British Life

"Joe Giampaolo's The Reader's Companion to the Hampshire Stories Series, Life and Literature in 19th-Century England, is an excellent resource, both educational and entertaining. The book is full of interesting and sometimes unknown details of life in 18th and 19th century England... A fascinating read.” - Readers' Favorite The Reader's Companion to the Hampshire Stories Series is a delightful, concise guide to the history, traditions and literature of 19th-century England. Topics covered: Courtship and weddings; the social call; dancing and parlour games; the London Season, music and the...

London-based Detective Chief Inspector Gerald Croft investigates a heinous case of rape, murder, and mutilation, but the obvious suspect turns out to have an alibi he cannot disprove. Soon, it is evident a serial killer is prowling the streets. Can DCI Croft identify and capture the psychopath, or will his next victim be terrifyingly close to home? "An excellent thriller from a very talented author.” John Nicholl, best-selling author of Killing Evil and The Boyfriend. "“Sensational and Spine-Chilling.” Readers’ Favorite “A gripping tale that will hold your heart in a vise." ...

A fascinating biography of Freda Bedi, an English woman who broke all the rules of gender, race, and religious background to become both a revolutionary in the fight for Indian independence and then a Buddhist icon. She was the first Western woman to become a Tibetan Buddhist nun - but that pioneering ordination was really just one in a life full of revolutionary acts. Freda Bedi broke the rules of gender, race, and religion - in many cases before it was thought that the rules were ready to be challenged.

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.

Jane Austen wrote that in her novels she painted the world on a “little bit (two inches wide) of ivory,” working “with so fine a brush.” Her well-known books, such as Pride and Prejudice and Emma, display the power of this approach; her observations about human nature have proven so accurate and entertaining that her books continue to be beloved 200 years after they were written.

In a windswept British seaside town, single mum Alice Lake finds a man sitting on the beach outside her house. He has no name and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside. Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, 21-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her husband fails to come home from work one night, she is left alone in a place where she knows no one and with the police telling her that her husband never existed.

It was the most audacious crime of the 1970’s; a gang of villains tunnelled their way into the safety deposit box vault of Lloyds Bank on Baker Street, London. The ‘walkie-talkie’ robbery (as it became known) was later immortalised in the hit 2008 film ‘The Bank Job’ starring Jason Statham. Dan Shaw, Author of ‘The Krays: Their Life and Crimes’ and ‘The Great Train Robbery’ presents the explosive true account of one of the most daring and ingenious heists in British criminal history. It’s a story packed with suspense and intrigue, near misses, and edge of the seat plot ...

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.

Three men search for some version of home; their lives move inexorably toward a reckoning that will draw them all together. For Farouk, family is all. He has protected his wife and daughter as best he can from the war and hatred that has torn Syria apart. If they stay, they will lose their freedom. Lampy is distracted; he has too much going on in his small town life in Ireland. He has the city girl for a bit of fun, but she's not Chloe. The game was always the lifeblood coursing through John's veins: manipulating people for his enjoyment. But it was never enough.

Margaret, Duchess of Argyll (1912-1993) was an international celebrity in her youth. But in 1963, the year of the Profumo Affair, the 11th Duke of Argyll shocked the country when he alleged that his adulterous wife had slept with over 80 men behind his back. The duke won a divorce, and Margaret was abandoned by most of her friends. Lyndsy Spence tells a tragic story of the life and downfall of this fascinatingly complex woman, and shows how she fell victim to a cruel husband, harsh social mores, and an unforgiving class.

The Skripal Files is a remarkable and definitive account of Sergei Skripal’s story, which lays bare the new spy war between Russia and the West. Mark Urban, the diplomatic and defense editor for the BBC, met with Skripal in the months before his poisoning, learning about his career in Russian military intelligence, how he became a British agent, his imprisonment in Russia, and the events that led to his release. Skripal’s first-hand accounts and experiences reveal the high stakes of a new spy game that harks back to the chilliest days of the Cold War.

Book 2 in the Batterton Police Series. Jensen Bartholomew is Zooming with his brother, Cedric, when the door behind Cedric opens and a figure enters covered head to foot in a black gown and wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. As Jensen watches, the figure wraps something around Cedric’s neck and pulls it tight. Cedric struggles to free himself and his feet stamp a furious tattoo on the worn lino beneath them, but the figure does not relent. Cedric sinks out of sight. The figure leans in close to the screen and points through it at Jensen. In a deep and gravelly voice, it says, ‘You’re next.’...

Learn and improve your English with the BBC. Collected here for the first time are 12 episodes from BBC Learning English's popular 6 Minute English series. Aimed at intermediate level learners of English, each programme examines a different topic which is discussed and explained to help learners increase their knowledge of the English language.

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.

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.

Lewis Carroll's most famous novels, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, are brought to sparkling new life in this unabridged recording by AudioFile Earphones Award-winning narrator Alison Larkin. An internationally acclaimed comedienne well known for her many voices, Alison Larkin is the perfect vessel to bring Lewis Carroll's classic novels to a new audience.

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 ...

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.

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.

A Modern day suspense thriller based around the dangers of social media, what we share, and how we never really know who is watching. A single photo taken in college defined Eve Kelly’s entire life. The iconic image of the falling girl in a red dress brought her unintentional fame. Twenty years later, @beli’EVE, a successful model turned influencer, is a reluctant leader. Over a million people follow her every move but sharing images of a #perfectlife can be dangerous, especially when you have secrets. When someone begins to scratch beneath the glossy surface she presents to the world, ...