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History - British — page 14
762 public-domain history - british books, summarised. Page 14 of 16.
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.
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 1, March 1865
Unknown
A Catholic periodical defends the Church against Protestant claims of anti-biblical bias while documenting medieval Irish episcopal successions and the Holy See’s historical role.
A Historical Survey of the Customs, Habits, & Present State of the Gypsies
John Hoyland
A centuries-old global wanderer faces the tightening grip of modern law and social disdain, surviving on ancient crafts while holding the secret of its origins locked within an unwritten language.
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.
How to See the British Museum in Four Visits
Blanchard Jerrold
A calculated four-part itinerary transforms a vast maze of antiquities and natural wonders into an accessible journey of discovery.
Old Times at Otterbourne
Charlotte M. (Charlotte Mary) Yonge
This record of a small Hampshire village captures the quiet passage of time, preserving the vanishing habits, legends, and physical landmarks of a community as it shifts from ancient custom to the modern industrial age.
The seven curses of London
James Greenwood
The Victorian metropolis conceals a sprawling, desperate underworld of poverty and vice beneath its veneer of imperial prosperity. This investigation exposes the systemic failures that trap thousands of Londoners in cycles of crime and neglect.
Deeds of a great railway
G. R. S. (George Richard Sutton) Darroch
This account examines how the London and North-Western Railway transformed its industrial capacity to serve the British war effort during the First World War.
The Story of the "9th King's" in France
Enos Herbert Glynne Roberts
This account documents the four-year evolution of a Territorial battalion, tracing its transformation from civilian volunteers into hardened infantrymen on the Western Front during the Great War.
A History of the Four Georges and of William IV, Volume IV
Justin H. (Justin Huntly) McCarthy
The transformation of Britain from a rigid, exclusionary monarchy into a modern parliamentary state is not a peaceful evolution, but a hard-fought, often volatile, and deeply human struggle.
Historical Characters in the Reign of Queen Anne
Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
This elegant biographical study examines the intersection of power, personality, and literary genius during a transformative era in British history. It invites readers into the private rooms and public theaters of the early eighteenth century.
Schools, School-Books and Schoolmasters: A Contribution to the History of Educational Development in Great Britain
William Carew Hazlitt
This history traces the evolution of British education by examining the rise and fall of the textbooks and pedagogical methods that shaped centuries of scholars. It serves as a meticulous chronicle of how instruction moved from monastic control toward a broader, albeit often haphazard, national system.
The Acts of Uniformity: Their Scope and Effect
T. A. (Thomas Alexander) Lacey
The Acts of Uniformity are often misunderstood as the birth of a liturgy, when they were in fact merely the violent, state-mandated enforcement of a religious order that already existed. This examination strips away the layers of historical confusion to reveal the true, coercive nature of these statutes.
The Celtic Magazine, Vol. I No. V: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Literature, History, Antiquities, Folk Lore, Traditions, and the Social and Material Interests of the Celt at Home and Abroad
Various
This collection serves as a preservation of Highland heritage, blending historical tragedy, folklore, and the social evolution of the Scottish Gael. It acts as an archival bridge between a vanishing past and the modern world.
Windjammers and Sea Tramps
Runciman, Walter Runciman, Baron
A former cabin-boy recounts the vanishing traditions and grueling realities of nineteenth-century seafaring, offering a candid portrait of the men who built the British merchant navy.
Our Western Hills: How to reach them
Anonymous
This Victorian-era guidebook serves as an affectionate invitation for urban laborers to seek solace, health, and spiritual perspective among the majestic, accessible summits surrounding Glasgow.
The Retreat from Mons: By one who shared in it
Arthur Corbett-Smith
The British Expeditionary Force faces an overwhelming enemy tide in the opening weeks of the Great War. This account captures the harrowing, desperate withdrawal from Mons through the eyes of those who endured it.
The "Wearing of the Green," or The Prosecuted Funeral Procession
A. M. (Alexander Martin) Sullivan
A nation mourns its executed sons, and in doing so, finds itself on trial for the very act of grief. This account captures a pivotal moment where the law and a people’s conscience collide.
With Cavalry in 1915: The British Trooper in the Trench Line, Through the Second Battle of Ypres
Frederic Coleman
This account captures the harrowing transition of British cavalrymen into trench warfare during the brutal Second Battle of Ypres. It offers a rare, ground-level perspective on the mechanical and human costs of a war that rapidly outgrew its nineteenth-century tactics.
A Journey to Katmandu (the Capital of Napaul), with the Camp of Jung Bahadoor: Including a Sketch of the Nepaulese Ambassador at Home
Laurence Oliphant
A British traveler gains rare, privileged entry into the isolated Himalayan kingdom of Nepal by embedding himself within the retinue of its powerful, enigmatic Prime Minister.
A Source-Book of English Social History
M. E. Monckton (Mary Evelyn Monckton) Jones
This collection serves as a primary-source laboratory, inviting readers to examine the foundational records of English social and economic history for themselves. By curating centuries of authentic documents, it bridges the gap between dry academic summaries and the lived reality of those who built a nation.
Climbing in The British Isles. Vol. 1 - England
W. P. (Walter Parry) Haskett Smith
This guide serves as a foundational text for the Victorian-era surge in amateur mountaineering, transforming English crags from obscure geological curiosities into rigorous athletic testing grounds. It remains a vital record of the sport’s formative years, capturing the moment when climbing evolved from an…
Historical Record of the Seventh, or the Queen's Own Regiment of Hussars: Containing an Account of the Origin of the Regiment in 1690, and of Its Subsequent Services to 1842
Richard Cannon
HOOK This official military ledger chronicles the lineage and combat legacy of a storied cavalry unit, tracking its evolution from a seventeenth-century Scottish dragoon regiment to a nineteenth-century elite hussar force.
History of the 1/4th Battalion Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment, 1914-1919
P. G. Bales
The 1/4th Battalion of the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment navigates the brutal realities of the Great War, evolving from an inexperienced territorial unit into a seasoned force through years of trench warfare, shifting frontlines, and immense personal loss.
The Dukeries
Murray Gilchrist
The Dukeries captures the vanishing spirit of the historic Nottinghamshire estates, blending meticulous architectural observation with the lingering, spectral presence of the legends and noble families that once defined this singular English landscape.
The Somerset Coast
Charles G. (Charles George) Harper
The jagged coastline of Somerset, where ancient history meets the relentless tide, serves as the backdrop for a journey through time, legend, and the quiet beauty of England’s western edge.
Leaders of the People: Studies in Democratic History
Joseph Clayton
These portraits of reformers and rebels map the long, turbulent journey toward democratic governance in England, tracing a lineage of resistance from the medieval church to the industrial age.
Notes and Queries, Number 25, April 20, 1850
Various
A curious gathering of mid-nineteenth-century literary detectives, this publication invites readers to trade long-forgotten facts and solve the persistent mysteries of history and language. It serves as a bustling, printed clearinghouse for the intellectually inquisitive.
Pictures and Problems from London Police Courts
Thomas Holmes
A life spent among London’s forgotten poor reveals that the true roots of misery are often found in systemic neglect rather than individual malice.
The Irish Crisis
Charles E. (Charles Edward) Trevelyan
The Great Famine serves as the backdrop for a detailed administrative account of how the British government navigated, managed, and ultimately conceptualized the profound social collapse of mid-nineteenth-century Ireland.
The Romance of the Red Triangle: The story of the coming of the red triangle and the service rendered by the Y.M.C.A. to the sailors and soldiers of the British Empire
Arthur K. (Arthur Keysall) Yapp
The Red Triangle represents a sanctuary of comfort and faith for soldiers, offering a human touch amidst the industrial carnage of the Great War. It is the story of how a civilian organization became an essential pillar of the British military effort.
Betting & Gambling: A National Evil
Unknown
An insidious epidemic of speculative greed sweeps early twentieth-century Britain, quietly dismantling working-class households, corrupting public institutions, and transforming sport into a venue for economic ruin and fraud.