Immigration is one of the most important stories of modern British life, yet it has been happening since Caesar first landed in 53 BC. Ever since the first Roman, Saxon, Jute & Dane leaped off a boat we have been a mongrel nation. Our roots are a tangled web. From Huguenot weavers fleeing French Catholic persecution in the 18th century to South African dentists to Indian shopkeepers; from Jews in York in the 12th century (who had to wear a yellow star to distinguish them & who were shamefully expelled by Edward I in 1272) to the Jamaican who came on board the Windrush in 1947. The first Indian MP was elected in 1892, Walter Tull, the first black football player played (for Spurs & Northampton) before WW1 (and died heroically fighting for the allies in the last months of the war); in 1768 there were 20, 000 black people in London (out of a population of 600, 000
- a similar percentage to today). The 19th century brought huge numbers of Italians, Irish, Jews (from Russia & Poland mainly), Germans & Poles. This book draws all their stories together in a compelling narrative.
...

The story of the way Britain has been settled & influenced by foreign people & ideas is as old as the land itself. In this original, important & inspiring book, Robert Winder tells of the remarkable migrations that have founded & defined a nation. ` Our aristocracy was created by a Frenchman, William the Conqueror, who also created our medieval architecture, our greatest artistic glory. Our royal family is German, our language a bizarre confection of Latin, Saxon &, latterly, Indian & American. Our shops & banks were created by Jews. We did not stand alone against Hitler; the empire stood beside us. & our food is, of course, anything but British.. . Winder has a thousand stories to tell & he tells them well` Sunday Times ...

Where did the real Jack the Ripper live? Which pub in London has been used more than any other by serial killers picking up their victims? Where was the capital`s Gladiators` Arena? Where in London did Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass murderer, live as a child? Jack The Ripper (and 15 other London serial killers!), the Krays, Aleister Crowley, Ruth Ellis, Doctor John Dee, Sach & Walters the baby farmers
- all these characters & more are covered in Bloody London, a unique & terrifying walk through the dark, gore-drenched streets of the capital. A must-have for fans of crime, horror, the supernatural & the simply bizarre, Bloody London will also show you: * Sites of executions & unsolved murders * London`s creepiest cemeteries * Where famous horror authors lived & worked * Where the Plague originated * A haunted church & many other locations... London`s dark & shocking secrets are laid bare in this compendium of true stories. We dare you to look inside...
...

The past decade saw the rise of the British National Party, the country`s most successful ever far-right political movement, & the emergence of the anti-Islamic English Defence League. Taking aim at asylum seekers, Muslims, ”enforced multiculturalism” & benefit ”scroungers”, these groups have been working overtime to shift the blame for the nation`s ills onto the shoulders of the vulnerable. What does this extremist resurgence say about the state of modern Britain? Drawing on archival research & extensive interviews with key figures, such as BNP leader Nick Griffin, Daniel Trilling shows how previously marginal characters from a tiny neo-Nazi subculture successfully exploited tensions exacerbated by the fear of immigration, the War on Terror & steepening economic inequality. Mainstream politicians have consistently underestimated the far right in Britain while pursuing policies that give it the space to grow. Bloody Nasty People calls time on this complacency in an account that provides us with fresh insights into the dynamics of political extremism. ...

Revealing the history behind words from Hoover to Sandwich & Wellington Boots to the Biro, this guide to eponyms is full of surprises. What`s in a name? From Achilles to zeppelin, the words we use in everyday language invoke a cast of historical characters, from figures of ancient legend to modern-day sports stars. But have you ever stopped to wonder how on earth the names became the words we use so often? How, for example, did Italian nationalist leader Giuseppe Garibaldi give his name to something so sweet as a biscuit? Who was the Gordon Bennett whose name has become an expression of surprise or displeasure? & who knew, when Odysseus set off on his ten-year voyage home in Homer`s epic, that long journeys would take his name? Behind so many words are real people with a story to tell. This fascinating book reveals the history behind the most familiar & more unusual eponyms. ...

The ghetto in which the Jews have been confined is being liquidated by the Nazis, & eleven-year-old Hugo is brought by his mother to the local brothel, where one of the prostitutes has agreed to hide him. Mariana is a bitterly unhappy woman who hates what she has done to her life, & night after night Hugo sits in her closet & listens uncomprehendingly as she rages at the Nazi soldiers who come & go. When she`s not mired in self-loathing, Mariana is fiercely protective of the bewildered, painfully polite young boy. & Hugo becomes protective of Mariana, too, trying to make her laugh when she is depressed, soothing her physical & mental agony with cold compresses. As the memories of his family & friends grow dim, Hugo falls in love with Mariana. & as her life spirals downwards, Mariana reaches out for consolation to the adoring boy who is on the cusp of manhood. Multi-award-winning writer Aharon Appelfeld once again crafts out of the depths of unfathomable tragedy a renewal of life & a deeper understanding of what it means to be human. ...

This compilation of photographs explores two of west central London`s historic areas through rare images, many unseen in over a century, alongside modern photographs for comparison. Bloomsbury is renowned for its fine architecture, rich cultural heritage, universities & specialist hospitals while Bohemian Fitzrovia is a colourful restaurant centre set in busy streets dating from the 1700s. Our pictorial tour takes us through gas-lit streets, grand squares & flavourful byways &

Includes:: a look at one of London`s old German quarters. Along the way are lost neighbourhoods, shops where our ancestors procured their household essentials & a cinema which pioneered performances of coloured movie films. This book will revive many local memories & will delight & intrigue the resident & visitor alike.

...

Learning about your body has never been more fun! Discover how all the different parts of your body work together in unique ways every day with this amazing body discovery book, packed full of flaps! Bloomsbury Discovery books are part of an amazing new series covering a range of high-interest topics...from space & the solar system to rainforests & your body! Learning has never been more exctiting with these innovative books packed with flaps! Enjoy brilliant illustrations, discover exciting cross-sections & zoom in to find out even more incredible information. ...

Northern Bloomsbury area of London in 1871 in a series of exceptionally detailed reproductions of old Ordnance Survey street plans for areas of larger cities which have undergone substantial redevelopment in the late 19th or the early 20th century, published in the Alan Godfrey Editions. The plans, printed in back & white, have been taken from the original Ordnance Survey mapping at 1:1, 056 & reproduced at 1:1, 760 – the equivalent of 36 inches (or one yard) to a mile. The maps provide an unrivalled, house-by-house picture of streets & individual buildings with inner courtyards, outbuildings, pavements, covered passages, etc. Many important institutions are named; within the National Galley on Trafalgar Square even the individual rooms (the map is from 1871, so no French Impressionists as yet!). On the reverse are historical notes about the area covered by the map, plus extracts from contemporary street directories. These maps provide a fascinating addition to Alan Godfrey’s huge series of some 2, 000 titles presenting reproductions of street plans at taken from the Ordnance Survey mapping at 1:2, 500 (25” to 1 mile) & reprinted at about 15 inches to one mile (1:4, 340). ...

Southern Bloomsbury area of London in 1871 in a series of exceptionally detailed reproductions of old Ordnance Survey street plans for areas of larger cities which have undergone substantial redevelopment in the late 19th or the early 20th century, published in the Alan Godfrey Editions. The plans, printed in back & white, have been taken from the original Ordnance Survey mapping at 1:1, 056 & reproduced at 1:1, 760 – the equivalent of 36 inches (or one yard) to a mile. The maps provide an unrivalled, house-by-house picture of streets & individual buildings with inner courtyards, outbuildings, pavements, covered passages, etc. Many important institutions are named; within the National Galley on Trafalgar Square even the individual rooms (the map is from 1871, so no French Impressionists as yet!). On the reverse are historical notes about the area covered by the map, plus extracts from contemporary street directories. These maps provide a fascinating addition to Alan Godfrey’s huge series of some 2, 000 titles presenting reproductions of street plans at taken from the Ordnance Survey mapping at 1:2, 500 (25” to 1 mile) & reprinted at about 15 inches to one mile (1:4, 340). ...