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Welcome
to the Pen and Sword page, on which you'll find a wide array of books
on various social and historical subjects. Pen and Sword are the
world's foremost historical and military publishers, and I hope to
always have a large selection of their latest brilliant titles in
Books Monthly.
John
Sadler: Hotspur
Published 30th April 2022
On
21 July 1403 Sir Henry Percy - better known as Hotspur - led a rebel
army out at Shrewsbury to face the forces of the king Henry IV. The
battle was both bloody and decisive. Hotspur was shot down by an arrow
and killed. Posthumously he was declared a traitor and his lands
forfeited to the crown. This was an ignominious end to the brilliant
career of one of the most famous medieval noblemen, a remarkable
soldier, diplomat and courtier who played a leading role in the reigns
of Richard II and Henry IV. How did he earn his extraordinary
reputation, and why did Shakespeare portray him as a fearsomely brave
but flawed hero who, despite a traitor's death, remained the mirror of
chivalry? These are questions John Sadler seeks to answer in the first
full biography of this legendary figure to be published for over twenty
years. Hotspur's exploits as a soldier in France during the Hundred
Years War, against the Scots in the Scottish borders and at the battles
of Otterburn, Homildon Hill and Shrewsbury have overshadowed his
diplomatic role as a loyal royal servant in missions to Prussia,
Cyprus, Ireland and Aquitaine. And, as the heir to one of the foremost
noble families of northern England, he was an important player not only
in the affairs of the North but of the kingdom as a whole. So, as John
Sadler reveals in this highly readable study, Hotspur was a much more
varied and interesting character than his narrow reputation for
headstrong attack and rebellion suggests.
Sir Henry
Percy, from the same family as Lord Percy so brilliantly portrayed in
the BLackadder series, is an historical figure who has also been
immortalised in Shakespeare's Henry plays, and is surely one of the
most important people to have lived and influenced our history. John
Sadler uncovers many previously unknown facts in this amazing
book that will keep anyone interested in medieval history interested,
Air
Marshal "Black" Robertson: A Spitfire Named Connie
Published 30th March 2022
A
Spitfire Named Connie is an exciting, rollercoaster of a story. A
prequel to Fighters in the Blood, it tells how ‘Robbie’ Robertson
begins his RAF training during the Battle of Britain and the Blitz. As
he learns his trade, he is soon rubbing shoulders with Fighter Command
heroes, amongst them Brian Kingcome, ‘Ginger’ Lacey and Bob Stanford
Tuck. Moving from 111 to 72 Squadron, he opens his account against the
Luftwaffe in the spring of 1942. Six months later, as he adds further
to his score, the action moves to the skies over North Africa. It is
there that tragedy strikes. Wounded and shot down by one of the
Luftwaffe’s most celebrated Experten, his Spitfire crashes to the
ground. Found lying near the wreckage by an army patrol, Robbie is
moved from casualty clearing stations to hospitals across Tunisia and
Algeria as doctors try desperately to save his sight. Finally, unable
to stand the pain any longer, he reluctantly agrees to the removal of
his right eye. A slow recovery and eventual return to the UK is no
compensation for the end of his flying career. Desk-bound for the
remainder of the war, the second and more poignant period of his RAF
life begins. The young schoolgirl, Connie Freeman, with whom he has
been in regular correspondence since her evacuation, becomes his wife.
It is literally hundreds of Robbie’s letters that form the basis of
this powerful, moving and emotional story. Together with his own and
Connie’s diaries, correspondence from RAF colleagues and his flying
logbook, they bring a unique authenticity to this highly-charged tale.
A Spitfire Named Connie reads like a novel, filled with excitement,
pathos and compassion. Yet, incredible as it may seem, almost every
word is true.
An
incredible but true story about Robbie Robertson, a real-life BIggles
(who flew Spitfires, of course) and his Spitfire, which he called
Connie. HIs adventures during WWII and beyond, and how he met his
future wife, Connie, are the sort of things you might read in a novel,
but it's all true, and absolutely terrific.
Ian
Castle: Zeppelin Inferno
Published
by Pen and Sword 21st April 2022
At
the beginning of 1916, as the world entered the second full year of
global conflict, the cities, towns and villages of Britain continued to
lay vulnerable to aerial bombardment. Throughout that period German
Zeppelin airships and seaplanes had come and gone at will, their most
testing opposition provided by the British weather as the country’s
embryonic defences struggled to come to terms with this first ever
assault from the air. Britain’s civilians were now standing on the
frontline ― the Home Front ― like the soldiers who had marched off to
war. But early in 1916 responsibility for Britain’s aerial defence
passed from the Admiralty to the War Office and, as German air attacks
intensified, new ideas and plans made dramatic improvements to
Britain’s aerial defence capability. While this new system could give
early warning of approaching raiders, there was a lack of effective
weaponry with which to engage them when they arrived. Behind the
scenes, however, three individuals, each working independently, were
striving for a solution. The results of their work were spectacular; it
lifted the mood of the nation and dramatically changed the way this
campaign was fought over Britain. The German air campaign against
Britain in the First World War was the first sustained strategic aerial
bombing campaign in history. Despite this, it has become forgotten
against the enormity of the Blitz of the Second World War, although for
those caught up in the tragedy of these raids, the impact was every bit
as devastating. In Zeppelin Inferno Ian Castle tells the full story of
the 1916 raids in unprecedented detail in what is the second book in a
trilogy that will reveal the complete story of Britain’s ‘Forgotten
Blitz’.
I
believe there was a Zeppelin air raid in my North Norfolk town, where I
have lived since 2006. Ian Castle reminds us of the concentrated air
attacks on British towns and cities from 1916 onwards.
Mark
Simmons: Alistair MacLean's War
Published
by Pen and Sword 30th May 2022
It
is no coincidence that many of Alistair MacLean's most successful
novels were sea stories. In 1941, he was called up after volunteering
for the Royal Navy and served as Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, and
Leading Torpedo Operator. For the majority of his service, he was on
HMS Royalist, a modified Dido-class light cruiser, seeing action in the
Arctic, and operations against the German battleship Tirpitz . The ship
then deployed to the Mediterranean taking part in Operation Dragoon the
invasion of the South of France and later in operations against German
occupied Greek Islands in the Aegean. After which MacLean and Royalist
were deployed to the Indian Ocean and operations against the Japanese
in Malaya, Burma, and Sumatra. His wartime experiences coupled with
exceptional literary skill resulted in the runaway success of his first
novel HMS Ulysses (1955) followed by The Guns of Navarone (1957) and
South by Java Head (1958). These three blockbusters cemented his
position as one of the most successful and highly paid authors of the
era. While not a whole life biography, Mark Simmon’s book provides a
fascinating insight into Maclean’s war service and subsequent works,
which deserve enduring popularity.
There
was a time not so long ago when most of Alistair MacLean's novels were
being made into major blockbuster movies. Mark Simmons uncovers the
life of MacLean and explains how he managed to capture the imagination
of the world of book readers. Fascinating.
Durer's
Fightbook
Published
by Pen and Sword 27th April 2022
Albrecht
Durer is probably the most famous German artist of the Renaissance, if
not of all time. His works are world-famous and he was a master in
numerous artistic disciplines such as woodcut, copperplate engraving,
drawing and painting. What is less well known is that he was interested
in weapons and fencing throughout his life. He produced several
woodcuts for a tournament book by Emperor Maximilian I, but he devoted
himself much more thoroughly to the subject of duels in his own
extensive fencing manuscript. Durer's fight book stands out from the
mass of illustrated fencing manuscripts because of its outstanding
quality. In well over 100 elaborate drawings, the master uniquely
depicts dynamic pairs of fighters practising contemporary combat
techniques, such as wrestling or sword and dagger fighting. Since its
creation more than 500 years ago, the fight book has never been
published in its entirety. This edition offers the complete contents of
the manuscript for the very first time: All illustrations are
reproduced in colour and the complete text is presented in a
letter-perfect transcription as well as a translation into modern
English. Albrecht Durer's fight book offers a unique, new look at Durer
the artist and Durer the fighter.
A stunning book featuring a huge selection of Durer's illustrations.
Tony
Sullivan: The Real Gladiator
Published
by Pen and Sword 6th May 2022
Are
you not entertained? shouts Russell Crowe, playing the part of General
Maximus Decimus Meridius in the Oscar winning 2000 film Gladiator. The
crowd, having witnessed Maximus defeating several gladiators, cheer in
response. Film goers too were indeed entertained with the film grossing
nearly half a billion dollars. This book covers the historical events
that film was based on. From the Germanic wars on the northern frontier
to the gladiatorial arena in Rome. From the philosopher emperor, Marcus
Aurelius to the palace intrigues during the reign of his son. We will
discover how Commodus really died and which of the characters actually
fought in the arena. Readers will meet two generals, Pompeianus and
Maximianus, who most resemble our hero General Maximus. Also Lucilla,
the sister of Commodus, who in reality married her General, but
detested him. The book also focuses on warfare, weapons and
contemporary battles. It will compare the battle and fight scenes in
the film with reality from contemporary sources and modern tests and
reenactments. The reader will discover that fact is not only stranger
than fiction, it is often more entertaining. The real history was
certainly as much, if not more, treacherous, bloodthirsty, murderous
and dramatic than anything the film industry has created. Anyone who
answered yes! to the question posed by Russell Crowe's character in the
film, will indeed be entertained by this book.
STony
SUllivan tells the amazing and fascinating story of the true-life
gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius - absolutely riveting.
Rebecca
Alexandra Simon: Pirate Queens
Published
by Pen and Sword 6th May 2022
Between
August and October 1720, two female pirates named Anne Bonny and Mary
Read terrorized the Caribbean in and around Jamaica. Despite their
short career, they became two of the most notorious pirates during the
height of the eighteenth-century Golden Age of Piracy. In a world
dominated by men, they became infamous for their bravery, cruelty and
unwavering determination to escape the social constraints placed on
women during that time. Despite their infamy, mystery shrouds their
lives before they became pirates. Their biographies were recorded in
Captain Charles Johnson’s 1724 book, A General History of the Pyrates,
depicting the two women as illegitimate women raised by men who,
against insurmountable odds, crossed paths in Nassau and became pirates
together. But how much is fact versus fiction? This first full-length
biography about Anne Bonny and Mary Read explores their intriguing
backgrounds while examining the social context of women in their
lifetime and their legacy in popular culture that exists to the present
day. Using A General History of the Pyrates, early modern legal
documents relating to women, their recorded public trial in The Tryal
of Jack Rackham and Other Pyrates, newspapers and new, uncovered
research, this book unravels the mysteries and legends surrounding
their lives.
This
month's History Revealed magazine also had an article about Anne Bonny
and Mary Read - these were two larger0-than life women who dominated
the world of piracy for several years. An absolutely fascinating
account of the real lives of these two amazing women.
M
J Trow: Famous Horses At War
Published
by Pen and Sword 30th April 2022
'In
dreary, doubtful waiting hours Before the brazen frenzy starts, The
horses show him nobler powers;- O patient eyes, courageous hearts.'
Into Battle, Julian Grenfell, 1915 In the days of horsed cavalry, a
soldier's mount was a living, breathing companion. It galloped into the
jaws of death at the sound of the bugle and the nudge of spurs. It
carried its rider over arid deserts, across swollen rivers, up
near-sheer mountains. Whole societies functioned because of the
warhorse - the Huns, the Mongols, and the tribes of the North American
plains. Horses were worshipped as gods - the centaurs of ancient
Greece, Tziminchak of the Aztecs, while the Roman emperor Caligula
intended to make his horse a consul! Most of us have only ever seen
warhorses at the movies - the Scots Greys at Waterloo, the Light
Brigade at Balaclava, Taras Bulba's Cossacks on the Steppes and
Custer's cavalry at the Little Big Horn. This book celebrates the
colour and nostalgia of a fighting past, from eohippus the first horse
to Sefton, the last warhorse injured in the line of duty. Not
forgetting the stark reality of thousands of animals sacrificed for
men's greed and ambition, those killed on campaign, the maimed
cab-horses and fodder for the knacker's yard.
M
J Trow, whose detective series featuring Inspector Lestrade, Peter
Maxwell and Kit Marlowe I used to enjoy enormously, turns his writing
skills to an fabulous book about famous horses down through history who
have changed the course of that history. Utterly brilliant.
Kim
Thomas: Broadmoor Women
Published
by Pen and Sword 12th April 2022
Broadmoor,
Britain's first asylum for criminal lunatics, was founded in 1863. In
the first years of its existence, one in five patients was female. Most
had been tried for terrible crimes and sent to Broadmoor after being
found not guilty by virtue of insanity. Many had murdered their own
children, while others had killed husbands or other family members.
Drawing on Broadmoor's rich archive, this book tells the story of seven
of those women, ranging from a farmer's daughter in her 20s who shot
dead her own mother to a middle-class housewife who drowned her baby
daughter. Their moving stories give a glimpse into what
nineteenth-century life was like for ordinary women, often struggling
with poverty, domestic abuse and repeated childbearing. For some,
Broadmoor, with its regime of plain food, fresh air and garden walks,
was a respite from the hardships of their previous life. Others were
desperate to return to their families. All but one of the women whose
stories are recounted in this book recovered and were released. Their
bout of insanity was temporary. Yet the causes of their condition were
poorly understood and the treatment rudimentary. As well as providing
an in-depth look at the lives of women in Victorian England, the book
offers a fascinating insight into the medical profession's emerging
understanding of the causes and treatment of mental illness.
A fairly disturbing but nonetheless fascinating account of seven famous female inmates of Broadmoor.
Jan-Willem
Van Den Braak: Hitler's Spy Against Churchill
Published
by Pen and Sword 30th May 2022
From
the summer of 1940 until May 1941, nearly twenty German Abwehr agents
were dropped by boat or parachute into England during what was known as
Operation Lena, all in preparation for Hitler's planned invasion of
England. The invasion itself would never happen and in fact, after the
war, one of the Abwehr commanders declared that the operation was
doomed to failure. There is no doubt that the operation did indeed
become a fiasco, with almost all of the officers being arrested within
a very brief period of time. Some of the men were executed, while
others became double agents and spied for Britain against Germany. Only
one man managed to stay at large for five months before eventually
committing suicide: Jan Willem Ter Braak. Amazingly, his background and
objectives had always remained unclear, and none of the other Lena
spies had ever even heard of him. Even after the opening of the secret
service files in England and the Netherlands over 50 years later, Jan
Willem Ter Braak remained a 'mystery man', as the military historian
Ladislas Farago famously described him. In this book, the author - his
near-namesake - examines the short and tragic life of Jan Willem Ter
Braak for the first time. Using in-depth research, he investigates the
possibility that Ter Braak was sent to kill the British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and discovers why his fate has remained largely
unknown for so long.
An astonishing account of the life of one of Hitler's special agents,
Jan Willem Ter Braak, whose secret task was to assassinate Churchill.
Real Sppoks stuff, and absolutely fascinating.
The
small print: Books
Monthly, now well into its 24th
year on the web,
is published on or slightly before the first day of each month by Paul
Norman. You can contact me here.
If you wish to submit something for publication in the magazine, let me
remind you there is no payment as I don't make any money from this
publication. If you want to send me something to review, contact me via
email at paulenorman1@gmail.com and I'll let you know where to send it.
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