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History - British — page 13
1,052 public-domain history - british books, summarised. Page 13 of 22.
Lives of Famous London Beggars: With Forty Portraits of the Most Remarkable
John Thomas Smith
Driven by an antiquarian’s sharp eye and an artist’s sketchpad, this chronicle walks the cobblestones of Regency London to document the vanishing subculture of street mendicants before parish workhouses and Parliamentary crackdowns sweep them away forever.
Mediæval London
William Benham
The grand, crowded evolution of a capital emerges through its stone fortresses, bustling trade markets, and solemn cathedral precincts.
Statistical, Historical and Political Description of the Colony of New South Wales and its Dependent Settlements in Van Diemen's Land: With a Particular Enumeration of the Advantages Which These Colonies Offer for Emigration, and Their Superiority in Many Respects Over Those Possessed by the United States of America
W. C. (William Charles) Wentworth
A native son’s fiery blueprint for Australia’s future demands that Britain transform a brutal penal colony into a self-governing empire of free enterprise.
Voyages in Search of the North-West Passage
Richard Hakluyt
Desperate Elizabethan mariners confront treacherous polar ice, sudden sea storms, and unknown native encounters in their quest for a northern trade route to Asia.
London in 1731
Gonzales, Manoel, Don
A methodical walk through eighteenth-century London reveals a sprawling metropolis governed by precise civic rules, ancient institutions, and relentless commercial drive.
Pearse's Commercial Directory to Swansea and the Neighbourhood, for 1854
Ebenezer Pearse
A meticulous mid-nineteenth-century survey of a Welsh port, this volume captures the bustling commerce, infrastructure, and social organization of a town on the cusp of industrial expansion.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 8 (of 8): South Africa and Its Future
Unknown
This collection of expert perspectives serves as a strategic blueprint for the reconstruction of South Africa following the conclusion of the Boer War. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the political, economic, and social challenges facing the region at the dawn of the twentieth century.
The Story of the Guides
G. J. (George John) Younghusband
This history recounts the formation and legendary exploits of the Queen’s Own Corps of Guides, a unique frontier regiment defined by its independence, local expertise, and endurance in the face of impossible odds.
Afghanistan and the Anglo-Russian Dispute
Theophilus F. (Theophilus Francis) Rodenbough
The Great Game looms over the nineteenth century, as two empires collide in the rugged, unforgiving valleys of Central Asia. The shadow of a Russian advance creates a desperate, high-stakes countdown for British India.
History of Llangollen and Its Vicinity: Including a Circuit of About Seven Miles
W. T. (Wilfrid Tord) Simpson
This guide serves as a nostalgic and informative survey of a picturesque Welsh border town, blending local geography, historical lore, and personal observation into a compact travelogue. It offers an evocative portrait of Llangollen and its immediate surroundings for the curious traveler.
Native Races and the War
Josephine Elizabeth Grey Butler
This work examines the roots of the South African War, arguing that the mistreatment of Indigenous peoples and the persistence of slavery under Boer rule were the primary, ignored causes of the conflict.
The Trial of Henry Hetherington, on an Indictment for Blasphemy
H. (Henry) Hetherington
A determined bookseller stands before a special jury to defend his right to circulate radical ideas, turning a criminal trial for blasphemy into a public critique of state-enforced religious orthodoxy.
The Insurrection in Dublin
James Stephens
A civilian observer records the unfolding chaos of the 1916 Easter Rising, capturing the surreal tension of a city suddenly at war with itself.
Memoirs of the Reign of King George the Third, Volume 2 (of 4)
Horace Walpole
The shifting loyalties and bitter political rivalries of the mid-eighteenth century define this sharp, insider account of a young king’s struggle to manage a volatile government and a rapidly expanding empire.
Secret History of the Court of England, from the Accession of George the Third to the Death of George the Fourth, Volume 1 (of 2): Including, Among Other Important Matters, Full Particulars of the Mysterious Death of the Princess Charlotte
Hamilton, Anne, Lady
Behind the gilded facade of the British monarchy lies a dark narrative of political intrigue, systemic corruption, and the systematic destruction of a royal consort.
The Eton College hunt
Anthony Crommelin Crossley
HOOK This history captures the enduring camaraderie and physical discipline of the Eton College Hunt, tracking sixty-four years of beagle packs and the young huntsmen who led them across the fields of Dorney and Datchet.
The Irish at the Front
Michael MacDonagh
Thousands of Irish soldiers faced the crucible of the Great War, their courage documented in real-time through letters from the front and the accounts of those they served alongside. This account records the mobilization and sacrifice of these men, seeking to preserve the memory of their service in the early years…
Holinshed's Chronicles, vol. 2 of 6, slice 09 of 12: England, 1272-1307, Edward I
Raphael Holinshed
This sweeping history chronicles the reign of Edward I, a monarch defined by unrelenting territorial ambition, institutional reform, and the brutal consolidation of the English state. It provides a foundational account of late thirteenth-century power, law, and conquest.
The Tryal of William Penn & William Mead for Causing a Tumult: at the Sessions Held at the Old Bailey in London the 1st, 3d, 4th, and 5th of September 1670
Unknown
A courtroom drama of conscience, this account captures the collision between a defiant defendant and a tyrannical bench, setting a foundational precedent for the independence of the jury.
Fields of Victory
Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
This historical account provides a firsthand, observational record of the Western Front immediately following the 1918 Armistice, grounding the monumental scale of the Great War in the strategic decisions and human endurance of those who saw it through.
Half hours on the quarter-deck: The Spanish Armada to Sir Cloudesley Shovel 1670
Anonymous
This collection of naval accounts chronicles the rise of British maritime power, from the defeat of the Spanish Armada to the late seventeenth century. It serves as a stirring testament to the endurance of England’s early sailors.
The Heroic Record of the British Navy: A Short History of the Naval War, 1914-1918
Bashford, H. H. (Henry Howarth), Sir
The British Navy emerges from the crucible of the Great War as the essential guardian of world progress, its resilience and evolving technology proving decisive in the preservation of the democratic order.
The Powers of Europe and Fall of Sebastopol
A British officer
A sweeping military history of the 19th century, this account traces the rise of Napoleon and the shifting alliances of Europe to explain the origins and brutal reality of the Crimean War.
England's effort
Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
This account serves as a stirring testament to the resilience of a nation, documenting how a society completely transformed its industrial and social fabric to sustain the colossal demands of the First World War.
Hertfordshire
Richard Lydekker
A quiet, scholarly portrait of an English county, this survey reveals the deep history etched into the soil and stone of the Hertfordshire landscape. It offers a meticulously observed look at a place caught between tradition and modernity.
History of the English People, Volume III: The Parliament, 1399-1461
John Richard Green
The crown pivots from the turbulence of medieval faction to the centralized machinery of the early modern state, tracing a transformation that forever altered the English landscape.
The Causes of the Rebellion in Ireland Disclosed: In an Address to the People of England, in Which It Is Proved by Incontrovertible Facts, That the System for Some Years Pursued in That Country, Has Driven It into Its Present Dreadful Situation
Anonymous
The political grievances of a nation are rarely born of sudden madness; they are the carefully cultivated harvest of years of systematic neglect and administrative arrogance. This impassioned address serves as a primary-source autopsy of the conditions that fractured Irish society at the close of the eighteenth…
A Popular History of England, From the Earliest Times to the Reign of Queen Victoria
François Guizot
The chronicle of a nation’s rise, this account traces the turbulent transformation of England from ancient tribal settlements through the sweeping, violent shifts of the medieval monarchy.
Historical Record of the Thirty-ninth, or the Dorsetshire Regiment of Foot: containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1702, and of its subsequent services to 1853
Richard Cannon
This chronicle maps the century-and-a-half trajectory of a storied infantry unit, tracing its evolution from eighteenth-century European conflicts to the rugged colonial frontiers of the nineteenth century.
British Highways and Byways from a Motor Car: Being a Record of a Five Thousand Mile Tour in England, Wales and Scotland
Thos. D. (Thomas Dowler) Murphy
A five-thousand-mile motoring odyssey through Britain’s hidden corners captures the landscape of 1908, offering a vibrant, gas-lit glimpse of an era when the automobile was still a daring way to bridge the past and present.
Stories of the Ships
Lewis R. (Lewis Ransome) Freeman
The vast, churning machinery of the Great War’s naval theater comes alive through the lived experiences of the men who manned the British Grand Fleet. This collection of firsthand accounts captures the grit, boredom, and sudden, violent intensity of life at sea between 1914 and 1918.
The Case for India
Annie Besant
A vision of self-governance emerges from the heart of a colonial crisis, challenging the morality of foreign rule while demanding a seat at the table of free nations. This account captures a pivotal moment when the tide of history turned against imperial bureaucracy.
History of the war in the Peninsula and in the south of France from the year 1807 to the year 1814, vol. 2
William Francis Patrick Napier
A brutal, wide-angle accounting of campaigns where strategic genius and terrifying violence collide on a scorched Peninsula, laying bare how jealousy, geography, and logistical collapse dictate the fates of nations.
Lives of the Queens of England of the House of Hanover, volume 1 (of 2)
Dr. (John) Doran
Behind the polished exterior of the Georgian court lay a web of bitter rivalries, petty betrayals, and devastating personal sacrifices.
Empire Partnership
John Wesley Dafoe
An address from the 1920 Imperial Press Conference outlines a vision of imperial relations transformed by world war.
Historical record of the Eighty-eighth Regiment of Foot, or Connaught Rangers
Richard Cannon
Raised amidst the harsh trials of late eighteenth-century campaigns, an Irish regiment marches through decades of fierce combat across global battlefields, forging an unyielding reputation for discipline, bravery, and absolute resilience under fire.
Short History of the London Rifle Brigade
Unknown
Volunteers from London’s financial and civic heart transform into battle-tested soldiers on the Western Front, proving their resilience in the muddy trenches of Ploegsteert and the brutal, gas-choked trials of the Ypres Salient.
The Rogues and Vagabonds of Shakespeare's Youth: Awdeley's 'Fraternitye of vacabondes' and Harman's 'Caveat'
Awdelay, John, active 1559-1577
Before Shakespeare staged his rogues, sixteenth-century reformers mapped their underworld step by step. This volume gathers two primary Tudor treatises to uncover the hidden language, deceptive tricks, and strict hierarchies of early modern vagrants.
Memoirs of the Reign of King George the Second, Volume 3 (of 3)
Horace Walpole
Political intrigue, military maneuvers, and court rivalries collide in this sharp account of Britain's struggle for power at home and abroad during the twilight years of King George II's reign.
Oppressions of the Sixteenth Century in the Islands of Orkney and Zetland: From Original Documents
Unknown
A fragile island culture finds its ancient freedom crushed beneath the iron heel of greedy feudal lords.
Prophecies of Robert Nixon, Mother Shipton, and Martha, the Gypsy
Anonymous
A shadow of coming events darkens these pages, where rural idiots, demonic infants, and vengeful outcasts see through the veil of time.
A Vindication of England's Policy with Regard to the Opium Trade
Charles Reginald Haines
A mid-Victorian defense of the British opium trade, arguing that the commerce was economically vital, medically justified, and falsely maligned by misinformed reformers.
English Dialects From the Eighth Century to the Present Day
Walter W. (Walter William) Skeat
Centuries of shifting speech reveal how ancient regional tongues fractured, fused, and survived to shape modern English.
Ireland in the Days of Dean Swift (Irish Tracts, 1720 to 1734)
Jonathan Swift
A fierce, brilliant campaign against economic subjugation, this collection captures a nation's desperation through unmatched satirical fury, moral clarity, and razor-sharp political prose.
A Hind Let Loose
Alexander Shields
An uncompromising defence of the radical Covenanters, this 1687 text justifies armed resistance, the rejection of Royal Supremacy, and total separation from Scotland’s oppressive late-Stuart monarchy.
Historical Record of the Fifteenth, or, the Yorkshire East Riding, Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1685, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1848
Richard Cannon
A single infantry unit marches through one hundred and sixty-three years of empire-building, transforming raw provincial recruits into a polished, global Instrument of British military ambition.
Our English Towns and Villages
H. R. Wilton Hall
Centuries of human life leave their marks on the English countryside, built into church walls, field boundaries, and the street plans of quiet market towns.
The influence and development of English gilds
Francis Aidan Hibbert
A rigorous study of English trade fraternities reveals how local municipal bodies shaped medieval economic life, fostered community responsibility, and ultimately yielded to the pressures of modern industrialization.