Guildford's Hidden History

Guildford's Hidden History
Author: Helen Chapman-Davies
Publisher: Amberley Publishing Limited
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2010-07-15
Genre: Photography
ISBN: 1445619970

A fascinating look at the secret history of Guildford and the area around it.

Secret Britain

Secret Britain
Author: Justin Pollard
Publisher: John Murray
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2010-11-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1848544545

Some of our most intriguing history is missing. Perhaps there has been a conspiracy, a cover-up? Or maybe some stories have been lost, forgotten or were just too embarrassing to talk about at the time? But now they are back, revealed in all their glory: secret passages, events, societies, loves, identities and even dark secrets of the grave. After much sleuthing, Justin Pollard takes us into undisclosed historical waters to discover why the city of Burlington isn't on the map; how 'Agent Pickle' saved the lost treasure of Bonnie Prince Charlie; what Sir Thomas Overbury knew in 1613 that got him murdered with a poisoned enema and how Virginia Woolf sweet-talked her way aboard HMS Dreadnought dressed as Abyssinian Prince. Secret Britain also reveals the tragic love story behind the Rolls Royce mascot; how agent Garbo managed to get an MBE and an Iron Cross; the sinister properties of the Hand of Glory; the lost smuggling ship Peggy; the Mystery Runner of Nos Galan; the extraordinary history of the Fairy Flag of Dunvegan; London's only Nazi war memorial and the secrets of the WWII Monopoly board.

The Global Infrastructure of the Special Operations Executive

The Global Infrastructure of the Special Operations Executive
Author: Derwin Gregory
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 170
Release: 2021-12-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 1351718339

During the Second World War, the British government established the Special Operations Executive (SOE) for the purpose of coordinating ‘all action, by way of subversion and sabotage, against the enemy overseas’. Although the overseas operations of this branch of the British Secret Services are relatively well known, few studies have explored the ‘backroom sections’ of this organisation. This book draws together the infrastructure developed to support an agent’s ‘journey’ from recruitment to despatch to the field. At the start of the Second World War there were few existing facilities established within the UK to support clandestine operations. As the conflict progressed, in parallel to learning the operational procedures of their trade, SOE also had to rapidly expand their support infrastructure around the world. The organisation could effectively support their agents only by establishing facilities dedicated to training, research and development, supply, transportation, communication, and command and control. By predominately focusing on the organisation’s ‘agent facing’ infrastructure, this book provides a backdrop to the brave men and women who conducted operations abroad. In addition, it gives an overview of the facilities in which SOE’s backroom staff lived and worked. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of archaeology, history and war studies.

Elizabeth I's Secret Lover

Elizabeth I's Secret Lover
Author: Robert Stedall
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
Total Pages: 407
Release: 2020-03-30
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1526761491

This biography details how one man rose to prominence in the Elizabethan court and become the queen’s favorite in more ways than one. Elizabeth I’s Secret Lover details just how Lord Robert Dudley become one of the most influential figures of his time. As a great impresario, he showed Elizabeth I off to her people to glittering effect and became the forerunner of Shakespearian theatre, combining classicism with ribaldry. He attracted the financing of Drake’s circumnavigation. He was the supporter of academic endeavor, of poetry, and of Puritan scholarship. By employing a network of his own agents, he provided information of crucial importance to Government. He built some of the finest houses and gardens of the age. As Master of the Horse, he developed English bloodstock to provide horses for Royal and military requirements. He even saw to it that England’s navy and army was properly prepared to meet Continental aggression when needed. Dudley also has faced criticism from historians by competing with William Cecil to gain the ear of Elizabeth I and thwarting his efforts to arrange a political marriage for her to protect against Continental Catholic aggression. There can be no doubt that Elizabeth wanted to marry him. He was devastatingly attractive, athletic, and loyal, and, as this book shows, there is compelling evidence that the “virgin queen” spent time in bed with him. “A well-researched account of their complicated relationship. If you finished Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light and are wondering what happened next to the blood-drenched Tudor clan, this could be the book for you.” —Mary Ann Gwinn, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace

Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace
Author: Kate Emerson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 404
Release: 2009-02-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1416583580

Basing her gripping tale on the life of the real Jane Popyncourt, gifted author Kate Emerson brings the Tudor monarchs, their family, and their courtiers to brilliant life in this vibrant novel. Beautiful. Seductive. Innocent. Jane Popyncourt was brought to the court as a child to be ward of the king and a companion to his daughters—the princesses Margaret and Mary. With no money of her own, Jane could not hope for a powerful marriage, or perhaps even marriage at all. But as she grows into a lovely young woman, she still receives flattering attention from the virile young men flocking to serve the handsome new king, Henry VIII, who has recently married Catherine of Aragon. Then a dashing French prisoner of war, cousin to the king of France, is brought to London, and Jane finds she cannot help giving some of her heart—and more—to a man she can never marry. But the Tudor court is filled with dangers as well as seductions, and there are mysteries surrounding Jane’s birth that have made her deadly enemies. Can she cultivate her beauty and her amorous wiles to guide her along a perilous path and bring her at last to happiness?

The Churchill Deception

The Churchill Deception
Author: Peter Jacobs
Publisher: Greenhill Books
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2024-11-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1784389609

To carry out one clandestine mission requires courage, but to do it four times requires courage on a quite extraordinary scale. Yet, that is exactly what Peter Churchill did. Peter Morland Churchill was born in Amsterdam in 1909 to British diplomat William Churchill and his wife Violet. A particularly gifted linguist, upon graduating from university, Churchill followed in his father’s footsteps and entered into the British diplomatic service before eventually joining the Home Office Advisory Committee. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Churchill’s professional exploits and linguistic prowess led him to the Special Operations Executive (SOE) – a secret British organization formed in 1940 to carry out subversive warfare against the enemy in Nazi-occupied Europe. Churchill was among the early volunteers for the SOE, and joined as an Intelligence Officer in the French Section in 1941. Throughout his time in the organization, Churchill made it into France on four separate missions. Each of these assignments were hazardous, requiring courage, resourcefulness and tireless hard work. Churchill was successful in his first three missions, but these hazards caught up with him and he was captured at the beginning of his fourth deployment to France. He endured torture, solitary confinement and the everyday horrors of the concentration camps as a result. He eventually made it back home at the end of the war and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his outstanding courage. The story of Peter Churchill and his time in the SOE is an incredible one. This remarkable history truly does justice to these experiences and will captivate any reader interested in the SOE or in the Second World War in general.

MIRROR SECRET MIRROR

MIRROR SECRET MIRROR
Author: Jessica Seaques
Publisher: Jessica Seaques
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2023-05-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1399950762

Be careful what you fantasise. Your dreams may just come true… What is real? What is imaginary? This is the line Jessica Seaques walks, ever since she won a commission to write erotica for the indulgence of an anonymous patron. Her stories are inspired by the strange working environment the patron provides – a bizarre, mirror-walled office where Jess liaises with his beautiful yet cruel ‘agent’ and the awkward, long-suffering receptionist. All the while, the mirrors watch as the writer gets drawn… deeper and deeper… into this eccentric world of erotic fantasy. What is real? What is imaginary? What’s the difference? Who’s the man behind the mirror and the mystery? Through the looking glass, Jess will go… into the dark depths. Do you dare to follow? MIRROR SECRET MIRROR is dangerous, decadent, BDSM erotica. This book is a corrupting force, an evil seduction, a delicious poison… a trap! It’s the story of a young woman being lured, baited, manipulated… hunted, captured, enslaved. The villain is dark-eyed, devilish and dominant. The villainess is sleek, sadistic and sexy. The predators work together to ensnare their prey. This story is offensive, dishonest and depraved. It twists romance, perverts love and mocks morality. Consider yourself warned!