Victorian Technology

To live in 19th-century Britain was to experience an astonishing series of changes, of a kind for which there was simply no precedent. There were revolutions in transport, communication and work; cities grew vast; and scientific ideas made the intellectual landscape unrecognisable. This was an exhilarating time but also a horrifying one. In his new book, David Cannadine has created a bold, fascinating new interpretation of the British 19th century in all its energy and dynamism, darkness and vice.

From the bestselling author of Things in Jars and The Night Ship comes a spellbinding gothic novel in which lifelike machines walk, old bones lie buried beneath the marsh grass, and a young woman born crackling with power confronts the terrible truth of her origins. A secret cannot stay locked...

The BEST-SELLING MISFIT SQUADRON series, a riveting action-packed military aviation adventure series set in an alternate, Steampunk World War Two. The Second Great War is going poorly for the Kingdom of Britain - the British Isles are under siege and the only thing standing between the all-conquering Prussian army and victory is a thin strip of blue water and the gallant men and women of the Royal Aviator Corps. As the battle over the skies of Britain progresses and it looks like the Prussians are going to be as dominant in the air as they were on the fields of the continent, the hopes of ...

We all know that the best way to study a foreign language is to go to a country where it's spoken, but can the same immersion method be applied to history? How do interactions with antique objects influence perceptions of the modern world?

Read by the incredible John Lee Winner of the August Derleth award and the Arthur C. Clarke Award, Perdido Street Station is an imaginative urban fantasy thriller, and the first of China Miéville's novels set in the world of Bas-Lag. The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the centre of its...

The most complicated machine you will touch today is the one you think about least. Sometime this morning you turned a knob roughly the width of a bottle cap, and within minutes you had boiling water. The whole transaction took about four seconds of your attention. Behind that knob is a valve. Behind the valve, a pipe or a wire. Behind those, a distribution network, a transmission system, a generating fleet or a compressor chain, a processing plant, a mine or a wellhead — and, at the far end, a formation of rock laid down before anything with a spine walked on land. Controlled Burn is the...

Discover the gripping true story of one of history’s most famous last stands in Spears Against Rifles: How 150 Men Survived the Zulu Onslaught. Set against the sweeping backdrop of the South African veldt in 1879, this narrative unmasks the dramatic clash between the British Empire and the powerful Zulu Kingdom. While the empire sought a grand confederation under British rule, the proud Zulu warriors, known for their "horns of the buffalo" tactic, stood as a formidable barrier to colonial ambition. As a premier entry in Anglo-Zulu War history books, this work meticulously details the ...

Brilliantly imaginative urban fantasy on a colossal scale from an award-winning author The metropolis of New Crobuzon sprawls at the centre of its own bewildering world. Humans and mutants and arcane races throng the gloom beneath its chimneys, where the rivers are sluggish with unnatural...

Love and lies can corrupt even the purest heart.... In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, while her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will - the wall he has built...

Long before smartphones, a single web of copper wires sparked a communication revolution that reshaped human history. Perfect for curious minds seeking an energetic commute listen, this historical deep-dive transports you to an era where messages suddenly outran armies and ocean tides. The...

Time has run out for the Kingdom of Great Britain. They have suffered defeat after defeat, losing one overseas garrison after another, until the only option left to them was to retreat back to their own shores. Now, though, an army, the likes of which the world has never seen, has gathered on the other side of the channel, looking to deny them even that and bring the war to an abrupt conclusion. Vastly outnumbered and outgunned, Britain will need a miracle if it is to survive and the people once again look to the Misfits and the Royal Aviator Corps to provide them with one.

After their resounding victory in the skies of Southern England it seems that the Royal Aviation Corps finally has a chance to lick its wounds and rebuild. However, the Prussian Empire’s war machine is unrelenting and, having been turned back from the shores of the British Isles, it turns its hungry gaze eastwards towards Russia. Unwilling to let another friendly power be swallowed by the tide of tyranny that has swept its way mercilessly across Europe, King George VI sends aid in the form of his most effective weapon - Misfit Squadron.

Every clock is telling the truth. Except yours. For nearly two centuries, the Meridian Circle has shaped human behaviour through time itself. Railway timetables, factory clocks, digital watches and connected devices were never simply inventions of convenience. They were steps towards a world in which every deadline, delay and appointment could be controlled. Historian Dr Adam Harcourt discovers the pattern after his oldest friend dies under suspicious circumstances, leaving behind an antique railway timetable, an obsolete digital watch and a chilling warning: They did not invent the clock. ...

Malta, Cyprus and Greece have fallen, Egypt is under siege and Gibraltar is hanging on by a thread. There are Prussian forces massing across the English channel in preparation for an invasion and no help is coming because Muscovy has its own problems and America has signed a non-aggression pact with Prussia. It seems that the end is fast approaching for the Kingdom of Great Britain and her people do not even have Misfit Squadron to look to, as, just when they are needed the most, they have been disbanded by the Minister for War. However, as the saying goes, “where there’s a will ...

The Mediterranean Division, the latest book in the BEST SELLING MISFIT SQUADRON series, a riveting action packed military aviation adventure series set in an alternate, Steampunk World War Two. Vast amounts of resources were committed to the shores of Britain by the Prussians, leaving them exposed elsewhere around Europe. Sensing an opportunity, Britain and her allies come up with a bold plan to strike their first real blow of the war, but it is an enormous risk and the eventual outcome of the whole war might well depend on the success or failure of the mission. The king once again calls on...

Many young men and women join the Royal Aviator Corps dreaming of one day being fighter pilots and Britain needs as many of them in the cockpits of Spitsteams and Harridans as it can get. It takes hard work, dedication and not a little talent to become a fighter pilot, though, and many don’t make the grade. The intake of recruits from the Midlands in July 1941 is disappointingly small, with only eight cadets joining up and only six of them wanting to be pilots. Will any of them prove that they have what it takes to form part of the front line of defence of the Kingdom of Great Britain ...

The centuries that rewired how we think — and the century that rewired how we live. From Galileo's telescope to Watt's steam engine. Two manuscripts in one book: The Scientific Revolution: An Enthralling Exploration of Discoveries That Changed the World Forever Industrial Revolution: An Enthralling Look at How Machines and Factories Changed Our World Two revolutions. One modern world. This 2-in-1 book tells the linked story of the two upheavals that built the world you live in. The first changed how humanity understands reality. The second changed how humanity lives, works, and moves. ...

Beneath the empire’s polished rails, something ancient stirs—and it’s hungry for more than steam. Disgraced inspector Alaric Voss thought exile had ended his days chasing ghosts. But when a train vanishes without a trace on the Trans-Etherian Line, he’s summoned to the frontier town of Ketter’s Gate. There, he finds a town gripped by fear, an engineer with fire in her veins, and whispers of a conspiracy buried deep in the steel bones of the empire. Riona Flint, brilliant and wary, is searching for her missing father—the chief architect of the railway—and the secrets he left ...

Do you believe in old legends? In an age where steam and steel dominate the world, Victoria, an American heiress and gifted engineer, finds herself betrothed to the enigmatic Prince István of Taliskia, a small Carpathian kingdom. While the alliance promises a lucrative deal and the development of her cherished inventions, mysteries envelop the kingdom and the prince's shadowed past. All of Victoria’s plans are dashed on the wedding day, when a bomb kills her father and leaves her gravely injured. Though her fiancé escapes unscathed and flees back to his country, Victoria is determined ...

With the weather in the Arctic Circle rendering flying and fighting impossible, the Misfits leave Muscovy and head home, looking forward to a quiet Midwinter. The Prussians, however, have other ideas.