Showing titles in 19th Century

It has often been said that the greatest invention of all time was the sail, which facilitated the internationalization of the globe and thus ushered in the modern era. Columbus' contact with the New World, alongside European maritime contact with the Far East, transformed human history, and in particular, the history of Africa. It was the sail that linked the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe, and thus it was also the sail that facilitated the greatest involuntary human migrations in history.

Between the 18th and early 19th centuries, Britain experienced massive leaps in technological, scientific, and economical advancement. This powerful period has since been immortalized as the great Industrial Revolution, during which Britain became a formidable force that boasted unmatched economical growth, drastic changes in living conditions, and even the emergence of a neglected social class. Vast portions of rural lands were transformed into interconnected, complex, and multitasking cities.

For most people, the child's rhyme "London Bridge is falling down" conjures up visions of the tall, majestic, two-towered bridge spanning the River Thames near the Tower of London, with its high footpath providing one of the best views available of the city. The only problem is, this vision is wrong, for the London Bridge of modern times is neither tall nor majestic.

On May 14, 1804, a party of explorers dispatched by President Thomas Jefferson set off up the Missouri River into America's newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Under the leadership of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the men of the Corps of Discovery would cross the continent and into history.

To get a sense of the kind of prestige that Claude Monet's reputation has within the art world, one need only learn that his Le Bassin Aux Nympheás (1919) - from his series of paintings featuring water lilies - sold for the equivalent of more than $70 million. This is an incredibly staggering price, especially considering that early in his life, Monet had been so poor and debt-ridden that some of his paintings were taken from him by creditors.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir stands alongside Claude Monet at the very peak of Impressionist painting, and though neither of them can be credited with founding the movement (that honor likely goes to Edouard Manet or Edgar Degas), Renoir and Monet remain inextricably tied to the key characteristics of Impressionism: loose brushwork; outdoor painting; an emphasis on capturing natural light and shadow; and a focus on remaining in Paris and the surrounding countryside.

People love mysteries, which is a good thing, since history is so replete with them. This is especially true among seafaring people, and of all the mysteries of the deep, few rise to the level of the Mary Celeste. In many ways it is a story more suited for an episode of The X-Files than it is for any history book. There is the unlucky ship that began her sailing career under a cloud of bad fortune and accident.

To get a sense of the kind of prestige that Claude Monet enjoys within the art world, one need only learn that his Le Bassin Aux Nympheás (1919) - from his series of paintings featuring water lilies - sold for the equivalent of more than $70 million. This is a staggering price, especially considering that early in his life, Monet had been so poor and debt-ridden that some of his paintings were taken from him by creditors.

Lives, loves, and loyalties must battle for survival in our fictional story that commences around the time of the potato famine in 1845. Two baby boys are born in a local doctor's house at around the same time of day. One is the son of the lady of the manor, the other is the son of a young Irish peasant woman whose husband works for the lord of the manor.

When the leaders of the French Revolution executed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette in 1793, they sent a chilling message to the hereditary ruling orders in Europe. Believing that monarchy anywhere presented a threat to democratic rule in France, the leaders of the revolution declared war on European aristocracies, including those of Great Britain. For more than 20 years thereafter, France and England waged a protracted war that ended in British victory.

The butcher of the Alamo and Goliad. The traitor who sold half of Mexico. The Napoleon of the West. Mr. Fifteen Nails. The Mother Country's seducer. Almost 150 years after his death, a lot of name-calling is still being directed towards Antonio López de Santa Anna, president of Mexico 11 times in the 19th century, and today, the vast majority of his compatriots consider him the greatest traitor in history.

Situated about 25 miles off the Tanzanian coast, Zanzibar, with its sultans and spices, merchants and mosques, dhows and doorways of richly carved timber, has captured the imagination of travelers and writers for hundreds of years. It has long evoked a romantic mystique, calling up images of an island paradise in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Its gleaming Muslim Swahili town, built of white coralline limestone, can trace approximately 1,000 years of maritime trading.

Gateshead, April 1866. The Apprentice of Split Crow Lane takes the forgotten case of a child murder in 1866 as a springboard to delve deeply into the pysche of the Victorians. What Jane Housham finds in this exploration of guilt, sexual deviance and madness is a diagnosis that is still ripe for the challenging and a sentence that provokes even our liberal modern judgment.

L'"Histoire de France" de Jules Michelet est un monument. Littéraire, d'abord, par le style envolé de ce digne héritier de Dumas et par sa puissance d'évocation : Michelet s'était donné pour mission de ressuciter le passé, de faire revivre personnages et coups d'éclat qui ont construit l'identité de la France pour mettre en évidence ce qui fait l'âme d'une nation.

In a single definitive narrative, City of Sedition tells the spellbinding story of the huge-and hugely conflicted-role New York City played in the Civil War. No city was more of a help to Abraham Lincoln and the Union war effort, or more of a hindrance. No city raised more men, money, and...

Ici se nouent les derniers actes du fabuleux destin de Napoléon. Le 24 juin 1812, il entre en Russie à la tête de la Grande Armée. Alors chaque jour, chaque page de ce livre, et jusqu'à la mort de l'empereur le 5 mai 1821, devient une scène inoubliable. C'est l'océan de feu qui détruit Moscou et c'est le passage de la Bérézina au terme de la retraite de Russie. C'est Leipzig et c'est Montmirail, la campagne d'Allemagne et la campagne de France en 1813 et 1814.

Napoléon a trente ans en ce mois de noembre 1799. Il est Premier consul. Dans cinq ans, il sera Empereur des Français. "Joseph, si notre père nous voyait", murmurera-t-il à son frère aîné lors du sacre. Un an encore et il s'écriera : "Soldats, je suis content de vous !" Voilà la course légendaire. À la suivre jour après jour, on mesure la tension, la lucidité, la volonté, l'énergie, le génie, qu'il a fallu à Napoléon pour franchir les obstacles. Cadoudal le royaliste veut le tuer. L'Angleterre, l'Autriche, la Russie veulent l'abattre. Il faut l'emporter, sinon tout s'effondre.

Steam's Indian Summer is a window into the great watershed period in Britain's railways; the change from steam haulage to diesel and electric traction. Highlights include the last years of the named expresses like 'Bristolian', plus visits to far-flung but legendary and unique corners of the national network, like the Cromford & High Peak Railway.

Ce recueil dresse la chronologie de l'Affaire et rappelle la férocité de cette lutte pour la vérité et la justice commencée le 25 novembre 1897 avec son premier article en faveur de Dreyfus, jusqu'à sa dernière lettre au président de la République le 22 décembre 1900. À cette date, Dreyfus n'a pas été réhabilité et Zola ne peut l'accepter.

Listeners will be taken on a marvelous journey of discovery as author and engineman Clive Groome delves into the past and present of Britain's rich railway heritage. Each of the regions are described, from the conception of their rail network to the locomotives that ran on them, followed by a look at the region's preserved. Interspersed throughout are special profiles on some of the most notable locomotives ever built with in-depth discussion on their design and performance.