Social History

The untold story of rural Britain revealed through its artefacts 'A really lovely, fascinating book. I dived straight into this clever, joyous, celebration of nature, history, and - of course - the countryside.'...

Book of the Year in the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and New Statesman'A powerful illumination of a lost world that is nevertheless part of living memory.' Simon Heffer, 'Books of the Year' , Daily Telegraph'A joyous new book on post-war Britain.' Daily...

First published in 2000, Dipesh Chakrabarty's influential Provincializing Europe addresses the mythical figure of Europe that is often taken to be the original site of modernity in many histories of capitalist transition in non-Western countries. This...

Discover the fascinating stories behind some 300 species of fungi and understand the world of mushrooms like never before!Did you know that fungi put the fizz in champagne and the flavour in chocolate? Fungi is everywhere we look: in a forest, under the...

As long as we have been human, we have been mythmakers. In A Short History of Myth, Karen Armstrong holds up the mirror of mythology to show us the history of ourselves, and embarks on a journey that begins at a Neanderthal graveside and ends buried in...

This groundbreaking history of Victorian politics, feminism and parliamentary reform challenges traditional assumptions about the development of British democracy and the struggle for women's rights and demonstrates how political activity has been shaped...

A lost princess and a vanished world: a remarkable true story that moves from the Punjab of the Raj to 1930s Paris and the cataclysm of the Second World War'Remarkable and compelling. I loved this book' Edmund de Waal'A thoroughly engaging read' Kamila...

Acerbic, wisecracking and hilarious, this is the definitive essay collection from New York legend and satirist, Fran Lebowitz, star of Martin Scorsese's hit Netflix series, Pretend It's a City.'The gold standard for intelligence, efficiency and humour...

Shortlisted for the BBC Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction 2011. Life is on the up. We are wealthier, healthier, happier, kinder, cleaner, more peaceful, more equal and longer-lived than any previous generation. Thanks to the...

'Brilliant . . . really made me realise how no one has pulled back and given an overall story to the last 20 years . . . It's clever because it makes me think about now' ADAM CURTIS, FILMMAKERBritney, Paris, Lindsay, Aaliyah, Janet, Amy, Kim, Chyna, Jen...

'Absolutely fascinating . . . A must-read for anyone enthralled by the value and integrity of books' Janice Hallett, author of The Alperton AngelsA true detective story from the age of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers: the literary crime that fooled...

Our success as a species is built on sociability, so shyness in humans should be an anomaly. But it's actually remarkably common - we all know what it's like to cringe in embarrassment, stand tongue-tied at the fringe of an unfamiliar group, or flush...

From Emperors and empresses, poets and prostitutes, slaves and plebs, Ancient Rome was a wealth of different experiences and expectations. None more so than around the subject of sex and sexuality. The image of Ancient Rome that has come down to us is...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING 2023 A WATERSTONES BOOK OF YEAR FOR POLITICS 2023 'I learned something new on every page of this totally essential book'...

'This riveting behind-the-scenes story of the clothes on our backs is a must-read for clotheshorses everywhere' Harper's Bazaar 'Extraordinary . . . fascinating . . . a wonderful way into history, quite often through the voices of people who don't have...

In his rich and nuanced portrait of the remarkable, elusive Rothschild family, Oxford scholar and bestselling author Niall Ferguson uncovers the secrets behind the family's phenomenal economic success. He reveals for the first time the details of the...

Cornwall's landscape is intertwined with the county's folklore and legends. In Illustrated Tales of Cornwall, author John Husband explores a multitude of mysterious happenings, haunted places and strange tales from ancient times to the modern day. This...

A concise, illustrated guide to these Second World War defences scattered across the British landscape. With invasion a very real threat, in 1940 Great Britain began a huge military construction programme designed to stop an invading army in its...

The remarkable life of the vivacious, clever - and forgotten - Kennedy sister, who charmed the English aristocracy and was almost erased from her family history. The favourite child of Joe Kennedy and favourite sister...

Until now much of the early history of ice hockey in Scotland has been neglected or forgotten - metaphorically frozen in time, lying buried under the ice. Here, for the first time, is a comprehensive and social history of both the Club and International...

In the century since its birth, the crossword has evolved into the world's most popular intellectual pastime: a unique form of wordplay, the codes and conventions of which are open to anyone masochistic enough to get addicted. In Two Girls, One on Each...

Although Hannah Arendt is considered one of the major contributors to social and political thought in the twentieth century, this is the first general anthology of her writings. This volume includes selections from her major works, including The Origins...

'A fascinating journey through the game's history [as] a vehicle of change' Shaka Hislop 'Correia takes us around the world to examine how football has produced the kind of political energy that can change minds and even topple governments' Dave Zirin...

The first authorized copy of this mysterious, much-speculated-upon, one-of-a-kind, centuries-old puzzle"For the first time, a complete reproduction [of] The Voynich Manuscript, has been published, featuring essays exploring what is known about the book...

From the Sunday Times bestselling author, a dazzling, globe-spanning history of humankind's greatest invention: the city.'Brilliant...enchanting' Evening Standard 'Exhilarating' New York TimesThe story of the city is the story of civilisation. From Uruk...

Native Americans make up less than one per cent of the total US population but represent half the nation's languages and cultures. Here, in one grand sweep, is the full story of Native American society, culture and religion. Here is everything from the...

The perfect stocking filler for anyone who imagines themselves flying a spitfire . . . Drop your visiting cards, put aside your beer-lever, stop being a half-pint hero and discover the gloriously funny slang which was part of everyday life in two world...

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, everybody in Britain knew that the civilian population would be affected far more than they had been in the First World War. As aircraft got more advanced, Britain's cities came within range and were...

An engaging, richly illustrated account of parish churches and churchgoers in England, from the Anglo-Saxons to the mid-sixteenth century Parish churches were at the heart of English religious and social life in the Middle Ages and the sixteenth century...

A beautifully illustrated history of Britain's most revered and valued institution: the NHS. In March 2020 the UK went into lockdown to help contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect the NHS from one of the greatest threats that it has faced in its...

Quadratic equations, Pythagoras' theorem, imaginary numbers, and pi - you may remember studying these at school, but did anyone ever explain why? Never fear - bestselling science writer, and your new favourite maths teacher, Michael Brooks is here to...

The past is a foreign country: this is your guidebook.If you could travel back in time, the period from 1660 to 1700 would make one of the most exciting destinations in history. It is the age of Samuel Pepys and the Great Fire of London; bawdy comedy and...

'I read the book with enormous appreciation. Tessa Boase brings all these long-ago housekeepers so movingly to life and her excitement in the research is palpable.' Fay Weldon: Novelist, playwright - and housekeeper's daughter Revelatory, gripping and...

A SPECTATOR and PROSPECT Book of the Year'Ceaselessly interesting, knowledgeable and evocative' Spectator'A fresh way to write history' Alan Johnson'A quirky, amused, erudite homage to France . . . ambitious and original' The Times_____France: An...

Paris Review contributor Katy Kelleher explores our obsession with gorgeous things, unveiling the fraught histories of makeup, flowers, perfume, silk, and other beautiful objects. April recommended reading by the New York Times Book Review, Vanity Fair,...

The extraordinary true story of the Stasi's poetry club: Stasiland and The Lives of Others crossed with Dead Poets Society.'Engrossing.' Observer'Remarkable.' The Times'Magnificent.' Phillipe Sands'Gripping.' Literary Review'A history so outlandish and...

A fascinating slice of social history - Jennifer Worth's tales of being a midwife in 1950s London, now a major BBC TV series.Jennifer Worth came from a sheltered background when she became a midwife in the Docklands in the 1950s. The conditions in which...

'It's rare for a book to make you see the world differently, but this ... does exactly that on almost every page' Guardian Standard histories of technology give tired accounts of the usual inventions, inventors, and dates, framing technology as the...

'The finest book ever written about England and the English' Stuart Maconie 'J. B. Priestley is one of our literary icons of the 20th Century and it is time that we all became re-acquainted with his...

City of Dreams is the long overdue, inspiring, and defining account of New York's both famous and forgotten immigrants: the young man from the Caribbean who relocated to New York and became a founding father; Russian born Emma Goldman, who condoned the...