From popular fiction such as The Hobbit and Game of Thrones to the universality of the English language, the continuing influence of the Anglo-Saxons can be found throughout the world. But who were the Anglo-Saxons and where did they come from?A Short History of the Anglo-Saxons traces the...

The Cathars taught that the world is evil and must be transcended through a simple life of prayer, work, fasting and non-violence. They believed themselves to be the heirs of the true heritage of Christianity, and completely rejected the Catholic Church and all its trappings, regarding it as the church of Satan. Cathar services and...

Situated at the crossroads of three continents, the Middle East has confounded the ambition of conquerors and peacemakers alike. Christianity, Judaism and Islam all had their genesis in the region but with them came not just civilisation and religion but also some of the great struggles of history....

It began with the horse-drawn carriage and ended with the aeroplane, an era, beginning in the 1830s and ending with the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, that saw the British Empire - the largest the world had seen - dominate the world. British ingenuity in the fields of technological development and the heavy industry of its Industrial...

The world of Freemasonry exerts a powerful influence on the modern imagination. In an age when perceived notions of history are being increasingly questioned and re-examined it is perhaps inevitable that secretive societies such as the Freemasons find themselves at the centre of considerable speculation and conjecture. To some they...

Robin Hood is England's greatest folk hero. Everyone knows the story of the outlaw who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. Nick Rennison's highly entertaining book begins with the search for the historical Robin. Was there ever a real Robin Hood? Rennison looks at the candidates who have been proposed over the years, from petty...

The English Civil War is a subject of perennial interest. This book presents the 'essentials' of the conflict in the form of a readable chronological narrative, beginning with the causes of the war and ending with the execution of King Charles I....

The Triumphs of Eugene Valmont (1906) is a collection of lively, enjoyable stories about a French detective resident in London. Whether dealing with a gang of anarchists in 'The Siamese Twin of a Bomb-Thrower' or flirting with the supernatural in 'The Ghost with the Club-Foot', the resourceful M. Valmont rarely loses his...