Excavating at ancient Corinth in Greece, American archaeologist Zack Devlin and his team discover a dead Italian soldier from World War II. This discovery leads to the unraveling of a plot that was conceived decades ago and if realized would alter the balance of power in Europe and throw the world into a perilous state of danger and instability. As the impending coup launches, a team of criminals set out to hunt Devlin down and kill him. Devlin, determined to stop the plotters, flees from ...

The Making of London explores the rich history of the Metropolis from the Roman settlement established 2,000 years ago in the area that came to be known as the 'Square Mile' and traces the process whereby it eventually emerged as the world's greatest city. London became the capital and seat of government of Britain, a center of culture, entertainment and retailing, a major port and industrial center and world leader in international trade, commerce and finance. The focus is largely on cent...

This unique social history examines 200 years of controversy surrounding British Railways—from the dawn of industrialization to contemporary light rail.During the Industrial Revolution, the power of landowning aristocrats was challenged by the emergent wealth and influence of the urban middle class. There was no greater symbol of this seismic shift in society than the British Railways Companies. Railways, with their powers of compulsory purchase, intruded brutally ...

The 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history. In London’s east end, Jude and Anna, two young lovers born in poverty, struggle to forge a worthwhile future. Jude Croaker’s mother had always told him that his father was a Lord, the Marquess of Melchester. Jude and Anna’s discovery of who his father is leads them both into dishonesty and deceit. Blackmail and death thwart their attempts to lift themselves out of poverty. Anna’s fate depends upon the actions o...

In the hierarchal structure that pervaded a stately home in England in the 1930s, a poverty-stricken maid, Jane Hennessey, extorts money from her employer, Lady Caroline Melchester. Carolines affair with her employee, Ashley Brownlow, has consequences that changes lives forever. Charlottes last words implore her brother Ashley to reconcile with Lady Caroline. His grief obscures her words because his lovers apathy hastened his beloved sisters death. At the outbreak of World War Two, with hi...

In this book, author Alan Brooke highlights the historic gates of the City of London: Cripplegate, Aldgate, Aldersgate, Bishopsgate, Ludgate, Newgate and Moorgate. Originating in Roman times, they remained until they were all demolished between 1760 and 1767. Blue plaques mark six of their sites, and a bishop's mitre on a building shows where Bishopsgate once stood. This book examines the history of the gates, with chapters devoted to each one. A shorter section offers a summary of some of...

Why don't people take more notice of bollards? How often do they stop to look at a coal-hole cover? Why are pub signs largely ignored and Royal Warrants on shops scarcely noticed? Such a grievous situation is about to change with the publication of this, the first book dealing specifically with London Street Furniture. It examines the unconsidered trifles which can be found in bewildering diversity around the streets particularly of the older parts of central London but also elsewhere in t...

Mention Fleet Street and people will think of newspapers. However this masks an equally rich history. It was one of the most important thoroughfares in London, linking the city with Westminster. For centuries Fleet Street has been famous for its association with newspapers, printers, stationers, booksellers, taverns, coffee houses, banking houses, the legal profession, places of worship, exhibitions and processions. The history of Fleet Street is diverse, fascinating, turbulent and full of...

Curiosities of London contains an informative and entertaining selection of walks around well-known and some less-visited parts of London, revealing oddities, bizarre connections and strange stories from the past which echo through the city streets. Brandon and Brooke reveal the urban myths that abound, the origins of wonderful place names such as Bear Gardens and Gin Lane, and shocking Mafia-linked murders, in addition to other tantalising tales. The guide includes Bloomsbury with its lit...

Edinburgh is a city rightly famed world-wide. It is perhaps the only large British city which can be described as beautiful. It always seems to have been at the centre of major events, many of them turbulent. The innumerable murky legends of murder, misdemeanour and mayhem have perhaps taken root because of the topography and architecture of the Old Town with its maze of ill-lit and menacing wynds, closes and courts. Leading off the High Street and the Cowgate there are still places redole...

A look at the dark side of life, Victorian-style, when nothing was quite as it seemed and a public execution could be an entertaining family day out. Murderers, poachers, thieves, pickpockets and vagabonds all went about their business with impunity. Crime took place on the streets, on public transport, in homes, pubs, prisons, asylums, workhouses and brothels - it was all part of everyday life. Naturally the punishments awarded varied considerably, depending upon the crimes committed. Mur...

Explore the secret, quirky and curious history of London’s well-known squares. Authors David Brandon and Alan Brooke have made some strange discoveries in these famous places, from the personal dedications on the benches in Berkeley Square to the Grade II-listed Cabman’s Shelter at Russell Square. There are details on the hidden history of the squares, weird and wonderful incidents and little-known facts about the notable houses and the people who lived there. Fully illustrated with photog...