Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Kentucky

an insider's guide to life in the United Kingdom

Rules, Britannia

0d890497-5338-4b3d-a978-8c6a4f774c90-1

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, often known simply as Tom Jones, is a comic novel by English playwright and novelist Henry Fielding. It is a Bildungsroman and a picaresque novel. It was first published on 28 February 1749 in London and is among the earliest English works to be classified as a novel. It is the earliest novel mentioned by W. Somerset Maugham in his 1948 book Great Novelists and Their Novels among the ten best novels of the world. #britain #classic #britannica

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

New York

Great Books of the Western World - Vol. 37

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

#hardcover #royal #britain #windsor #princeharry #meghanmarkle

Virginia

The Untold Story of Harry and Meghan's Shocking Split with the House of Windsor

Reveals Shocking Revelations about Prince Harry, Megan Markle, and the British Royal Family--and the Divisive Rifts Between Them



This explosive exposé, Royals at War, takes readers inside a riven Buckingham Palace to provide the definitive account of the unfolding abdication crisis of 2020--dubbed Megxit--during which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, became royal outcasts. 



Through revealing interviews with royal family insiders, friends, aides, historians, royal watchers, and others with intimate knowledge of The House of Windsor, this tell-all book looks back at the events, motives and crises which led to Harry (sixth in line to the throne) dramatically abandoning his birthright--in a move not seen for nearly a century, when King Edward VIII also gave up the crown for the woman he loved as Europe teetered on the brink of fascism and war. Like Edward and Wallis Simpson, the catalyst for the scandal here is also an ambitious, controversial American woman.



Howard's unique access and insight into this constitutional crisis will not only address the tensions and tantrums behind closed palace doors, but seek to answer the questions many are still asking:
 * Has Prince Harry ever really recovered from the death of his mother Diana--and the resentment he feels against the institution that tried to destroy her?
 * Why did Meghan, once hailed as a breath of fresh air, rile up the monarchy?
 * Why did she refuse to conform to royal conventions in the way that Catherine did before her?
 * Did the public and media criticism of Meghan go too far? And just how valid are the accusations of racism?
 * How did these modern royals treat the tabloids differently to tradition? And did it backfire?
 * What next for Harry and Meghan? And how will they--and the institution they've turned their back on--react to their new lives outside the confines of the Palace and free from the strict codes and conventions that bind all members of the Royal Family?

Caught in a trap by virtue of a life entombed in a gilded cage, Royals at War answers these questions and more . . .

Royals at War

2729513f-485b-4c23-99ba-212a7fc28244-1

Centenary history of the Leslie and Godwin Group, British insurance broker. Leslie and Godwin’s contribution to the story of insurance broking is immense, including insuring the giant Cunard liners and the Concorde airplane. Some B&W photos. Book measures 6” x 8.5”, 121 pages. No writing. DJ has 1/4” tear at spine top. #insurance #business #britain #hardcover #uncommon #nonfiction (Shelf 3B)

New Jersey

A History of Leslie and Godwin 1885-1985

Two’s Company

Oregon

The eldest son of Queen Victoria, Bertie will one day be King Edward VII. For the moment, though, his primary responsibility is to enjoy himself, a task at which he excels - bedding society beauties, tormenting his long-suffering wife, and taking his royal bulk off to other people's country estates, there to shoot things, eat enormous meals, and pinch the serving maids. It is at just such an estate that the story unfolds, though this is no ordinary shooting-party, and with a killer afoot, the glittering guest-list is dwindling rapidly. Bertie greets the murders with some delight, as they allow him to exercise his passion for amateur sleuthing (a task at which he doesn't particularly excel). Lovesey wrote Seven Bodies as an homage to Agatha Christie, but he laced his classically structured puzzle with his own sly wit, gleefully poking fun at the pomposities of privilege. Utterly charming ...what a delight! - New York Times A delicious option for fans of Agatha Christie and Anne Perry

Bertie and the Seven Bodies

d051ee11-c2f4-437e-9756-f5cb20f83223-1

Delaware

Spring 1915: World War One rages across Europe, and the British Empire is assailed on all fronts--domestic and abroad. Amidst this bloodbath of nations, where one man's flag is another man's shroud, a British spy is asked to do the impossible: seduce and betray the woman he loves, again. Only this time betrayal is a two-way street.

Jack McColl, a spy for His Majesty's Secret Service, is stationed in India and charged with defending the Empire against Bengali terrorists and their German allies. Belgium, he finds, is not the only country seeking to expel an invader.

In England, meanwhile, radical journalist Caitlin Hanley begins the business of rebuilding her life after the execution of her brother--an IRA sympathizer whose terrorist plot was foiled by Caitlin's own ex-lover, the very same Jack McColl. The war is changing everything and giving fresh impulse to those causes--feminism, socialism and Irish independence--which she as a journalist has long supported.

The threat of a rising in Dublin alarms McColl's bosses as much as it dazzles Caitlin. If another Irish plot brings them back together, will it be as enemies or lovers?

One Man's Flag

423de4c4-c8f7-4d70-892c-4d08f647a4d3-1

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

The Authorized Biography - Everything She Wants

With unequaled authority and dramatic detail, the first volume of Charles Moore's authorized biography of Margaret Thatcher reveals as never before the early life, rise to power, and first years as prime minister of the woman who transformed Britain and the world in the late twentieth century. Moore has had unique access to all of Thatcher's private and governmental papers, and interviewed her and her family extensively for this book. Many of her former colleagues and intimates have also shared previously unseen papers, diaries, and letters, and spoken frankly to him, knowing that what they revealed would not be published until after her death. The book immediately supersedes all other biographies and sheds much new light on the whole spectrum of British political life from Thatcher's entry into Parliament in 1959 to what was arguably the zenith of her power--victory in the Falklands in 1982.

Drawing on an extraordinary cache of letters to her sister Muriel, Moore illuminates Thatcher's youth, her relationship with her parents, and her early romantic attachments, including her first encounters with Denis Thatcher and their courtship and marriage. Moore brilliantly depicts her determination and boldness from the very beginning of her political career and gives the fullest account of her wresting the Tory leadership from former prime minister Edward Heath at a moment when no senior figure in the party dared to challenge him. His account of Thatcher's dramatic relationship with Ronald Reagan is riveting. This book also explores in compelling detail the obstacles and indignities that Thatcher encountered as a woman in what was still overwhelmingly a man's world.

Moore's admiration for Thatcher is evident, yet his portrait is convincingly clear-eyed, conveying both how remarkable she was and how infuriating she could be, her extraordinary grasp at mastering policy and what needed to be done, and her surprising vulnerabilities. At the moment when Margaret Thatcher becomes a part of history, Moore's portrait enlivens her, compellingly re-creating the circumstances and experiences that shaped one of the most significant world leaders of the postwar era. 

Margaret Thatcher

62aff6bd-4ca5-4d63-a582-82251dd33f4c-1

Illinois

Guinever Evermore

First US edition. Book is solid with no writing. Dust jacket shows a little rubbing but is still crisp with no tears. The flaws are shown in the photos: 1/2” rubbing on the front cover board (under dust jacket) and 1/2” stain inside front board and ffep. #hardcover #autobiography #britain #boardingschool #growingup #nonfiction (Shelf 4B)

A Boarding-School Memoir

At the age of seven, Paul Watkins was roughly transplanted from his home in Rhode Island to England's Dragon School. He was greeted by a delegation of bullies who, in time, would become his friends and whose rules would become his own. For at Dragon, and later at Eton, "there was no middle ground. You could not go here and come out not caring one way or the other. You had to stand before your God and commit." In this enthralling and sometimes harrowing memoir, the acclaimed author of The Promise of Light gives us a masterly companion to such classics as Brideshead Revisited and A Separate Peace. Here are the masters who paddle boys for small infractions and then offer them sweets; the seniors who pamper pretty favorites and subject all others to humiliating servitude; the deep friendships and sudden, devastating betrayals. Above all, here is the exhilaration of a boy discovering own capacities for learning and creativity, in a book that conveys with astonishing insight the pangs of growing up. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Stand Before Your God

7e06b3a4-068c-4380-98d6-cd13d73f08ca-1

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Maryland

The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805

From New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell, now available in paperback--bestselling historical novelist Bernard Cornwell brings life to one of the most spectacular naval battles in history with SHARPE'S TRAFALGAR.

"The greatest writer of historical adventures today."

--Washington Post

Critically acclaimed, perennial New York Times bestselling author Bernard Cornwell (Agincourt, The Fort, the Saxon Tales) makes real history come alive in his breathtaking historical fiction. Praised as "the direct heir to Patrick O'Brian" (Agincourt, The Fort), Cornwell has brilliantly captured the fury, chaos, and excitement of battle as few writers have ever done--perhaps most vividly in his phenomenally popular novels following the illustrious military career of British Army officer Richard Sharpe during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Chronicling Sharpe's involvement in the famous Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, Sharpe's Trafalgar finds the young ensign captive on a French warship and in gravest peril on the eve of the one of the most spectacular naval confrontations in history. Perhaps the San Francisco Chronicle said it best: "If only all history lessons could be as vibrant."

Sharpe's Trafalgar

cca3911d-7ea4-4293-ba16-4d4b31dbf923-1

Explore the byways of London, rural England, Ireland and Paris with renowned Painter of Light Thomas Kinkade, his brother, Patrick, and their father. Solid copy with some color plates. DJ crisp with little wear. DJ has original price label on back as well as a 1/4” tear on rear corner. First edition, first printing, complete number line of. #travel #Britain #France #WWII #nonfiction #hardcover #firstedition (Shelf 3F)

Travels Through the British Isles and France

Come explore the byways of London, thatched cottages of rural England, green villages of Ireland, and bustling streets of Paris with renowned Painter of Light Thomas Kindade, his brother, Patrick, and their father.

Chasing the Horizon

f89a459e-702b-4e39-ad02-98d9f4e6d017-1

#85 Sticker on back dust cover. Dust cover shows wear.  #hardcover #Britain #retelling #action #anarchy #defense 

Idaho

After more than four hundred years of Roman rule, the island its conquerors called Britannia was abandoned--left to its own devices as the Roman empire contracted in a futile effort to defend itself from the barbarian hordes encroaching upon its heart. As Britannia falls into anarchy and the city of Viroconium is left undefended, two cousins who remained behind when the imperial forces withdrew pursue very different courses in the ensuing struggle to unite the disparate tribes and factions throughout the land.

Passionate, adventurous Dinas recruits followers and dreams of kingship. Thoughtful Cadogan saves a group of citizens when Saxons invade and burn Viroconium, then becomes the reluctant founder and leader of a new community that rises in the wilderness. The two cousins could not be more different, but their parallel stories encapsulate the era of a new civilization struggling to be born.

After Rome

8fd2aec6-9b16-414f-80f3-dc273194017b-1

#historicalfiction #wwII #nationalpigeonservice #basedontrueevents #britain #france #hope #paperback #fiction 

Ohio

A USA Today Bestseller 

Inspired by fascinating, true, yet little-known events during World War II, The Long Flight Home is a testament to the power of courage in our darkest hours--a moving, masterfully written story of love and sacrifice.
 
It is September 1940--a year into the war--and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Enemy fighter planes blacken the sky around the Epping Forest home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather, Bertie. After losing her parents to influenza as a child, Susan found comfort in raising homing pigeons with Bertie. All her birds are extraordinary to Susan--loyal, intelligent, beautiful--but none more so than Duchess. Hatched from an egg that Susan incubated in a bowl under her grandfather's desk lamp, Duchess shares a special bond with Susan and an unusual curiosity about the human world. 
 
Thousands of miles away in Buxton, Maine, young crop-duster pilot Ollie Evans decides to join Britain's Royal Air Force. His quest brings him to Epping and the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a new, covert mission to air-drop hundreds of homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Many will not survive. Those that do will bring home crucial information. Soon a friendship between Ollie and Susan deepens, but when his plane is downed behind enemy lines, both know how remote the chances of reunion must be. Yet Duchess will become an unexpected lifeline, relaying messages between Susan and Ollie as war rages on--and proving, at last, that hope is never truly lost.

"Hlad adeptly drives home the devastating civilian cost of the war."
--Booklist

The Long Flight Home

596e4d0c-359e-4724-aa17-3ec2016b6b12-1

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

Forging the Nation 1707-1837

How was Great Britain made? And what does it mean to be British? This brilliant and seminal book examines how a more cohesive British nation was invented after 1707 and how this new national identity was nurtured through war, religion, trade, and empire. Lavishly illustrated and powerful, Britons remains a major contribution to our understanding of Britain's past, and continues to influence ongoing controversies about this polity's survival and future. This edition contains an extensive new preface by the author.

"A sweeping survey, . . . evocatively illustrated and engagingly written."--Harriet Ritvo, New York Times Book Review

"Challenging, fascinating, enormously well informed."--John Barrell, London Review of Books

"Linda Colley writes with clarity and grace...Her stimulating book will be, and deserves to be influential"--E. P. Thompson, Dissent

Linda Colley is Shelby M. C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University.


Winner of the Wolfson History Prize


A New York Times NotableBook

Britons

03bfa36d-7db2-4ac9-966a-cb378cfb58bb-1

Iowa

A Life

Draws on previously unavailable materials to provide an in-depth portrait of Churchill as a leader swept into history's most tumultuous era

Churchill

11ab1ac5-3231-4d4b-97b1-5e84b74ba399-1

Oklahoma

In the tradition of "The Mists of Avalon" and" Mythago Wood," J. Robert King weaves an epic tale of Avalon, Excalibur, the Once and Future king, and the magician Merlin as he draws on the ideas and writings of Joseph Campbell to shape and interpret the legendary Arthurian mythos.


Mad Merlin

0c5a604c-c53f-45dc-bea6-74808ec78090-1

#nonfiction #historical #hardcover #Churchill #collectible #WW2 #secondworldwar #firstedition #Britain #uk First edition - 1950. Open to negotiating price. 

New Mexico

The Second World War: Volume 4

The Hinge of Fate

782ad867-d1ae-421a-8fef-bbad8494262e-1

Tennessee

The Untold Life of the Duchess of Windsor, the Woman Who Changed the Monarchy

For fans of the Netflix series The Crown and from the author of the New York Times bestseller 17 Carnations comes a captivating biography of Wallis Simpson, the notorious woman for whom Edward VIII gave up the throne. "You have no idea how hard it is to live out a great romance." -Wallis Simpson Before she became known as the woman who enticed a king from his throne and birthright, Bessie Wallis Warfield was a prudish and particular girl from Baltimore. At turns imaginative, ambitious, and spoiled, Wallis's first words as recalled by her family were "me, me." From that young age, she was in want of nothing but stability, status, and social acceptance as she fought to climb the social ladder and take her place in London society. As irony would have it, she would gain the love and devotion of a king, but only at the cost of his throne and her reputation. In WALLIS IN LOVE, acclaimed biographer Andrew Morton offers a fresh portrait of Wallis Simpson in all her vibrancy and brazenness as she transformed from a hard-nosed gold-digger to charming chatelaine. Using diary entries, letters, and other never-before-seen records, Morton takes us through Wallis's romantic adventures in Washington, China, and her entrance into the strange wonderland that is London society. During her journey, we meet an extraordinary array of characters, many of whom smoothed the way for her dalliance with the king of England, Edward VIII. WALLIS IN LOVE goes beyond Wallis's infamous persona and reveals a complex, domineering woman striving to determine her own fate and grapple with matters of the heart.

Wallis in Love

f81315e4-ab6f-4cff-b274-09c38bf2521b-1

The outbreaks of collective violence arising from the tensions existing within society have long been themes in the study of British social history. Detailed studies abound--on the Levellers, the Diggers, fen rioters, food rioters, machinery riots, tithe riots, turnpike riots and so on. This book breaks new ground in that it attempts to survey the whole range of these rural riots, to compare and contrast them, and to draw general conclusions.

Seventy-five maps are included in this volume, each with an accompanying commentary written by an authority on the particular subject. Taken together, the maps show how the distribution of protest changed over time, how particular forms of protest--riots connected with land, with food and with labor--altered as Britain developed from a predominantly feudal to a predominantly capitalist society.

An Atlas of Rural Protest in Britain, 1549-1900

2ea2688a-09b3-4d73-9c78-cf5baecf6c27-1

#paperback #fiction #fantasyfiction #adultfiction #britain #classic #adult #bronte 

Florida

A Thursday Next Novel

Meet Thursday Next, literary detective without equal, fear or boyfriend Jasper Fforde’s beloved New York Times bestselling novel introduces literary detective Thursday Next and her alternate reality of literature-obsessed England—from the author of The Constant Rabbit Fans of Douglas Adams and P. G. Wodehouse will love visiting Jasper Fforde's Great Britain, circa 1985, when time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously: it’s a bibliophile’s dream. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem and forging Byronic verse is a punishable offense. All this is business as usual for Thursday Next, renowned Special Operative in literary detection. But when someone begins kidnapping characters from works of literature and plucks Jane Eyre from the pages of Brontë's novel, Thursday is faced with the challenge of her career. Fforde's ingenious fantasy—enhanced by a Web site that re-creates the world of the novel—unites intrigue with English literature in a delightfully witty mix.

The Eyre Affair

1d58c182-dea1-4af6-a7a3-ff56e1d45513-1

What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution

In this dazzling new vision of the ever-fascinating queen, a dynamic young historian reveals how Marie Antoinette's bold attempts to reshape royal fashion changed the future of France


Marie Antoinette has always stood as an icon of supreme style, but surprisingly none of her biographers have paid sustained attention to her clothes. InQueen of Fashion, Caroline Weber shows how Marie Antoinette developed her reputation for fashionable excess, and explains through lively, illuminating new research the political controversies that her clothing provoked. Weber surveys Marie Antoinette's "Revolution in Dress," covering each phase of the queen's tumultuous life, beginning with the young girl, struggling to survive Versailles's rigid traditions of royal glamour (twelve-foot-wide hoopskirts, whalebone corsets that crushed her organs). As queen,Marie Antoinette used stunning, often extreme costumes to project an image of power and wage war against her enemies. Gradually, however, she began to lose her hold on the French when she started to adopt "unqueenly" outfits (the provocative chemise) that, surprisingly, would be adopted by the revolutionaries who executed her.

Weber's queen is sublime, human, and surprising: a sometimes courageous monarch unwilling to allow others to determine her destiny. The paradox of her tragic story, according to Weber, is that fashion--the vehicle she used to secure her triumphs--was also the means of her undoing. Weber's book is not only a stylish and original addition to Marie Antoinette scholarship, but also a moving, revelatory reinterpretation of one of history's most controversial figures.

Queen of Fashion

f3dff35b-bccf-4d2d-b975-9f28a115e100-1

#Johnlecarte #spy #thriller #bestseller #espionage #Russia #Britain #ironCurtain #militarysecrets #firstedition A timeless spy thriller. The title refers to the nickname given to the portion of the British Secret Intelligence Service that was devoted to spying on the Soviet Union.

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

The Russia House (First Edition)

#napoleon #france #britain #desire #ambition #treachery #courage #madametussaud 

As heiress to the famous Laurent Fashion Dolls business, Marguerite Ashby's future seems secure. But France still seethes with violence in the wake of the Revolution. And when Marguerite's husband Nicholas is killed during a riot at their shop, she leaves home vowing never to return. Instead, the young widow travels to Edinburgh and joins her old friend, Marie Tussaud, who has established a touring wax exhibition.

Under the great Tussaud's patient instruction, Marguerite learns to mold wax into stunningly lifelike creations. When Prime Minister William Pitt commissions a wax figure of military hero Admiral Nelson, Marguerite becomes immersed in a dangerous adventure--and earns the admiration of two very different men. And as Britain battles to overthrow Napoleon and flush out spies against the Crown, Marguerite will find her own loyalties, and her heart, under fire from all sides.

With wit, flair, and a masterful eye for telling details, Christine Trent brings one of history's most fascinating eras to vibrant life in an unforgettable story of desire, ambition, treachery, and courage.

Praise for Christine Trent's The Queen's Dollmaker

"Exuberant, sparkling, beguiling. . .brims with Dickensian gusto!" --Barbara Kyle, author of The Queen's Lady

"Winningly original. . .glittering with atmospheric detail!" --Leslie Carroll, author of Royal Affairs

"Unique, imaginative. . .replete with delightful details and astounding characters, both real and imagined." --Donna Russo Morin, author of The Courtier's Secret

Christine Trent writes historical fiction from her two-story home library. She lives with her wonderful bookshelf-building husband, three precocious cats, a large doll collection, and over 3,000 fully cataloged books. She and her husband are active travelers and journey regularly to England to conduct book research at historic sites. It was Christine's interest in dolls and history that led to the idea for The Queen's Dollmaker.

A Royal Likeness

1f679caa-807d-4ac4-a288-cd8dd533fb4e-1

#paperback #TheGatheringStorm #The2WorldWar #War #WinstonChurchill #Britain #History #Biography box 94 There is a $7.50 purchase minimum when buying from my shop; as there’s a 20% platform fee, packaging, travel costs, and of course my time. Thanks for understanding. 😊
I'm on Instagram as karrisbookstore. 

Toni Summers Hargis

Rules, Britannia

Henry Fielding

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

Dylan Howard; Andy Tillett

Royals at War

Victor Head

Two’s Company

Peter Lovesey

Bertie and the Seven Bodies

David Downing

One Man's Flag

Charles Moore

Margaret Thatcher

Sharan Newman

Guinever Evermore

Paul Watkins

Stand Before Your God

Bernard Cornwell

Sharpe's Trafalgar

Patrick Kinkade; Thomas Kinkade (Illustrator)

Chasing the Horizon

Morgan Llywelyn

After Rome

Alan Hlad

The Long Flight Home

Linda Colley

Britons

Martin Gilbert

Churchill

J. Robert King

Mad Merlin

Winston S. Churchill

The Hinge of Fate

Andrew Morton

Wallis in Love

Andrew Charlesworth (Editor)

An Atlas of Rural Protest in Britain, 1549-1900

Jasper Fforde

The Eyre Affair

Caroline Weber

Queen of Fashion

John LeCarre

The Russia House (First Edition)

Christine Trent

A Royal Likeness

Winston Churchill

The gathering storm -see description