The lifestory of Mary I
- daughter of Henry VIII & his Spanish wife Catherine of Aragon
- is often distilled to a few dramatic

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A dramatic thought-provoking portrait of one of the most compelling figures in early Christianity which explores two thousand years of history art & literature to provide a close-up look at Mary Magdalen & her significance in religious & cultural thought. ...

As mother of Mary Queen of Scots Mary of Guise is often overshadowed by her more famous daughter. However this intelligent & energetic woman also led an intriguing life of her own. Daughter of a powerful French family a staunch Roman Catholic & subtle politician she acted as Regent for her young daughter & was keen to ensure that Scottish loyalties lay with France rather than Protestant Engl&. This is the story of a strong-willed woman who lived through turbulent times. ...

The original best-loved classic about the world's most famous nanny
- Mary Poppins. When Jane & Michael Banks draw up an advertisement
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Not many names epitomise an era but Mary Quant is such a name. Her life her ideas her style touched (and still touch) everyone. Mary Quant is fashion. Most people connect Mary with one thing
- the mini skirt
- that ground-breaking design that is as potent now as it was when it first appeared in the early sixties. But her influence carried way beyond those early frenetic black-&-white years. Now towards the close of what has been one of the most influential & visionary careers in fashion's history Mary Quant has written a memoir in her own inimitable style
- a witty unique account of her whirlwind life. It is a story like no other. But then there is only one Mary Quant.


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On the night of 10 February 1567 an explosion devastated the Edinburgh residence of Henry Stewart Lord Darnley second husband of Mary Queen of Scots. The noise was heard as far away as Holyrood Palace where Queen Mary was attending a wedding masque. Those arriving at the scene of devastation found in the garden the naked corpses of Darnley & his valet. Neither had died in the explosion but both bodies bore marks of strangulation. It was clear that they had been murdered & the house destroyed in an attempt to obliterate the evidence. Darnley was not a popular king-consort but he was regarded by many as having a valid claim to the English throne. For this reason Elizabeth I had opposed his family's longstanding wish to marry him to Mary Stuart who herself claimed to be the rightful queen of Engl&. Alison Weir's investigation of Darnley's murder is set against one of the most dramatic periods in British history. Her conclusions will shed a brilliant new light on the actions & motives of the conspirators & in particular the extent of Mary's own involvement. ...

This is the familiar tale of the enmity between Elizabeth I of England & Mary Queen of Scots but retold by Scotlands unofficial Poet Laureate with a ferocious iconoclasm. Needless to say the play ends when Mary Queen of Scots gets her head chopped off! A modern Scottish classic first staged at the Edinburgh Lyceum in 1987 Liz Lochheads Mary Queen of Scots" is republished here in a revised version with a new introduction by the author. The play is enormously popular with Scottish schools & drama groups. It was originally published by Penguin." ...

A paradise...tall slender grey-eyed possessing an extreme pallor. The contemporary view of Henry VIIIs younger sister Princess Mary Rose as one of the most beautiful princesses in Europe was an arresting one. Glorious to behold this Tudor Princess with her red hair flowing loose to her waist was also impossible for Henry to control. She first married the king of France a match of great importance to Henrys diplomatic plans. He was dead within three months. The talk of the European courts was that the teenage bride had killed the 51-year old Louis XII with her exertions of the king in his bedchamber. She then ran off with her new lover the great rake of the Tudors era Charles Brandon. After some uncomfortable arguments with Henry VIII she was officially sanctioned to marry the Duke of Suffolk in 1515 at Greenwich Palace. Yet Henry remained deeply fond of his sister he named his greatest warship after her & continued to support Mary despite her ignoring his every request. David Loades biography the first for almost 50 years brings the princess alive once more. Of all Tudor women this queen of France & later Duchess of Suffolk remains an elusive enigmatic figure.

Includes:: 40 Illustrations (20 Colour).

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The Greatest Black Briton in History triumphed over the Crimea & Victorian Engl&. The Times" called her a heroine Florence Nightingale called her a brothel-keeping quack & Queen Victorias nephew called her simply Mammy
- Mary Seacole was one of the most eccentric & charismatic women of her era. Born at her mothers hotel in Jamaica in 1805 she became an independent doctress combining the herbal remedies of her African ancestry with sound surgical techniques. On the outbreak of the Crimean War she arrived in London desperate to join Florence Nightingale at the Front but the authorities refused to see her. Being black nearly 50 rather stout & gloriously loud in every way she was obviously unsuitable. Undaunted Mary travelled to Balaklava under her own steam to build the British Hotel just behind the lines. It was an outrageous venture & a huge success
- she became known & loved by everyone from the rank & file to the royal family. For more than a century after her death this remarkable woman was all but forgotten. This the first full-length biography of a Victorian celebrity recently voted the greatest black Briton in history brings Mary Seacole centre stage at last."

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In the summer of 1553 against all odds Mary Tudor was the first woman to be crowned Queen of Engl&. Anna Whitelock's absorbing debut tells the remarkable story of a woman who was a princess one moment & a disinherited bastard the next. It tells of her Spanish heritage & the unbreakable bond between Mary & her mother Katherine of Aragon; of her childhood adolescence rivalry with her sister Elizabeth & finally her womanhood. Throughout her life Mary was a fighter battling to preserve her integrity & her right to hear the Catholic mass. Finally she fought for the throne. The Mary that emerges from this groundbreaking biography is not the weak-willed failure of traditional narratives but a complex figure of immense courage determination & humanity. ...