History & Reference Books

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Galleries, which opened in June 2018, are an exciting new development in the history of Westminster Abbey.  The eastern triforium, which runs around the Abbey's interior 16 metres above floor level, has been transformed into...

The Queen’s Coronation, on 2 June 1953, should have been celebrated in blazing sunshine. Instead, it was one of the coldest June days in years, and it poured with rain. The enthusiasm of the hundreds of thousands of people who lined the streets waiting...

The Queen’s Window was designed by renowned artist David Hockney for Westminster Abbey and unveiled in autumn 2018. In an extended conversation between Hockney and fellow-artist Tacita Dean recorded specifically for this publication, the artist reflects...

A paperback edition of the official illustrated history of the Crown Jewels, the most famous jewellery collection in the world housed at the Tower of London, incorporating spectacular new photographs with stunning details. Accessible text based on...

This handy, easy to carry book provides the reader with a strictly visual approach to the reading of churches. Covering all the ecclesiastical building types of Western Christianity, readers are taken on a journey tracing the development of the church...

With testimonies from historic figures such as Winston Churchill, Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, and Margaret Thatcher, this tribute explores the faith of the world's most famous Queen. Nearing seven decades on the throne, the Queen has faced many personal...

From the Battle of Hastings to the Wars of the Roses, this book tells the unique story of Medieval Britain. Full of intriguing facts, illustrations, photographs, detailed reconstructions, paintings, maps and family trees. Includes links to websites to...

'How refreshing, to read a book about music written for a music lover and not a musicologist. In clear, lucid, entertaining prose, Jane Glover makes those of us who lack musical literacy better understand and appreciate Handel's divinity.' - Donna Leon,...

Many Kings and Queens of England suffered extraordinary deaths. Handsome and virile in his youth. a rare medical condition turned Henry VIII into a bloates and grotesque old man. The dashing and glamourous Henry V probably died of cancer of the rectum, a...

Ground-breaking new studies of Henry V's chapel, tomb and funeral service have new revelations and insights into the time.Before Henry V set out in 1415 on the campaign which culminated in victory at Agincourt, he made a will laying down precise...

This brilliant new book explores the lives of eight generations of the greatest kings and queens that this country has ever seen, and the worst. The Plantagenets  – their story is the story of Britain. England’s greatest royal...

Roy Strong has written an exemplary introduction to the history of Britain, as first designated by the Romans. It is a brilliant and balanced account of successive ages bound together by a compelling narrative which answers the questions: ‘Where do we...