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Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Gypsy by Lesley Pearse, read by Heather Bleasdale. Gypsy is a compelling historical novel of survival from international number one bestselling author Lesley Pearse. Liverpool, 1893, and tragedy sends Beth Bolton on a journey far from home...

Join historian Suzannah Lipscomb as she reveals the hidden secrets of palaces, castles, theatres and abbeys to uncover the stories of Tudor England. From the famous palace at Hampton Court where dangerous court intrigue was rife, to less well-known houses, such as Anne Boleyn's childhood home at Hever Castle or Tutbury Castle, where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned, follow in the footsteps of the Tudors in the places that they knew.

Richard of Bordeaux and Henry Bolingbroke were first cousins, born just three months apart. Their two lives were from the beginning entwined. When they were still children, Richard was crowned King Richard II with Henry at his side, carrying the sword of state: a ten-year-old lord in the service of his ten-year-old king. Helen Castor tells this story of one of the strangest and most fateful relationships in English history. It is a story about power, and masculinity in crisis, and a nation brought to the brink of catastrophe and disintegration – and then brought back.

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Charles Dickens: A Life, the major new biography from the highly acclaimed Claire Tomalin, published for the 200th anniversary of his birth. Charles Dickens was a phenomenon: a demonicly hardworking journalist, the father of ten children, a...

'Captures much of the warmth, wit and worthiness of this thoroughly British institution' THE TIMES 'Crammed with fascinating nuggets' INDEPENDENT, Biography of the Month 'Absolutely wonderful. The book I've been waiting to read since I was ten years old' JEREMY DYSON With its unique ability to...

John Gaunt was the son of Edward III, brother to the Black Prince, father to Henry IV, and the sire of all those Tudors. He has had pretty bad press: supposed usurper of Richard II’s crown and the focus of hatred in the Peasants’ Revolt, as they torched his home, the Savoy Palace. Helen Carr paints a complex portrait of a man who held the levers of power on the English and European stage, passionately upheld chivalric values, pressed for the Bible to be translated into English, and patronized the arts.

Dark secrets and hidden sorrows abound in Santa Montefiore’s spellbinding novel set in war-torn Italy and the streets of New York. 'Nobody does epic romance like Santa Montefiore' JOJO MOYES ‘A wonderful story, beautifully told. I absolutely tore through it!’ KAREN SWAN New York, 1979. It...

What were the forces that thrust the British Empire to its extraordinary position of greatness and then just as powerfully drove it into decline? And why is nearly every nation on earth, in one way or another, the consequence of the British Empire?In these 36 lectures, Professor Allitt leads you through four centuries of British power, innovation, influence, and, ultimately, diminishment-four profound centuries that literally remade the world and bequeathed the complex global legacy that continues to shape your everyday life.

To Rule the Waves tells the extraordinary story of how the British Royal Navy allowed one nation to rise to a level of power unprecedented in history. From the navy's beginnings under Henry VIII to the age of computer warfare and special ops, historian Arthur Herman tells the spellbinding tale of great battles at sea, heroic sailors, violent conflict, and personal tragedy - of the way one mighty institution forged a nation, an empire, and a new world.

'Nicola Tallant, not for the first time, demonstrates why she is the very best writer on crime. No novelist alive could ever imagine the very complex and very dark human dramas that she skilfully unravels, delivering page after page of truth-telling that we must pay attention to' - Darragh...

The Falklands War was one of the strangest in British history - 28,000 men sent to fight for a tiny relic of empire 8,000 miles from home. At the time, many Britons saw it as a tragic absurdity, but the British victory confirmed the quality of British arms and boosted the political fortunes of the Conservative government.

Brought to you by Penguin. LONDON: a settlement founded by the Romans, occupied by the Saxons, conquered by the Danes and ruled by the Normans. This unremarkable place - not even included in the Domesday Book - became a medieval maze of alleys and courtyards, later to be chequered with grand...

A Waterstones Best History Book 2025 A BBC History Magazine Book of the Year 2025 ‘Learned, entertaining and highly approachable’ BOB MORTIMER ‘A treat’ ALICE LOXTON ‘Five stars from me…’ AL MURRAY An unmissable collaboration between two comedy legends – an irresistible...

The Fens is Britain's most distinctive, complex, man-made and least understood landscape. Francis Pryor has lived in, excavated, farmed, walked and loved the Fen Country for more than 40 years: its levels and drains, its soaring churches and magnificent medieval buildings. In The Fens, he counterpoints the history of the Fenland landscape and its transformation with the story of his own discovery of it as an archaeologist.

A Telegraph Best Book 2025 'Elegant and terrifying, the story of those who gave up life in the West for Ukraine's frontlines – some to save democracy, some to save themselves. A modern-day Homage to Catalonia – and Fight Club on steroids.' – Oliver Poole, London Standard ‘A great read’...

From First Footing to Samhain, Fringe Festival follies to whisky lore, Sam and Graham guide listeners through a year of Scottish legends, traditions, historical and contemporary events, sharing personal stories and tips as only these two chalk-and-cheese friends can. As entertaining as it is practical, The Clanlands Almanac is a light-hearted education in Scottish history and culture, told through the eyes of two passionate Scotsmen. The perfect escapist guide, The Clanlands Almanac is intended as a starting point for your own Scottish discoveries.

From Cleopatra to Grace Kelly, an epic new history of royal women that shatters the myths we have built around them. 'Erudite, clever, brilliant' KATE MOSSE 'A royal smash. Kate Williams is at the top of her game' KATE LISTER 'A fascinating and excellent chronicle of female rulers' SIMON SEBAG...

Central Europe is not just a space on a map but also a region of shared experience - of mutual borrowings, impositions and misapprehensions. From the Roman Empire onwards, it has been the target of invasion from the east. In the Middle Ages, Central Europeans cast their eastern foes as 'the dogmen'. They would later become the Turks, Swedes, Russians and Soviets, all of whom pulled the region apart and remade it according to their own vision.

Brought to you by Penguin. From Jon Sopel, bestselling author and presenter of hit podcast The News Agents, comes an incisive examination of post-Brexit Britain and what it means for our future. Returning to the UK in some ways has been disconcerting – or maybe discombobulating would be a...

The bloodbath at Waterloo ended a war that had engulfed the world for over 20 years. It also finished the career of the charismatic Napoleon Bonaparte. It ensured the final liberation of Germany and the restoration of the old European monarchies, and it represented one of very few defeats for the glorious French army, most of whose soldiers remained devoted to their Emperor until the very end.