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The 1605 Gunpowder Plot is one of the best-known events in British history, commemorated on 5 November each year. This book re-evaluates the evidence about the origins, depth and extent of the plot. It profiles the conspirators, including Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes, and examines their backgrounds, aims and objectives. It follows their trial and execution, and reveals for the first time how close they came to overthrowing the government. Slightly off-mint.

This catalogue of ghastly episodes in Herefordshire’s past features tales of murderers, bodysnatchers, duellists, poachers, and others including the farmer bitten to death by his horse in 1887, and a young man from Colwall who allegedly sat on a spike. Throughout this array of catastrophes and tragedies, Nicola Sly gives an insight into the broader social history of the county.

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Discovered in 1979, the Roman fort at Elginhaugh near Dalkeith is now the most completely excavated timber-built auxiliary fort in the Roman Empire. Here, Professor Hanson describes the discovery, excavation and interpretation of the site and sets the findings in the wider context of the fort’s builders and the lives of its inhabitants.

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The Empire Windrush has become a symbol of the generation that came to Britain from the Caribbean in the aftermath of the Second World War, but the story of the ship itself is less well known. Built in Hamburg in 1930, the Monte Rosa transported prisoners to Auschwitz before it was captured by the British and renamed; and after its famous voyage, the ship saw action in the Korean War.

A teacher and pupil are found dead at an exclusive girls’ school in Bath. Jack Swann must discover whether their deaths are a tragic accident, a suicide pact, or murder – but unseen forces are tracking his every move.

Tracking John F Kennedy’s exploits in Britain between 1935 and 1963, from the era of the Great Depression in the USA to the Cold War arms race, Christopher Sandford looks in depth at how Britain shaped JFK throughout his adult life, and how he in turn charmed British society. Set against the Second World War and its aftermath, the story of this ‘special relationship’ suggests how certain experiences of Britain may have influenced Kennedy’s basic thinking as president.

Box Tunnel in Wiltshire is one of the great engineering feats of the railway age but tragically, up to 100 navvies lost their lives during its construction. This history of the building of Britain’s railway infrastructure investigates the many collapses, explosions, floodings, collisions and other accidents that occurred in the tunnels and how lessons about their dangers were gradually learned.

This study of the ordinary British soldier of the First World War focuses on his everyday routines and the equipment, uniform and personal kit that would have been his familiar companions. Covering recruitment, training, life in the trenches and recuperation away from the front, first-hand accounts are complemented by examples of items including mess tins, Mills bombs and the YMCA stationery issued in rest camps, many assembled in historical tableaux that recreate period scenes.

This collection includes murders of greed, passion and cruelty – the shooting of a woman for an inheritance in 1836, a blow to the head with a flat iron in 1862, and the wilful neglect of an infant who starved to death in 1874. Slightly off-mint.

Based on a pursuit of the finer things in life, the marriage of the socialite Doris Delevingne and the gossip columnist Valentine Brown was tempestuous from the start, rocked by affairs with famous figures including Winston Churchill and Diana Mitford. This volume, illustrated with contemporary photographs, charts their relationship during the 1920s and 1930s, offering new insights into the decadent, brittle world of the 'Bright Young Things'.

Medieval belief in the Arthurian legends was bolstered by the existence of many alleged artefacts, including the Round Table, Gawain’s skull, Isolde’s robe and even Excalibur itself. The authors investigate the origins of these elaborate fakes and the cultural and political motivations behind their creation. Slightly off-mint.

As the great-niece of Henry VIII, Jane Grey was a pawn in the power game of Tudor politics. The dying Edward VI made Jane his heir and, on 6 July 1553, aged 16, she became queen. Her reign lasted nine days: when Mary Tudor claimed the throne, Jane was sent to the Tower and beheaded in 1554. In this compassionate biography, Plowden tells the story of a gifted, scholarly girl, doomed by her royal blood.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Paul Nixon is among the most eccentric cricketers to play for England, Leicestershire or Kent. With forewords from Steve Waugh and Viv Richards, this frank, humorous account of his career addresses issues such as family tragedy, sledging, match-fixing and his battle with mental demons.

The 1605 Gunpowder Plot is one of the best-known events in British history, commemorated on 5 November each year. This book re-evaluates the evidence about the origins, depth and extent of the plot. It profiles the conspirators, including Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes, and examines their backgrounds, aims and objectives. It follows their trial and execution, and reveals for the first time how close they came to overthrowing the government.

This volume tells the story of the Newcastle men who were sent to the front, with personal stories and other archive material, and how life changed at home as Tyneside’s factories, shipyards and hospitals responded to the war effort.

Swindon’s principal employer – the Great Western Railway – expanded its output of rolling stock during the First World War, as well as extending operations to the production of munitions. This review of the conflict’s impact on the town includes archive photographs and ephemera.

Reports of how five Shropshire men were awarded the Victoria Cross are recorded in this local history, which also includes contemporary accounts and photographs of how the county adapted to the changes brought by the war.

Sheffield factories turned to armament production during the First World War with women taking on the heavy work. This local history explores social changes on the home front as well as the experiences of the men sent away to fight.

Air raids were added to Londoners' troubles after the first Zeppelin raid of May 1915. Drawing on eyewitness records of people from across London, this local history looks at how the First World War changed life in the city.

This local history explores the experiences of the people of Liverpool during the First World War as thousands enlisted in the Army, and especially Navy, and those left behind carried on the important work of one of Britain’s principal ports.

The King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment was the destination for many of Lancaster’s young men in 1914. This study of the city’s experience of the war draws on regimental records as well as first-hand accounts and contemporary documents and photographs.

One of Bradford’s key industries – wool and textiles – suffered at the outbreak of war as Germany was a key customer and also the main supplier of dyes. The city’s skilled needlewomen were soon in demand again making army uniforms and supplies.

To supplement the workforce manufacturing grenades at the Mills Munition Works, 15,000 people moved to Birmingham. This local history recalls the impact their arrival had on life on the home front and recounts the experiences of the city’s enlisted men.

This illustrated guide offers easy-to-follow instructions for 101 screen-free pastimes such as burying a time capsule, building a marble run, setting up a secret society and making a sundial. Age 7+

The 36-hour curfew imposed by the British Army on the Catholic Falls Road area from 3–5 July 1970 was a turning point in the Northern Ireland conflict. Drawing on interviews with those on both sides, this history tells how a weapons search escalated into rioting and a gun battle that left four dead and 75 injured, charts the background to the curfew, discusses its legality, and assesses its consequences.

The task of running a railway safely is not a simple matter: propelling heavy equipment, passengers and freight cross-country through varying terrains and weather is a major technical and mechanical feat. This collection of anecdotes from railway operators gives a personal view of some of the perils of the business, from derailments and trains spotted with no brakes, to the challenges of transporting lion cubs.

In this detailed Cold War history, the ‘daughters’ of the title are the Eastern European countries where organizations such as the Stasi, overseen and trained by the KGB, undertook surveillance of and control of their own citizens, and carried out covert operations and assassinations abroad.

The former England all-rounder was shunned by fellow professionals after he made allegations of match fixing in the 1990s and was later jailed for drug offences. This biography tells his side of the story and how he is putting his life back together.

From a battered body discovered in the River Wear in 1839 to the woman who poisoned at least two husbands in the 1950s, these 13 notorious crimes made headline news across the country. They include one case which remains unsolved.

The son of a wealthy peer, Ivor Montagu founded the London Film Society to champion the art form – but his overriding interest was in communism. Based on interviews and archival research, this biography follows these two concerns, recounting a career that included making documentaries about the Spanish Civil War, producing several of Hitchcock’s films and spying for Russia, while remaining blind until the end of his life to the horrors of Stalin’s regime.

With a collection of 100 photographs and informative captions, Hucknall surveys the merchant shipping industry since the late 1990s in sections on container ships, general cargo vessels, ro-ros, bulk carriers, reefers, passenger ships, tugs and tankers.

John Osborne hailed him as ‘the greatest actor since Brando’; the New York Times called him ‘the terrible tiger of the English stage’. Nicol Williamson (1936–2011) was as renowned for his hellraising as for his Shakespearian heroes. This biography is based on the recollections of his family and fellow actors and follows his brilliant but chequered career, tracing the origins of his uncompromising and ultimately self-destructive genius in his tough Clydeside upbringing.

This blend of memoir and social history explores the experiences of the generation born in the aftermath of the Second World War. Decade by decade, from rationing to the internet, it notes not only events of national and international importance, such as the Cuban missile crisis, but changes to the fabric of everyday life: pop music, ready meals, shell suits and reality TV.

This encyclopedic reference book analyses the most serious aviation accidents of the last seven decades, focusing on incidents in which more than 50 people died. It includes summaries of accident reports, accompanied by insights into the technical details, and diagrams and photographs of the relevant aeroplanes. This approach also demonstrates the way that the nature of accidents has changed over the years, as various hazards were identified and safety features introduced in response.

Many families owe their present location to travel, whether emigration to the USA, transportation to Australia or migration from the Caribbean. This book charts the main sea routes, describes conditions on board ship, and details the records researchers can consult to trace their ancestors’ journey.

This account of the friendship between a young Indian servant and the elderly queen is based on contemporary journals and letters and has since been made into a film starring Judi Dench. It details Abdul Karim’s controversial role as ‘Munshi’ (teacher) of Urdu and Indian affairs to the Empress, who is revealed as a progressive, passionate woman who defended her ‘Dear Abdul’ to the last. Slightly off-mint.

The three-wheeled Reliant Robin became something of a joke in British motoring during the 1980s but its practical design, low running costs and competitive price tag proved a successful formula in the 1970s for both private motoring and light commercial use. This account of the thirty-year career of the innovative fibreglass car also explores the company's other surprising models such as the sporty Bond Bug and the luxury Scimitar sports estate.