Victorian War

1879. The British Empire is about to face an enemy it cannot understand and cannot outrun. Something ancient is rising in the east. Villages fall silent. Entire regiments vanish. And in the Carpathian Mountains, a remote fort is torn apart in a single night of blood and terror. Captain Charles Hayward survives the massacre, but survival is only the beginning. As Europe descends into chaos, Hayward leads a desperate band of soldiers and civilians through abandoned towns and ravaged countryside. What hunts them is no ordinary enemy. It does not tire. It does not fear. And it is multiplying. ...

1879. The British Empire marches into Zululand, and disaster. Newly commissioned and untested, Second Lieutenant William Blackwood arrives from Monmouthshire to the wild frontier of South Africa, as Her Majesty’s forces prepare to crush the Zulu Kingdom. For Blackwood, it is meant to be the beginning of a proud military career: clean uniforms, sharp commands, and the steady march of empire. Instead, he finds confusion, chaos, and the first bitter lessons of war. Tasked with reinforcing a remote column of British and colonial troops, Blackwood is plunged into a campaign of dust-choked ...

Dust and gunfire mark the march to Kandahar. After the disaster at Maiwand, Lieutenant William Blackwood marches with the Kabul Field Force under General Frederick Roberts on one of the most gruelling campaigns in British military history. Three hundred miles of dust, disease, and burning heat lie between them and the besieged city of Kandahar. The land itself becomes the enemy. Dust storms choke the column, dysentery ravages the ranks, and water is more precious than ammunition. Through it all, Blackwood and the men of B Company endure, marching beside Highlanders, Gurkhas, Sikhs, and ...

“You have not laid eyes on me in five years. Do not call me your wife.” The gossip columns claim that the Duchess of Kensington is pregnant. Which is outrageous, considering that she has not seen her husband in five years. Having already seen his first wife to the grave, Dominic does not wish to repeat the past. So, he must keep his distance from his new Duchess. Yet… despite his indifference, Dominic is enraged to hear the rumors. And he returns to London to demand her submission. Only to find her in utter disobedience… And even more irresistible than he remembered.

March 1879. Zululand burns, and the fate of the frontier will be decided on the blood-red heights of Kambula. Second Lieutenant William Blackwood, marches north with the Monmouthshire Fusiliers as Her Majesty’s forces prepare to strike a hammer blow against the enemy. Assigned to Colonel Evelyn Wood’s elite flying column on the untamed frontier, Blackwood is swept into a relentless campaign of raids, skirmishes, and mountain warfare. Here, loyalty is measured in blood, and every patrol could be a man’s last. From the shattered ridges of Hlobane to the storm-wracked heights of Kambula,...

Free Kriegsspiel: A wargame without rules This is a reprint of the 1884 classic translation of the Prussian Kriegsspiel by J.R. McDowell. First published in the British Volunteer Service Gazette, it describes why and how to run the Prussian ‘Free Kriegsspiel’ Tactical Wargame. The book also includes the 1896 War Office Rules, which were used for table top games by the Britain’s army in the Victorian era. The book is published by the History of Wargaming Project as part of its ongoing work to document the development of wargaming

From Sunday Times bestseller Katherine Webb. A long-buried crime. A marriage built on lies. Could the truth be a second chance? England, 1902. More than a decade has passed since a wrongful accusation sent a young man to the gallows, an injustice that shattered the lives of those left...

Soldiers at Play: The Age of Empire Games, Gambling, Sport and Recreation from Napoleon to the Boer War What did soldiers do when they were not fighting? Between battles, marches and military duties, nineteenth-century soldiers faced another enemy: time. They played cards beside campfires, gambled away their pay, wrestled in barrack yards, boxed for pride, raced horses, played cricket across the British Empire and eventually formed organized football and rugby teams. From Napoleon’s armies to the soldiers of the American Civil War, from British garrisons in India to the battlefields of ...

Enemies. On the run. Enemies until..."What if I never see you again?" Union Captain John Howe escaped a living hell when he tunneled his way out of a Confederate prison, but his ordeal was far from over. Now he was saddled with his own prisoner, the sad, stubborn Amanda Douglas, on a journey that would change them forever. Even her previous spartan existence had not prepared Amanda for the dangerous trek she was now making--entirely against her will. Could a privileged Yankee son and a poor, proud Rebel girl keep their love safe from the rest of the world?

The New York Times bestselling novel that has been called “a tour de force” (Wall Street Journal), “unputdownable” (The Washington Post), “a delicious hothouse of a novel” (USA Today), “effortless” (The Economist), “seductive” (Vanity Fair) and “pitch perfect” (Salon)...

The war to end the slave trade has only just begun. When his brother is brutally murdered in the lawless streets of Freetown, Henry "Harry" Crawford abandons his old life and joins the Royal Marines, burning with vengeance. Sent to the savage West African coast, Harry hunts the slavers who still cram human beings into stinking holds and race to outrun the Royal Navy. In a desperate boarding action he charges straight into a deadly ambush, facing musket fire, betrayal and a cannon loaded with death. There, chained in the blood-soaked darkness, he meets Kofi, a fierce African warrior who has ...

Snow and gunfire announce the Siege of Sherpur. As winter closes in on Afghanistan, the British and Indian garrison withdraws into Sherpur Cantonment, a sprawling fortress beneath the frozen hills. What begins as uneasy occupation turns swiftly into encirclement. Afghan forces gather in vast numbers across the plain and on the surrounding heights, their fires burning closer each night, their attacks growing bolder with every passing hour. There is no single front and no respite. By day, skirmishers and artillery test the walls. By night, shadows creep through nullahs and ditches, steel ...

THIRD EDITION — Fully Revised, Fact-Checked and Updated to September 2026 The most current edition of Britain's strangest true crime collection — rewritten line by line, with three brand-new cases and every investigation brought up to date. In this expanded Third Edition of 50 Bizarre True Crime Cases That Shocked Britain, Julian Maddox returns to the darkest corners of British criminal history: the killers nobody stopped, the victims nobody believed, and the cold cases that refuse to close. From Dennis Nilsen's drains in Muswell Hill to a Victorian skull unearthed in a Richmond garden ...

Autumn 1879. The empire marches north. Lieutenant William Blackwood and the Monmouthshire Fusiliers return from Africa, only to be swept into another conflict as Afghanistan erupts in violence. The murder of the British mission in Kabul sends shockwaves through the Raj, forcing an immediate reaction. Major General Roberts is ordered to form a new field force, and Blackwood’s regiment is ordered to the frontier to force a passage into the mountains. From the furnace heat of Bombay to the thin air of the Shutargardan Pass, the advance is relentless. Roads crumble into mule tracks. Supply ...

A hauntingly powerful novel about how the choices we make can stay with us forever, by the award-winning author of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August and 84K. "Gripping, bloody, and haunting." —Kirkus Reviews South Africa in the 1880s. A young and naive English doctor by the name of...

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first...

An espionage thriller that has been called the first great spy novel, it has sustained its popularity, being embraced by each new generation. The first in a series of five novels it features the spy Richard Hannay, an action hero with a stiff upper lip who gets caught up in a dangerous race against a plot by German spies to destroy the British war effort. When Richard Hannay offers sanctuary to an American agent seeking his help in stopping a political assassination, he takes the first step on a trail of peril and espionage.

June 1879. The Zulu Kingdom stands defiant, and Lord Chelmsford’s redcoats march for its heart. The campaign nears its climax, and the British forces gather their strength for the final advance on Ulundi. After months of marching, building, and battle, Lieutenant William Blackwood and the Monmouthshire Fusiliers push east through the wild country of the White Mfolozi. Behind them lie the forts they have built and the comrades they have buried; ahead, the capital of the Zulu kingdom and the promise of victory hard-won. Ordered to join Lord Chelmsford’s main column in the drive toward ...

Dive into the epic saga of England's monarchy with "Monarchs of England: A Journey Through Time," a comprehensive and captivating exploration of the kings and queens who have shaped the history of England from the Norman Conquest to the modern day. This detailed narrative brings to life the Norman Kings who laid the foundations of the English monarchy, the formidable Plantagenets who ruled during an era of unprecedented expansion and conflict, and the rival houses of Lancaster and York, whose struggles culminated in the Wars of the Roses. Witness the rise of the Tudor dynasty, known for its...

“Watson, there is not a moment to lose. If you care to join the chase, pack your bag at once!” Likewise, enthusiasts of the greatest detective will not want to miss this opportunity to join Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in a whirlwind of exciting new adventures… A daring thief penetrates the defenses of the Tower of London in search of a secret treasure. A profligate young actor is accused of murdering his exemplary sibling. From the safe of a prominent London banker, a priceless heirloom is stolen. Upon a high cliff, a ghostly assassin commits an impossible murder. A kingpin of ...