British Life

Dynamite and Davey: The Explosive Lives of the British Bulldogs is the triumphant but ultimately tragic story of Tom Billington and Davey Boy Smith. Cousins born just a couple of years apart in a small mining town near Wigan, Tom and Davey discovered the art of wrestling as schoolboys. Tom went on to become the Dynamite Kid, arguably the greatest and most pioneering wrestler in history, but his short temper and determination to reach the top of a sport dominated by naturally bigger men would be his undoing.

Young, ardent Dorothea Brooke defies her sister by wedding the much older Reverend Edward Casaubon, blindly hoping to assist in his scholarly pursuits. Tertius Lydgate, a progressive doctor, new and unwelcome in provincial Middlemarch, is charmed into marriage with the selfish and shallow Rosamond Vincy, a disastrous mismatch of his own. Soon blatant stubbornness, unruly jealousy, blind idealism, and calculated blackmail threaten to upend the Midlands village and lay waste to happy endings.

Diana, Catherine, Meghan...glamorous Princess Margaret outdid them all. Springing into post-World War II society, and quite naughty and haughty, she lived in a whirlwind of fame and notoriety. Georgie Blalock captures the fascinating, fast-living princess and her “set” as seen through the eyes of one of her ladies-in-waiting.

Lady Blake was convinced that the mere thought of aging was more terrifying than any horror scene she had ever witnessed. Every wrinkle, every gray hair, every achy joint felt like a countdown to the end of her youth. One day, as she sat in her fancy dressing room, surrounded by expensive anti-aging creams and potions, Lady Blake couldn't help but let out a dramatic sigh..."I've got wrinkles!" Thus, the idea to keep her youthful appearance became an obsession, with Lady Blake thinking of various ways to preserve her fleeting beauty. However, despite her fears of losing her looks, Lady Blake...

When Alice TodHunter Moon was five years old, she saw a beautiful golden Dragon Boat fly over her PathFinder village. She knew at once that the boat was Magykal. That was years ago, before her mother died, her father disappeared at sea, and the Garmin took her best friend, Ferdie. Now it's up to Tod and Ferdie's brother Oskar to rescue Ferdie from the Garmins' keeper, the malevolent Lady.

Winston Churchill is generally considered one of the greatest leaders of the 20th century, revered for his opposition to appeasement, his defiance in the face of German bombing of England, his political prowess, and his memorable speeches. He became the savior of his country, as prime minister during the most perilous period in British history, World War II, and is now perhaps even more beloved in America than in England. This revelatory book takes on Churchill in his entirety, separating the man from the myth that he so carefully cultivated.

In his smash-hit debut The World According to Kaleb, we learnt how Kaleb feels about everything from existentialism to comb-overs, and why he doesn't want to visit the Mediterranean. In this follow-up, Kaleb casts his focus closer to home to examine what people like to get up to in the great outdoors. You'll go gravy wrestling in Lancashire, nettle eating in Somerset, and venture to Hereford for the significant occasion that is Best Dressed Stick.

t her vivid life, Elizabeth I was the center of a complicated web of political intrigue that made up the Elizabethan constitution. Elizabeth Jenkins, in her classic biography, reveals the woman behind the skillful politician, showing her belief in personal sacrifice to secure peace for the country she loved more than any man.

At thirty-three, nurse Heather is desperately waiting for her romantic life to begin. Then she meets handsome, strong Anthony and is sure she’s found the one. Brushing any doubts aside, she projects all her hopes for true love onto him. Meanwhile, at a yoga retreat in Spain, happy-go-lucky Joe can’t believe his luck when he meets vivacious, witty Amy. She’s the sharpest, most beautiful woman he has ever dated, and the fact that she’s interested in him feels like a dream come true.

With Muse of Fire, Michael Korda, the bestselling author of Alone and Hero, takes a novel approach to World War I by telling its history through the lives of the soldier-poets whose verses memorialize the war's unimaginable horrors. He begins with Rupert Brooke and the halcyon days before violence engulfed his generation—destroying the self-contented world of Edwardian England—and ends with the tragic death of Wilfred Owen, killed only days before the armistice brought an end to a war that took over 25,000,000 lives.

Mary, Queen of Scots continues to intrigue both historians and the general public - but the story of her mother, Marie de Guise, is much less well known. A political power in her own right, she was born into the powerful and ambitious Lorraine family, spending her formative years at the dazzling, licentious court of François I. Although briefly courted by Henry VIII, she instead married his nephew, James V of Scotland, in 1538.

From his earliest years, Prince William has been a photographer's dream come true in the same way his mother had been. While he is not necessarily known for his mother's media savvy, he is well liked by the media, and he is able, consciously or incidentally, to capitalize on this advantage. At the same time, from polo to charities, William is thoroughly his father Charles' son as a Windsor prince.

The making of a serial killer! 6 friends, 2 die! Who, when, where, why? Find out in the sixth instalment of The Adulterer Series. (This book can also be read as a standalone). Three married couples and their children go on holiday together and meet regularly for social gatherings. At first their lives seem idyllic, but beneath the surface, all is not what it seems. Within a year, two of the adults will be dead! ... and a serial killer will be created! Praise for Sam Anthony: If Stephen King were to write a psychological thriller romance, this would be it. ★★★★★ Not my usual read ...

When Dawn Fallon abandons her ambitions to be a professional musician and becomes a Civil Servant little does she realise she would be given a job as a VAT Control Officer - a job she struggles with on many levels, but with the help and support of her senior colleagues, she achieves a promotion, though finds the job no less difficult. The job brings her into contact with some bizarre situations and an interesting variety of business people. As she visits businesses to inspect their accounts for Value Added Tax purposes, researches whether sheep semen is taxable, grapples with solving why a ...

"To boldly go where no man has gone before" was a phrase made popular by Gene Rodenberry in a science fiction setting, but it was certainly the creed of countless explorers during the Age of Discovery and afterwards. In fact, as recently as the mid-18th century, a young sailor named James Cook determined to go "farther than any man has been before me, but as far as I think it is possible for a man to go." And unlike so many others who tried, he did just that.

By the time of his death, Wellington had been prime minister twice, a shrewd personal advisor to four British monarchs, and one of the nation's most prominent politicians for three decades. Despite his nearly four decades of peacetime service in and out of politics, Wellington has remained one of the titans of the 19th century because of one June day in 1815. Then, as now, the duke of Wellington is best remembered for defeating Napoleon in the famous battle of Waterloo.

Maximum Volume offers a glimpse into the mind, the music, and the man behind the sound of the Beatles. George Martin's working-class childhood and musical influences profoundly shaped his early career in the BBC's Classical Music department and as head of the EMI Group's Parlophone Records. Out of them flowed the genius behind his seven years producing the Beatles' incredible body of work, including such albums as Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Abbey Road.

A gorgeous ginger boyfriend, a busy job, and a happy social life - Kirsty's perfect beginning couldn't be better. So why is she still chaotically lurching through her life? Kirsty is kept busy managing Cupid's Sting dating agency and enjoying her time with Ben. However, his unwillingness to commit is a sticking point although Kirsty suspects her insecurities relate to her own troubled relationship with her father. Arguments arise, but could better communication be the key? On top of everything else, Kirsty's mother and father are trying to work out the rules of life themselves while making ...

Fans of Maeve Binchy will love this entertaining read that transcends time with history repeating itself, proving it’s not our circumstances that define us but the power within to change. A story of life, love, loss and seeking more, three generations of women are all on a journey to change their circumstances and find the life they believe they were destined for . . . revealing a terrible secret that changes it all. In 1960s Ireland, Maggie Treacy has never felt she belongs. Determined to change her life, the transformation doesn’t come without cost, but she isn’t going to let ...

In The People's War, John Willis unearths untold stories of everyday bravery, moments of terror, and tales of life-affirming community, that guide us through the years of the Second World War. From soldiers in North Africa and prisoners of war in East Asia, to evacuees in the British countryside and women in the factories, The People's War is a truly ambitious and comprehensive journey through a devastating and pivotal period of our history, as you've never read before.