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19th C

The Congress of Terror

The Congress of Terror

The rise of the People’s Will and their deadly plot against Tsar Alexander II.
R.N.Morris

In 1879 a group of eleven young people descended on the quiet Russian spa town of Lipetsk, over 700 miles south of St Petersburg. The ten men and one woman stood out from the geriatric invalids who comprised the resort’s usual visitors, thanks to their youth, physical...

Fairfax of Virginia, by Hugh Fairfax

Fairfax of Virginia, by Hugh Fairfax

Artist Hugh Fairfax researched his family history and discovered a cornucopia of fascinating figures.
Oliver Webb-Carter

In 1732 Thomas Fairfax, the sixth Lord Fairfax of Cameron, was reading the Gentleman’s Magazine obituary of the agent to his lands in Virginia, Robert Carter. To his astonishment he discovered Carter was worth, in those days, £10,000 and so Fairfax immediately began...

Hugh Fairfax on Fairfax Of Virginia

Hugh Fairfax on Fairfax Of Virginia

Author Hugh Fairfax traces the legacy of the Fairfax family’s journey from medieval England to colonial America and back.
Hugh Fairfax

Hugh, the Fairfax name is most well-known because of the 3rd Lord, Sir Thomas (1612 – 1671), but what are the origins of the family? The Fairfax family is first heard of in the 12th Century with Henry owning land at Askham near York. Like many people in the north of...

Antonia Fraser on Lady Caroline Lamb: A Free Spirit

Antonia Fraser on Lady Caroline Lamb: A Free Spirit

Gretchen Friemann met acclaimed historian and author Antonia Fraser to talk history, writing and whether this is her last book.

Even as she approaches her 91st birthday, with her mobility impaired and her hearing no longer perfect, Antonia Fraser, acclaimed historian and author, is contemplating what to write next. This may come as a surprise to readers of her latest book, a biography of one...

Nelson’s Pathfinders, by Michael Barritt

Nelson’s Pathfinders, by Michael Barritt

Barritt’s research is meticulous and observations are revealing.

Nelson’s Pathfinders is essential reading for Naval Historians. It is prescient that it is being published a year after the Admiralty announced it will be withdrawing paper charts and notices to mariners from 2026. For anyone unfamiliar with an Admiralty Chart it is a...

Michael Barritt

Michael Barritt

The naval historian discusses history, his influences and the books that have inspired him.

Michael Barritt, what first attracted you to naval history? My tutor at Oxford was Piers Mackesy, who was working on seminal books on the period 1793-1815, and this focussed my own interest. My subsequent career as a hydrographic specialist in the Royal Navy broadened...

Michael Barritt

Michael Barritt

Captain Michael Barritt Royal Navy is a first generation Scot who grew up near the banks of the River Clyde and acquired an early love for ships and the sea. At Glasgow Academy he was prepared for study of Modern History at Pembroke College, Oxford. His tutor there was Piers Mackesy who inspired a deep interest in the period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He is the author of Nelson's Pathfinders.
Michael Barritt

Books Click on any of the books covers below to either buy or get more information on Amazon Articles Click on the links below to read the full article [dpdfg_filtergrid custom_query="advanced" use_taxonomy_terms="on" multiple_taxonomies="name_of_author"...

Captain Edward Columbine and the West Africa Squadron

Captain Edward Columbine and the West Africa Squadron

The West Africa Squadron provided Captain Columbine the opportunity to fight slavery

Captain Edward Columbine and the West Africa Squadron Perhaps as a result of his Caribbean experiences, Captain Edward Columbine became convinced of the need to abolish the slave trade, and in 1809 he accepted an Admiralty nomination to join a commission for the...

The British Empire, by Matthew Parker

The British Empire, by Matthew Parker

The British Empire reached its territorial peak in September 1923.

On 29 September 1923, the Palestine Mandate became law and the British Empire reached what would prove to be its maximum territorial extent. It was now the largest empire in history, covering a quarter of the world’s land area and home to 460 million people. This was...

Napoleon’s Birthday

Napoleon’s Birthday

Let's raise a glass on the 15th August to celebrate Bonaparte. Vive l'empereur!
Ruth Scurr

Napoleon's Birthday Napoleon was born on 15 August, 1769. Under the Gregorian calendar this date was a holiday celebrating the Ascension of the Virgin Mary. The French Revolutionaries introduced a new calendar on 5 October, 1793, backdated to 22 September, 1792, the...