Historic Streets and Squares

Melanie Backe-Hansen • £20
thehistorypress.co.uk

Britain’s most well-known house historian investigates the stories behind our most famous streets and squares. An array of medieval lanes, Georgian crescents and Victorian squares make an appearance, together with the people famous, infamous and unfamiliar who designed, built and lived in them.

From Bedford Square and Portobello Road in London, through to Grey Street in Newcastle and Charlotte Square in Edinburgh, Historic Streets and Squares takes you over the doorstep of some of the country s most familiar addresses. Melanie Backe-Hansen takes us beyond the facades, delving into the evolution of ancient streets, the aspirations of builders and architects, and the extraordinary lives of past residents.

She also reveals the fascinating stories of how some of our oldest and most valued crescents, lanes and avenues have survived into the twenty-first century, and the twists and turns of their journey along the way. Taken together, these 50 examples tell us much about Britain’s urban development over the centuries, while also highlighting more recent attempts to preserve our architectural heritage. The history of our streets, avenues, lanes and squares reveals more than just changes to architectural style, but offers a doorway into the heritage of the nation.

The Quack Doctor

Caroline Rance • £12.99
thehistorypress.co.uk

From the harangues of charlatans to the sophisticated advertising of the Victorian era, quackery sports a colourful history.

Featuring entertaining advertisements from the 19th and early 20th centuries, this book investigates the inventive ways in which quack remedies were promoted and suggests that the people who bought them should not be written off as gullible after all.

There’s the Methodist minister and his museum of intestinal worms, the obesity cure that turned fat into sweat, and the device that brought the fresh air of Italy into British homes.

The story of quack advertising is bawdy, gruesome, funny and sometimes moving and in this book it takes to the stage to promote itself as a fascinating part of the history of medicine.

You can explore further findings in the annals of quackery by the author, historian of medicine and science Caroline Rance, at thequackdoctor.com .

Irish Brigades Abroad

Stephen McGarry • £16.99
thehistorypress.co.uk

Irish Brigades Abroad examines the complete history of the Irish regiments in France, Spain, Austria and beyond. Covering the period from King James II’s reign of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland in 1685, until the disbandment of the Irish Brigades in France and Spain, this book looks at the origins, formation, recruitment and the exploits of the Irish regiments, including their long years of campaigning from the War of the Grand Alliance in 1688 right through to the Napoleonic Wars in 1815.

Mapping the First World War

Dr Peter Chasseaud • £30
harpercollins.co.uk

To mark the centenary of the outbreak of WW1 in 2014, Mapping the First World War, published in association with the Imperial War Museums, tells the story of the war through a unique collection of historical maps, photographs and expert commentary from Dr Peter Chasseaud, historian of military cartography. It features more than 150 maps from the IWM archives, many of which haven’t been published for over 90 years. This extensive variety of often visually striking maps ranges from small-scale maps showing country boundaries and occupied territories to large-scale maps of key battles and offensives, trench maps depicting detailed front line positions, naval and air charts, maps from newspapers and propaganda. Look out for an exclusive extract in the next Discover Your Ancestors bookazine, out early next year – keep an eye on www.discoveryourancestors.co.uk for details.