William Butler Yeats was born in Sandymount in County Dublin, Ireland on 13th June 1865.His early years moved between Ireland and England. By his mid-teens he was writing but those works were described as ‘entirely Un-Irish’. With Ernest Rhys he founded the Rhymers Club. Based at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in Fleet Street it’s best described as a drinking club for performing poets. Yeats later cited them as ‘The Tragic Generation’. By now Yeats was writing and publishing poetry and st...

Cornwall is quintessentially a maritime region. Almost an island, nowhere in it is further than 25 miles from the sea. Cornwall’s often distinctive history has been moulded by this omnipresent maritime environment, while its strategic position at the western approaches—jutting out into the Atlantic—has given this history a global impact.It is perhaps surprising then, that, despite the central place of the sea in Cornwall’s history, there has not yet been a full maritime history of ...

Volume Two (I-M) of this three part series includes stories from India, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Khasis, Korea, Isle of Man (Manx), Mexico, Mongolia. Contains excerpts from:Tales of the Sun Or Folklore of Southern IndiaCollected by Mrs. Howard Kingscote and Paṇḍit Naṭêsá Sástrî.Folk-Tales of BengalBy the Rev. Lal Behari DayClassic Hindu Tales of Adventure, Magic, and RomanceBy Sir Richard F. BurtonEdited by Isabel BurtonTales of th...

Our senses revel in the incomparable majesty of the work of Mother Nature. The structure of the landscape, the multi-coloured mantle of trees and fauna, the myriad animals that wander and inhabit this glorious Earth. Nature conducts symphonies of sound as her world goes from day into the inky embrace of night.Our ears and eyes are constantly bathed in the wonder of her ways; the soft drizzle of rain from soft grey clouds, a wave caressing the shore and the ravenous colours of a dep...

Lust, science, adventure -- Joseph Banks and his voyages of discoverySir Joseph Banks was a man of passion whose influence spanned the globe. A fearless adventurer, his fascination with beautiful women was only trumped by his obsession with the natural world and his lust for scientific knowledge.Fabulously wealthy, Banks was the driving force behind monumental voyages and scientific discoveries in Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, Europe, North Ame...

Sir John Pryce of Newtown Hall died in 1761. He kept the embalmed bodies of his first two wives on either side of his bed – until his third wife insisted that they were removed.In 1856 Ronald Rhys from the Vale of Neath disappeared for a week after seeing a strange light in a field and hearing a loud noise. He remembered being examined by small creatures who took a sample of his blood.Oh yes, and America is named after a Welshman and the Holy Grail is kept in a bank vault i...

Yorkshire is well known for its miners, pudding and cricket, but 'Yorkshire, A Very Peculiar History' scrapes beyond the surface and past the cliches. Featuring a host of characters from Yorkshire past and present, it's not all grit and grime! Tracing Yorkshire's history back through Roman and Viking rule, to the various tribes which populated the area in prehistoric times, this book covers the largest county in England from all angles. Featuring quirky tales of Yorkshire's crucial role in...

For the first time in two hundred years, here is a full and authentic account of the beginnings of modern Australia.We all know the conventional story. Established as a dumping ground for Britain’s criminals, Australia owes its existence simply to overcrowded jails and a daunting remoteness from everywhere else.In Botany Bay: The Real Story, Alan Frost goes beyond these clichés to shed new light on the decision to settle New South Wales. He examine...

The Story of Wales is a vibrant portrait of 30,000 years of power, identity and politics. Revisiting major turning points in Welsh history, from its earliest settlements to the present day, Jon Gower re-examines the myths and misconceptions about this glorious country, revealing a people who have reacted with energy and invention to changing times and opportunities. It's a story of political and industrial power, economic and cultural renewal- and a nation of seemingly limitless p...

Along our shores, towering cliffs from the age of the dinosaurs rise beside wide estuaries teeming with wildlife, while Victorian ports share waterfronts with imposing fortifications.And the people who have lived, worked and played on this spectacular coast - from Stone Age fishermen to seafarers, chart-makers and surfers - have an incredible tale to tell.Coast: Our Island Story is an enthralling account, sparkling with geography, history, adventure and eccentric c...

A Waterstones Best History Book of the YearThe bestselling history of the North of England as told through the lives of its inhabitants.‘Entertaining’ The Times‘Definitive’ The Mirror‘Highly readable’ Financial TimesA work of unrivalled scale and ambition, Northerners is the defining biography of northern England.This authoritative new hist...

Yorkshire is 'a continent unto itself', a region where mountain, plain, coast, downs, fen and heath lie close. By weaving history, family stories, travelogue and ecology, Richard Morris reveals how Yorkshire took shape as a landscape and in literature, legend and popular regard. The result is a fascinating and wide-ranging meditation on Yorkshire and Yorkshireness, told through the prism of the region's most extraordinary people and places.