The General Strike was one of the most significant events in twentieth century Britain. The miners were locked out and the mass of rank-and-file trade unionists then came out on strike in their support. With their families and some middle-class sympathizers, the miners and the labor and trade union movement found itself pitched against the political establishment, the apparatus of the state, the powerful mineowners backed by the Conservative Government and most of the media of the time in ...

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...

The adventure begins in 2008 with Dan Russell, the protagonist, who has served as a United States Air Force F-16 pilot for ten years. He is offered a position in the top-secret space command and given one week to decide whether to accept this three-year commitment. Due to its highly classified nature, he has little information on which to base his decision. Despite his concerns, he accepts the offer, drawn by the chance to fly a technologically advanced spacecraft.When Dan arrives ...

The railways changed the world. They initiated a revolution in communications which continues to this day, ever more profoundly influencing our lives. They had an enormous economic and social impact in Britain, not least with its demography. Before 1914 places on the railway system felt they were connected to the wider world. Those left off the system often feared for their future. It was never actually as simple as that. Some places well served by railways prospered, other did not. Some w...

Explores how London's railways transformed the city into a global hub, impacting everything from suburbia to crime and culture.London has always been a major transport hub. Indeed, it owes its origins to being the location in ancient times of what was then the lowest bridging point of the River Thames. From the 1830s to 1914 it became the focal point of Britain's railway system. In that time a railway network of extraordinary complexity developed, serving the needs...

This biography examines the life and career of the conservative politician who led the charge to reshape British Railways in the mid-twentieth century.Ernest Marples was one of the most influential and controversial British politicians of the mid-twentieth century. As the Minister of Transport (1959–1964) he appointed Dr. Beeching chairman of British Railways and commissioned him to produce his infamous "Beeching Report". Earlier, as Postmaster General (1957–1959), ...

We have all seen the hilarious depiction of Mrs Miggins' coffee shop in "Blackadder", but what was it really like in the first cafes, as coffee drinking became more popular? What else did the shops sell? How did coffee shop life influence politics, the media and everyday life?

Tyburn is synonymous with the idea of execution - over 50,000 people died there between the twelfth century and 1783. Among those who met their end at Tyburn were William Wallace, the Scottish patriot, Perkin Warbeck, who claimed to be one of the Princes in the Tower and the hated Jonathan Wild, perhaps London's first master criminal. Alan Brooke and David Brandon tell the story of how Tyburn came to be the place of execution and of the rituals and spectacle assoc...

Ghosts traditionally make their presence felt in many ways, from unexplained footfalls and chills to odours and apparitions. This fascinating volume takes a look at some of the strange and unexplained hauntings across Britain's railway network: signals and messages sent from empty boxes; trains that went into tunnels and never left; ghostly passengers and spectral crew; the wires whizzing to signal the arrival of trains on lines that have been closed for years.... Based on...

Why is the highwayman largely perceived as a romantic, glamorous and gallant figure? How is it that men who were really nothing more than bandits, who were often gratuitously violent, sometimes murderers and rapists as well, have become the swashbuckling heroes of history? To put their roles in context, the book probes into the economic, social and technological factors that at certain times made highway robbery highly lucrative and which help to explain why some of its ex...

London's Underground is associated with a multitude of ghostly stories and sightings, particular stations and abandoned lines, many of which are in close proximity to burial sites from centuries ago. This chilling book reveals well-known and hitherto unpublished tales of spirits, spectres and other spooky occurrences on one of the oldest railway networks in the world. The stories of sightings include the ghost of an actress regularly witnessed on Aldywch Station a...

London: City of the Dead is a groundbreaking account of London's dealing with death, covering the afterlife, execution, bodysnatching, murder, fatal disease, spiritualism, bizarre deaths and cemeteries. Taking the reader from Roman London to the 'glorious dead' of the First World War, this is the first systematic look at London's culture of death, with analysis of its customs and superstitions, rituals and representations.The authors of the celebrated ...