A charismatic leader, a warrior whose prowess in battle earned him the epithet Whiteblade, an exiled prince who returned to claim his birthright, the inspiration for Tolkein`s Aragorn. Oswald of Northumbria was the first great English monarch, yet today this legendary figure is all but forgotten. In this panoramic protrait of Dark Age Britain, archaeologist & biographer Max Adams returns the king in the North to his rightful place in history. ...

On 28 January 1547, the sickly & obese King Henry VIII died at Whitehall. Just hours before his passing, his last will & testament had been read, stamped & sealed. The will confirmed the line of succession as Edward, Mary & Elizabeth; &, following them, the Grey & Suffolk families. It also listed bequests to the king`s most trusted councillors & servants. Henry`s will is one of the most intriguing & contested documents in British history. Historians have disagreed over its intended meaning, its authenticity & validity, & the circumstances of its creation. As well as examining the background to the drafting of the will & describing Henry`s last days, Suzannah Lipscomb offers her own, illuminating interpretation of one of the most significant constitutional documents of the Tudor period. Illustrated with portraits of key figures at Henry`s court, including the executors named by Henry in his will, THE KING IS DEAD is a Tudor gift book to cherish, as authoritative as it is beautiful. ...

Thailand`s Bhumibol Adulyadej, the only king ever born in the United States, came to the throne of his country in 1946 & at the time of his death, in October 2016, was the world`s longest serving monarch. Now out in paperback with a new preface by author Paul Handley, The King Never Smiles is the first independent biography of Thailand`s monarch, tells the unexpected story of Bhumibol`s life & seventy year rule-how a Western raised boy came to be seen by his people as a living Buddha, & how a king widely seen as beneficent & apolitical could in fact be so deeply political & autocratic. Paul Handley provides an extensively researched, factual account of the king`s youth & personal development, ascent to the throne, skillful political maneuverings, & attempt to shape Thailand as a Buddhist kingdom. Handley takes full note of Bhumibol`s achievements in art, in sports, & in jazz, & he credits the king`s lifelong dedication to rural development & the livelihoods of his poorest subjects. But, looking beyond the widely accepted image of the king as egalitarian & virtuous, Handley portrays an anti democratic monarch who, together with allies in big business & the corrupt Thai military, protected a centuries old, barely modified feudal dynasty. When at nineteen Bhumibol assumed the throne, the Thai monarchy had been stripped of power & prestige. Over the ensuing decades, Bhumibol became the paramount political actor in the kingdom, silencing critics while winning the hearts & minds of his people. The book details this process & depicts Thailand`s unique constitutional monarch-his life, his thinking, & his ruling philosophy. ...

Thailand`s Bhumibol Adulyadej, the only king ever born in the United States, came to the throne of his country in 1946 & is now the world`s longest-serving monarch. This book tells the unexpected story of his life & 60-year rule: how a Western-raised boy came to be seen by his people as a living Buddha; & how a king widely seen as beneficent & apolitical could in fact be so deeply political, autocratic, & even brutal. Paul Handley provides an extensively researched, factual account of the king`s youth & personal development, ascent to the throne, skilful political maneuverings, & attempt to shape Thailand as a Buddhist kingdom. Blasting apart the widely accepted image of the king as egalitarian & virtuous, Handley convincingly portrays an anti-democratic monarch who, together with allies in big business & the corrupt Thai military, has protected a centuries-old, barely-modified feudal dynasty. When at nineteen Bhumibol assumed the throne after the still-unsolved shooting of his brother, the Thai monarchy had been stripped of power & prestige. Over the ensuing decades, Bhumibol became the paramount political actor in the kingdom, crushing critics while attaining high status among his people. The book details this process & depicts Thailand`s unique constitutional monarch in the full light of the facts. ...

On a frosty winter evening, the Baron watches the snow fall. He is bored & worried. It will soon be Christmas & everything is too quiet. What can he do to bring excitement to the Manor? His wife, the Baroness, has an idea: he can appoint a King of Christmas, a peasant to take his place. & so begin twelve days of chaos, anarchy & merriment... Inspired by the medieval tradition of appointing a Lord of Misrule, Carol Ann Duffy`s warm & enchanting new Christmas poem takes us into a topsy-turvy world of festivity & celebration, where rules no longer apply. With beautiful full-colour illustrations by Lara Hawthorne throughout, The King of Christmas is the perfect gift this festive season. ...

Haile Selassie I, the last emperor of Ethiopia, was as brilliant as he was formidable. A descendant of King Solomon & an early proponent of African unity & independence, Haile Selassie fought with the Allies against the Axis powers during World War II & was a messianic figure for the Jamaican Rastafarians. Written by Asfa-Wossen Asserate, Haile Selassie s grandnephew, this is the first major biography on this final king of kings. Asserate introduces Haile Selassie as a reformer & an autocrat whose personal history with all of its upheavals, promises, & horrors reflects in many ways the history of the twentieth century itself. Chosen as ” Time” s Man of the Year in 1936 for resisting Mussolini s invasion of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie was celebrated by many as the anti-colonialist father of Africa. But the final years of his empire saw turmoil & revolution, & he was ultimately overthrown & assassinated in a communist coup. Asserate, who spent his childhood & adolescence in Ethiopia before fleeing the revolution of 1974, knew Haile Selassie personally & gained intimate insights into life at the imperial court. Using his own personal experiences & painstaking research in family & public archives, Asserate has achieved a colorful & even-handed portrait of the emperor & his tumultuous reign.” ...

There was once a little boy who was afraid of the dark. There`s nothing unusual about that. Most children are afraid of the dark at one time of another. But this little boy was a Prince, & he decided that when he became King, he would do something about the dark. He would ban it. When a King bans the dark completely, installing an artificial sun, & enforcing ”anti-dark” laws, it seems like a good idea. The citizens don`t need to worry about monsters, crime, or any of the other scary things that might live in the dark. But what happens when nobody can sleep, & the citizens revolt? Will the King face his fears & turn the lights off? The King Who Banned the Dark is a beautiful story about how we need the dark in order to enjoy the light. ...

One man saved the British Royal Family in the first decades of the 20th century
- he wasn't a prime minister or an archbishop of
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` This is a brilliant, shocking book.. . also witty, painfully self-critical & humane.. . it is a work of great literature` Tim Whitmarsh, Guardian` The Kingdom, already a huge bestseller in France, is thrilling, magnificent & strange` Bryan Appleyard, Sunday Times The sensational international bestseller from one of France`s most fêted writers
- an epic novel telling the story of Christianity as it has never been told before, & one man`s crisis of faith. Corinth, ancient Greece, two thousand years ago. An itinerant preacher, poor, wracked by illness, tells the story of a prophet who was crucified in Judea, who came back from the dead, & whose return is a sign of something enormous. Like a contagion, the story will spread over the city, the country &, eventually, the world. Emmanuel Carrère`s astonishing historical epic tells the story of the mysterious beginnings of Christianity, bringing to life a distant, primeval past of strange sects, apocalyptic beliefs & political turmoil. In doing so Carrère, once himself a fervent believer, questions his own faith, asks why we believe in resurrection, & what it means. The Kingdom is his masterpiece.` An utterly brilliant book` Catherine Nixey, The Times
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After living for more than a decade in London American Paul Theroux still hadn`t been much in Britain. As his itinerary he chooses to follow the coastline & circumnavigate the isl&. The year is crucial, 1982, the year of the Falklands War. His journey starts on the 11.33 to Margate & proceeds clockwise, with a diversion to take in Northern Ireland & after three months he reaches the north side of the Thames estuary. A vivid & absolutely riveting read. ...