British Legends

"Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won." – Duke of Wellington, at Waterloo A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' British Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of Great Britain's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. In September 1852, a steam train carried the body of Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington, from Kent to London, where he was to be interred at St. Paul's Cathedral after a huge state funeral. A million would flock to pay their final respects, and young Queen Victoria wept openly, lamenting that "his loss will be quite irreparable". By the time of his death, Wellington had been prime minister twice, a shrewd personal advisor to four British monarchs and one of the nation's most prominent politicians for three decades. But despite his nearly four decades of peacetime service in and out of politics, Wellington has remained one of the titans of the 19th century because of one June day in 1815. Then, as now, the Duke of Wellington is best remembered for defeating Napoleon in the most famous battle of modern history at Waterloo. Even then, the fact Wellington is remembered for Waterloo belies his extraordinary military career, which saw him come up through fighting in the Netherlands and India before opposing Napoleon's forces on the Iberian Peninsula for several years. By the time Wellington took command of allied forces during the Hundred Days Campaign and decisively finished the Napoleonic Era at Waterloo, he had participated in about 60 battles and was one of Britain's greatest war heroes. Historical memory of Wellington often stops there, but he spent half his lifetime in politics after Waterloo, serving as a prime minister in the 1820s and an influential Tory in the House of Lords in the 1830s and 1840s, serving all the while as Commander-in-Chief of Britain's military. Though he had earned the nickname Iron Duke at the height of his political unpopularity, the originally derisive nickname came to represent his stern will and personality. British Legends: The Life and Legacy of Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington covers the life of one of Britain's greatest warheros and one of its most erstwhile politicians. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about the Duke of Wellington like you never have before, in no time at all.

"Here is buried Isaac Newton, Knight, who by a strength of mind almost divine, and mathematical principles peculiarly his own, explored the course and figures of the planets, the paths of comets, the tides of the sea, the dissimilarities in rays of light, and, what no other scholar has previously imagined, the properties of the colours thus produced. Diligent, sagacious and faithful, in his expositions of nature, antiquity and the holy Scriptures, he vindicated by his philosophy the majesty of God mighty and good, and expressed the simplicity of the Gospel in his manners. Mortals rejoice that there has existed such and so great an ornament of the human race! He was born on 25 December 1642, and died on 20 March 1726/7." – Inscription on Sir Isaac Newton's tomb. A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' British Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of Great Britain's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. In 1676, Sir Isaac Newton famously wrote in a letter to philosopher Robert Hooke, "If I have seen further it is by standing on ye sholders of Giants." By the time he died, Newton had become science's greatest giant, and every scientist who has followed him has stood on his shoulders. Newton is widely considered the most influential scientist in history, best known for the discovery of gravity and the subsequent laws of motion that he theorized. Schoolchildren around the world are still taught the famous legend about an apple falling on Newton's head, but that colorful story and the preoccupation with Newton's work in physics tend to make people forget Newton's work in other fields. Using empirical studies, Newton developed theories about light prisms, how matter cools, and even tried studying and calculating the speed of sound. And those are just the sciences; Newton also helped develop several mathematical fields, including calculus. When looking at Newton's work, it's easy to forget that he was also a man with typical human emotions and convictions. Though religion and science are often seen as antagonistic counterparts, Newton was very religious, and he intently studied the Bible and even occultist practices and theories. Newton wrote at length on these topics, which fascinated him so much that he spent more time writing about them than he did science and mathematics. British Legends: The Life and Legacy of Sir Isaac Newton chronicles the amazing life and legacy of a man whose work helped propel the Scientific Revolution and modern physics, but it also humanizes him and looks at his non-scientific work as well. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Sir Isaac Newton like you never have before, in no time at all.

"Remember, remember, the fifth of November Gunpowder treason and plot We see no reason Why Gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot" A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' British Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of Great Britain's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. In 1605, Guy Fawkes was one of over a dozen conspirators in the famous Gunpowder Plot, an attempt to assassinate England's King James I. When the plot was discovered on the 5th of November, Fawkes and other conspirators were quickly convicted and executed, and the King asked his subjects to remember 5 November as "the joyful day of deliverance". Fawkes was but one of a countless number of failed assassins, but in a perversely ironic way, the King's declaration ultimately turned 5 November into Guy Fawkes Day, a celebratory day that usually had children creating an effigy that would then be burned in a bonfire. While the effigy was usually Fawkes, others made it a custom to burn an effigy of the pope, a tradition that came to the Thirteen Colonies in America as well. Though he was only one of the plotters, Fawkes became the one most associated with the act, and he was viewed as a symbol of treason. A strange thing happened, however, in the 19th century, as Fawkes began to undergo a sort of character rehabilitation, beginning with William Harrison Ainsworth's 1841 historical fiction Guy Fawkes; or, The Gunpowder Treason. Suddenly, Fawkes became an anti-hero who had the best interest of the public and was taking action to effect change. Other British literature of the century depicted Fawkes as a kind of action hero. In 2005's Remember, Remember: A Cultural History of Guy Fawkes Day, writer J.A. Sharpe noted Fawkes is sometimes remembered tongue-in-cheek as "the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions." With that new perception of Fawkes taking hold, Fawkes managed to become a symbol of defiance against government. The popular movie V for Vendetta reintroduced Fawkes to American audiences, and Fawkes and the Guy Fawkes Mask have taken on a new life as a rally cry and symbol for groups protesting the government. The major hacking network Anonymous uses the Guy Fawkes Mask as its hallmark, and the Guy Fawkes Mask was a common sight at Occupy protests across America in 2011. British Legends: The Life and Legacy of Guy Fawkes looks at the life of the failed assassin and the Gunpowder Plot, but it also analyzes how Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot have been remembered over time and became a pop culture fixture. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, you will learn about Guy Fawkes like you never have before, in no time at all.

"We are, by the sufferance of God, King of England; and the Kings of England in times past never had any superior but God." – King Henry VIII In Charles River Editors' History for Kids series, your children can learn about history's most important people and events in an easy, entertaining, and educational way. Pictures help bring the story to life, and the concise but comprehensive book will keep your kid's attention all the way to the end. Over 450 years after his reign, Henry VIII is still the most famous and recognizable King of England, but it's for all the wrong reasons. Though well regarded by contemporaries as a learned king and "one of the most charismatic rulers to sit on the English throne", he is best remembered today for his gluttony and multiple marriages, particularly the gruesome way in which he was widowed on more than one occasion. Naturally, that was the focus of the popular Show Time drama series centered around his life, The Tudors. Henry VIII will probably continue to be best known for beheading some of his wives, most notably Anne Boleyn, so it is somewhat fitting that his most decisive act came as a result of a marital mishap. Sharply at odds with the Catholic Church over his attempt to dissolve his marriage with Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII ultimately broke with the Church and established the Church of England, which forever both the religious history of England and the social hierarchy of the nation and its empire. Though the popular perception of his reign has taken hold, King Henry VIII did not start life in any of those ways. In fact, he did not even start life as heir to the English throne. And when he did come to the throne at the age of 18, King Henry VIII's earliest monarchical years showed his promise as a quintessential renaissance, polymath Prince. Even on the religious front, Henry VIII started out believing in the essential Catholic theology, even after the Pope and the Vatican excommunicated Henry from the Catholic Church (until then, the undisputed political as well as theological leader of Christendom, from which monarchs often needed various forms of legitimacy). For all these reasons, the manner in which his life and legacy diverge makes him an even more fascinating topic, one that clearly continues to captivate audiences around the world today. This book chronicles Henry VIII's life and reign, but it also humanizes the man who fashioned himself both an athlete and scholar. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in his life, your kids will learn about Henry VIII like never before.

"Since it has pleased Providence to place me in this station, I shall do my utmost to fulfil my duty towards my country; I am very young and perhaps in many, though not in all things, inexperienced, but I am sure that very few have more real good will and more real desire to do what is fit and right than I have." – Queen Victoria, 1837 England has had no shortage of influential monarchs, but only Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria had their nation's age literally named after them. Both the Elizabethan era and Victorian era have come to symbolize a golden age of peace and progress in every aspect of British life, with the long reigns of both queens also providing stability. Of course, there was a critical difference between those two queens: Elizabeth I still wielded great power in the 16th century, whereas Victoria was a constitutional monarch with limited power over the workings of the British government. But in a way, that made Victoria even more unique, as she still proved able to mold the cultural identity of a nearly 65 year long epoch. Furthermore, Victoria established some of the ceremonial customs of the British monarch and became both the forerunner and role model of subsequent queens, a legacy that continues to endure with her great-great granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. Though Britain's longest reigning monarch is now mostly associated with conservative values (particularly strict morality and traditional social and gender roles), Victoria and her era oversaw the cultural and technological progress of Britain and the West in general, architectural revivals, and the expansion of imperialism. While some of these developments have been perceived negatively over a century later, Britons of the 19th century and early 20th century often viewed the Victorian Era as the height of their nation's power and influence. British Legends: The Life and Legacy of Queen Victoria chronicles the life and reign of Queen Victoria, while examining the enduring legacy of the era in British history named after her. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in her life, you will learn about Queen Victoria like you never have before, in no time at all.

"Nothing has astonished me more (and I think my publishers) than the welcome given to The Lord of the Rings. But it is, of course, a constant source of consolation and pleasure to me. And, I may say, a piece of singular good fortune, much envied by some of my contemporaries. Wonderful people still buy the book, and to a man 'retired' that is both grateful and comforting." – J.R.R. Tolkien For more than half a century, the name J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) has been synonymous with epic fantasy. Known across the world for his classic The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Tolkien both revived interest in fantasy literature and set the standard for the genre. Today he is widely acknowledged as the "Father" of modern fantasy and its most famous author. While Tolkien made Middle Earth famous and vice-versa, Tolkien's works were influenced by a lifetime of Tolkien's own personal experiences. His tales concern creatures of myth, yet the plot lines and characters are human at heart. Tolkien drew his inspiration from war, nature, history, love, and language, and through the lens of fantasy he examined bravery, loyalty and friendship. That essential "humanness" at the core of his writing, whether it was displayed by a man, hobbit, or even a tree, struck a chord with readers that continues to resonate today. The Hobbit has been released in more than 40 languages, and The Lord of the Rings has sold more than 150 million copies. In 2008, British daily newspaper The Times named him number six on its list of 50 greatest British writers since 1945. At the same time, there is more to Tolkien than his books and their popularity. He is famous for his writing, but Tolkien led an exceptional life. Over the course of 81 years, he was a professor and a poet, a veteran of war and a champion for nature. His own love story influenced one of his beloved tales, and his friendship changed the course of one man's writing. British Legends: The Life and Legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien chronicles the life and work of the famous writer and examines the enduring legacy. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events in her life, you will learn about Tolkien like you never have before, in no time at all.