Did Charlotte Brontë take opium? Did the Reverend Brontë carry a loaded pistol? What, precisely, does 'wuthering' mean?Distinguished literary critic John Sutherland takes an idiosyncratic look at the world of the Brontës, from the bumps on Charlotte's head to the nefarious origins of Mr Rochester's fortune, by way of astral telephony, letterwriting dogs, an exploding peat bog, and much, much more.Also features 'Jane Eyre abbreviated' by John Crace, author of the Guardian's ...

The Royal Naval Patrol Service, or Harry Tates Navy as it was commonly known, was a unique service with its own rules and regulations. The officers and seamen were mainly ex-fishermen who had manned trawlers in Icelandic waters. The service was armed mostly with obsolete weaponry and suffered heavy casualties in the early stages of the war. The service was not confined to the seas around Britain and their small trawlers, drifters, paddle steamers, yachts and tugs saw service as far away as...

Love, sex, death, boredom, ecstasy, existential angst, political upheaval - the history of literature offers a rich and varied exploration of the human condition across the centuries. In this absorbing companion to literature's rich past, arranged by days of the year, acclaimed critics and friends Stephen Fender and John Sutherland turn up the most inspiring, enlightening, surprising or curious artefacts that literature has to offer. Find out why 16 June 1904 mattered so much to Joyce, whi...

A rare collection of personal photographs following Nazi Germany's airborne soldiers on their missions through the Balkans, Crete, and Russia.The photos in this book are taken from an unpublished album that belonged to a member of the elite German Paratroopers. First Sgt Wilhelm Plieschen served with Fallschirmjager Machine Gun Battalion 7, which suffered very heavy losses in the invasion of Crete, then saw bloody conflict as Hitler's "Fire-fighters" on the Russian ...

The Siege of Malta during World War II was one of the greatest dramas of the conflict. Bereft of vital defending aircraft, guns and ammunition this small island endured a succession of air raids from the Italian and German air forces. Valetta was virtually destroyed, the inhabitants took to living in the hills and caves as their houses lay in ruins. Food was scarce and the islands only salvation and survival depended on the arrival of the Allied convoys which themselves were constantly und...

The photographs are taken from five unpublished albums focussing on the German invasion of Russia in 1941 Operation Barbarossa. Two of the albums contain shots taken by German infantrymen and include shots of combat, vehicles, knocked-out tanks and prisoners of war. Two of the other albums feature flak and artillery units in the invasion. These include shots of artillery and flak units in action, destroyed Russian aircraft, vehicles and armor as well as Russian prisoners. The final album c...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER IN A BRAND NEW EDITION'Enchanting...the most engagingly boffiny book imaginable.' SpectatorDoes Becky kill Jos at the end of Vanity Fair? Why does no one notice that Hetty is pregnant in Adam Bede? How, exactly, does Victor Frankenstein make his monster?Readers of Victorian fiction often find themselves tripping up on seeming anomalies, enigmas and mysteries in their favourite novels.In

In June 1948, Joseph Stalin halted all road and rail traffic in to and out of the Allied sector of Berlin and cut off all electricity to the city. The only route into Berlin was by means of three twenty-mile-wide air corridors across the Soviet zone of Germany. Thus the wartime allies of Britain, France and the USA realized that the only option open to them was to supply the beleaguered West Berlin by air transport and so started one of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century. Th...

This is the story of the historic air defense of Malta by the WRAF against the combined attacking forces of the Italian and German air forces. The island was poorly equipped when Italy declared war on Britain in June 1940 and its only defense against air attack at the outset of war were 34 heavy and 8 light antiaircraft guns, one radar set and four Gladiator biplane fighters. The first air raids came on 11 July and from then on were an almost daily feature of life for the Maltese occupants...

The Royal Norfolk Regiment is one of the oldest and most distinguished fighting forces in the British army. Its line of descent can be traced back for over three centuries, all the way from modern Afghanistan to Monmouths rebellion in 1685.Throughout these years, and many campaigns, the regiment has maintained a marked local loyalty and tradition which remain strong today. This sense of local identity is celebrated by Jon Sutherland and Diane Canwell in this highly illustrated history of t...

How would you have fared as one Napoleon's marshals, or in command of a division of redoutable British redcoats under Wellington? Grand Battery offers you the chance to find out. This book includes all the rules you need to play miniature wargames set in the Napoleonic Wars, plus plenty of useful background information you need to get started.The book provides a concise historical overview of the events and battles of the period, and includes sections on the weapons and tactics of the vari...

200 years on from the first publication of Frankenstein, John Sutherland delves into the deepest, darkest corners of Mary Shelley's gothic masterpiece to see what strange and terrifying secrets lie within.Is Victor Frankenstein a member of the Illuminati? Was Mary Shelley really inspired by spaghetti? Whoever heard of a vegan monster?Exploring the lesser-known byways of both the original tale and its myriad film and pop culture spinoffs, from the bolts on Boris Karlo...