Biography & Autobiography

Amazing and Extraordinary Facts: Royal Family Life unearths a wealth of curious truths about British royal domestic life, royal celebrations, royal etiquette, and how they have shaped history. Delve into the more personal lives of the Royal family, past and present. From difficult childhoods to fashion icons, from love matches to divorces, and from unrehearsed coronations to assassination attempts and untimely deaths. Curiosity about Britain’s rulers and their next of kin never seems to wane, and it is this compendium about the lives of the members of the Royal Family that makes this so utterly compelling.

In Red Baron: The Life and Death of an Ace, Peter Kilduff tells the story of this courageous and charismatic man: his comrades and enemies, the planes he flew, the battles he fought in, the political climate that caused his eventual disenchantment and the controversial circumstances of his death.

Containing previously unpublished photographs, drawings on new source material from former East German state archives and making fresh insights into existing sources, Red Baron is the most up-to-date reference on the life of a legend.

Tales from the Front Line - Trafalgar offers a unique insight into the most significant naval battle in history, told through the accounts of those who were actually there. Here you will find original accounts from the great military leaders of the time - including Nelson - as well as the experiences of the ordinary seamen and civilian witnesses. This title is drawn from a variety of contemporary sources including letters, diaries, newspapers and ships' logs.

A fascinating collection of first-hand accounts of life in the time of Jane Austen (1775-1817), showing how social standing and etiquette were prime considerations of the period, and revealing the stark contrast between 'upstairs' and 'downstairs' and the lives of men and women. With extracts from Jane Austen's novels, letters, biographies, memoirs and newspapers, including previously unpublished material held by The Jane Austen Society, British Library, Hampshire Record Office and Kent County Archives.

Inside Pepys' London reveals a vivid picture of London at a critical point in history - poised to become a major centre of international commerce and culture. It provides accounts of all aspects of contemporary life, from the arts and entertainment, to politics and religion. Though no king or great general, thanks to his diary Samuel Pepys is one of the most interesting characters in history. His life encompassed happenings of huge historical and human impact - the execution of Charles I and the Great Fire of London to name but two. This book takes Pepys' diary, which he kept almost daily from 1660-1669, as its central resource, but also includes a range of other contemporary sources to provide a fascinating and vivid picture of the times.

This is a fascinating, evocative account of 19th-century London, so well known from Charles Dickens' much-loved novels. It draws on descriptions of life in the capital from original letters, diaries and newspapers, as well as Dickens' own social commentary, to paint a vivid portrait of a city undergoing massive social changes. No author has ever described the city of London as well as Dickens. His eye for detail and his gift for characterization moved and entertained readers throughout the world who might never have been to the city. Many of the cliches that crowd our imaginations when we think of London, or of the Victorians, can be traced back to his writings. A unique gazetteer section with a modern-day map allows the reader to discover where places and attractions mentioned in the text can be seen in today's London.