D-DAY UK: 100 Key Locations

Simon Forty• £30

The D-Day landings of 6 June 1944 were the culmination of months of meticulous planning and organisation. A vast army had to be trained and equipped; huge amounts of material – from tin cans to tank transporters, petrol to parachutes – had to be stockpiled, distributed and readied for transport to the beaches of Normandy; bombing missions had to reduce the enemy; fighters, minesweepers and other naval missions had to clear the English Channel; and, finally, the men had to embark and the armada had to deliver its cargo to a strict timetable under enemy fire onto a hostile shore. The hundred locations chosen for this book are a small collection of those places in Britain that were involved in the preparations for D-Day, as starting points from which the reader can discover the considerable depth of involvement required to launch the great invasion.

D-Day and Normandy: A Visual History

Anthony Richards • £25

This book marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day through a richly illustrated account of the invasion and its aftermath. Drawing on the unparalleled collections of IWM, it reconstructs the historic landings and the subsequent battle for a foothold in Normandy through images of artifacts, documents, period photographs and art. Interviews, firsthand accounts, and film stills put the reader right into the action, reminding us that even with all the careful planning and firepower the Allies were able to muster, the outcome of the invasion was far from certain.

Bigamy, Bankruptcy, War and Divorce: The Tangled Life of a Toddington Landlady

Richard Hart & Paul Brown • £15.99

A bundle of passionate but unclaimed love letters written a century ago and found in a London bank vault have led to the uncovering of an extraordinary story. Research has revealed the adventures of a spirited young woman who by the standards of the time, or perhaps any time, behaved scandalously. Yet she managed to avoid disgrace, get her man, and go on to lead a respectable life. At first sight Ellen Nelsen’s behaviour appears shocking. Among other misdeeds she appears to have been bigamously married twice. Given her circumstances, however, her survival is a triumph of fortitude over betrayal.

Me, Me, Me: The Search for Community in Post-war England

Jon Lawrence • £25

Jon Lawrence re-tells the story of England since the Second World War through the eyes of ordinary people to argue that friendship, family, and place all remain central to our daily lives, and whilst community has changed, it is far from dead. He shows how, in the years after the Second World War, people came increasingly to question custom and tradition as the pressure to conform to societal standards became intolerable. And as soon as they could, millions escaped the closed, face-to-face communities of Victorian Britain, where everyone knew your business. But this was not a rejection of community per se, but an attempt to find another, new way of living which was better suited to the modern world.

The English Civil War: Fact and Fiction

James Hobson • £12.99
Pen & Sword

In this book, you’ll find fast and fun answers to all your secret questions about this remarkable period of British history. Find out about people’s lives and how the Civil War affected them. Learn about the role of women and if they merely stayed at home and suffered, and if Cromwell really was always miserable. James Hobson brings to life the tumultuous and unprecedented period of history that is known as the Civil War. An unfussy yet accurate history, each chapter presents a controversy in itself and sets about dispelling commonly held myths about the Civil War.