Showing results by narrator "Hugh Kermode" in All Categories

Thirteen men have died in a London prison. Barrister Elliot Rook QC, who risks losing everything if his secret criminal past is revealed, must defend Charli Meadows, the vulnerable single mother accused of smuggling the deadly tainted drugs inside. But just as Rook becomes suspicious of those closest to Charli, a note arrives at his flat - threatening violence if the trial is not called off.

Discover the world's greatest myths and legends - from Greek mythology to Norse mythology - in this comprehensive guide. What did Japanese mythology say about the beginning of the universe? How did Oedipus become the classic tragic hero in Greek mythology? Who brought about the origin of death in Maori mythology?

A rich account of the impact of the Second World War on the lives of people living in the farms and villages of Britain. On the outbreak of war, the countryside was invaded by service personnel and evacuee children by the thousands; land was taken arbitrarily for airfields, training grounds, and firing ranges, and whole communities were evicted. Prisoner-of-war camps brought captured enemy soldiers to close quarters, and as horses gave way to tractors and combines farmers were burdened with aggressive new restrictions on what they could and could not grow.

In his short biography of Winston Churchill, author Peter Caddick-Adams writes that the recipe for Winston Churchill's success during his wartime premiership of 1940-45 can be found in the First World War. He argues that Britain's survival under Churchill was precisely because the nation, and its leaders, had undergone a "dress rehearsal in 1914-18; conscription, rationing, convoys, air raids, mass production, women's uniformed services, coalitions and war cabinets. It had all happened before."

The writer and broadcaster Paul Heiney set sail from the east coast of England bound for Iceland, propelled by a desire to breathe the cool, clear air of the high latitudes, and to follow in the wake of generations of sailors who have made this often treacherous journey since the 13th century. In almost every harbour he tripped over maritime history and anecdote, and came face to face with his own past as he sailed north along his childhood coastline of east Yorkshire towards the Arctic Circle. But there was one major thing missing from this voyage - the sight of puffins.

In Bloody Foreigners and The Last Wolf, Robert Winder explored the way Britain was shaped first by migration and then by hidden geographical factors. Now, in Soft Power he explores the way modern states are asserting themselves not through traditional realpolitik but through alternative means: business, language, culture, ideas, sport, education, music, even food...the texture and values of history and daily life.

In the distant future, at the end of civilisation, the remnants of society hang on, having retreated behind walls, while prisoners roam the wide-open space beyond. But is anybody free? Finbarl, a guard defending the walls of Athenia, fights to keep the flame of civilisation burning. It is the only world he knows and one he’s willing to die for. But when he intervenes to protect a boy and his mother from a fellow guard, little does he realise his world is about to unravel, setting him upon a dangerous journey of betrayal, heartbreak and discovery.

Seymour Merriman's holiday in France comes to an abrupt halt when his motorcycle starts leaking petrol. Following a lorry to find fuel, he discovers that it belongs to an English company making timber pit-props for coal mines back home. His suspicions of illegal activity are aroused when he sees the exact same lorry with a different number plate - and confirmed later with the shocking discovery of a body.

The headlines may be all COVID now; as a few short months ago, they were all Brexit, but breakdown of the UK's political sphere has been a long time coming and it is a symptom of a much deeper malaise. We seem to have lost our faith in all our social institutions, from parliament and the press to banking and religion. It is this wider disillusionment that All in It Together, a cultural, political and social history of Britain from 2000 to 2015, explains.