Celebrating the joys of fishing, this collection features remarkable angling tales and anecdotes that resonate with game fishers, coarse, and sea anglers alike. Tom Quinn has meticulously gathered extraordinary stories from over two centuries of fishing literature, showcasing memorable experiences and triumphs by the water. This treasury captures the essence of those unforgettable days spent fishing, making it a must-read for enthusiasts of the sport.
For as long as the British monarchy has existed, royal children have been brought up in ways that seem bizarre and eccentric to the rest of us. From medieval wet nurses to today's Norland nannies and elite boarding schools, princes and princesses have endured parental abandonment for centuries as their parents farmed out childrearing duties to paid staff. And as this marvelous romp of a book demonstrates, dysfunctional childhood experiences produce emotionally damaged adults, as evidenced by Edward VIII - who was horribly mistreated by his nanny - and his marriage to his substitute mother figure, Mrs Simpson; by alcoholic party girl Princess Margaret; and by rebellious Harry and his desperate desire to adopt Meghan Markle's world view, to the detriment of his relationship with his brother. Interweaving exclusive testimonies from palace staff with historical sources, Tom Quinn also uncovers outrageous tales of royal children misbehaving, often hilariously - from Edward VII smashing up his schoolroom to the Queen mischievously pranking unsuspecting visitors with dog biscuits to Prince William pinching a teacher's bottom. Amusing and shocking in equal measure, Gilded Youth examines how the royal family has clung to outmoded traditions that centre on emotional coldness and detachment, and how, when it comes to children, the British royal family is still living in the Dark Ages.
Barking Mad taps into the British passion for dogs by bringing together a
unique collection of extraordinary, touching and sometimes bizarre but true
stories covering sporting dogs (and hounds) military mascots, eccentric
companions, war heroes and Royal dogs.
George Orwell once said that the British love a really good murder. He might
have added that the only thing the British love more than a good murder is a
really good scandal, and best of all are the sexual and political scandals
that take place behind the gilded doors of Britain's royal palaces.
Kensington Palace takes the reader behind the official version of palace
history to discover intriguing, sometimes wild, often scandalous, but
frequently heart-warming stories.
The extraordinary and unhappy life story of one of the world's richest men. By
the author of the best-selling Backstairs Billy ISBN 9781849547802 hb and
ISBN: 9781785900006 pb, with combined sales of 15,600 across cloth, paper and
Ebook.
A quirky collection of true stories from the stranger side of the world's
railways, featuring weird weather conditions, audacious robberies, hair-
raising accidents, vanishing passengers, an infestation of maggots and a
mysterious missing mummy.
The Duchess of Cornwall's great-grandmother Alice Keppel was perhaps the
greatest courtesan in history. Charming, voracious, selfish, manipulative and
strikingly modern, this remarkable book shows how Mrs Keppel became one of the
most compelling characters of the Edwardian era.
Following on from the hugely successful London's Strangest Tales, Tom Quinn plunges even deeper into the endlessly beguiling past of one of the world's greatest capitals, and once more unpicks the quirkiest tales that characterise London.Why would Winston Churchill ask to be lowered in a bucket into the sewers of London? Why is the name George so important to certain elitist London clubs? Why did the market for human teeth become such a booming industry? As with many old cities, a wealth of bizarre and astonishing tales makes up the history of London: stories ranging from the churches and streets of the city to the incredible actions of monarchs and mavericks.Inside these pages you will uncover the stories of a king who enjoyed cross-dressing and the schoolboys who played football with a pancake; you will learn which prestigious department store once sold cocaine over the counter and why Napoleon's nose is built into the structure of Admiralty Arch. More London's Strangest Tales promises to be an incredible collection of the weird and wonderful, a city guide proving once and for all that truth is stranger than fiction.Tom Quinn is the author of many titles including London’s Strangest Tales, Backstairs Billy: The Life of William Tallon, the Queen Mother's most Devoted Servant, and The Cook’s Tale: Life Below Stairs as it Really Was. He also writes occasional obituaries for the Times and edits Country Business magazine.
Born in 1910 Rose Plummer grew up in an East End slum. At the age of fifteen she left the noise and squalor of Hoxton and started work as a live-in maid at a house in the West End.
