Bøker av Nigel Cawthorne

A humorous look at the banned fifty shades of gray of the past.

A comprehensive guide to P. G. Wodehouse's two best-loved comic characters, Bertram Wilbeforce Wooster and his valet ('Reggie') Jeeves, Bertie's friends and relatives and their world of sunshine, country houses and champagne. Although the stories may seem quintessentially English, they were for the most part written in the United States by a man who spent more than half his adult life there, eventually becoming a citizen in 1955. The first stories involving the two characters are even set in New York, while those that aren't are set in an England that has never existed, contrived to appeal to an American audience. Cawthorne offers fascinating insights into Wodehouse's world, his life - on Long Island and elsewhere - the wonderful short stories and novels and the many adaptations for stage and screen.

First-hand accounts of football violence, from infamous Millwall to Man U. Once dubbed 'the English disease', British match-day thuggery has spread right across Europe and beyond. Here is the inside story of that phenomenon from those that were there, taking part in the mayhem. 'Yob Laureate' Dougie Brimson and his brother Eddy offer a compelling description of match-day madness; Colin Ward goes steaming in, while other pieces detail the irresistible aggro of the local Derby, the tragedy inside Heysel Stadium and the violence surrounding England's 1998 World Cup match against Tunisia. Finally, Dougie Brimson asks if the police are not just another 'firm', simply participants in the violence.

A very readable overview of Tolkien and his work, incorporating a brief biography, an examination of the books and a look at the process of filming his work, including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings saga. It explores how Tolkien's background as a medievalist and linguist informed the languages of Middle-earth, the influence of his Catholicism and Tolkien's legacy in fantasy.A timely book to coincide with the first of Peter Jackson's two keenly awaited Hobbit films.

Detailed accounts of over 30 contemporary cases, or older cases reopened as a result of advances in forensic science. Crime scene investigations draw on a wide range of cutting-edge technology including genetic fingerprinting, blood splatter analysis, laser ablation, toxicology and ballistics analysis. Cases covered here include: the abduction of Madeleine McCann; the vindication of Colin Stagg, convicted of having murdered Rachel Nickell; Hadden Clark who killed and ate a six-year-old child in Maryland; Robert Pickton, the Vancouver farmer who fed his female victims to his pigs; the murder of Meredith Kercher in Perugia (was Amanda Knox guilty?); Lindsay Hawker's gruesome death in Japan; Josef Fritzl and the cellar in which he imprisoned and raped his daughter.

Throughout history the English have been a warlike lot. Often we fight among ourselves - there have been a good few civil wars - and when we were not slaughtering each other, we practiced on our neighbours, the Scots, the Irish, the French . . . When that got too easy, we set off around the world to find other people to fight. This was usually done with a hubris that invited some ludicrous pratfall. In THE BEASTLY BATTLES OF OLD ENGLAND, Nigel Cawthorne takes us on a darkly humorous journey through some of our ill-advised military actions. From the war over a severed ear to a general seeking out his rival's mistresses to even the score, it is a miscellany of insufferable arrogance, reckless gallantry, stunning stupidity, massive misjudgements and general beastliness.

Did you know that: It's against the law to check into a hotel in London under assumed names for the purpose of lovemaking? Under a statute of Edwards II all whales washed up on the shore belong to the monarch? Under a Tudor law Welshmen are not allowed into the city of Chester after dark?In THE STRANGE LAWS OF OLD ENGLAND, Nigel Cawthorne unearths an extraordinary collection of the most bizarre and arcane laws that have been enacted over the centuries. Some of the laws, incredibly, are still in force. It is still illegal to enter the Houses of Parliament in a suit of armour . . . This elegant and amusing book is perfect for everyone fascinated by the eccentric history of these islands.

Over the past few years, piracy has once again become the scourge of the high seas. Throughout 2008, close to 90 ships were seized in the Gulf of Aden alone and, in many cases, the pirates were paid million-dollar ransoms to release them. What is the reason for this modern-day phenomenon and just who are the men behind it?

Who was Robin Hood? Throughout history the figures of the hooded man of Sherwood forest and his band of outlaws have transfixed readers and viewers; but where does the myth come from? The story appeared out of the legend of the Green man but found its location during the reign of Richard II, the Lionheart, who was away from England fighting in the crusades. In his absence his brother John lay waste to the country. But does this tell the full story? Was Robin a bandit prince ahead of a troop of brigands? Who was the Sherrif and was he in fact the legitimate law in the land fighting vigilantes?

There are plenty of misguided, violent and unpleasant people in the world - but how many can be classified as truly evil?

In the quiet Austrian town of Amstetten in the balmy spring of April 2008, a truly horrifying vision of hell was discovered by police in the cellar of a normal suburban home. On 28 August 1984, seemingly respectable family man Josef Fritzl had lured Elisabeth, the youngest of his seven children, into the cellar of their family home, where he then d

30 inside stories of the American Mafia, Sicilian Cosa Nostra, Camorra and 'NdranghetaImages of life in the Mob pervade our film and TV screens, some glamorous, some horrific - what is the reality? Investigative journalist Roger Wilkes has put together the largest ever collection of insider stories from prominent ex-mafiosi, infiltrators and award-winning writers. It contains tell-all accounts by the likes of:Richard 'The Iceman' Kuklinski, the contract killer who claimed to have murdered over 200 people in a career lasting 43 years.Frankie Saggio, who 'freelanced' for all five of New York's Mafia families, narrowly escaping assassination before being busted for a major scam.Joey Black, the Hitman, chillingly professional murderer of 38 victims and regarded by many as the 'original Soprano'.Albert DeMeo, the son of a gangster, who later became a lawyer.'Donnie Brasco', real name Joseph Pistone, the FBI agent, who worked undercover in the Bonanno and Colombo crime families in New York for six years.Tommaso Buscetta, the Sicilian mafioso, the first pentito, or informant, of real significance to break omert . The two judges with whom he worked, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, were both later killed by the Mafia.This is the reality of the world of men you wouldn't want to cross.

The true story of how a step-grandfather murdered the young girl who trusted him.