The largest of the British Channel Islands, Jersey is the most southerly island of the British Isles. It is located 84 miles south of Portland, in Dorsetshire, but only about 15 miles west of the coast of France. Due to its unique location in the Bay of St Malo, not only does the island experience a very temperate, almost Mediterranean climate, but it grows and shrinks twice a day as the tide ebbs and flows in excess of 40 feet with one of the highest tidal ranges in the world. Despite its...

The roots of Carmarthen, claimed to be the oldest town in Wales, go back to the time of the Roman occupation founded around AD 75 when it was called Moridunum, the civitas capital of the Celtic Demetae (Britons) tribe. It can also claim to have one of the oldest theatres in country with one of only three surviving Roman amphitheatres in Wales. There are strong Arthurian legends connecting Merlin the Wizard to Carmarthen, but it was the Normans who recognised the town’s strategic location a...

Located between England and France, Jersey is the largest of the Channel Islands. A blend of the two cultures, it is most known for its beautiful beaches and walking trails. In the South Jersey History Tour, Keith E. Morgan takes us on a historical tour of southern Jersey, showing how its famous landmarks and hidden-away gems have transformed over time. With the help of a handy location map, readers are invited on this tour to discover for themselves the changing face of South Jersey.

Monmouth (Welsh: Trefynwy – ‘town on the Monnow’), is a traditional county town in Monmouthshire, Wales, and is located on the confluence of the River Monnow and River Wye. On the site of a Roman fort, Blestium, it became established as a town when the Normans built a castle here after 1067. In 1387, Monmouth was the birthplace of Henry V, later the hero of the Battle of Agincourt – a legacy that has been reflected in the name given the town square. In 1536, Monmouth became the county town...

Jersey, Britain's 'jewel in the crown', is the largest of the Channel Islands and sits just over 14 miles from the west Normandy coastline. Once part of the Duchy of Normandy, it chose to become loyal to the British Crown in 1204 and broke its links with France at that time. Despite repeated attempts by France in the past to regain possession, Jersey has maintained its independence ever since. Just 9 miles long and 5 miles wide, Jersey is famous for its finance industry and tourism. Despit...

The ancient town of Kidwelly grew up around its thirteenth-century Norman castle, eventually expanding further during the Industrial Revolution that spread throughout South Wales. The town was home to a large brickworks, harbour and tinplate works. The latter, which was founded in 1737, the second oldest in Wales and the world, did not close until 1941. It is now a Tinplate Industrial Museum and the only surviving example of the Welsh Double or Pack Mill method of tinplate manufacture that...

Chepstow (Welsh: Cas-gwent) is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England on a bend of the River Wye. The region has been occupied since Neolithic times, and the Romans built a settlement close to the town when they arrived in AD 48. Chepstow itself was founded by the Normans, who built the castle in about 1067. In the Middle Ages, Chepstow developed as a port noted for its imports of wine and exports of timber and bark. In the late eighteenth centur...

The largest town in the county of Carmarthenshire, Llanelli has a long and illustrious history. This book draws on an assortment of some 200 old maps, prints and photographs to illustrate the transformation of Llanelli from a small medieval hamlet and fishing village on the sea shore of the Burry Estuary, through a period of renown as the centre of the world’s tinplate industry, to its present-day importance as a thriving commercial and industrial town. Coal mining, smelting and shipping e...

Jersey is the largest of the British Channel Islands and is just 14 miles away from the French coast. Once part of the Duchy of Normandy, it became independent from France in 1204 and has governed itself ever since. St Helier is the historic capital of Jersey and the centre of its government. Named after its Patron Saint, Helier, the town has grown from a small fishing and agricultural hamlet hugging the seashore, to a bustling port and holiday resort.St Helier has a rich heritage and can ...

Before she became one of the most controversial women in American history, Mary Todd Lincoln was a brilliant, ambitious young woman who saw greatness in Abraham Lincoln long before the world did.She became the wife of a president, the First Lady of a nation at war, and a witness to some of the darkest moments in America’s history. Behind the grandeur of the White House, however, was a woman carrying unbearable burdens—relentless public criticism, political enemies, devastating pers...

Ruta’s Closet tells the compelling Holocaust story of a Jewish family, imprisoned in the tiny Shavl ghetto in Lithuania.The Kron family survived the horror of the Nazi regime, thanks to the resourcefulness of Meyer and Gita Kron and the bravery of their rescuers. While Ruta’s Closet is based on fact, it reads like fiction. The drama of the events described and the richness of the characters make it a compelling work of narrative nonfiction—as intriguing as it is inspirational....

In the heart of the Highlands, Cynthia Ryce delves into the dark legends of the MacKays.A famous author in search of inspiration for her next story, she has decided to solve the savage murders of seven women. Her host, the mysterious and sexy Lord Keith MacKay, will play the role of the guide. But the mockery, humiliations, and indifference gradually turn her stay into a nightmare.Lord Keith MacKay has secrets he must protect at all costs: he is a vampire, and the days of h...