A most interesting book and I really liked the way the author presented the story. Each chapter lists the date, place and name/s of the condemned. You not only get the story of the hangman himself but of the convicted as well. The author does a notable job of presenting an engrossing tale and his research shows. You will find this one hard to put down. Bonus pictures at the end.
NetGalley, Christine Cazeneuve
A most interesting book and I really liked the way the author presented the story. Each chapter lists the date, place and name/s of the condemned. You not only get the story of the hangman himself but of the convicted as well. The author does a notable job of presenting an engrossing tale and his research shows. You will find this one hard to put down. Bonus pictures at the end.
NetGalley, Christine Cazeneuve
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars
An interesting and in-depth look at Elizabeth Tudor’s heirs and the man who won the race to succeed her - James I.
NetGalley, Caroline Palmer
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars
An interesting and in-depth look at Elizabeth Tudor’s heirs and the man who won the race to succeed her - James I.
NetGalley, Caroline Palmer
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating. I was unaware of Ellen Ternan and the allegation that she was Dickens’ mistress. In the spirit of Gradgrind, the author bases his views on facts and draws a different conclusion. I feel confident that the author’s career as a research scientist leaves him well equipped to gather facts, apply analytical skills and form a different and more challenging view. His insight is forensic in detail and I believe his reappraisal is worthy of consideration. He gives a brief overview of Dickens and I was interested to note that current views about the relationship with Ellen are based on two rather dated and skewed biographies. Both concluded she was his mistress, but facts to support that are thin. Ruck looks at Ellen’s life in earlier years and draws on resources already in the public domain. These include letters, literary references, other biographies, contemporaneous records and more. There's a comprehensive index and a number of interesting.. Read more
NetGalley, Anita Wallas
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating. I was unaware of Ellen Ternan and the allegation that she was Dickens’ mistress. In the spirit of Gradgrind, the author bases his views on facts and draws a different conclusion. I feel confident that the author’s career as a research scientist leaves him well equipped to gather facts, apply analytical skills and form a different and more challenging view. His insight is forensic in detail and I believe his reappraisal is worthy of consideration. He gives a brief overview of Dickens and I was interested to note that current views about the relationship with Ellen are based on two rather dated and skewed biographies. Both concluded she was his mistress, but facts to support that are thin. Ruck looks at Ellen’s life in earlier years and draws on resources already in the public domain. These include letters, literary references, other biographies, contemporaneous records and more. There's a comprehensive index and a number of interesting.. Read more
NetGalley, Anita Wallas
If you look at the other reviews posted here, most – if not all – are from reviewers outside the US (where I live). If you ask many of your friends over, say, 60 years old (anyone younger would not appreciate the “Carry on” films) they would probably respond, “Wasn’t That the sex comedy ‘Carry on Nurse’?” Well, that’s where – in 1959 – at age 15 (!) I first saw the film No “ratings then” and I’ll always remember the daisy (flower) that is used in one of the final scenes. Well, many years later – when DVDs were introduce-, I was given a set of the TV version – which is not as funny as the films. But I found the film collection. Yes, they were dated by but the cast was funny (most times). So, I recently heard about this book “When the Carry On Stopped” (WTCOS)” –and I was sent a copy by the publisher for an objective review. Then I saw another book “Carry on Regardless” from the same publisher. It was first published in 2022 but revised in 2025.. Read more
Steve Ramm - Amazon Reviewer
If you look at the other reviews posted here, most – if not all – are from reviewers outside the US (where I live). If you ask many of your friends over, say, 60 years old (anyone younger would not appreciate the “Carry on” films) they would probably respond, “Wasn’t That the sex comedy ‘Carry on Nurse’?” Well, that’s where – in 1959 – at age 15 (!) I first saw the film No “ratings then” and I’ll always remember the daisy (flower) that is used in one of the final scenes. Well, many years later – when DVDs were introduce-, I was given a set of the TV version – which is not as funny as the films. But I found the film collection. Yes, they were dated by but the cast was funny (most times). So, I recently heard about this book “When the Carry On Stopped” (WTCOS)” –and I was sent a copy by the publisher for an objective review. Then I saw another book “Carry on Regardless” from the same publisher. It was first published in 2022 but revised in 2025.. Read more
Steve Ramm - Amazon Reviewer
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars
I was always intrigued by the life of Eva Peron so this was a really interesting book to come across. I found it so informative and full of information. I highly recommend it if you are interested in her life and history.
NetGalley, Jill Speedman
[b]Rating[/b]: 5 out of 5 stars
I was always intrigued by the life of Eva Peron so this was a really interesting book to come across. I found it so informative and full of information. I highly recommend it if you are interested in her life and history.
NetGalley, Jill Speedman
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Beneath the Big Top
Beneath the Big Top is a social history of the circus, from its ancient roots to the rise of the 'modern' tented travelling shows. A performer and founder of a circus group, Steve Ward draws on eye-witness accounts and contemporary interviews to explore the triumphs and disasters of the circus world. He reveals the stories beneath the big top during… Read more...
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British Music Hall
'The music hall ...had no place for reticence; it was downright, it shouted, it made noise, it enjoyed itself and made the people enjoy themselves as well.' W.J. MACQUEEN POPE Music Hall lies at the root of all modern popular entertainment. With stars such as Marie Lloyd, Harry Lauder and Dan Leno, it reached its glorious, brassy height between 1890… Read more...
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The Victorian Guide to Sex
An exciting factual romp through sexual desire, practises and deviance in the Victorian era. The Victorian Guide to Sex will reveal advice and ideas on sexuality from the Victorian period. Drawing on both satirical and real life events from the period, it explores every facet of sexuality that the Victorians encountered. Reproducing original advertisements… Read more...
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A Guide To War Publications of the First & Second World War
In WW2 information leaflets and posters proliferated. Soldiers were bombarded with Field Regulations, airmen with the latest updates about airborne early warning, bomb sights and radio navigation and sailors with material that helped them identify enemy aircraft and submarines and told them how to operate the new ship board weapons to destroy them.… Read more...
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The Courage of Cowards
To many they were nothing more than cowards, but the 'conchies' of the First World War had the courage to stand by their principles when the nation was against them... An innovative new history of conscientious objectors during the First World War. Drawing on previously unpublished archive material, Karyn Burnham reconstructs the personal stories of… Read more...
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Tracing Your Coalmining Ancestors
In the 1920s there were over a million coalminers working in over 3000 collieries across Great Britain, and the industry was one of the most important and powerful in British history. It dominated the lives of generations of individuals, their families and communities, and its legacy is still with us today – many of us have a coalmining ancestor.… Read more...
"A richly entertaining account of tragic theatre accidents and murders most foul. If theatre walls could talk, what secrets would they reveal? Chris Wood provides fascinating answers with tales of brawling ushers, murderously jealous husbands, stampeding crowds and infant tragedies. A meticulously researched and vivid collection of lives lost in the… Read more...
Nothing focuses the mind more starkly than impending death. Its inevitable spectre greets us all; from princes to paupers and nobility to the needy. Prepare to mount the scaffold and share in the final utterings of the condemned; join the stricken in their death beds and witness unburdened tongues wag their closing, and often remarkable confessions… Read more...
Gainsborough’s Fred Spiksley was one of the first working class youngsters in 1887 to live ‘the dream’ of becoming a professional footballer, before later finding a role as a globe-trotting coach. He thus dodged the inevitability of industrial, poorly paid, dangerous labour. Lightning fast, Spiksley created and scored hundreds of goals including,… Read more...
In 1968 a group of young people took over a derelict trouser factory in a rundown part of Leeds and set about producing programmes that were to define the British television world of the late 20th Century. These included the investigative documentary series First Tuesday, Darling Buds of May, Whickers World, Dont Ask Me and Heartbeat. At the same time… Read more...
The Real Beatrix Potter is a fascinating and revealing biography of one of the world's most cherished children's authors. Beatrix Potter's famous little white books have enchanted generations of young readers who adored the characters she created and of course her own distinctive illustrations. Born into a typically repressed Victorian family it was… Read more...
'It is all free fighting here. Even some of the windows do not open, so it is useless to cry for help. Dampness and misery, violence and wrong, have left their handwriting in perfectly legible characters on the walls.' - Manchester Guardian, 1870 Step into the Victorian underworld of Angel Meadow, the vilest and most dangerous slum of the Industrial… Read more...