Charlemagne is seen by historians as the bridge between ancient and modern Europe. His Holy Roman Empire was the embodiment of an ideal that inspired leaders as different as Charles V, Napoleon, and H
“Scores highly in thoroughness, clarity, and human sympathy. If you want a model of how to defy uncomprehending power . . . or a model of how to laugh at the Devil, Wilson has provided a reliab
There has never been a more remarkable national leader in modern history than Peter the Great (1672–1725). He was a giant in every way. In physical stature, willpower, enthusiasm, energy, liber
The Tudor period was a time of massive social change in England with growing cities, increasing trade, and growing stability after the chaos of the Wars of the Roses. Despite military preparations in
King Henry VIII remains one of the most controversial figures in our history. Wilson draws together all the most recent discoveries and looks afresh at the fascinating life and times of the Tudor mona
The dual biography of two remarkable women - Catherine Parr and Anne Askew. One was the last queen of a powerful monarch, the second a countrywoman from Lincolnshire. But they were joined together in
Britain's Rottenest Years is not just a bad news story. It is a fantastically readable leapfrog through British history which takes us, via the interesting bits, from the misery of the Roman invasion
From the Mongol Invasion of Persia, through the Siege of Leningrad, to the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, in this brilliantly vivid, entertaining book, Derek Wilson picks the ten very worst years in world
England, 1154. As Henry II seizes the throne after years of turmoil, a new dynasty is poised to haul this hitherto turbulent nation out from the Dark Ages and transform it into the nation state we rec
They say that history is written by the winners. Not according to Derek Wilson. In this fascinating, revelatory book, Wilson tells the story from the point of view of the losers – collating a catalogu
An absorbing biography of the great leader who was the bridge between ancient and modern Europe — the first major study in more than twenty-five years.Charlemagne was an extraordinary figure: an ingen
