City of Tears: The Dark History of Paris

If you were standing on the very spot where Joan of Arc was wounded by an arrow, wouldn’t you want to know?

Beneath the brilliance and the grandeur of Paris is a city that few people know. It lingers in the dark shadows of the past, if only you knew where to look.

For 21 centuries, Paris has been the epicenter of countless invasions, occupations, civil wars, sieges, rebellions, assassinations, coups, massacres, executions, epidemics – and, of course, a world-shattering revolution.

In 40 brief stories, City of Tears will guide you through Paris’s astonishingly turbulent history – from the Roman conquest to World War I – and point you to the very sites where momentous events occurred. Along the way, you will meet a parade of personalities: Ragnar Lodbrok, the Templars, Joan of Arc, Catherine de’ Medici, the Sun King, Marie Antoinette, Louis XVII, the two Napoleons, Alfred Dreyfus, and dozens of other fascinating characters who shaped the history of the beautiful city we know today.

The Fugitive Shakespeare and Sonnet 144

THE FUGITIVE SHAKESPEARE

AND

SONNET 144

The discovery of a 16^th century manuscript version of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 144 is the most important historical and literary find ever made relating to Shakespearean studies. The date of composition of this manuscript indicates ca.1577-78 when William Shakspere (the original spelling of his family name) was aged between 13-14 which would suggest that he couldn’t have written this Sonnet because he was too young. The story behind this discovery and how the document was found is as astonishing as how the document has managed to survive for over 400 years. The connection in this story between Shakespeare and the famous playwright Ben Jonson is also explored as it was Jonson who provided the most important evidence that Shakespeare was the author of the First Folio which was published in 1623.

“At last, after more than four hundred years there is a glimmer of light at the end of the

tunnel, a significant Shakespearean clue has been discovered which may help to solve the Shakespeare authorship question.”

– Sir Derek Jacobi, award-winning Shakespearean actor.

Crowning Glory

As a nation, we like to think we know everything about our Kings and Queens. William I conquered in 1066, Henry VIII had six wives and Queen Victoria was ‘not amused’… But do these ‘pub-quiz facts’ provide a genuine picture of what our monarchs were really like as living, breathing people? As the reader shall find, there is a treasure-trove of wit, wisdom and wonder waiting to be discovered.

Crowning Glory wipes away the cobwebs of fuddy-duddy facts and breathes new life into this surprisingly addictive aspect of history. It challenges our basic understanding of the subject by introducing readers to a colourful cast of characters and revealing little-known insights.

This book reminds us that, behind the formality of the crown, are real human beings. Like you and me, they have known success, failure, sorrow, and laughter. The lives of our kings and queens are so much more vivid than boring, old dates, figures, and facts.

The PI (π) Cycle Secret of the 360-days year calendar

In The PI (π) Cycle, discover the fascinating history of the ancient calendar and how it was ultimately changed by the will of God. Follow the story of King Hezekiah of Judea, whose life was extended by 15 years, and learn about the ground-breaking calendar reforms of Julius Caesar. Explore the observations of ancient astronomers, including the Egyptians and Hipparchus, and how they tracked the length of the year. Uncover the mysteries of how the earth generates natural time at God’s command and how it was altered to accommodate King Hezekiah’s request. This thought-provoking book will leave you marvelling at the power of God and the complexity of time.

Mary, Queen of Scots Slept Here

Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate her throne in Scotland and fled to England, seeking help from Queen Elizabeth I to regain her throne. However, Queen Elizabeth, fearing Catholic plots to replace her with Mary, was not inclined to offer assistance. Instead, she ensured that Mary was housed in castles and manors owned by her own supporters.

Mary became a definite prisoner, guarded by people trusted by Elizabeth. Gradually, she was moved through England to her final imprisonment in Fotheringhay Castle, leading to the final chapter of her tempestuous life.

Bubbles, Crashes and Financial Disasters

Throughout history, the allure of promising opportunities has often ignited a speculative frenzy, arousing the get-rich-quick syndrome in millions of credulous souls, driving them to the extremes of ambition and greed in their quest for wealth. The symptoms of such behaviour frequently manifest during the build-up to a market crash, when months or even years of gains are wiped out in mere hours. This phenomenon is known as the ‘boom-and-bust scenario’, characterized by an economic bubble followed by a devastating crash.

In this book, we delve into a number of remarkable events that have taken place between the seventeenth century and the present day, culminating in enormous financial losses for the general public or even the collapse of entire economies. The Great Crash of 1929 and some of the instances depicted from the 1980s onwards had seismic effects felt on a global scale.

Today, despite living in a highly sophisticated world of economic regulation, financial manipulation, and extensive application of fiscal policy, economic bubbles still seem to burgeon from invisible beginnings, grow rapidly out of control, and then fragment into a melee of problems for modern society. While many believe that the random forces of human nature are responsible, spiralling out of control during periods of heady speculation, others share a different view. They argue that large economic bubbles are non-organic, engineered from within the system itself.

This book takes a light-hearted journey through the subject matter, considering both the historical events and the intriguing possibility that financial engineering plays a role in the creation and destruction of economic bubbles.

Robin Unhooded

Two great mysteries of English history – who was the real Robin Hood and who killed William II, ‘Rufus’, in the New Forest, in 1100? ROBIN unHOODed presents new evidence in solving these unanswered questions of our history. Perhaps the most in-depth, innovative study of these mysteries for decades, Peter Staveley’s ground breaking book provides totally fresh and startling hypotheses - once the hood is off. The search for Robin’s true identity has led to a plethora of books over many years and the dust-covers of these volumes might lead one to believe that the mystery was indeed solved. However, not one of the various suggestions put forward have ever seemed truly convincing as fitting the life and character of the man depicted in the original ballads…until now.

ROBIN UnHOODed uncovers not only a totally fresh candidate for the man behind the myth but also the identity of many of the other well-known protagonists. This detailed study reveals a man whose life and times would have mirrored precisely those depicted in the original ballads. Placing Robin in an era a full century prior to that timeline of Prince John and King Richard I, so loved by Hollywood directors, Robin is implicated in the death of King William II, Rufus. Startling new evidence regarding the plot to kill the king and a CSI style investigation of the death, reveals previously unseen elements to explain those mysterious events in the New Forest in August 1100 that changed our history.

The final tragic dénouement of Robin Hood’s death is revisited in refreshing new detail. Actual personages are identified for the treacherous prioress and Roger, her lover, and a totally new location for the whole débâcle is revealed.

This new work of historical detection will shatter many of the myths surrounding the legend of Robin Hood and reveals the real man under the hood.

1st August

When ethnarchy emerged as an institution in Syria, the Cypriots were federated under the Koinon and continued to do so during the next five centuries. Well-known Roman personages were connected to the island including Marcus Cato and Cicero. The first religious leaders, Saint Paul, Barnabas, and Lazarus came one century later. Christian emissaries came in the fourth century, starting from Saint Helena. Later, Spyrido, Epiphany and others implemented the imperial orders issued by the emperors up to the time of Justinian. These emissaries abolished the Koinon, and the Synod convened by the Church took over temporal authority.

The Crusaders, as from the end of the 12th century, established a feudal rule under Kings Guy, Aimery, Hugh I, Henry I [the fat], Hugh II, Hugh III, John I, Henry II, Hugh IV, Peter I, Peter II, James I, Janus, John II, James II, and Katerina Cornaro. During their reign, they were under the suzerainty Frederic II, Emperor of Germany, replaced by the Pope, as from 1233.

From the time of King John II, in 1432, a second embassy left for Kairo, recognizing one more servitude to the Mamluk Sultan and the payment of tax. Venice took over in 1489 and the Ottomans in 1571. The quasi-ethnarchy under Constitutio Cypria came to an end and was replaced by the Oath of Submission to the Ottoman Sultan enforced up to 1927; however, Archbishop Makarios III retained the ethnarch title during his lifetime up to the year 1977.

The History of Skipton

The History of Skipton is the most comprehensive history of the town for almost 150 years. The book focuses on the life of ordinary Skipton townsfolk and their health, hygiene, work and recreation. Covering the period from the Norman Conquest to the 21st century, The History of Skipton uses long-forgotten reports and archives to reveal many details which have never been published before.

RAF 100 Group - Kindred Spirits

This remarkable book brings together for the first time writings of RAF 100 Group who, during WWII, flew secret operations deep into the heart of Germany - identifying and jamming enemy radar, working with Bletchley Park and the Y-Service, supporting SOE and the Resistance.Over 55,000 men died in Bomber Command, the highest casualty rate of any Unit. On VE Day, Churchill praised those who contributed to victory, with one glaring omission - Bomber Command, of which this Group was a valued part. What happened to his stirring words: ‘The fighters are our salvation, but the bombers alone provide the means of victory'?Seventy years on, RAF 100 Group remains shrouded in mystery, their families unaware as veterans take their secrets to the grave.This book represents a tribute, a Memorial, proof of their existence, finally giving them recognition so richly deserved.

One Family’s Journey Through Ten Centuries

We trace one family, generation by generation, throughout the one thousand years of the second millennium. The trilogy sets the family within its social environment, describing its migration from the continent, and across England, Scotland, and Ireland to settle in the New World. From that we get a vivid picture of what affected, motivated, worried, and encouraged this Saxon family and how they coped. Since the migration of this family was typical for the time, this study is relevant to millions of people in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, whose ancestors followed the same general migratory path.Book I specifically covers the feudal period in the Middle Ages (1000 – 1560), where a feudal autocrat and an avaricious pope, between them, owned and controlled everything. Throughout, the family became our witnesses to many of the historic events of the feudal period: the Battle of Hastings, Anglo-Saxon resistance, the plague, the Little Ice Age, the Great Starvation, Guilds, the building of great cathedrals and castles, and the gradual decline in the king’s power and control.In 1067 William the Conqueror appointed Honfroi de Insula de L’lle as the Dominus of the area around the feudal village of Combe, Wiltshire. He permitted Honfroi to live and build a motte and bailey castle there to assist in keeping the peace. The front image is Castle Combe as it appears today.

Kendall's Longitude

Lost at sea: every mariner’s fear.Maritime navigational tools could find latitude, but finding longitude remained elusive until Harrison developed the reliable sea clock, H4. Building on H4’s success, Kendall made a series of nautical timekeepers, K1, K2 and K3. This is the story of the K2 timekeeper; its adventurous voyages, the people it touched, and its place in history. K2’s first voyage, accompanied by the young Nelson, was nearly its last in the crushing Arctic ice. The next two expeditions saw it survive kidnappings, nautical intrigue, and gunpowder plots of the American revolutionary wars. The slave coasts of Africa followed.Bligh took K2 on the Bounty, but lost it in a fight with the mutineers in 1789. It was recovered by an American Quaker from Nantucket, only to be stolen by the Spanish. It rode on mules along the Andes before sailing into the Opium Wars. K2 finally returned to Greenwich in 1963.DRAMATIC, THREE NATION 'STORY OF TIME'