John Marshall (c.1784-1837) was a naval officer and biographer. He first went to sea at the age of nine, and by the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 had reached the rank of lieutenant. After the war, he started to research the lives of contemporary high-ranking naval officers, some of whose service reached as far back as 1760. These volumes, first published between 1823 and 1830, contain the results of this monumental research, and demonstrate the new 'cult' of the navy in the early nineteenth century. Some of the biographies were contributed by the officers themselves, with others containing private or official letters and other records. Organised according to seniority in rank, these volumes contain a wealth of fascinating information on the careers of naval officers and battles and wars in which they took part. Volume 4, Part 1, contains the continuation of biographies of commanders.

Long before her tragic death, Diana, Princess of Wales was a beloved modern icon, relatable to the general public in a way that transcended the barrier between royal and commoner. As a member of the royal family in an age of mass media, her fairy-tale wedding to, and painful divorce from, Prince Charles was played out on the world stage. Later, her humanitarian work for the Red Cross, her campaigns against landmines, and her work with the sick, especially AIDS victims, added a compassionate element to the royal family in the eyes of the world—and the world, ten years later, still hasn't gotten enough of Lady Di. This objective, accessible volume explores Diana's fascinating life, including her aristocratic upbringing, her whirlwind engagement to Prince Charles, her rocky marriage, her post-divorce status as global humanitarian icon, the media's frenzied treatment of her death, and her charitable legacy, including her sons' coming-of-age and their attempts to honor her memory.

In this dazzling new vision of the ever-fascinating queen, a dynamic young historian reveals how Marie Antoinette's bold attempts to reshape royal fashion changed the future of France Marie Antoinette has always stood as an icon of supreme style, but surprisingly none of her biographers have paid sustained attention to her clothes. In Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber shows how Marie Antoinette developed her reputation for fashionable excess, and explains through lively, illuminating new research the political controversies that her clothing provoked. Weber surveys Marie Antoinette's "Revolution in Dress," covering each phase of the queen's tumultuous life, beginning with the young girl, struggling to survive Versailles's rigid traditions of royal glamour (twelve-foot-wide hoopskirts, whalebone corsets that crushed her organs). As queen, Marie Antoinette used stunning, often extreme costumes to project an image of power and wage war against her enemies. Gradually, however, she began to lose her hold on the French when she started to adopt "unqueenly" outfits (the provocative chemise) that, surprisingly, would be adopted by the revolutionaries who executed her. Weber's queen is sublime, human, and surprising: a sometimes courageous monarch unwilling to allow others to determine her destiny. The paradox of her tragic story, according to Weber, is that fashion—the vehicle she used to secure her triumphs—was also the means of her undoing. Weber's book is not only a stylish and original addition to Marie Antoinette scholarship, but also a moving, revelatory reinterpretation of one of history's most controversial figures.

"While many of us are familiar with such famous words as, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here." or "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," we may not know that they originated with The Book of Common Prayer, which first appeared in 1549. Like the words of the King James Bible and Shakespeare, the language of this prayer book has saturated English culture and letters. Here Alan Jacobs tells its story. Jacobs shows how The Book of Common Prayer--from its beginnings as a means of social and political control in the England of Henry VIII to its worldwide presence today--became a venerable work whose cadences express the heart of religious life for many.The book's chief maker, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, created it as the authoritative manual of Christian worship throughout England. But as Jacobs recounts, the book has had a variable and dramatic career in the complicated history of English church politics, and has been the focus of celebrations, protests, and even jail terms. As time passed, new forms of the book were made to suit the many English-speaking nations: first in Scotland, then in the new United States, and eventually wherever the British Empire extended its arm. Over time, Cranmer's book was adapted for different preferences and purposes. Jacobs vividly demonstrates how one book became many--and how it has shaped the devotional lives of men and women across the globe"--.

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes Lyon, the youngest daughter of the Earl of Strathmore, was born on 4 August, 1900. Few could have imagined the profound effect she would have on Britain and its people. This official biography tells not only her story but, through it, that of the country she loved so devotedly.

Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man" has been celebrated, criticized, maligned, suppressed, and co-opted, but Hitchens marvels at its forethought and revels in its contentiousness. In this book, he demonstrates how Paine's book forms the philosophical cornerstone of the U.S.

Louis XIV was a man in pursuit of glory. Not content to be the ruler of a world power, he wanted the power to rule the world. And, for a time, he came tantalizingly close. Philip Mansel’s King of the World is the most comprehensive and up-to-date biography in English of this hypnotic, flawed figure who continues to captivate our attention. This lively work takes Louis outside Versailles and shows the true extent of his global ambitions, with stops in London, Madrid, Constantinople, Bangkok, and beyond. We witness the importance of his alliance with the Spanish crown and his success in securing Spain for his descendants, his enmity with England, and his relations with the rest of Europe, as well as Asia, Africa, and the Americas. We also see the king’s effect on the two great global diasporas of Huguenots and Jacobites, and their influence on him as he failed in his brutal attempts to stop Protestants from leaving France. Along the way, we are enveloped in the splendor of Louis’s court and the fascinating cast of characters who prostrated and plotted within it. King of the World is exceptionally researched, drawing on international archives and incorporating sources who knew the king intimately, including the newly released correspondence of Louis’s second wife, Madame de Maintenon. Mansel’s narrative flair is a perfect match for this grand figure, and he brings the Sun King’s world to vivid life. This is a global biography of a global king, whose power was extensive but also limited by laws and circumstances, and whose interests and ambitions stretched far beyond his homeland. Through it all, we watch Louis XIV progressively turn from a dazzling, attractive young king to a belligerent reactionary who sets France on the path to 1789. It is a convincing and compelling portrait of a man who, three hundred years after his death, still epitomizes the idea of le grand monarque.

The Royal Historical Society Transactions offers readers an annual collection of major articles representing some of the best historical research by some of the world's most distinguished historians. Also available as a journal, volume seven of the sixth series will include: 'The Peoples of Britain and Ireland, 1100-1400: IV Language and Historical Mythology', Rees Davies; 'The Limits of Totalitarianism: God, State and Society in the GDR', Mary Fulbrook; 'History as Destiny: Gobineau, H. S. Chamberlain and Spengler', Michael Biddiss; 'Constructing the Past in the Early Middle Ages: The Case of the Royal Frankish Annals', Rosamond McKitterick; 'England, Britain and the Audit of War', Kenneth Morgan; 'The Cromwellian Decade: Authority and Consent', C. S. L. Davies; 'Place and Public Finance', R. W. Hoyle; 'The Parliament of England', Pauline Croft; 'Thomas Cromwell's Doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty', Conrad Russell; 'Religion', Christopher Haigh; 'Sir Geoffrey Elton and the Practice of History', Quentin Skinner.

Volume 7 includes such notables as the composers Handel and Haydn and the alluring actress Elizabeth Hartley.