Anarchy

Anarchy
Author: Stewart Binns
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2013-06-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0718194608

Anarchy is the knuckle-whitening third novel in Stewart Binns' The Making of England series. Ruthless brutality, greed and ambition: the Anarchy The year is 1186, the thirty-second year of the reign of Henry II. Gilbert Foliot, Bishop of London, has lived through long Henry's reign and that of his grandfather, Henry I. He has witnessed the terrifying civil war between Henry II's mother, the Empress Matilda, and her cousin, Stephen; a time so traumatic it becomes known as the Anarchy. The greatest letter writer of the 12th Century, Folio gives an intimate account of one of England's most troubled eras. Central to his account is the life of a knight he first met over fifty years earlier, Harold of Hereford. Harold's life is an intriguing microcosm of the times. Born of noble blood and legendary lineage, he is one of the nine founders of the Knights Templar and a survivor of the fearsome battles of the Crusader States in the Holy Land. Harold is loyal warrior in the cause of the Empress Matilda. On his broad shoulders, Harold carries the legacy of England's past and its dormant hopes for the future. Stewart Binns' Anarchy is a gripping novel in the great tradition of Conn Iggulden and Bernard Cornwell, and is the third in The Making of England trilogy, following Conquest and Crusade. Praise for Stewart Binns: 'Binns' stories are a terrific mix of history and human drama' Celia Sandys: Author, presenter and granddaughter of Winston Churchill 'A fascinating mix of fact, legend and fiction ... this is storytelling at its best' Daily Mail Stewart Binns began his professional life as an academic. He then pursued several adventures, including a stint at the BBC, before settling into a career as a schoolteacher, specializing in history. Later in life, a lucky break took him back to the BBC, which was the beginning of a successful career in television. He has won a BAFTA, a Grierson, an RTS and a Peabody for his documentaries. Stewart's passion is English history, especially its origins and folklore. His previous novels in The Making of England trilogy are Conquest and Crusade.

Stephen and Matilda

Stephen and Matilda
Author: Jim Bradbury
Publisher: The History Press
Total Pages: 265
Release: 2011-10-21
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0752471929

Civil war and the battle for the English Crown dominated the reign of King Stephen, and this popular account is the only complete account of the complex and fascinating military situation. The war is examined in detail throughout the various campaigns, battles and sieges of the period, including the two major battles at the Standard and Lincoln, showing that Stephen always held more ground than his opponents and was mostly on the offensive. The nature of the warfare and the reasons for its outcome are examined, along with comment on the strategy, tactics, technology in arms and armour, and the important improvements in fortifications. Full use has been made of the numerous detailed chronicle sources which give some indication of the horrors of twelfth-century war, the depredations which affected the ordinary people of the land, and the atrocities which sometimes accompanied it. Full of colourful characters - the likeable king, the domineering Matlida, the young and vital Henry of Anjou (later Henry II), his intelligent and effective father Geoffrey Count of Anjou, the powerful barons from Geoffrey de Mandeville to Ranulf of Chester - and illustrated with photographs, maps and manuscript illustrations, this is a fascinating story of rivalry for the English throne which throws new light on a much-neglected aspect of Stephen's reign.

Stephen and Matilda's Civil War

Stephen and Matilda's Civil War
Author: Matthew Lewis
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2020-01-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1526718359

The story of the twelfth-century rivalry for the throne between the daughter and the nephew of Henry I—a battle that tore England apart for over a decade. The Anarchy was the first civil war in post-Conquest England, enduring throughout the reign of King Stephen between 1135 and 1154. It ultimately brought about the end of the Norman dynasty and the birth of the mighty Plantagenet kings. When Henry I died having lost his only legitimate son in a shipwreck, his barons had sworn to recognize his daughter Matilda, widow of the Holy Roman Emperor, as his heir, and remarried her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou. But when she was slow to move to England upon her father’s death, Henry’s favorite nephew, Stephen of Blois, rushed to have himself crowned, much as Henry himself had done on the death of his brother William Rufus. Supported by his brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester, Stephen made a promising start, but Matilda would not give up her birthright and tried to hold the English barons to their oaths. The result was more than a decade of civil war that saw England split apart. Empress Matilda is often remembered as aloof and high-handed, Stephen as ineffective and indecisive. By following both sides of the dispute and seeking to understand their actions and motivations, Matthew Lewis aims to reach a more rounded understanding of this crucial period of English history—and ask to what extent there really was anarchy.

King Stephen and The Anarchy

King Stephen and The Anarchy
Author: Chris Peers
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2018-02-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473863694

The Anarchy, the protracted struggle between Stephen of Blois and the Empress Matilda for the English crown between 1135 and 1154, is often seen as a disastrous breakdown in one of the best-governed kingdoms of medieval Europe. But perhaps the impact of the conflict has been overstated, and its effect on the common people across the country is hard to judge. That is why Chris Peerss fresh study of this fascinating and controversial era is of such value. He describes each phase of this civil war, in particular the castles and sieges that dominated strategic thinking, and he sets the fighting in the context of the changing tactics and military systems of the twelfth century. His fresh account of this pivotal episode in the medieval history of England will be absorbing reading anyone who is keen to gain an insight into this period of English history and has a special interest in the practice of medieval warfare.

The Cold War: History in an Hour

The Cold War: History in an Hour
Author: Rupert Colley
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Total Pages: 80
Release: 2011-10-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 0007451180

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour.

The Conquest of Bread

The Conquest of Bread
Author: Peter Kropotkin
Publisher: Standard Ebooks
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2021-07-21T00:29:42Z
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN:

The Conquest of Bread is a political treatise written by the anarcho-communist philosopher Peter Kropotkin. Written after a split between anarchists and Marxists at the First International (a 19th-century association of left-wing radicals), The Conquest of Bread advocates a path to a communist society distinct from Marx and Engels’s Communist Manifesto, rooted in the principles of mutual aid and voluntary cooperation. Since its original publication in 1892, The Conquest of Bread has immensely influenced both anarchist theory and anarchist praxis. As one of the first comprehensive works of anarcho-communist theory published for wide distribution, it both popularized anarchism in general and encouraged a shift in anarchist thought from individualist anarchism to social anarchism. It was also an influential text among the Spanish anarchists in the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s, and the late anarchist theorist and anthropologist David Graeber cited the book as an inspiration for the Occupy movement of the early 2010s in his 2011 book Debt: The First 5,000 Years. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

Bonds of Brotherhood in Sons of Anarchy

Bonds of Brotherhood in Sons of Anarchy
Author: Susan Fanetti
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2018-02-20
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1476632359

One of FX's most successful original productions, Sons of Anarchy roared onto the screen in 2008 and dominated the cable network's programming for seven seasons. Following an outlaw motorcycle club on its Shakespearean journey, the series took audiences on a wild ride powered by a high-octane brand of masculinity. This collection of new essays explores the show's complicated presentation of masculinity and its cultural implications. Series creator and writer Kurt Sutter depicts male characters who act from a highly traditional sense of what it means to be a man. SOA both vaunts and challenges that sense of manhood as the characters face the consequences of their ride-or-die lifestyle.

World War Two: History in an Hour

World War Two: History in an Hour
Author: Rupert Colley
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Total Pages: 90
Release: 2011-10-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 0007451199

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour.