Amanda Vickery on house and home in Georgian England

In this brilliant new work, Amanda Vickery unlocks the homes of Georgian England to examine the lives of the people who lived there. George Miller talked to her about it.

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George Miller talks to David Kynaston

George Miller talks to David Kynaston about the second volume in his ‘Tales of a New Jerusalem’ series, Family Britain.

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Ian Mortimer on 1415: Henry V’s Year of Glory

George Miller talks to Ian Mortimer about the pivotal year of Henry V’s reign, and finds out what one of our most famous kings was really like.

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Alexander Maitland on Speke and the Discovery of the Source of the Nile

John Hanning Speke was among the greatest British explorers of the Victorian era, whose greatest achievement was the discovery of the source of the White Nile – the holy grail of Victorian exploration. Following expeditions with Sir Richard Burton, Speke died in mysterious circumstances, at the age of 37.

Ben Wilson and Andy Beckett discuss liberty in the 1970s

Historian Ben Wilson, author of What Price Liberty? discusses civil liberties in the 1970s with journalist Andy Beckett, author of When the Lights Went Out: Britain in the 70s.

The Children’s Invasion Book

In this second short film featuring Faber archivist Robert Brown, he introduces us to another of Faber’s wartime publications – The Children’s Invasion Book. Published in 1944, this book wasn’t a guide to help British children prepare for the possibility of a German invasion of the UK, but a display of the Allied military hardware which was about to be unleashed on D-Day…

The Lieutenant: author’s note

Kate Grenville penned an author’s note at the end of The Lieutenant, published in Feburary 2009.

January Non-fiction Round-up

If you’re looking for a good read this January, let these books transport you – from the shores of South America to the Middle East during the Crusades; from journeys of self-discovery to journeys through the lives of some remarkable people; from Hollywood to family hell and back again.

Andy Beckett on the 1970s

Andy Beckett’s new book When the Lights Went Out takes a fresh look at the 1970s, a much-maligned decade. Was it really so bad? The author, who writes for the Guardian, reveals more in conversation with George Miller.

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Charles Darwin and the voyage of the Beagle

James A. Secord talks about the purpose of the famous voyage of the Beagle, on which the young Charles Darwin was exposed to many of the sights and experiences which led him to formulate his ground-breaking theories.

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Lisa Hilton on the Queens of England

George Miller talks to Lisa Hilton about her history of English queens and the role they have played in shaping the nature of the English monarchy.

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The Panorama of Human Experience, by Juliet Gardiner

Historian Juliet Gardiner explains the huge importance of the eclectic works of Mass Observation to her research and writing.

Dan Cruickshank on the seamier side of Georgian London

Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank talks to George Miller about his history of the sex industry in Georgian London and its influence on all aspects of the city’s life.

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The Crusades – download an exclusive extract

Download an exclusive extract from Thomas Asbridge’s The Crusades, which is published in January 2010.

November Non-fiction Round-up

Memoirs, science and not fiction, fleeting meetings and long memories, interviews with writers, writing on art, commentary on the UK as it is now and the changes it’s gone through… all these and more are to be found in our November non-fiction list.

Did the Vikings wear Viking helmets?

George Miller talks to Robert Ferguson about his major new history of the Viking age, The Hammer and the Cross, and asks him how much of our image of the Vikings is myth, how much reality (and did they really have horned helmets)?

The Year that Changed the World: Remembering the fall of the Berlin Wall

Enjoy this extensive extract from Michael Meyer’s new book, the untold story of the the year the Berlin Wall came down.

The Dreadnought Deception: A Story from Secret Britain

Some of our most intriguing history is missing. Maybe some stories have been lost, forgotten or were just too embarrassing to talk about at the time? Now they are back: secret passages, events, societies, loves, identities and even dark secrets of the grave. Here’s one of many stories from Justin Pollard’s Secret Britain.

October non-fiction round-up

Truth can be stranger than fiction: whether it’s the science of the universe, the lives of real people as told to their diaries, or the secret history of Britain, there’s something in our non-fiction round-up for everyone this month.

Win signed copies of The Great Silence by Juliet Nicholson [closed]

Peace at last, after Lloyd George declared it had been the war to end all wars , would surely bring relief and a renewed sense of optimism? But this assumption turned out to be deeply misplaced as people began to realise that the men they loved were never coming home.

Jenny Uglow on A Gambling Man

A Gambling Man is acclaimed biographer Jenny Uglow’s portrait of Charles II and the first decade of the Restoration: a time of glamour and gossip, drama and risk, faction and crisis. Writing about a monarch is something of a change for her, as she explains in this Q and A.

The Ferguson Gang: A Story from Secret Britain

Some of our most intriguing history is missing. Has there has been a cover-up? Or maybe some stories have been lost, forgotten or were just too embarrassing to talk about? Now they are revealed: secret passages, events, societies, loves, identities and dark secrets of the grave, in Justin Pollard’s Secret Britain.