Smithfield, settled on the fringes of Roman London, was once a place of revelry. Jesters & crowds flocked for the medieval St Bartholomew`s Day celebrations, tournaments were plentiful & it became the location of London`s most famous meat market. Yet in Tudor Engl&, Smithfield had another, more sinister use: the public execution of heretics. Spanning the reigns of British history`s most remarkable dynasty, The Burning Time is a vivid insight into an era in which what was orthodoxy one year might be dangerous heresy the next. The first martyrs were Catholics, who cleaved to Rome in defiance of Henry VIII`s break with the papacy. But with the accession of Henry`s daughter Mary
- soon to be nicknamed ` Bloody Mary`
- the charge of heresy was levelled against devout Protestants, who chose to burn rather than recant. At the centre of Virginia Rounding`s vivid account of this extraordinary period are two very different characters. The first is Richard Rich, Thomas Cromwell`s protege, who, almost uniquely, remained in a position of great power, influence & wealth under three Tudor monarchs, & who helped send many devout men & women to their deaths. The second is John Deane, Rector of St Bartholomew`s, who was able, somehow, to navigate the treacherous waters of changing dogma & help others to survive. The Burning Time is their story, but it is also the story of the hundreds of men & women who were put to the fire for their faith. It is a gripping insight into a time when people were willing to die, & to kill, in the name of religion.

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Set in Finland in 1939, this is the story of one man who remains in his home town when everyone else has fled, burning down their houses in their wake, before the invading Russians arrive. Timo remains behind because he can`t imagine life anywhere else, doing anything else besides felling the trees near his home. This is a novel about belonging
- a tale of powerful & forbidden friendships forged during a war, of unexpected bravery & astonishing survival instincts. The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles is not a novel about war, but about the lives of ordinary people dragged into war, each of whom only wants to find the path back home. Roy Jacobsen uses the dramatic natural landscape of light & darkness, fire-blazing heat & life-robbing cold to spectacular effect.
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The Burren at 1:31680 on a black & white map from Folding Landscapes with graphics providing terrain & geological information, markings for wedge & other megalithic tombs, cairns, barrows, limekilns, ring fords, etc. The map shows the Burren from Doolin east to Loch Tr ...

The Burren & the Aran Islands, with their unique combination of flora, fauna & landscape, are explored by large numbers of walkers annually. This revised guide to the best walking routes in the region has clear descriptions & additional information to enhance enjoyment & appreciation of the place. From the rugged interior to spectacular coastal scenery, from challenging upland walks to shorter road & waterside excursions, this guide has something for everyone. Walks vary from two-hour strolls to the longer Burren Way, a six-hour walk from Lisdoonvarna to Ballyvaughan. The author`s considerable experience & detailed knowledge of the area ensures the best of this region is featured. Each route description consists of a quick-reference summary, a clear sketch map, & detailed access information while points of interest are highlighted
- geology, flora & fauna, history, archaeology & folklore.
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In this affectionate history, Travis Elborough tells the story of the Routemaster`s invention, rise & decline, of the people who worked on it, & of the enthusiasts who were mad about it. Slowly, route by route, London has been losing one of its most famous symbols as more modern designs are brought into service. The streets will never be the same again. ...

Once upon a time there was a beaver who was so busy that he didn`t always think things through. After finding himself on the wrong side of a falling tree one day, the beaver begins to see the error of his careless ways. He`s eager to put things right, but will his friends & neighbours believe he`s truly a changed beaver? Starring a charming cast of characters, Nicholas Odland`s humorous contemporary fable highlights the importance of taking care of our wild places & our friendships. Themes: care for the environment, friendship, perseverance ...

With an introduction by Ross Raisin A modern classic of Irish fiction, shortlisted for the 1992 Booker prize. When I was a young lad twenty or thirty or forty years ago I lived in a small town where they were all after me on account of what I done on Mrs Nugent. Francie Brady is a small-town rascal who spends his days turning a blind eye to the troubles at home & getting up to mischief with his best friend Joe
- hiding in the chicken-house, shouting abuse at fish in the local stream. But after a disagreement with his neighbour Mrs Nugent over her son`s missing comic books, Francie`s reckless streak spirals out of control & gives rise to a monstrous obsession.. . Fearless, shocking & blackly funny, Patrick Mc Cabe`s The Butcher Boy won the 1992 Irish Times Literature Prize & was shortlisted for the 1992 Booker Prize. It is a modern classic of Irish fiction, a portrait of the insidious violence latent in small town life & of a frenzied young man lashing out at everyone, even himself.
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At the beginning of each decade for 200 years the national census has presented a self-portrait of the British Isles. The census has surveyed Britain from the Napoleonic wars to the age of the internet, through the agricultural & industrial revolutions, possession of the biggest empire on earth & the devastation of the 20th century`s two world wars. In The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker, Roger Hutchinson looks at every census between the first in 1801 & the latest in 2011. He uses this much-loved resource of family historians to paint a vivid picture of a society experiencing unprecedented changes. Hutchinson explores the controversial creation of the British census. He follows its development from a head-count of the population conducted by clerks with quill pens, to a computerised survey which is designed to discover `the address, place of birth, religion, marital status, ability to speak English & self-perceived national identity of every twenty-seven-year-old Welsh-speaking Sikh metalworker living in Swansea`. All human life is here, from prime ministers to peasants & paupers, from Irish rebels to English patriots, from the last native speakers of Cornish to the first professional footballers, from communities of prostitutes to individuals called `abecedarians` who made a living from teaching the alphabet. The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker is as original & unique as those people & their islands on the cutting edge of Europe. ...

At the beginning of each decade for 200 years the national census has presented a self-portrait of the British Isles. The census has surveyed Britain from the Napoleonic wars to the age of the internet, through the agricultural & industrial revolutions, possession of the biggest empire on earth & the devastation of the 20th century`s two world wars. In The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker, Roger Hutchinson looks at every census between the first in 1801 & the latest in 2011. He uses this much-loved resource of family historians to paint a vivid picture of a society experiencing unprecedented changes. Hutchinson explores the controversial creation of the British census. He follows its development from a head-count of the population conducted by clerks with quill pens, to a computerised survey which is designed to discover `the address, place of birth, religion, marital status, ability to speak English & self-perceived national identity of every twenty-seven-year-old Welsh-speaking Sikh metalworker living in Swansea`. All human life is here, from prime ministers to peasants & paupers, from Irish rebels to English patriots, from the last native speakers of Cornish to the first professional footballers, from communities of prostitutes to individuals called `abecedarians` who made a living from teaching the alphabet. The Butcher, the Baker, the Candlestick Maker is as original & unique as those people & their islands on the cutting edge of Europe. ...

`A brilliant & gripping account of the almost unimaginable horrors of surgery & post-operative infection before Joseph Lister transformed it all` Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm The story of a visionary British surgeon whose quest to unite science & medicine delivered us into the modern world
- the safest time to be alive in human history In The Butchering Art, historian Lindsey Fitzharris recreates a critical turning point in the history of medicine, when Joseph Lister transformed surgery from a brutal, harrowing practice to the safe, vaunted profession we know today. Victorian operating theatres were known as `gateways of death`, Fitzharris reminds us, since half of those who underwent surgery didn`t survive the experience. This was an era when a broken leg could lead to amputation, when surgeons often lacked university degrees, & were still known to ransack cemeteries to find cadavers. While the discovery of anaesthesia somewhat lessened the misery for patients, ironically it led to more deaths, as surgeons took greater risks. In squalid, overcrowded hospitals, doctors remained baffled by the persistent infections that kept mortality rates stubbornly high. At a time when surgery couldn`t have been more dangerous, an unlikely figure stepped forward: Joseph Lister, a young, melancholy Quaker surgeon. By making the audacious claim that germs were the source of all infection
- & could be treated with antiseptics
- he changed the history of medicine forever. With a novelist`s eye for detail, Fitzharris brilliantly conjures up the grisly world of Victorian surgery, revealing how one of Britain`s greatest medical minds finally brought centuries of savagery, sawing & gangrene to an end.


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