'Highly enjoyable' – Ancestors'A fascinating recreation of the Tower as the life-and-death blood of the nation' – Oxford TimesServing as both a palace and a prison, the Tower of London has been at the centre of more intrigue, terror and crucial turning points in history than any other site in England. Diehl and Donnelly take us behind the grim, grey walls which circumscribe England's grea...

For millennia, mankind has devised ingenious and diabolical means of inflicting pain on fellow human beings. This deplorable but seemingly universal trait has eaten away at mankind's very claim to civilisation. Despite how repugnant the practice of torture appears to us today, for at least 3,000 years it formed part of most legal codes throughout Europe and the Far East. The Big Book of Pain is an exploration of the systematic use throughout the ages of various me...

If you could go back in time and ask any historical figure for advice on how best to manage your business or staff, who would it be? Benjamin Franklin, Niccolo Machiavelli, Elizabeth I or Helena Rubinstein? Well, they are all here, and more ... Featuring nearly 20 figures from across two and a half millennia, this fascinating book brings you peerless advice on, and insights into, the essential nature of leadership and the human condition. Presented in their own words - thr...

Cannibalism is unquestionably one of the oldest and deepest-seated taboos. Even in an age when almost nothing is sacred, religious, moral and social prohibitions surround the topic. But even as our minds recoil at the mention of actual acts of cannibalism there is some dark fascination with the subject. Appalling crimes of humans eating other humans are blown into major news stories and gory movies: both Hitchcock's Psycho and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre ...

36 projects for historic benches, chairs, tables, cupboards, chests, shelves, beds, and doors, all done with simple woodworking tools.

Legendary figures of the Golden Age of PiracyStories of great battlesGlossary of pirate ships and nautical itemsFrom the earliest days of the Colonial era until the end of the Revolution, New Jersey''s coastline swarmed with pirates who sailed back and forth across the Atlantic in search of plunder and rich prizes. Full of high adventure, dastardly deeds, and newly uncovered lore, this book features such famous characters as Capt. William Kidd and the notoriously cru...

• Full-color, revised edition• Plans for weddings, holiday parties, and Renaissance fairs• Ideas for properly decorating the dining hall• Lyrics and music for songs and dances• Recipes for food and drink• Patterns for period costumes• Games and plays

High adventure, dastardly deeds, and newly uncovered lore.

High adventure, dastardly deeds, and newly uncovered lore.

The Tudors were an odd bunch, even weirder than their subjects, perhaps. When they weren't beheading wives and enemies they were threatening to, or going around earning themselves nicknames like 'Bloody Mary' and 'The 9 Day Queen'. 'The Tudors: A Very Peculiar History; tells the story of the Tudor monarchs, their castles, their lives and their subjects in a time when it was fashionable to slash up your clothes for that 'fresh from battle' look. The book details each monarch's reign and cas...

Which king's guards massacred a group of his supporters by mistake? Who had an oversized tongue and had to slobber when they ate food? Who was so large when they died that they had to be buried in a square coffin? Who survived seven assassination attempts? As you can tell from the bizarre questions above, it wasn't all thrones and sceptres for British kings and queens. Some of them were completely batty, and others were downright vicious. On the other hand, some monarchs were an icon to th...

New York Times'Could hardly be a more timely parable for our day'Evening Standard'An engrossing and vivid impression of those terrible days'Sunday Express'Absorbing. . .an excellent account of the two most fantastic years in London's history'This book chronicles the horror and human suffering of two of the most terrible years in London's long and vivid history. 1665 brought the plague and cries of "Bring Out Your Dead" echoed the city. A year late...