685-88) is generally seen as one of the most catastrophic in British history. James managed, despite having access to tremendous reserves of good will and
Henry II (1154-89) through a series of astonishing dynastic coups became the ruler of an enormous European empire. One of the most dynamic, restless and clever men ever to rule England, he was brought
Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a collectible format Queen Victoria inherited the throne at 18 and went on to become the longest-reigning fema
Edward VI, the only son of Henry VIII, became king at the age of nine and died wholly unexpectedly at the age of fifteen. This book gives full play to the murky, sinister nature of Edward's reign, and
Henry VIII's reign transformed the physical and spiritual landscape of England. Magnificent, tyrannical, a strong ruler, a 'pillager of the commonwealth', this most notorious of kings remains a figure
If Ethelred was notoriously 'Unready' and Alfred 'Great', King George VI should bear the title of 'George the Dutiful'. He was not born to be king, but he made an admirable one, and was the figurehead
The tragedy of Charles I dominates one of the most strange and painful periods in British history as the whole island tore itself apart over a deadly, entangled series of religious and political dispu
Whether readers are students of economics or simply want to follow the economic discussions in the media today, this wide-ranging and accessible dictionary is the perfect source for explanations of a
A collectible new Penguin Classics series: stunning, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets, which present each poet's most famous book of verse as it was originally published. Designed by the acc
A brilliant new anthology that shows how fiction was reinvented in the twelfth century after an absence of hundreds of years.Before the twelfth century, fiction had completely disappeared in Europe. I
A car wreck on the slopes of Mount Morgan puts insurance tycoon Lyman Felt in the hospital. While Lyman recovers, two women meet in the hospital waiting room only to discover that they are both marrie
Arthur Miller's penultimate play, Resurrection Blues, is a darkly comic satirical allegory that poses the question: What would happen if Christ were to appear in the world today? In an unidentified La
Cracking another country's cipher is an undercover fight to the death . . .Hidden deep in the mountains, the recruits at 'Unit 701', China's secret services, operate in a dark, shadowy world. There is
Five great stories from one of the most quintessentially Russian of writers, Nikolai Leskov. In the best of Leskov's stories, as in almost no others apart from those of Gogol, we can hear the voice of
Britain's only ever "joint monarchs"William III (1689-1702) & Mary II (1689-94) changed the course of the entire country's history, coming to power through a coup (which invo
Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a collectible format.The cultural richness of the reign of Edward the Confessor marks the high point of Anglo-
Mildred Hubble is the worst witch at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches - she's always getting her spells wrong. But she manages to get by until she turns Ethel, the teacher's pet, into her deadly enem
