Continuing his exploration of the alternative paths that British history might so easily have taken, Timothy Venning turns his attention to the Hundred Years War between England and France. Could the English have won in the long term, or, conversely, have been decisively defeated sooner? Among the many scenarios discussed are what would have happened if the Black Prince had not died prematurely of the Black Death, leaving the 10-year-old Richard to inherit Edward IIIs crown. What would have been the consequences if France's Scottish allies had been victorious at Neville's Cross in 1346, while most English forces were occupied in France? What if Henry V had recovered from the dysentery that killed him at 35, giving time for his son Henry VI to inherit the combined crowns of France and England as a mature (and half-French) man rather than an infant controlled by others? And what if Joan of Arc had not emerged to galvanize French resistance at Orleans? While necessarily speculative, all the scenarios are discussed within the framework of a deep understanding of the major driving forces, tensions and trends that shaped British history and help to shed light upon them. In so doing they help the reader to understand why things panned out as they did, as well as what might have been in this fascinating period that still arouses such strong passions on both sides of the Channel.

The WWII historian’s bracingly accurate analysis of what might have happened if Hitler ordered Operation Sea Lion to breech the shores of England. In June 1940, German troops gathered just across the English Channel, poised for the invasion of Britain. With France defeated and Britain cowed, Hitler seemed ready for his greatest gamble. In this compelling alternative history, the Germans launch the invasion that, in reality, was never more than a plan. Landing between Dover and Hythe, German troops push inland supported by the Luftwaffe and the impregnable panzers, and strike out towards London. The British, desperate to defeat the invaders, rally and prepare for a crucial confrontation at Maidstone. Realistic, carefully researched and superbly written, Invasion is a classic of alternate history and a thought-provoking look at how Britain’s war might have been. “Macksey’s blend of what actually happened and what might have been makes for a piece of writing comparable to Frederick Forsyth at his best.” —Jack Higgins “Convincingly described and excellently illustrated.” —The Daily Telegraph, UK

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ‘Tender, fascinating … Lucid and illuminating’ Robert Macfarlane Funerary rituals show us what people thought about mortality; how they felt about loss; what they believed came next. From Roman cremations and graveside feasts, to deviant burials with heads rearranged, from richly furnished Anglo Saxon graves to the first Christian burial grounds in Wales, Buried provides an alternative history of the first millennium in Britain. As she did with her pre-history of Britain in Ancestors, Professor Alice Roberts combines archaeological finds with cutting-edge DNA research and written history to shed fresh light on how people lived: by examining the stories of the dead. PRE-ORDER CRYPT, THE FINAL BOOK IN ALICE ROBERTS' BRILLIANT TRILOGY – OUT FEBRUARY 2024.

The year is 1597. For nearly a decade, the island of Britain has been under the rule of King Philip in the name of Spain. The citizenry live under an enforced curfew—and in fear of the Inquisition’s agents, who put heretics to the torch in public displays. And with Queen Elizabeth imprisoned in the Tower of London, the British have no symbol to unite them against the enemy who occupies their land. William Shakespeare has no interest in politics. His passion is writing for the theatre, where his words bring laughter and tears to a populace afraid to speak out against the tyranny of the Spanish crown. But now Shakespeare is given an opportunity to pen his greatest work—a drama that will incite the people of Britain to rise against their persecutors—and change the course of history.

With hindsight, the victory of Parliamentarian forces over the Royalists in the English Civil War may seem inevitable but this outcome was not a foregone conclusion. Timothy Venning explores many of the turning points and discusses how they might so easily have played out differently. ?What if, for example, Charles I had capitalized on his victory at Edgehill by attacking London without delay? Could this have ended the war in 1642? His actual advance on the capital in 1643 failed but came close to causing a Parliamentarian collapse Ð how could it have succeeded and what then? Among the many other scenarios, full consideration is given to the role of Ireland (what if Papal meddling had not prevented Irish Catholics aiding Charles?) and Scotland (how might Montrose's Scottish loyalists have neutralized the Covenanters?). The author analyses the plausible possibilities in each thread, throwing light on the role of chance and underlying factors in the real outcome, as well as what might easily have been different.

An influential family’s weekend party is the stage for murder in this alternative history trilogy opener set in a post-WWII England where the Nazis won. Eight years have passed since the upper-crust “Farthing Set” overthrew Winston Churchill and led Britain into a separate peace with Hitler. Now those families have gathered for a weekend retreat. Among them is estranged scion Lucy Kahn, who can’t understand why she and her husband, David, were so enthusiastically invited. But all becomes clear when the eminent Sir James Thirkie is found murdered—with a yellow Star of David pinned to his chest. Lucy realizes that her Jewish husband is about to be framed for the crime, an outcome that would be altogether too politically convenient, given the machinations underway in Parliament in the coming week. The Farthing Set are determined to pass laws further restricting the right to vote, and a new outcry against Jews and foreigners would suit them fine. But whoever’s behind the murder and the frame-up didn’t count on the principal investigator from Scotland Yard being so prone to look beyond the obvious—or his being a man with his own private reasons for sympathizing with outcasts and underdogs . . . Praise for Farthing “If le Carré scares you, try Jo Walton. Of course her brilliant story of a democracy selling itself out to fascism sixty years ago is just a mystery, just a thriller, just a fantasy—of course we know nothing like that could happen now. Don’t we?” —Ursula K. Le Guin “Walton . . . crosses genres without missing a beat with this stunningly powerful alternative history set in 1949. . . . While the whodunit plot is compelling, it’s the convincing portrait of a country’s incremental slide into fascism that makes this novel a standout. Mainstream readers should be enthralled as well.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The British Labour Party has at times been a force for radical change in the UK, but one critical aspect of its makeup has been consistently misunderstood and underplayed: its Britishness. Throughout the party's history, its Britishness has been an integral part of how it has done politics, acted in government and opposition, and understood the UK and its nations and regions. The People's Flag and the Union Jack is the first comprehensive account of how Labour has tried to understand Britain and Britishness and to compete in a political landscape defined by conservative notions of nation, patriotism and tradition. At a time when many of the party faithful regard national identity as a toxic subject, academics Gerry Hassan and Eric Shaw argue that Labour's Britishness and its ambiguous relationship with issues of nationalism matter more today than ever before, and will continue to matter for the foreseeable future, when the UK is in fundamental crisis. As debate rages about Brexit, and the prospect of Scottish independence remains live, this timely intervention, featuring contributions from a wealth of pioneering thinkers, offers an illuminating and perceptive insight into Labour's past, present and future.

British film historians reassess the films, stars, genres, and directors omitted from conventional accounts of the decade and evaluate its forgotten and recently rediscovered films. They consider audiences, producer Julius Hagen and his independent Twickenham Film Studios, how MGM deal with the Films Acts, the shocker and musical genres, class and gender issues, national identity, and other dimensions. Distributed by St. Martin's Press. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This title is a companion to Channel Four's programme, Time Team and includes all the sites excavated up to the publication date. These sites and the archaeological treasures they have yielded serve as a starting point for a quirky, yet fascinating view of British history.

The Alternate History - What if Hitler beat the Brits? JACKBOOT BRITAIN is a new novel set in an alternate 1940 in which Nazi Germany was victorious over the British Empire. Jackboot Britain is a nightmare world; the book tells a harrowing tale of militarisation, dehumanisation, prejudice, power and war, as it follows the trials and tribulations of a range of characters from various walks of life, as they struggle to exist in a Europe - and occupied UK - ruled by the Germany of Adolf Hitler. From a platoon of captured British troops held as prisoners of war, to Major Jochen Wolf and the conflicted, and conflicting men of the SS in whose care they are placed; to the band of auxiliary partisans in the underground British resistance, anti-fascist veterans of the Spanish Civil War; to Naomi, a young, female Jewish teacher in Leeds and her clever, quirky male friend; Maisie a London shopgirl and Hans, an unwilling German soldier drafted to the Wehrmacht; Bill Wilson; ageing, monosyllabic alcoholic in a Bloomsbury pub; a humanist-libertarian journalist of renown; four young conscripts to the German Wehrmacht occupation force; Charlie, a disabled cockney street kid; the men of the SS Einsatzgruppen (action groups), whose 'police' work in occupied countries was a euphemism for murder and suppression; to the SS leaders themselves and their machinations for power and internecine intrigues, including "The Blond Beast", one of the 20th century's most notorious villains in SS and Police General Reinhard 'The Hangman' Heydrich himself... The tapestry of their lives is woven through the powerful tale of a dystopian world that could have been... Every aspect of ugliness and suppression associated with the barbarism of Nazi policy - from the genocidal aggression of the Security Police and SD in occupied territories to the devilish work in the shadows of the Gestapo secret police; the dehumanisation of entire races and those otherwise 'unsuitable' deemed 'life unworthy of life'; the institutionalisation of scientific racism, the glorification of war and military conquest and its effects on a generation raised under its influence; the persecutions, the lust for power; the awful internment system of the concentration camps and the savage lethality of German policy in every sphere of life is explored in this wide-ranging alternate history novel; a book that harkens to the hellish years of German atrocities across continental Europe, by showing the terrifying possibilities of what could have been in a Nazi-occupied Britain... Jackboot Britain depicts the grim realities of a Nazi Britain and Hitler's Europe through the lives and deaths, triumphs, setbacks and tragedies of this diverse range of characters, all of whom are caught up in the carnage and chaos of war in this story of love and loss, hope and fear, prejudice, cruelty and power. Each tale runs its course through a nightmare that seems unimaginable to the modern British sensibility, but that at one, disquieting moment in modern history, threatened to engulf the world whole. As each character manoeuvres in the dark shadow of National Socialism and its jackbooted armies, we see each story unfold as they near their own powerful conclusions, each trapped by the malevolent force that brought unparalleled suffering and chaos to the world. Jackboot Britain, by Daniel S. Fletcher (2011) - a debut novel.