Книги жанра историческая литература
A fascinating narrative excursion into a bizarre episode in 19th century Ethiopian and British imperial history, featuring a remote African despot and his monstrous European-built gun.Towards the end of 1867, Emperor Tewodros II of Ethiopia burnt his own capital, took his vast mortar – named 'Sevastopol' – and began a retreat to the mountain stronghold of Mekdala. For months thousands of his follo…
From the Booker Prize-winning author of ‘Offshore’, ‘The Blue Flower’ and ‘Innocence’ comes this Booker Prize-shortlisted tale of a troubled Moscow printworks .Frank Reid had been born and brought up in Moscow. His father had emigrated there in the 1870s and started a print-works which, by 1913, had shrunk from what it was when Frank inherited it. In that same year, to add to his troubles, Frank’s…
A rip-roaring narrative celebration of the 21st century’s great transport success story: the bicycle. Millions of us now cycle, some obsessively, and this glorious concoction of history, anecdote, adventure and lycra-clad pedalling is the perfect read for two-wheelers of all kinds.‘At last – a bicycle book for the rest of us…. A book for the sort of cyclist who likes cycling and reading and storie…
A heart-warming tale from the queen of West Country sagas, LINDA FINLAYIn a tumbledown Cornish cottage, with an alcoholic father, Colenso Carne works with the Serpentine stone from the local mine. When she catches the eye of the new factory manager, her father insists she rejects her beloved Kitto in order to marry Fenton.Forced to flee the village when Fenton turns nasty, she is taken under the w…
Rich and epic Historical Fiction set against the backdrop of the Great Famine and the Irish Diaspora. Perfect for fans of Winston Graham and Ken Follett.Set against the backdrop of the New World, this powerful novel follows the story of Ellen O’Malley. Torn from Ireland during the Great Famine, Ellen’s odyssey has taken her from the harsh landscape of Australia to the killing fields of the America…
This is a beautiful, moving tale from the bestselling author of the «Flashman Papers».To the young Lady Margaret Dacre, raised in the rich security of Queen Elizabeth's court, the Scottish border was a land of blood and brutal violence, where raid and murder were commonplace, and her broad inheritance lay at the mercy of the outlaw riders and feuding tribes of England's last frontier. Beyond the l…
A NATION WILL FIGHT FOR ITS FREEDOM.Robert Low’s Kingdom Series on the making of Scotland, now available in one complete eBook for the first time and featuring a new and exclusive Author’s Note on the series.THE LION WAKESIt is 1296 and Scotland is in turmoil. The old King, Alexander III, has died and Scotland’s future is in peril. Edward I of England, desperate to keep control of his northern bor…
George MacDonald Fraser’s hilarious stories of the most disastrous soldier in the British Army – collected together for the first time in one volume.Private McAuslan, J., the Dirtiest Soldier in the Word (alias the Tartan Caliban, or the Highland Division’s answer to the Pekin Man) first demonstrated his unfitness for service in The General Danced at Dawn. He continued his disorderly advance, losi…
The new novel from the bestselling author of THE SIXTH WIFE.When 12-year-old Katherine Howard comes to live in the Duchess of Norfolk's household, poor relation Cat Tilney is deeply suspicious. The two girls couldn't be more different: Cat, watchful and ambitious; Katherine, interested only in clothes and boys. Their companions are in thrall to Katherine, but it's Cat in whom Katherine confides an…
From her beginnings as a humble oyster seller, Nell Gwynn’s dazzling rise to fame has gone down in history. Step into the tumultuous world of Restoration England, and join Nell on her journey from courtesan, to famed actress, to King’s mistress in a novel that is as captivating as Nelly herself.Growing up in the bawdy atmosphere of 17th Century Covent Garden, Nell Gwynn is little more than a girl …
Speak out for the fate of millions or turn a blind eye? We all have choices.‘Absolutely exceptional. So beautifully written, with precision and wisdom and real emotional acuity … A remarkable achievement’ STEPHEN KELMAN, author of Pigeon English1944, Germany. Ernst Beck’s new job marks an end to months of unemployment. Working for Erfurt’s most prestigious engineering firm, Topf & Sons, means he c…
The Edge of the Crowd is the gripping story of early days of photography and the search for lost love in Victorian London . RUNNER UP OF THE 2002 ENCORE PRIZE.London, 1851. Among the teeming crowds visiting the Great Exhibition is the newspaper columnist Henry Hilditch, whose sensational exposés of the lives and deprivations of the working class are the talk of bourgeois London.But Hilditch has an…
I asked the sailor what an Elephant looked like; he replied that it was like nothing on earth.In the middle of the 18th century, a ship docks at Bristol with an extraordinary cargo: two young elephants. Bought by a wealthy landowner, they are taken to his estate in the English countryside. A stable boy, Tom Page, is given the task of caring for them.The Elephant Keeper is Tom’s account of his life…