History books

Just to muddy the waters still further, a Radio 4 programme about Georgiana pronounced her "Geor-jane-ah"...

One of my favourites is "Barrow's Boys" by Fergus Fleming, about the peace dividend at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. There were lots of naval officers on half pay and very little for them to do; Barrow was a civil servant at the Admiralty who had the bright idea of sending some of them off to explore the world. "Ninety Degrees North", also by Fergus Fleming, about the exploration of the North Pole is good too.

I also like "The World Turned Upside Down" by Christopher Hill about Levellers, Diggers and Ranters.

I like the biographies Christopher Hibbert writes but maybe you have to be interested in the subject before you start? He has 2 great ones on Queen Victoria and Nelson.

Also Antonia Fraser is a good read. I read her book on the Gunpowder Plot earlier this year.

For me though the test is the subject matter, not the author. I love anything 18th century, social history from the 18th centruy onwards, WW1 and 2 stuff, naval history, medical stuff etc.

mm actually it's wrong - not Georgianna like Diana but Georgi-ah-na.

Thanks for that acnebride! - don't think I've ever come across it in RL

Georgiana not like Georgina but as it's spelt, as if George Galloway and Princess Diana had bought a bungalow together

Elizabeth and Mary by Jane Dunn was interesting. Agree about Stalingrad.

Lyndal Roper - Oedipus and the Devil: Witchcraft, sexuality and religion in early modern Europe
Definately my favourite. REally really fascinating. Based on Germany mostly after the PRotestant Reformation there. As a history student I rarely read a history book all the way through, but this one I read on a regular basis. Also showed me that my main interest was in gender identity and gender relations in Early Modern Europe. It's the book that changed my outlook on history. First one I bought myself.

acnebride - Yes lisa picard :) - I will try and find a 2nd hand copy on ebay for my shelf

I have never heard of Judith flanders so will check her out

I didnt read the whole thread yesterday so didnt see that lionhearted had already mentioned the very book I was thinking of!!!

Acnebride, I loved Georgiana too - was amazed at their spending powers! BTW, I have always wondered what is the correct pronounciation of Georgiana - is it the same as Georgina?

Everything and anything by Mary Renault, who writes on ancient Greece., but especially the Alexander Trilogy.

I love Paul Murray Kendall's biography of Richard III which I read on the back of the fabulous sort-of-historical novel The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey.
Liza Picard is good for research but I don't think she writes all that well. Have just loved James Shapiro on Shakespeare: 1599. Really gripping!
The Paston Letters is lovely for people who like medieval history, and in Penguin now is my all time favourite: Montaillou, the story of a Cathar village, by Emmanuel Leroy Ladurie.
Also like the late, lamented Ian Ousby on 20th century French history (Vichy especially).
I found Stalingrad deeply upsetting but am glad I read it. Still on the fence about Beevor's writing though.
Dh rates David Cannadine and grumbles about him moving to teach in the States on a regular, yawnsome basis.

Busybusybee - was that Dr Johnson's London by Liza Picard? She's done 3 I think now, and I like them unlike lionhearted although I haven't read the Victorian one.

I'd agree about The Victorian House by Judith Flanders, top stuff.

I'd second the Duch of Dev. Very good.
Also enjoyed Pepys by Claire Tomalin - what a comedy lech he was.

Testament of Youth by Vera Britten - saddest thing I've read in my life but it educated me about WW1 more than any history lesson.

I read a fantastic book about london - Trouble is I have no idea who wrote it

It was I think about 1600 -1800 london - Crime, schools, health, toilets, rats - all sorts of stuff you never thought would be interesting

I wish I could remember who wrote it cos I know she has written others I havent read!

Antonia Fraser and ALison Weir are great for historical biographies. I really liked Marie Antoinette by Antonia Fraser, and Alison Weir's Six Wives of Henry VIII was a great read.

I like Simon Winchester:
\link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140280391/qid=1149179623/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_2_1/026-4832246-9023614\the map that changed the world} and \link{http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140271287/ref=pd_bxgy_text_2_cp/026-4832246-9023614\the surgeon of crowthorne}

I really liked Wild Swans, seem to like historical books on China for some reason.

Stalingrad thing sounds sad what happened to the women!

Secret World of Sex: Forbidden Fruit - The British Experience, 1900-50 by Stephen Humphries is a good read too.