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      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        June 2015

        The Middle Ages Unlocked

        A Guide to Life in Medieval England, 1050–1300

        by Gillian Polack, Katrin Kania, Elizabeth Chadwick

        To our modern minds, the Middle Ages seem to mix the well-known and familiar with wildly alien concepts and circumstances. The Middle Ages Unlocked provides an invaluable introduction to this complex and dynamic period in England. Exploring a wide range of topics from law, religion and education to landscape, art and magic, between the eleventh and early fourteenth centuries, the structures, institutions and circumstances that formed the basis for daily life and society are revealed. Drawing on their expertise in history and archaeology, Dr Gillian Polack and Dr Katrin Kania look at the tangible aspects of daily life – ranging from the raw materials used for crafts, clothing and jewellery to housing and food – in order to bring the Middle Ages to life. The Middle Ages Unlocked dispels modern assumptions about this period to uncover the complex tapestry of medieval England and the people who lived there.

      • Biography & True Stories
        January 2018

        Ordinary Heroes

        The Story of Civilian Volunteers in the First World War

        by Sally White

        Ordinary Heroes is the first book to focus on the staggering achievements of hundreds of thousands of civilian volunteers and charity workers, the majority of them women, during the First World War, both at home and abroad. It shows what a mass of untried and frequently untrained women and men from all backgrounds achieved through their innovation, adaptability, bravery and dogged commitment. As Lloyd George said, the war could not have been won without them. As the country was swept by patriotic fervour and a belief that it would all be over by Christmas, many women were as keen as the men to get involved. Organisations were all but overwhelmed by the initial tide of volunteers. They rushed to register for overseas service without knowing the devastating reality that would confront them. Others devoted their time to fundraising, collecting salvage, caring for refugees, working in canteens or helping in any other way they could. Conditions, particularly in the Balkans and Russia, were often appalling and yet the volunteers coped with and even relished the challenges. They came under fire, advanced or retreated with their respective armies, evacuated their patients through baking heat, mud or bitter cold, battled epidemics, performed operations by the light of a single candle, worked through the Russian Revolution and joined the Serbian Army on its Great Retreat. Several groups were taken prisoner. Wherever they worked, they were met with respect and gratitude −and sometimes incredulity that British people, especially gentlewomen, would help foreigners.

      • The Arts
        September 2010

        Roman Clothing and Fashion

        by Alexandra Croom

        There is plenty of information about military dress in Roman Britain and the rest of the Roman Empire, but the evidence for civilian dress has not been comprehensively looked at since the 1930s. In this richly illustrated survey, Alexandra Croom describes the range and style of clothing worn throughout the Western Empire and shows how fashions changed between the first and the sixth centuries. After a short introduction to the evidence (from archaeology, art and literature), and to the manufacture of clothing and its use in status display, she systematically treats male and female dress, looking at the tunic, toga (for men), mantle (for women) and cloaks; underwear, footwear and specialist wear; hats, hairstyles and jewellery. The book concentrates on the clothing work in the Mediterranean region, but includes a section on provincial fashions. A fine and varied corpus of illustrations (including colour plates) helps to bring the everyday world of the Roman Empire to life.

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        February 2010

        Winston Churchill's Toyshop

        The Inside Story of Military Intelligence (Research)

        by Stuart MacRae

        The inside story of one of the most famous of all the 'back rooms' of the Second World War - and of the men and women who worked for it. Conceived by Winston Churchill to circumvent the delays, frustrations and inefficiencies of the service ministries, Department M.D.1. earned from its detractors the soubriquet 'Winston Churchill's Toyshop', yet from a tiny underground workshop housed in the cellars of the London offices of Radio Normandie in Portland Place, and subsequently from the 'stockbroker Tudor' of a millionaire's country mansion in Buckinghamshire, came an astonishing array of secret weapons ranging from the 'sticky bomb' and 'limpet mine' to giant bridge-carrying assault tanks, as well as the PIAT, a tank-destroying, hand-held mortar. Written by Colonel Stuart Macrae, who helped found M.D.1. and was its second-in-command throughout its life, the story is told of this relatively unknown establishment and the weapons it developed which helped destroy innumerable enemy tanks, aircraft and ships.

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        July 2023

        US Naval Aviation in the 1980s: Marine Corps, Naval Training, Test and Reserve Air Stations

        by Adrian Symonds

        This title, the second of two volumes covering United States Naval Aviation in the 1980s, completes the story by looking at the air stations of the US Marine Corps, Naval Education and Training Command, and Research, Development and Test units. The US Marine Corps introduced improved new types, including the AV-8B Harrier II, CH-53E Super Stallion and F/A-18 Hornet, while older types like the F-4 Phantom II and A-4 Skyhawk lived on. Meanwhile, Marine aviation squadrons played their part in combat operations during the decade. Naval Education and Training Command oversaw the ‘Street to Fleet’ process, recruiting civilians and turning them into combat-ready naval personnel, including officer and enlisted aviation rated personnel. Research, Development and Test air stations used every conceivable naval aviation aircraft type, as well as several non-standard types to conduct research, testing and evaluation. Take a step inside the day-to-day operations of Naval Aviation in the 1980s.

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        July 2023

        Portsmouth's Military Heritage

        by Philip MacDougall

        The dockyard at Portsmouth was founded by Henry VII, developing into a naval base that was essentially the nation’s most important military establishment. Here, in times of war, huge fleets were assembled and the harbour that lay alongside the dockyard witnessed the constant arrival and departure of ships engaged in convoy duties, blockading and attacking enemy ports or intercepting hostile seagoing fleets. In turn, it was a potential target for an enemy, for if the dockyard could be destroyed or captured, then the nation’s first-line of defence, the Royal Navy, would cease to be effective. Sensitive to such a danger, successive governments built defence structures in and around Portsmouth as well as barracks to house the navy, army and marine personnel. As the fire-power of guns increased and the nature of fortifications changed, so did the defences of Portsmouth, with these gradually pushed further and further back so that the forts and gun batteries would always ensure the safety of Portsea Island from either land or sea attack. In the twentieth century the defences were adapted further for the new threat of aerial bombardment or attack by submarine. This book will be of interest to all those who would like to know more about Portsmouth’s remarkable military history.

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        September 2022

        On the Trail of Mary, Queen of Scots

        A visitor’s guide to the castles, palaces and houses associated with the life of Mary, Queen of Scots

        by Roy Calley

        Mary, Queen of Scots is one of the great tragic figures of British history. Born in Scotland one December morning in 1542, she was to become Queen of Scots just six days later. Growing up mostly in France and marrying the sickly French king Francis II in 1559, she returned to Scotland on his death, a widow at the age of eighteen. Four years later she married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, but their miserable union ended with his murder and her subsequent marriage to his alleged killer, the Earl of Bothwell. Forced by rebellion to flee south to England, she was confined by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I in various manor houses and castles before, eighteen years later, being executed on her cousin's orders. On the Trail of Mary, Queen of Scots takes the reader on a journey through the landscape of Mary's time. In her footsteps we will visit resplendent castles, towering cathedrals, manor homes, chapels and ruins associated with Mary. Each location is brought to life through an engaging narrative and a collection of photographs and works of art.

      • Biography & True Stories
        July 2023

        William Schaw Lindsay

        Victorian Entrepreneur

        by Bill Lindsay

        From rags to riches. Born in Scotland and orphaned by the age of 10, he was brought up by his uncle then ran away to sea at the age of 16. The book highlights his life at sea starting as a cabin boy and ending up as a captain. Exploits covering piracy, near-death experiences, and what life was like sailing across oceans in the 1830s. Following his life at sea he became an agent selling coal for steam ships to shipping lines. He set up his shipping company in London and became a ships broker. By the 1850s he owned one of the largest shipping companies in the world. He owned 22 ships, some of which were employed as troop transporters in the Crimean War. He won the seat of Tynemouth and entered Parliament in 1854 where he focussed on shipping matters. He was vocal in his criticism of the Admiralty’s management during the Crimean War. He visited the Northern States of America just prior to the American Civil War to discuss shipping laws. He met the President Elect Abraham Lincoln and President Buchanan as well as many politicians in the Senate. In fact, his story includes meetings with an astonishing array of Victorian age luminaries: Livingstone, Garibaldi, Gladstone, Disraeli, Lincoln, Brunel, Nightingale, Dickens, Paxton, Emperor Napoleon III and Queen Victoria. Lindsay strove to improve the shipping laws, not only in England, but abroad, particularly in France and the US, and he persistently advocated the removal of all restrictions on free trade in maritime affairs. His magnum opus, entitled 'History of Merchant Shipping and Ancient Commerce', was a comprehensive reference on the subject.

      • Humanities & Social Sciences
        July 2023

        Paved with Gold

        The Life and Times of the Real Dick Whittington

        by Gregory Holyoake

        Richard Whittington, known to many as Dick Whittington, was the hero of modern pantomime. Born to a disgraced knight in Gloucester, he travelled to London seeking his fame and fortune. He lived through five reigns – Edward III, Richard, II, Henry IV, Henry V and Henry VI – and was personally known and regarded by all these Medieval monarchs. A fabulously wealthy mercer and prosperous wool merchant, he became the most important benefactor to the City of London. His projects numbered funding a refuge for unmarried women; instituting a novel piped water system; creating a grand latrine that discharge into the River Thames; rebuilding Newgate Gaol; improving Guildhall Library; repairing London Bridge; and creating a College of Priests with an Almshouse that still flourishes today at Felbridge, Sussex. Whittington also financed Henry V’s French campaign that culminated in the spectacular Battle of Agincourt. …But what of his ubiquitous cat?

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