Pen Sword Books: 303 books
London Curiosities
The Capital's Odd & Obscure, Weird & Wonderful Places
Language: English
Release Date: April 30, 2017
An off-the-beaten-path tour of the city’s hidden highlights, and the stories behind them.
London is full of curiosities. Who knew that beneath the Albert Memorial lies a chamber resembling a church crypt? Or that there are catacombs under Camden? Who would expect to find a lighthouse in East...
Father of the Modern Circus 'Billy Buttons'
The Life & Times of Philip Astley
Language: English
Release Date: April 30, 2018
The true story of a larger-than-life man who changed the world of entertainment in eighteenth-century England.
The world of the circus has a long and colorful history, but it was with a man named Philip Astley that the modern circus was founded. In April 1768, Astley pegged out a circular ride...
A History of Cigarette and Trade Cards
The Magic Inside the Packet
Language: English
Release Date: August 30, 2018
How trading cards captured the popular culture—from war to sports, science to celebrities—with tips on how to start and develop your own collection.
The collection of picture cards has fascinated generations of children and adults since the late nineteenth century. Between 1900 and 1940, cartophily,...
by Logan Thompson
Language: English
Release Date: March 3, 2005
Language: English
Release Date: March 3, 2005
A groundbreaking study of the weaponry used in combat thousands of years ago.
Few accounts of ancient warfare have looked at how the weapons were made and how they were actually used in combat. Logan Thompson's pioneering survey traces the evolution of weapons in Britain across three thousand years,...
by Lissa Chapman
Language: English
Release Date: September 30, 2016
Language: English
Release Date: September 30, 2016
A portrait of the doomed queen’s image and influence that provides “a detailed look at real life in Tudor England” (Manhattan Book Review).
Romantic victim? Ruthless other woman? Innocent pawn? Religious reformer? Fool, flirt, and adulteress? Politician? Witch? During her life, Anne Boleyn,...
Allied POWs in German Hands 1914–1918
Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives
Language: English
Release Date: February 19, 2017
A fully-illustrated account of the dangers, the deaths, and the hardships of the thousands of Allied men who became prisoners of war during World War I.
After being forced or making the decision to surrender, the soldier, sailor, or airman was at the mercy of his captors. Here, readers will...
Balloonomania Belles
Daredevil Divas Who First Took to the Sky
Language: English
Release Date: March 31, 2018
Award-winning journalist Sharon Wright presents a fascinating account of the fabulous eighteenth and nineteenth-century female pioneers of balloon flight.
More than a century before the first airplane took flight, women were heading for the heavens in crazy, inspired contraptions that brought...
by Michael Taylor
Language: English
Release Date: September 20, 2013
Language: English
Release Date: September 20, 2013
The story of the man who ruled a sprawling ancient empire and strove to defend it against the Roman Republic.
A teenage king in 223 BC, Antiochus III inherited an empire in shambles, ravaged by civil strife and eroded by territorial secessions. But he proved himself a true heir of Alexander—defeating...
Captain Elliot and the Founding of Hong Kong
Pearl of the Orient
Language: English
Release Date: March 30, 2018
An in-depth look at the life of Captain Charles Elliot—from his Royal Navy career to his controversial role in establishing Hong Kong as a British colony.
On January 26, 1841, the British took possession of the island of Hong Kong. The Convention of Chuenpi was immediately repudiated by both...
Charlie Peace
Murder, Mayhem and the Master of Disguise
Language: English
Release Date: October 31, 2016
The true crimes of one of nineteenth century England’s most notorious thieves and killers, whose exploits still capture the public’s imagination.
Once immortalized in Madame Tussauds’s Chamber of Horrors, and brought to life in two silent films, his gnarled and prematurely aged features...
Hitler's Home Front
Memoirs of a Hitler Youth
Language: English
Release Date: September 30, 2016
A “candid and revealing memoir shows a normal boy and a family at war and in its aftermath, determined to do what it took to survive . . . fascinating” (The Great War).
When Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party came into power in 1933, he promised the downtrodden, demoralized, and economically...
Life in the Victorian Kitchen
Culinary Secrets and Servants' Stories
Language: English
Release Date: September 30, 2014
A fascinating and deeply researched behind-the-scenes journey into Victorian-era kitchens, with authentic nineteenth-century techniques, tips, and recipes.
Have you ever wondered what life was like for domestic servants, the etiquette involved during upper class banquets, or simply wished for...
Churchill's Thin Grey Line
British Merchant Ships at War 1939–1945
Language: English
Release Date: November 30, 2017
The naval historian and retired merchant navy captain recounts the contributions of Britain’s civilian ships during WWII in this “cracking read” (The Bridgend & Porthcawl Gem).
The first British casualties of the Second World War were not members of the Royal Navy, the army, or the Royal...
Yorkshire's Secret Castles
A Concise Guide & Companion
Language: English
Release Date: November 30, 2017
The Yorkshire countryside’s ancient earthwork castles, built in the time of the Norman Conquest, come to life in this beautiful guide—includes pictures!
The Norman conquest of the British isle was a landmark event in England’s history, drawing a line between its misty Roman and Saxon...