King Charles II by Antonia Fraser

$12.00 AUD

Category: General History

The story of King Charles II is one of enduring fascination. The golden childhood of the boy Prince in the Van Dyck pictures gave way to an adventurous youth in Civil War England and abroad, ending traumatically when his father was executed in 1649. Charles II, King at eighteen, succeeded to `nothing bu t the name'. After his valiant attempt to regain the throne was defeated by Cromwell at Worcester, the King made his epic escape - to years of exile, poverty and humiliation in Europe. The `miraculous' Restoration ushered in a reign coloured by a series of equally dramatic events: the Great Plague, the Fire of London, two Dutch Wars, the bizarre Popish Plot, and finally the efforts of the Whigs to exclude his Catholic brother James from the succession, culminating in the King's unexpected triumph over them at the Oxford Parliament of 1681. A lover of women, passionate planner of parks and palaces and friend of the arts, this was the man who was to overcome the many problems of his reign and die not only in control of his country but in the affection of his countrymen. In this meticulously researched biography, Antonia Fraser offers important judgements and reassessments on central questions of the reign, such as Charles's relationships, his attitude to Kingship, his patriotism and his religious beliefs. Above all she has succeeded in writing a totally compelling narrative, both moving and exciting, and showing all the skills and insights which have secured her place as one of the foremost biographers of our time. `A rich feast of instruction, drama and entertainment' TLS `The fullest and most sophisticated account of the most charming and approachable of English Kings' OBSERVER ...Show more

Tales of Times Past - Memories of Swan by Maxine Laurie; Vasanti Sunderland Staff

$9.95 AUD

Category: Australiana

Marooned - The Wreck of the Vergulde Draeck and the Abandonment and Escape from the Southland of Abraham Leeman in 1658 by James A. Henderson

$79.95 AUD

Category: Australiana

The War Diaries of Weary Dunlop - Java and the Burma-Thailand Railway, 1942-1945 by E. E. Dunlop

$7.95 AUD

Category: Military | Series: A\Penguin Original Ser.

The War Diaries of Weary Dunlopis the fascinating personal account of Sir Edward Dunlop's experiences as senior medical officer in prisoner-of-war camps in Java and on the Burma Thailand Railway from 1942 to 1945.

Countryman Farm Handbook

$14.95 AUD

Category: Australiana

Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir

$7.95 AUD

Category: General History

Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine, was one of the leading personalities of the Middle Ages, and also one of the most controversial. Having inherited a vast feudal domain stretching from the Loire to the Pyrenees, she was one of the greatest heiresses in history; yet in her own day, she was famous not only f or who she was, but also for what she did. In an age when women were treated as mere chattels, she made her own choices, wielded power and won widespread respect. Circumstances, however, dictated that her memory would be sullied by calumny and misunderstanding. Eleanor was no saint. She was beautiful, intelligent and wilful, and in her lifetime there were rumours about her that were not without substance. Her contemporaries were sometimes scandalised by her behaviour. She had been reared in a relaxed and licentious court where the arts of the troubadours flourished, and was even said to have presided over the fabled Courts of Love. Eleanor married in turn Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, and was the mother of Richard the Lionheart and King John. She lived to be 82, but it was only in old age that she triumphed over the adversities and tragedies of her earlier years and became virtual ruler of England. Eleanor has exerted a fascination over writers and biographers for 800 years, but the prevailing myths and legends that attach to her name still tend to obscure the truth. By careful research, Alison Weir has produced a vivid biography with a fresh and provocative perspective on this extraordinary woman. ...Show more

Ingenious Mr. Fairchild by Michael Leapman

$6.50 AUD

Category: General History

By the early eighteenth century botanists were inching towards the shocking truth that plants had male and female organs and reproduced sexually. The first person to realize the practical implications of this was London nurseryman and author Thomas Fairchild. By transferring the pollen of a sweet Willia m into the pistil of a carnation, he created a new plant that became known as 'Fairchild's Mule': the first man-made hybrid in Europe. But this primitive form of genetic engineering aroused a scientific and religious furore.Michael Leapman offers fascinating and colourful detail about the life and times of Fairchild, a troubled, gentle soul whose pioneering work changed the course of horticulture and paved the way for the growth of gardening as a cultural obsession.'A beguiling perambulation around the Georgian nursery trade.' Sir Roy Strong, "Daily Mail" ...Show more

Frill-Necked Frenzy by Kenneth Cook

$7.95 AUD

Category: Australiana

A collection of short stories, mostly humorous, mostly autobiographical, uniquely Australian.

The First World War by A.J.P. Taylor

$7.95 AUD

Category: Military

A. J. P. Taylor was one of the most acclaimed and uncompromising historians of the twentieth century. In this clear, lively and now-classic account of the First World War, he tells the story of the conflict from the German advance in the West, through the Marne, Gallipoli, the Balkans and the War at Sea to the offensives of 1918 and the state of Europe after the war. Containing photographs and maps, this an essential history of the war that 'cut deep into the consciousness of modern man'. ...Show more

Lords' Dreaming - The 1868 Aboriginal Tour of England and Beyond by Ashley Mallett

$12.00 AUD

Category: Australiana

Charles Lawrence, an Englishman living in Australia, led a team of Aboriginals in a cricket tour of England in 1868 where they played 47 matches; 14 won, 14 lost and 19 drawn. It was the first Australian tour of England and the only time when an all Aboriginal team has represented Australia. This book d etails the culture clash between the Aboriginals and Lawrence's English roots. The Aboriginal team learnt cricket only for the tour and had never played before. Playing against the Aboriginal team was the young W.G. Grace, while today in Lords there are numerous mementos of that tour: including a boomerang that depicts the life of Dick-a-Dick, one of the players on the tour. ...Show more

Ion Idriess's Greatest Stories by Ion L. Idriess

$19.95 AUD

Category: Australiana

The World of Henry Lawson

$12.00 AUD

Category: Australiana