Everyone knows about pirates: or do they? The Hollywood stereotype - black flags and peg-legs, cutlasses and cannons, exotic yet sinister pets, buried treasure - is familiar and entrancing, but there is much more to be told. This book takes the reader on a voyage of discovery, investigating who these pirates were, describing their exploits and everyday lives, examining the origins of many myths about them, and explaining their incredible, often unrecognised,...

Anne de Courcy tells the story of Irene, Cynthia and Alexandria, the daughters of Lord Curzon. In 1905 Curzon resigned as Viceroy of India and in 1906 his wife died. Curzon wanted to control every aspect of his daughters' lives, and for years succeeded.

Nicholas Breakspear has been overlooked for centuries, even though his achievements outshone those of his contemporary, the martyr Thomas Becket. Born in poverty and probably illegitimate, Breakspear rose to become the only Englishman to ascend the throne of Saint Peter, ruling over the papal states as Adrian IV. His life is not a tale of liturgy or sermons, and there are more cannons than canons, as Breakspear faced fighting in Scandinavia and the...

As a boy of sixteen, Roy Strong watched the grand procession carrying Queen Elizabeth II to her coronation. The spectacle was considered the greatest public event of the century. But now, so many years later, many people have little notion of what a coronation is and are unaware of the rich resonances of the ritual, or its deep significance in terms of the committal of monarch to people. This book is the first of its kind - a comprehensive history...

As they signed NATO into being after World War II, its founders fervently believed that only if the West's democracies banded permanently together could they avoid a catastrophic global atomic conflict. Over the 75 years since, the alliance has indeed avoided war with Russia, also becoming a major political, strategic and diplomatic player well beyond its borders. It has survived disagreements between leaders from Eisenhower, Churchill and de Gaulle...

It's November 1974 and John Stonehouse MP, once a star in Harold Wilson's Labour government, is missing in Miami, presumed drowned. His disappearance exposes the most lurid details of his life, including identity fraud, corporate corruption, a love triangle, blackmail, links with the Mafia and a decade-long career as a Soviet spy. On Christmas Eve, Stonehouse is tracked down in Melbourne, Australia, where he is suspected of being that other missing...

Josiah Wedgwood, perhaps the greatest English potter who ever lived, epitomized the best of his age. From his kilns and workshops in Stoke-on-Trent, he revolutionized the production of ceramics in Georgian Britain by marrying technology with design, manufacturing efficiency and retail flair. He transformed the luxury markets not only of London, Liverpool, Bath and Dublin but of America and the world, and helping to usher in a mass consumer society....

In 'Zelensky', Steven Derix describes the impressive life story of an actor who played a president on TV before being thrust into the role of real-life wartime leader.

Robin Hood, Dick Turpin, Ronnie Biggs, the Krays. All have become folk heroes, glamorised and romanticised, even when they killed. But where are their female equivalents? Where are the street robbers, gang leaders, diamond thieves, gold smugglers and bank robbers? 'Queens of the Underworld' reveals the incredible story of female crooks from the seventeenth century to the present. From Moll Cutpurse to the Black Boy Alley Ladies, from jewel thief Emily...

This is an insightful biography, based on exclusive research, of Queen Elizabeth II, bringing us the full story of one of our greatest and best-loved monarchs as she celebrates her Platinum Jubilee.