Iris Bagshott strolls down the paths of her ancient garden, close to Lichfield in the heart of England, wondering if it is time to sell her house and land for development. She is unaware that around every corner myriad family secrets from the past unfold. From a Saxon clearing to a monastery, Tudor dwelling to the present day, this sacred plot has nurtured her ancestors. Generations of Bagshott women have found refuge and solace tending it through years of plague, civil war and beyond. This is their story.

The image of Coventry in flames was one of the most haunting of the Second World War. Yet the excitement and optimism of the 1950s and 1960s were succeeded by a quarter century of urban blight and economic slump. The collapse of manufacturing industry - machine tools, aeroplanes, cars - left a proud community adrift and demoralised. Today a revitalised twenty-first century city, Coventry has embraced the new millennium and evolved from bleak post-industrial desert to vibrant cultural oasis, in the process rediscovering a sense of purpose and a vision for the future. "The City of Coventry" tells the story of an experiment in social democracy carried out by a Labour-controlled council which envisaged the bomb shattered city as a model of urban regeneration and imaginative planning. Post-war reconstruction could be a striking success, as in the pedestrian-friendly Precinct and the bold new cathedral, or a notable failure as in the ever more intrusive ring roads and grim high-rise flats. In offering a fresh perspective on the city, this innovative volume of essays rediscovers Coventry as an inspiration for poets and painters such as Philip Larkin and Terry Frost, musicians as varied as Benjamin Britten and The Specials, and film-makers such as Humphrey Jennings, whose "Heart of Britain" was shot in the immediate aftermath of the Blitz. Adrian Smith skilfully mixes memoir, family history and meticulous scholarship to paint a complete and incisive portrait of Coventry. Drawing on new research into topics as diverse as the place of Surrealism in West Midlands culture and the shadowy presence of rugby league in a union bastion, Smith brings a unique insight into the recent history of his native city. Attractively presented, highly readable and with broad appeal, "The City of Coventry" is a lively re-examination of an iconic city of the twentieth century illuminating the profound changes that engulfed industrial England during and after the Second World War.

This volume provides a new perspective on civic history by focussing on the precarious position and power of the German bishop. While the author explores the decline of episcopal power, culminating in physical expulsion, he also sheds light on the bishop's remarkable survival through the ministrations of episcopal ritual.

The most shocking year in history. Week by week, hour by hour. In his brilliant reconstruction, Richard Collier vividly brings one of the most momentous years in world history to life once again. This was a time of blitzkrieg and the Blitz; of the Battle of Britain and Dunkirk. From the fighting in Finland to the destruction of Coventry, from the sinking of the French fleet in Oran to the invasion of Norway, this is history at its most extraordinary and engaging. By recounting major episodes from the viewpoint of those actually involved, Collier provides enlightening glimpses of just what war represented to both the great and to the unknown, and reveals that while 1940 was a year of incredible folly, it was also a time of inestimable bravery. Perfect for readers of Anthony Beevor and Max Hastings, this is an unforgettable book about an unforgettable year, a year that shaped the world we know today. ‘Masterly... you could be reading a spine-tingling thriller’ Sunday Express ‘I would like to see this book made compulsory reading’ Evening Standard