Recommended Reads
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James Maury Esq First American Consul to the Port of Liverpool 1790–1829
The author’s intention is to provide an historical account of a little-known part of American history in the Port of Liverpool by illustrating the life of James Maury, an American tobacco merchant from Virginia who became the first American Consul to the Port of Liverpool.
Maury, who had arrived in Liverpool in 1786 to establish his tobacco house, went on to become American Consul to the port from 1790 to 1829. As Consul, Maury was issued with two prime directives. He was to protect all American citizens and their interests within his consular jurisdiction and to promote the necessary trade between the two nations. This Maury did in exemplary fashion. Maury’s day-to-day duties consisted of dealing with impressments, desertions, assisting sick and distressed mariners, and in the issuing of passports.
Maury as Consul was the prime architect in establishing the American Chamber of Commerce in Liverpool in 1801, in order to collectively fight and protect all merchant members in the American trade from unfair excessive dock and customs charges. And for his efforts Maury was elected the Chamber’s first chairman and president. The Chamber then became the catalyst for organised mercantile, commercial and trade networking between the Liverpool and American merchants during the nineteenth century.
In 1821, due to the volume of sick and distressed American mariners arriving at the port, Maury established and administrated an American Hospital with great success. As an entrepreneur, Maury had established a successful Virginian tobacco house, and from the proceeds he became a very wealthy man and the owner of five ocean going vessels. Maury was also a family man, who met and married an educated English woman, a Margaret Rutson, and together they raised five children on an English education.
The story is compiled from the many consular and personal letters of James Maury, and also from the letters of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and John Quincy Adams, all of whom had written to Maury whilst he was Consul at Liverpool. The personal letters of Maury’s daughter Ann are also included.
James Maury, an American patriot who became an English gentleman, was a religious and benevolent man, who did so much for all American citizens and mariners who passed through his Consular District. From my many years of research, I firmly believe Maury played a significant, and indeed pivotal, role in the advancement of the port of Liverpool in the American trade and also made a considerable contribution to the improvement of Anglo-American trade relations from the period 1790 to 1829.
£32.99 -
The Verse Anthem: Byrd To Tomkins
The ‘Verse Anthem’, a type of choral composition peculiar to the Church of England and mostly intended for Matins and Evensong, involved solo voice(s) with instrumental accompaniment alternating with passages for full choir.
In Elizabethan and Jacobean times much of the most forward-looking music was cast in this form: indeed, it was the preferred type of religious composition for some of the leading composers, and it had the advantage that the solo lines could deliver the texts in a manner that was more easily grasped by an illiterate congregation than was music for full choir singing in counterpoint.
It is strange, then, that no full-scale study of the form has been published until now. This book traces the development of the form from its beginnings during the final years of Elizabeth I to the point where the Commonwealth put an end to English Cathedral Music. The output of that half century is of a fascinating kind, and includes music of the very highest quality, some of it still unknown today.
£11.99 -
The Bank Account
Young people! The money you receive, whether as pocket money or gifts at Christmas and birthdays, is often spent too quickly on meaningless items. But once it is gone, it is gone forever.
Look inside The Bank Account and discover how the animals of a magical forest taught Charlotte and Olivia the value of saving their money.
In woods and forests everywhere, animals play happily throughout the year. When food is plentiful, they gather and store the surplus so they never go hungry during the harsh winter and early spring.
Learn how to save your spare pocket money. Like the mighty and wise oak tree, your savings will grow and grow and help you later in life.
Learn how to bank.
£15.99 -
The Footprints of Mormonism
Many of us have had the experience of finding two nice young people with white shirts knocking on their door and finding out they are Mormon missionaries. The Mormon faith is uniquely noted for sending such missionaries all over the world. The founder of Mormonism was Joseph Smith and the study of his life, though complex, is most interesting at the same time.
To his followers, Joseph Smith is considered to be second in importance only to Jesus Christ in all of Church history. How Smith came to lead this movement is a captivating story on its own, and how he came to die is a sordid tale in American history. The Mormon faith started out as just a small inner circle of Joseph Smith’s relatives and it has grown to be a very large movement of multiple millions of adherents.
Most of the early leaders of Mormonism were very controversial because they practiced polygamy which they called celestial marriage. Joseph Smith himself had at least thirty-seven wives. Brigham Young, the second leader of the Church, had over fifty wives. The main Mormon body with its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah, has long since abandoned polygamous practice. Splinter groups, however, separated from the main Utah Church and continue even today the practice of polygamy.
One of those main splinter churches is centred in Colorado City, Arizona. This Fundamentalist group asserts that polygamy is a deep spiritual duty ordered by God Himself that is required to reach the highest heaven. Warren Jeffs is the leader of this group, and some estimate that he has around eighty-seven wives. He however is no longer with any of his wives because he is now serving multiple years in jail for sex crimes connected to minors.
This book covers all of the foregoing matters in refined detail and provides new insight and research into all of the issues connected to the history, the theology and the politics of the Mormon faith.
£17.99 -
Sally Siamese Learns to Save
Sally has learned her lesson not to spend, so now she puts her new savings skills into action, investing and giving back to those in need. Come on this fun adventure with Sally as she discovers hidden talents, and the importance of not being afraid to ask her new friends for help.
Complete with parent guidelines and discussion points, it will have the family talking about saving habits that will last a lifetime.
£10.99 -
The Bridegroom and I
Throughout the Bible, God uses the sacred bond between a bridegroom and his bride to illustrate the depths of His love for His people. Jesus speaks of this even more intimately in the Gospels, urging His followers to be ready for His return and the great wedding feast to come. In the Book of Revelation, believers are likened to the Bride of Christ, called into a divine relationship with Him.
In this book, Helen explores this profound connection through poetry, inviting readers to experience the beauty and intimacy of…
The Bridegroom and I.
£7.99 -
I Swear by Azania
I Swear by Azania is set in post-apartheid South Africa. The story follows Azania, a girl with Pseudoachondroplasia who was born to an Aboriginal Australian father, and a white South African Afrikaner mother. After Azania’s mother commits suicide, she is sent to live with her racist aunt, where Azania is subjected to a life of abuse, neglect and misery. The story takes a deeper look into how racism and discrimination direly affected the lives of characters such as Dingane and Elise from the time of when Apartheid in South Africa was at its peak, to the present post-Apartheid. We see that even though Apartheid was repealed in 1991 (leading to the democratic elections of 1994), the cruel, racist and discriminative legacy of Apartheid still continues to live on.
£7.99 -
The Mind's Eye
These three stories are designed to be read aloud to a young child. Unusually, they are not illustrated but aim to prompt the child’s own “mind’s eye”, encouraging the development of visual images which can be neglected in our screen-dominated times. The overall length of each story allows the child to follow and retain simple plot and character developments over time, while shorter chapters create a satisfying whole for one reading session. The author’s experience shows that young children can enjoy and be stimulated by quite demanding vocabulary and sentence structure. Each story combines everyday family life with exciting encounters with magical beings.
£12.99 -
Mad Hatter MD
‘Have you ever been told your illness is all in your head, your pain threshold is unusually low or if you’ve been dismissed by or undermined by a medic, read this.
Dr Anita is an expert, she sees the system through both sets of eyes and trust me, she’s taking no prisoners. Not with the system and how and where it fails, but also with her brutal honesty around her own illness, her desperation for an accurate diagnosis, the cause, and a cure.’
Maz FarrellyThis book is a cautionary tale of a ‘Lady Doctor’ who found herself stuck in a fairy tale of pain, disenchantment, and abandonment.
Forced to dive down the ‘rabbit hole’ of modern-day medicine, over a three-year period, she encountered obstacles and characters, who consistently challenged, and disregard her.
Out of desperation, and afraid of insanity, she explored mythology, medicine, naturopathy, toxins, pain, and trauma, to better understand her illness...
Was she, crazy like Alice?
Fading away, like the Cheshire Cat?
Or as mad as a Hatter?
£9.99 -
Lucian's Buggy Adventures
Join Lucian on an exciting adventure as he shrinks down and discovers the magical world of creepy crawlies in his own backyard!
Along the way, he meets a helpful cricket, dances with a buzzing bee, digs tunnels with an earthworm, and even learns that some bugs love his least favorite vegetable: spinach!
This delightful series offers plenty of laughs for young readers while teaching important lessons about the world around us and the value of all creatures, no matter how small.
£9.99 -
Tommy's Box
Tommy sees an empty box outside and his mind begins to grow. The possibilities are endless, where can he go? Join Tommy on his adventure as he meets some new friends along the way. Where will he go? What will he see? An empty box has endless possibilities.
£8.99 -
Donkey’s Years
Have you ever found yourself thinking back to things you haven’t done in a very long time?
Well, that’s what Hugo the Hippopotamus and his best friend Fergus the Oxpecker end up doing one day.
They reminisce about past events before a smashing ending!
£8.99
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