Growing up poor in mid-century Limerick is a nightmare of eviction, food deprivation, flea-bites, and never enough heat. An orange at Christmas is a massive treat. And yet Seanie Morrisey, despite having to beg, scavenge, and steal to help his overwhelmed single mother and his eternally-hungry younger siblings, somehow manages to live a joyful little boy’s life. He loves fishing for eels in the River Shannon; the pennies he gets at his First Communion; his warm, extended family; the times ...

'At sixteen I was very interested in palmistry. The fate line on my right palm had a distinct break at the age of thirty. It broke into two parts that ran for a quarter of an inch on parallel tracks. I used to look at it and wonder, 'What will happen to me when I am thirty that will change my life?'Of course, it was Johnny's death. But, in fact, my life was changed twice by death.'June Brown, who died in April 2022 aged 95, was an institution - a classically trained actress...

Spike Milligan's legendary war memoirs are a hilarious and subversive first-hand account of the Second World War, as well as a fascinating portrait of the formative years of this towering comic genius, most famous as writer and star of The Goon Show. They have sold over 4.5 million copies.With his lightning-quick wit, unbridled creativity and his ear for the absurd, Milligan revolutionised British comedy, leaving a legacy of influence that stretches from Monty Python's Flying Circu...

Queen Victoria was the ultimate Victorian, and she was not amused. Luckily YOU will be splitting your sides - because the prim and proper Victorians were actually a jolly naughty bunch!

Readers can discover all the foul facts about the VILLAINOUS VICTORIANS, including Why burglars were scared of bogies, which poet said he ate an ape and how a snick fadger might kiddy-nap your spangle. With a bold, accessible new look and a heap of extra-horrible bits, these bestselling titles are sure to be a huge hit with yet another generation of Terry Deary fans.

From the tragic massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, to signing the Treaty of Rome when Britain entered the Common Market, Barbara Hosking was there.This is the story of a Cornish scholarship girl with no contacts who ended up in the corridors of power. It is also the very personal story of her struggle with her sexuality as a bewildered teenager, and as a young woman in the 1950s, a time when being gay could mean social ostracism.Born during the General Strike in 192...

Tom Baker, the fourth Doctor Who on British television, brings all his talent as a raconteur to this autobiography, which was first published in 1997 and ranges from his childhood, through his 7 years as Doctor Who to the engraving of his gravestone! Born in 1934, Baker grew up in an Irish Catholic neighbourhood in wartime Liverpool. His stories about his large family, his difficulties at school, his love of collecting war salvage, and his fascination with the church are entertaining, hila...

The original 1985 edition of Children of the Poor Clares was the first book to expose the reality of the treatment of children placed in church care in Irelands post-independence horrendous industrial school system. Giving an intimate picture, covering over four decades, of life in one of these institutions, it documented the gross physical and emotional abuse, neglect, malnourishment, exploitation, lack of proper education, deprivation, and humiliation that scarred the children for life. ...

Easter 1916. The Great War rages in Europe with two hundred thousand Irishmen fighting in the British Army. But a small group of Irish nationalists refuse to fight for Britain and strike a blow for Irish freedom. Caught up in the action in Dublin, is twelve-year-old Molly O’Donovan.Her own family is plunged into danger on both sides of the conflict. Her father, a technical officer with the Post Office dodges the crossfire as he tries to restore the telegraph lines while her wayward...

Blood and Granite is a chronicle of the most notorious homicides committed in Aberdeen over the last hundred years. Written by Norman Adams, a journalist who reported on many of the chilling crimes he now recalls so vividly, it is compelling reading for those who are too young to remember - and those who cannot forget. All are human tragedies from the dark side of life, including: • The grudge that ended in death in an East End pub when butcher James Harrow brutally stabbed two workmates i...

They may have looked all prim and proper, but the Victorians were a jolly naughty bunch who could be vicious and violent and villainous. Readers can discover the murderers who wouldn't hang, when the first public loo was flushed and all about stag hunting in Paddington Station. With a bold, accessible new look, these bestselling titles are sure to be a huge hit with yet another generation of Terry Deary fans. Revised by the author and illustrated throughout to make Horrible Histories more ...

'I hear people say now, "Oh, this is an historical thing." It's not historical for me. I can reach out my hand and touch it.' Survivor of child abuse at Daingean reformatory In their own words, survivors of institutional abuse outline how they suffered years of mistreatment while incarcerated in industrial schools throughout Ireland. Their experiences reflect what happened to thousands of children who were locked up in institutions run by religious orders. Their stories also illustrate the...