Drawing on numerous interviews and never-before-revealed documents, acclaimed biographer Sally Bedell Smith pulls back the curtain to show in intimate detail the public and private lives of Queen Elizabeth II, who has led her country and Commonwealth through the wars and upheavals of the last sixty years with unparalleled composure, intelligence, and grace.

In 1995, Iowa native Bill Bryson took a motoring trip around Britain to explore that green and pleasant land. The uproarious book that resulted, Notes from a Small Island, is one of the most acute portrayals of the United Kingdom ever written. Two decades later, Bryson--now a British citizen--set out again to rediscover his adopted country. In these pages, he follows a straight line through the island--from Bognor Regis to Cape Wrath--and shows us...

1 July 1997 marked the end of British rule of Hong Kong, whereby this territory was passed into the hands of the Peoples Republic of China. In 1992, Chris Patten, former chairman of the Conservative Party, was appointed Hong Kong's last governor, and was the man to oversee the handover ceremony of this former British colony. Within the last five years of British rule, acclaimed journalist Jonathan Dimble by was given unique access to the governor...

The popular comedienne's account of her theatrical career and her married life with Florenz Ziegfeld. This is the life story of an actress, a beautiful redheaded actress who lived and played in a glittering era now gone but fondly remembered. Although she attained moments of great fame and happiness, she never knew security. Like her father, the well-known clown, she went through life with a feather on her nose.

From the Stone Age to the 21st century, The History of Britain chronicles the epic story of this small but turbulent kingdom. Divided into major historical periods with useful timelines, this richly illustrated book covers both well-known and obscure events. Find out about the Norman invasions, the execution of Charles I, the uprisings in Dark Age Wales, the birth of tabloid newspapers in Victorian Britain and much more. Fully revised and updated...

A surprising and very personal biography of a woman who may be the world's last great queen, published to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of her reign.

World War II comes to Farleigh Place, the ancestral home of Lord Westerham and his five daughters, when a soldier with a failed parachute falls to his death on the estate. After his uniform and possessions raise suspicions, MI5 operative and family friend Ben Cresswell is covertly tasked with determining if the man is a German spy. The assignment also offers Ben the chance to be near Lord Westerham's middle daughter, Pamela, whom he furtively loves....

A definitive portrait of the notorious 20th-century spy that discusses his rise in MI6, high-profile intelligence friendships and 20-year espionage operation that culminated in his 1963 defection to Moscow.