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History - British — page 20
986 public-domain history - british books, summarised. Page 20 of 21.
Sheffield and its Environs 13th to the 17th century: A descriptive catalogue of land charters and other documents forming the Brooke Taylor collection
T. Walter (Thomas Walter) Hall
A meticulous unraveling of ancient land deeds reconstructs five centuries of local English history, exposing how forgotten parchment records, dubious conveyances, and ancestral traditions shape the enduring identity of a countryside.
Thoughts on Slavery and Cheap Sugar: A Letter to the Members and Friends of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie
This impassioned pamphlet argues that the British movement against slavery has lost its way, contending that state-sponsored blockades and high tariffs are failing the very people they intend to protect.
A mediaeval burglary
T. F. (Thomas Frederick) Tout
A medieval criminal turns the king’s treasury into his own personal bank, triggering a scandal that shakes the foundations of Westminster Abbey and exposes the chaotic, easy-going nature of life under Edward I.
The First Afghan War
Mowbray Morris
An ill-conceived attempt to secure India’s borders by installing a puppet king in Kabul leads to catastrophic military failure and a desperate, doomed retreat. This account traces the tragic arc of British intervention in Afghanistan during the nineteenth century.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 20, No. 566, September 15, 1832
Various
A patchwork of history, scientific oddities, dramatic dispatches, and quiet moral pursuits offers a captivating window into early nineteenth-century popular curiosity.
With my regiment
Arthur Mills
A young officer’s unvarnished account of the 1914 campaign, capturing the sudden transition from the comforts of English peace to the brutal, muddy reality of the front line in France.
War in the Underseas
Harold Wheeler
The advent of the submarine irrevocably transformed maritime combat, turning the vast, hidden depths of the ocean into a theater of unprecedented technological peril and lethal tactical innovation.
Compulsory manumission
Alexander McDonnell
This argument documents the staunch political resistance of 1820s plantation owners against government-mandated freedom for enslaved people, framing the abolitionist agenda as an unlawful infringement on private property rights.
The Adhesive Postage Stamp
Patrick Chalmers
A persistent son seeks to reclaim his father’s legacy as the true inventor of the adhesive postage stamp. This historical investigation challenges the long-standing credit given to Sir Rowland Hill for the invention.
The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 12, September 19, 1840
Various
This nineteenth-century miscellany captures a vanished Ireland through antiquarian essays, folk-tales, and observational sketches, offering a window into the pastoral, the historical, and the everyday lives of a nation at a crossroads.
Battles with the Sea
R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
HOOK This is a vivid, urgent dispatch from the front lines of a relentless, centuries-old conflict against an invincible adversary: the sea.
Historical Record of the Sixty-first, or the South Gloucestershire Regiment of Foot: Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1758, and of its subsequent services to 1844
Richard Cannon
This ledger of duty documents the long, rigorous lifespan of a British infantry battalion, charting its transformation from a wartime formation into a fixture of the nineteenth-century imperial landscape.
Observations upon the town of Cromer
Edmund Bartell
The English coastline serves as a theater for the sublime, where shifting light and ancient ruins offer the contemplative traveler a profound sense of history and natural beauty.
A Guide to Cromer and Its Neighbourhood
Anonymous
This mid-nineteenth-century travel companion offers a quiet, observational survey of the coastal town of Cromer and its surrounding Norfolk parishes, celebrating a landscape defined by rugged cliffs, ancient architecture, and the ever-encroaching sea.
A Letter to John Wilkes, Esq
Holloway, Robert, active 1771-1808
The law, intended as a shield for the honest citizen, often serves as a weapon for the unscrupulous. This urgent appeal demands a fundamental reform of the predatory legal system governing debt and arrest.
Chambers's Edinburgh Journal, No. 442: Volume 17, New Series, June 19, 1852
Various
A vibrant cross-section of mid-nineteenth-century intellectual life, this weekly journal captures a culture eagerly measuring its physical world, recording its past, and debating its daily habits.
Little Gidding and its inmates in the Time of King Charles I.: with an account of the Harmonies
John Edward Acland
This historical account illuminates the quiet, industrious life of a seventeenth-century family who transformed a neglected manor into a sanctuary of prayer, education, and masterful craftsmanship. It invites readers to explore the intersection of personal devotion and creative legacy during a tumultuous era of…
The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 35, February 27, 1841
Various
Open a window into mid-nineteenth-century Ireland through parliamentary reform, eccentric local personalities, ancient Egyptian vaults, and sparkling courtroom wit.
A Sermon preached at Christ Church, Kensington, on May 1, 1859: being the day appointed for a general thanksgiving to Almighty God, for the success granted to our arms in suppressing the rebellion and restoring tranquillity in Her Majesty's Indian Dominions
William Wright
The British Empire views its suppression of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 as a divine mandate, interpreting military victory through the lens of Christian duty and the moral obligations of a global power.
The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 22, November 28, 1840
Various
This nineteenth-century miscellany weaves together Irish landscape, moral philosophy, and observational essays, offering a candid, often somber glimpse into the social concerns and intellectual curiosities of its era.
Historical Record of the Fifty-sixth, or the West Essex Regiment of Foot: Containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1755, and of its subsequent services to 1844
Richard Cannon
This formal chronicle documents the operational life of a storied British infantry unit, tracing its deployments, battles, and internal administration from its mid-eighteenth-century founding through the mid-nineteenth century.
Tales of English Minsters: Hereford
Elizabeth W. (Elizabeth Wilson) Grierson
The stones of Hereford Cathedral hold the echoes of a violent past, where the pursuit of earthly power and the quiet faith of the martyr collide within the history of an ancient English minster.
The Truth about Church Extension: An exposure of certain fallacies and misstatements contained in the census reports on religious worship and education
Anonymous
This polemic dismantles the 1851 Census of Religious Worship, arguing that its widely accepted statistics were based on flawed, speculative methodology that unfairly disparaged the Church of England while erroneously inflating the perceived growth of Dissenting denominations.
The British North America Act, 1867
Anonymous
Four distinct British colonies bind themselves into a single northern federation, setting down in exacting legal detail how a new nation will govern its land, divide its powers, and manage its shared wealth.
A dissuasion to Great-Britain and the colonies, from the slave trade to Africa
James Swan
The practice of enslaving fellow humans contradicts the fundamental laws of nature and the teachings of divinity. This urgent treatise argues for the total abolition of the African slave trade through moral, legal, and economic reform.
England
Charles Dudley Warner
This analysis explores the historical power of a small island, evaluating the forces that shaped its global influence and the uncertain future facing its far-flung imperial interests.
Oliver Cromwell: A Play
John Drinkwater
The quiet farmer of Ely finds himself pulled from his fields to lead a revolution, eventually standing at the center of a storm that forever alters the soul of England.
Reminiscences: a Topographical Account of Market Lavington, Wilts, Its Past and Present Condition.: Also, the Rise and Progress of the Independent Church in That Place. And the Authentic History of David Saunders, the Pious Shepherd of Salisbury Plain
Henry Atley
This regional history traces the evolution of a Wiltshire market town, anchoring its narrative in the humble life of a local shepherd whose personal piety sparked a quiet religious revolution.
Some Account of Llangollen and Its Vicinity: Including a Circuit of About Seven Miles
W. T. (Wilfrid Tord) Simpson
Ancient stones and lush, rolling landscapes define the spirit of this evocative 1827 guidebook, which invites travelers to wander through the storied vales and rugged hills of North Wales.
An Exposition of the Last Psalme
John Boys
This sermon serves as a fervent call to national thanksgiving, grounding the act of praise in the authority of the final Psalm to interpret both theological doctrine and recent political salvation. It captures the combative, intellectually rigorous spirit of the early seventeenth-century Church of England,…
Loughton, Essex: A brief account of the Manor and Parish
William Chapman Waller
This brief history traces a quiet English village from its medieval origins as a collection of monastic manors through its slow transformation into a modern residential parish. It offers a meditative look at how time reshapes both land and community.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, Fifth Series, No. 22, Vol. I, May 31, 1884
Various
This May 1884 issue of a long-standing Victorian periodical serves as a vibrant, multifaceted window into the preoccupations, anxieties, and scientific curiosity of the late nineteenth century. Through a blend of investigative social commentary, serialized fiction, and informative reportage, the collection captures…
The Maner of the Tryumphe of Caleys and Bulleyn and The Noble Tryumphant Coronacyon of Quene Anne, Wyfe unto the Most Noble Kynge Henry VIII
Unknown
A dazzling, rare window into the pageantry of the Tudor court, these two historical pamphlets capture the sheer, excessive scale of royal diplomacy and the calculated ascent of a queen.
Holinshed's Chronicles, vol. 2 of 6, slice 03 of 12: England, 1100-1127, Henry I
Raphael Holinshed
A king’s death brings a scramble for power, where broken oaths and political maneuvering shape the destiny of a nation.
The New Departure
Edward Hoare
When a theological movement trades its loyalty to the reformed liturgy for a longing for Rome, traditional churchmen must decide where they truly stand.
A Sketch of how "The Diamond Anthem" was Sung around the World: The 60th Anniversary of the Accession Day of Her Majesty Queen Victoria
Barlow Cumberland
Across twenty-four hours and every meridian on earth, a single wave of song unbrokenly honors a monarch's diamond jubilee.
The Holy Isle: A Legend of Bardsey Abbey
Ignatius, Father, O.S.B.
Guided by an angel through a vision of the past, a narrator witnesses centuries of prayer, fierce spiritual battles, and tragic martyrdom on a sacred Welsh island.
The Irish Penny Journal, Vol. 1 No. 39, March 27, 1841
Various
A weekly Victorian miscellany preserves the rich texture of mid-nineteenth-century Irish life through local history, folklore, and sharp journalistic debates.
The Soul of a Nation
Philip Gibbs
On Armistice Day in 1920, London gathers to bury an unknown soldier, transforming a nation's collective grief into an enduring monument for the fallen of the Great War.
A sermon preach'd before the Right Honourable the Lord-Mayor
Andrew Snape
Drawing a bold parallel between a biblical judicial murder and the execution of an English monarch, a historic sermon explores the heavy spiritual and political costs of rebellion.
Holinshed's Chronicles, vol. 2 of 6, slice 02 of 12: England, 1087-1100, William II
Raphael Holinshed
The turbulent reign of William Rufus unfolds in chronicles of royal greed, bitter sibling rivalries, and the unyielding clash between crown and church.
Some Conditions of Child Life in England
Benjamin Waugh
This is a searing, foundational document from the Victorian era that exposes the systematic abuse of children in England and the institutional apathy that allowed such cruelty to flourish behind closed doors. It serves as both a moral indictment and a practical manifesto for the necessity of organized child protection.
Punch or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, December 9, 1914
Various
This collection of weekly satire captures the precise atmosphere of a nation caught in the opening, uncertain months of the First World War. It is a portrait of a society attempting to maintain its composure and wit while the world shifts beneath its feet.
Reasons why a Churchman may with Great Justice Refuse to Subscribe to the British and Foreign Bible Society
Richard Lockwood
A parish minister explains to his flock why they should prioritize their commitment to the Established Church over an emerging interdenominational movement. This focused tract defends institutional loyalty in the face of widespread social pressure.
Sketch of the Reformation in England
John J. (John James) Blunt
The English Reformation emerges here not as a clean break, but as a long, messy struggle of human ambition and religious conviction. This account seeks the divine pattern hidden within the chaotic, often worldly, political transitions of the sixteenth century.
The War with Russia
John Alfred Langford
A fierce polemical defense of British intervention in the Crimean War, this tract systematically dismantles contemporary anti-war arguments through a close reading of diplomatic records.
Three years in France with the Guns: Being Episodes in the life of a Field Battery
C. A. Rose
A candid, steady record of artillery life reveals the grit and camaraderie required to sustain a battery through the shifting fronts of the Great War.
An Act to Provide for the Paving, Gravelling, Lighting, and Watching Certain Footways and Carriageways in and Near Brompton Square: In the Parish of Saint Mary Abbotts Kensington, in the County of Middlesex and to Provide for the Maintenance of a Garden and Shrubbery in the Said Square
Anonymous
This legislative document serves as the founding blueprint for the municipal infrastructure and governance of a specific early nineteenth-century London residential development. It codifies the transition of Brompton Square from private land into a regulated community.