“Superb” NICK COHEN, author of What’s Left?

“Tremendously entertaining” DOMINIC SANDBROOK, Sunday Times

“Like his previous histories of the Seventies and Eighties, A Classless Society is an extraordinarily comprehensive work. Turner writes brilliantly, creating a compelling narrative of the decade, weaving contrasting elements together with a natural storyteller’s aplomb… engaging and unique” IRVINE WELSH, Daily Telegraph

“Ravenously inquisitive, darkly comical and coolly undeceived… Turner is a master of the telling detail” CRAIG BROWN, Mail on Sunday

When Margaret Thatcher was ousted from Downing Street in November 1990 after eleven years of bitter social and economic conflict, many hoped that the decade to come would be more ‘caring’; others hoped that the more radical policies of her revolution might even be overturned. Across politics and culture there was an apparent yearning for something the Iron Lady had famously dismissed: society.

The ‘New Britain’ to emerge would be a contradiction: economically unequal but culturally classless. Whilst Westminster agonised over sleaze and the ERM, the country outside became the playground of the Ladette. It was also a period that would see old moral certainties swept aside, and once venerable institutions descend into farce – followed, in the case of the Royal Family, by tragedy.

Opening with a war in the Gulf and ending with the attacks of 11 September 2001, A Classless Society goes in search of the decade when modern Britain came of age. What it finds is a nation anxiously grappling with new technologies, tentatively embracing new lifestyles, and, above all, forging a new sense of what it means to be British.

“Deserves to become a classic” EDWINA CURRIE

“Rich and encyclopaedic” ROGER LEWIS, Daily Mail

“Excellent” D.J. TAYLOR, Independent

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Wars of the Roses

* * *Download for FREE on Kindle Unlimited + Free BONUS Inside!* * *

Read On Your Computer, MAC, Smartphone, Kindle Reader, iPad, or Tablet.

The Wars of the Roses were a series of civil wars in England fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1485. Over a thirty-year period, England had five rulers, three of whom were killed or executed. Power changed hands on even more occasions as an ineffective king, Henry VI, was subject to mental breakdowns and protectors of the realm were regularly appointed to rule during these episodes, thereby disaffecting Henry’s ambitious queen, Margaret of Anjou. Though the battles fought were limited in scope, one of these, the Battle of Towton, is considered the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. The nearby river was described as running red with the blood of some 38,000 soldiers who lost their lives that day.

Inside you will read about…

✓ Prelude to War: A House Divided
✓ A Mad Monarch and His Quarrelsome Relatives
✓ The Ultimate Family Feud
✓ The Final Battle
✓ The Tudor Dynasty
And much more!

By the end of the Wars, a new dynasty—the Tudor Dynasty—was born, the powers of the nobility were significantly diminished, and the system of feudalism was all but eradicated. The monarchy was strengthened, and the royal line of succession was secured for the Tudor line. As family feuds go, the Wars of the Roses were historically significant in changing the trajectory of power in England. This book tells the compelling story of this tumultuous period in English history in succinct, yet informative detail that is both educational and entertaining.

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Charlie Haylock, Voice Dialect Coach on “The Dig

“Pearson’s account of the lives of Mildenhall Workhouse residents has a well-structured narrative and conversational tone. Not just a chronicle of people and events, Pearson also injects a modern perspective and sense of humour into these stories. As a result, A Victorian Workhouse indirectly asks readers to consider how we can care for people today by laying bare the humanity of those who suffered through poverty in the Victoria era. This is an excellent and well-researched book for both casual readers and lovers of Victorian history.”

Devon Driver

100 Years on since the demolition of the grand Victorian mansion that was the Mildenhall Union Workhouse, this book tells the story of the “Paupers” unfortunate enough to have found themselves confined within it’s walls. The book takes you on a time travelling experience to meet former residents of this market town in rural Suffolk. Discovering grave robbery, disease, suicide, violence and misunderstood mental illness along the way. Discover their story.

Many individuals heartbreakingly fell into the poverty trap, created by the new poor law of 1834, desperate individuals who would never live outside the workhouse again. Any “Paupers” unfortunate enough to die within the workhouse, could find themselves sold to Cambridge University, their bodies used to train Medical students. Even in death the Paupers were owned by the workhouse. Read their story.

However there were inmates who walked proudly away from the institution and these stories can also be found in this book too. Such as the young Mildenhall lad, who had just a few years earlier walked the streets with his mum and sisters, dressed in rags without any food, toes poking out of his worn down shoes. This family tramped the streets looking for shelter on a freezing cold November evening. The same young man a decade later created a new life for himself, literally chasing away the Workhouse shadows in Sunny California, a real life Suffolk cowboy! Read his story.

Who ran the workhouse? Who were the Master and Matron of the Mildenhall Union? Who and what were the Board of Guardians? As well as the stories of the poor, this book reveals the lives of those tasked with caring for the poor. You will discover that the Master has some skeletons in his closet! Discover his story.

If you were to take a short stroll through Mildenhall you would soon discover many of the street names and buildings named after former wealthy residents. Names such as Hanmer, Bunbury, North, Aldrich, famous names not just in Mildenhall but throughout Britain. The poor walked the very same streets as theses famous families, leaving behind little evidence that they were ever here. These lives now carefully pieced back together through years of research using historical records and newspaper archives.

The poor were here too, read their story

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In the summer of 1666, London was one of the largest cities in Europe, with close to half a million people living in its narrow, congested streets. Many of these people lived in houses packed closely together, lacking even basic facilities such as clean water and sewage disposal. The previous year, these unsanitary conditions had contributed to the worst outbreak of plague since the Black Death in 1348. Around 15% of the city’s population died as the deadly disease spread unchecked for almost twelve months. Finally, by the summer of 1666, the threat of plague seemed to be receding, and London slowly began to return to normal. But then, the city was threatened by another deadly hazard: fire.

London was a tinderbox waiting to ignite. Many of the city’s wooden buildings were sealed with flammable pitch, their upper stories jutting out and nearly meeting across the streets. An unusually hot and dry summer had drained the city’s water supplies, and without an organized firefighting force, its citizens were left to fend for themselves. The stage was set for catastrophe, and in the early hours of Sunday, September 2, 1666, the spark was struck. A seemingly inconsequential fire ignited in a baker’s shop on Pudding Lane. Unchecked and underestimated, it would grow to become one of the most devastating disasters London had ever faced.

Discover a plethora of topics such as

• London: A City at Risk
• September 2: Pudding Lane
• September 3: The Fire Spreads
• September 4: A Change of Wind
• September 5 & 6: The Fire Dies Down
• Rebuilding
• And much more!

So if you want a concise and informative book on the Great Fire of London, simply scroll up and click the “Buy now” button for instant access!

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‘The classic book on Black people in Georgian London’ DAVID OLUSOGA

‘Deeply researched, lucidly written and utterly fascinating . . . If you ever thought Black British history started with Windrush, read this book’ GREG JENNER

Georgian England had a large and distinctive Black community. There were special churches, Black-only balls, many became famous and respected. But all, whether prosperous citizens or newly freed slaves, lived under the constant threat of kidnap and sale to plantations. Black England tells their stories, bringing their triumphs and tortures to vivid life, revealing a dramatic forgotten chapter of our shared past.

‘Black England taught me more history than I ever learned at school. Gretchen Gerzina tells it as it was, so we know how it is . . . a book that will be relevant for ever’ BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH

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