Apparently from Virginia, Birt Acres appeared out of nowhere in Britain aged 35, without a trace of his former life. Yet immediately he became a prominent figure in the late Victorian photographic world. He soon teamed up with Robert Paul to make a moving picture camera and then shot the first commercial films in Britain in spring 1895, in parallel with the work of the Lumière brothers in France, before repeating this in Germany. His innovations included being the first to establish a dedi...

**'A magnificent, rollicking narrative' Max Hastings, Sunday Times 'Top 25 Non-Fiction Books of the 21st Century'Sunday Times History Book of the Year 2015Britain's railways have been a vital part of national life for nearly 200 years. Transforming lives and landscapes, they have left their mark on everything from timekeeping to tourism. As a self-contained world governed by distinctive rules and traditions, the network also exert...

The definitive edition of the letters—many previously unpublished—of England’s greatest comic writer.P. G. Wodehouse wrote some of the greatest comic masterpieces of all time. So, naturally, we find the same humor and wit in his letters. He offers hilarious accounts of living in England and France, the effects of prohibition, and how to deal with publishers. He even recounts cricket matches played while in a Nazi internment camp (Wodehouse wanted to show the stiff upper lip of the ...

The first in-depth history of the iconic radio and TV network that has shaped our past and present.Doctor Who; tennis from Wimbledon; the Beatles and the Stones; the coronation of Queen Elizabeth and the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales: for one hundred years, the British Broadcasting Corporation has been the preeminent broadcaster in the UK and around the world, a constant source of information, comfort, and entertainment through both war and peace, fe...

Why did London Underground once employ a one-legged man to ride up and down the escalators at Earl's Court tube station? What did Hitler plan to do with Nelson's Column? Why is London's only medieval mummy a prostitute named Clarice la Claterballock? How did a beer flood in Tottenham Court Road drown nine people? Where can you see a pair of Queen Victoria's knickers?Containing chapters covering London past and present; buildings and streets; famous and unexpected Londoners; arts, li...

"Brings literature lovers on a journey through London, from Chaucer in the fourteenth century to present day . . . as diverse as the city itself." — British Heritage TravelMany of the greatest names in literature have visited or made their home in the colorful and diverse metropolis of London. From Charles Dickens to George Orwell, Virginia Woolf to Bernadine Evaristo, London's writers have brought the city to life through some of the bes...

But what does your furniture point at?' asks the character Joey in the sitcom Friends on hearing an acquaintance has no TV. It's a good question: since its beginnings during WW2, television has assumed a central role in our houses and our lives, just as satellite dishes and aerials have become features of urban skylines. Television (or 'the idiot's lantern', depending on your feelings about it) has created controversy, brought coronations and World Cups into living rooms, allowed ...

Old Ireland in Colour brings to life the rich history of Ireland and the Irish through the colour restoration of these stunning images of all walks of Irish life throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. From the chaos of the Civil War to the simple beauty of the islands; from legendary revolutionaries to modest fisherfolk, every image has been exquisitely transformed and every page bursting with life.Using a combination of cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology a...

Longlisted for the Historical Writers' Association Non-Fiction Crown 2026'Britain in the 1920s and 1930s pops to life in this often very witty chronicle of that jittery time' The Times'Alwyn Turner is the master of funny, engaging social history' Sunday TimesAfter the calamity of the Great War, there was a desire in Britain for escapist fun - the lights of the Jazz Age, radio comedies and the pictu...

Just over eighty years ago on the East Coast main line, the streamlined A4 Pacific locomotive Mallard reached a top speed of 126mph – a world record for steam locomotives that still stands. Since then, millions have seen this famous locomotive, resplendent in her blue livery, on display at the National Railway Museum in York. Here, Don Hale tells the full story of how the record was broken: from the nineteenth-century London–Sco...

Connecting people with places, London's distinctive Blue Plaque scheme highlights the buildings where some of the most remarkable men and women in our history and culture have lived and worked.From Gertrude Bell to Karl Marx, Charlie Chaplin to Jimi Hendrix, this fully updated 5th edition of The London Blue Plaque Guide has over a thousand entries and provides an essential companion to the famous people who have made their homes in the city. As the definit...

An in-depth look at the team who worked with the renowned British railway engineer, with numerous photos included.To renowned engineer Nigel Gresley must go great credit for many of the London and North Eastern Railway's achievements, but those around him have faded into obscurity and are now largely forgotten, even though their contributions were immense. To redress this imbalance, Tim Hillier-Graves has explored the life of Gresley and his team, and sought to unco...