The Ulysses Guide: Tours Through Joyce's Dublin is an essential resource for readers of James Joyce's Ulysses. Following the novel's eighteen episodes through their original locations, it recreates the Dublin of 1904 against the backdrop of today's streetscape.First published in 1988 and updated here for 2025 to reflect new Joycean research and changes that have taken place in the continued evolution of Dublin city, The Ulysses Guide is a beloved companion to Joyc...

The streets of London flourish like possibly no other city on earth, with stories from its rich history, stories of death - fire - disease, of riots, and grisly murders, but also of tales of hope, happiness, determination and success. Behind every story and every street however, are the people who lived, worked, played, and even murdered there. Did you know for instance that when Great Scotland Yard was being built in 1890, that the dismembered body of a woman was discovered by workmen, du...

***'Grimly funny and superbly written, with a twist on every page' – Hilary Mantel'Delightfully compulsive and unforgettably original' – Hadley Freeman'Wonderful, funny and wise' – Kate Summerscale***SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE 2021A SUNDAY TIMES, TLS, SPECTATOR AND NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEARAunt Munca never told the truth about anything. Calling herself after the mouse in a Beatrix Pot...

Criminal incidents, accidents, whippings, beatings, jail escapes and hangings were all part of Dublin's 'brilliant parade' in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, including actors, clergymen, scientists, politicians and rogues and rascals of every hue. Hopkins describes the poverty, soup kitchens, food riots, street beggars and workhouses that were all a feature of Dublin life. He also introduces us to the weird, wonderful, and often downright strange customs and pastimes of Dubliners st...

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...

The definitive tour guide for anyone looking to retrace the steps physically or virtually of Arthur Conan Doyle during his time in Devon and see the places that inspired the Sherlock Holmes stories. The book features a comprehensive tour map with GPS co-ordinates for around thirty key sites. Arthur Conan Doyle is best remembered for writing sixty tales that feature his legendary detective Sherlock Holmes. Between 1882 and 1923 Doyle visited Devon on no fewer than ten occasions and he resi...

Welcome to the Ireland of its WritersWalk the streets of Dublin with Jonathan Swift, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and Roddy Doyle. Contemplate the wild glens of Wicklow with John Millington Synge and Seamus Heaney. Wander the thrilling Cliffs of Moher with Wallace Stevens. Visit antic Limerick with Frank McCourt; mysterious Coole Park with Lady Gregory; breathtaking Sligo with William Butler Yeats; wild Donegal with Brien Friel; and hidden Clare with Edna O'Brien.No place h...

In which part of North London were wild beasts once thought to roam the sewers?Why did 1920s working-class Londoners wear necklaces of blue beads?Who was the original inspiration for the 'pearly king' costume?And did Spring-heeled Jack, scourge of Victorian London, ever really exist?Exploring everything from local superstitions and ghost stories to annual customs, this is an enchanting guide to the ancient legends and deep-rooted beliefs that can be found the l...

P.G. Wodehouse saw his first article published when still at school, and went on to become the leading humour writer of the twentieth century. He created characters famous across the English-speaking world, such as Rupert Psmith, Stanley Ukridge, Uncle Fred, the inhabitants of the Drones Club, Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, and Lord Emsworth and his beloved Empress, all of whom remain as popular today as they were when they first appeared all those years ago. But behind all th...

Joseph Mary Plunkett (1887-1916) from Dublin was one of the leaders of the 1916 Rising, the designer of the military plan and the youngest signatory of the Proclamation. A recognised poet, he was already dying of TB when, aged 28, he married Grace Gifford in Kilmainham Gaol, just hours before he was exectuted on May 4th, 1916.This timely biography, written in an entertaining, educational and assessible style and including the latest archival evidence, is an accurate and well-resear...

'This book confirms the splendid eccentricity of the British, which often involves oddly dressed men opting to walk long distances for no apparent reason.' – BBC Countryfile Magazine' Laws' sprightly, often arch, account of Britain's hiking heroes is a pleasure to read.' – Walk Magazine'The great affair is to move: to come down off this feather-bed of civilisation, and find the globe granite under...

I first visited Ireland in 1947 – inspired by that King of travel writers, H.V.Morton and his ‘In Search of Ireland’. In numerous visits since, I have been struck by the changing face of the country, splintered by the formation of the six counties to become part of the UK. The book tells of a country in desperate poverty, resurgence into prosperity, via the European Community, the fight for independence, the violence of the IRA and the Black and Tans. It tells of the eternal haemorrha...