The pioneers who attempted the first climbs in 1922 and 1924 knew nothing about the mountain other than its height. They had to learn the hard way about the lack of oxygen, the jet-stream winds, the illnesses of altitude, and the vital importance of the Sherpas. They fought cerebral oedema, frostbite, hypothermia and raging thirst in the cold, thin air. They had to find a route, avoid avalanches, and work out what to do when confronted by an insuperable rock climb at extreme altitude. Many of them died.

Howard Somervell was Mallory’s closest friend on the mountain in 1922 and 1924. He was an exceptionally gifted man: he had a double first at Cambridge, he was a talented artist and an accomplished musician. He served as a surgeon at the Battle of the Somme during the First World War and was one of the foremost alpinists of the day when he was invited to join the 1922 Mount Everest expedition. After Everest he was awarded an Olympic gold medal for Alpinism in 1924. But in India he will be remembered as a surgeon who dedicated the remainder of his life to healing the sick.

Those pioneers showed the way. Somervell took part in the first attempt to climb the mountain, and his oxygen-free height record in 1924 stood for over 50 years. On his descent he sat down alone suffocating from a frost-bitten larynx. He prepared to die, but at the last moment performed a medical manoeuvre which cleared his airway. He survived to struggle back down.

Howard Somervell was my cousin, and I am one of the last Everesters left alive to have spoken with a climber from George Mallory’s party.

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With this refreshing take on the Queen of Crime’s connections to the city in both her life and writing, Tina Hodgkinson follows in Christie’s footsteps, visiting her former homes, fashionable restaurants, luxury hotels and other London locations that she and her characters frequented. Discover the Apothecaries’ Hall in the City of London, where Agatha sat her medical exams, the hospital she worked in during the Second World War, the former headquarters of the ‘Detection Club’ and the theatres, where her plays were performed.

Christie wrote about the capital in every decade of her extensive literary career, and this detailed but accessible compendium will delight Christie fans both old and new.

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Alfred the Great saves Wessex from Viking invaders. His son Edward the Elder pushes the Vikings back into northern England. Athelstan, Edward’s son, becomes the first King of England in 927 and, routing Irish Vikings and Scots in England’s bloodiest battle at Brunanburh in 937, his dominance is complete.

Eric Bloodaxe succeeds his father becoming Norway’s second king. However, Harald had fostered his youngest son Hakon with Athelstan who backs Hakon’s challenge for Norway. Eric is overthrown and Hakon becomes third King of Norway.

Eric flees to Britain where England’s third king, Edred, allows him the throne in York. Eric soon loses that crown yet four years later he becomes King in York for a second time. In 954 Eric is slaughtered in an ambush in Cumbria. There will be no more kings in York.

A 100-year Game of Thrones as kings rise and fall around the North Sea.

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To the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Louise was key to its success as one of the leading noble families in the world. Through Albert’s marriage to Queen Victoria and their offspring they secured the most important thrones of Europe.

One question remains to be answered: was Albert the legitimate son of Ernst?

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Norway, 1940: The Monte Rosa is sent to the fjords to assist the dreaded Tirpitz as she bombards British ships.

Auschwitz, 1942: Forty-six Jews wait at the gates, after the Monte Rosa had transported them from Oslo.

Kiel, 1945: The Monte Rosa is captured by the British and given a new name: the Empire Windrush.

London, 1948: The Empire Windrush docks in England, carrying 600 migrants from the Caribbean.

In Windrush: A Ship Through Time Paul Arnott explores the epic story of a vessel that played a part in some of the most momentous events of the twentieth century, and whose fateful 1948 voyage continues to have consequences – both personal and political – today.

Hamburg, 1930. German shipbuilders Blohm & Voss build a transatlantic ocean cruiser and christen her Monte Rosa.

Norway, 1940. The Monte Rosa is sent to assist the dreaded Tirpitz as she bombards British ships.

Auschwitz, 1942. Forty-six Jews wait at the gates, after the Monte Rosa had transported them from Oslo.

Kiel, 1945. The Monte Rosa is captured by the British and given a new name: Empire Windrush.

London, 1948. The Empire Windrush docks in England, carrying 600 migrants from the Caribbean.

In Windrush: A Ship Through Time, Paul Arnott explores the epic story of a vessel that played a part in some of the most momentous events of the twentieth century, and whose fateful 1948 voyage continues to have consequences – both personal and political – today.

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In this first narrative biography of Elizabeth Boleyn, her story is finally told. Beginning with her family’s dramatic flight from Norfolk to London after the Battle of Bosworth, this book charts Elizabeth’s life at the early Henrician court, follows her as her family rise to the pinnacle of their power, and ends with her tragic death just a couple of years after two of her children were brutally executed. This is the story of the Boleyn family – and the dramatic events of Tudor England – from an entirely new perspective.

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