Titles in this preview are published in October


the forgotten story of a group of British mavericks during the First World War, who took on impossible missions with a daring and fearless approach, defying the odds and changing history in the process.


Siddharth Kara The Zorg: A Tale of Greed, Murder and the Abolition of Slavery


Doubleday, 16th, £22, HB, 9781529964325


The “astonishing yet little-known” story of one of the most consequential ships that ever crossed the Atlantic. Kara’s account of the Zorg’s fateful voyage in 1781 distils centuries of the slave trade into a single journey that altered the course of history.


Damien Lewis SAS The Great Train Raid: The Most Daring SAS Mission of WWII


Quercus, 23rd, £22, HB, 9781529441161


Lewis’ latest true-tales thriller centres on a daring SAS mission of the Second World War: the capture of a train to raid deep into enemy territory to liberate a concentration camp.


Michael Livingston The Two Hundred Years War: The Bloody Crowns of England and France 1292-1492


Apollo, 9th, £30, HB, 9781035906369


This “radically original” history of the 14th and 15th-century conflicts between England and France significantly broadens conventional narratives of the events traditionally labelled the Hundred Years War.


Roger Moorhouse Wolfpack: Hitler’s U-Boat War


William Collins, 9th, £25, HB, 9780008644895


Providing a “periscope” view of serving on submarines during the Second World War, this collects the diary, memoir and archival accounts from U-Boat men themselves, thus presenting a very human history of this aspect of the war.


Rachel Morris ( 6) The Years of the Wizard: The Strange History and Home Life of Renaissance Magicians


September, 9th, £20, HB, 9781914613968


What is magic? Why do we crave it? Focusing on Elizabeth I’s favourite magician John Dee, this is a jaunty and immersive


exploration of the learned and powerful magicians of the Tudor and Renaissance courts, as well as the lives of the wives, children and servants who helped keep the whole magical show on the road.


Ian Mortimer Mortimer’s A to Zs of English History


Old Street, 21st, £25, HB, 9781913083670


Why were pistols safer than swords in a duel? Why was so much port being drunk in Regency London? How did the introduction of the button change medieval life? These and many other questions are tackled in these A-Z guides to four periods of English history.


Andrew Morton Winston and the Windsors: How Churchill Shaped a Royal Dynasty


Michael O’Mara, 9th, £25, HB, 9781789297041


Morton tells the “rich and vivid” story not only of how Churchill befriended and advised kings, queens, princes and princesses, but of how Churchill’s association with the crown shaped modern Britain.


David Price How to Build a Spitfire Apollo, 23rd, £25, HB, 9781800242326


In 2018, the author – also a dedicated aviation museum volunteer – built a Spitfire replica in his back garden. He juxtaposes his account of this ambitious project with a narrative history of the development and construction of the iconic plane.


Alanna Skuse The Surgeon, the Midwife, the Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England


Oneworld, 16th, £18.99, HB, 9781836430773


Revealing the miraculous birth of modern medicine, this shines a light on healing practices during the Renaissance period, giving particular voice to the women healers of the time.


Edmond Smith Ruthless: A New History of Britain’s Rise to Wealth and Power


Yale, 28th, £25, HB, 9780300278514


This history of Britain’s industrial revolution shows that our nation’s economic transformation was founded on the ruthless exploitation of technology, people and the planet.


6 Holly Smith


Up in the Air: A History of High Rise Britain Verso, 28th, £20, HB, 9781804297377


From Grenfell Tower to Park Hill in Sheffield, this debut is billed as a radical history of Britain through one of its most contentious symbols, the high-rise tower block.


Andrew Ross Sorkin 1929: The Inside Story of the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History


Allen Lane, 14th, £25, HB, 9780241479414


This follow-up to Sorkin’s Too Big to Fail is a “riveting”, fly-on- the-wall account of the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash. “More than just a history, it’s a crucial blueprint for understanding the cycles of speculation, the forces that drive financial upheaval and the warning signs we ignore at our peril,” said the publisher.


Giles Tremlett El Generalísimo Franco: Power, Violence and the Quest for Greatness


Bloomsbury, 6th, £30, HB, 9781526651952


This “definitive” new biography of General Franco by the renowned Spanish historian reveals how he was characterised by an interplay of ambition and fearlessness, and offers new insights into his lasting legacy in Spain.


Volker Ullrich, Jefferson Chase (trans) Fateful Hours: The Collapse of the Weimar Republic


Pushkin, 9th, £25.50, HB, 9781805332794


In a “gripping” new book, the German historian and journalist charts the failure of the Weimar Republic, including the many potential alternatives and missed opportunities that led to the collapse of democracy in Germany.


Edward J Watts The Romans: A 2,000 Year History


Basic, 9th, £30, HB, 9781541619814


This “expansive, eye-opening” portrait tells the full history of Rome and its citizens from its emergence in the Iron Age to the capture of Constantinople in the 13th century.


Homes, interiors, craft & fashion


Graeme Brooker The Story of the Interior: How We Have Shaped Rooms and How They Shape Us


Thames & Hudson, 16th, £65, HB, 9780500027592


Revealing how spaces shape our lives and why it matters, this “exhilarating and eclectic” book presents an alternative history of interior design, both cultural and technological and from prehistory to the present day.


Gareth Heaton Do Maintain: How to Sharpen Knives, Scissors and Garden Tools


Do Books, 2nd, £11.99, PB, 9781914168642


By a professional knife sharpener, this is billed as “the practical guide to knife sharpening you never knew you needed”, with advice on sharpening everything from kitchen and serrated knives to scissors, secateurs, spades and more.


Rinko Kimino Kimonos Amber, 14th, £30, HB, 9781838866129


Including garments for women, men and children, this richly illustrated book provides a detailed history of kimonos from the eighth century to the present day.


India Knight Home: How to Love It, Live in It and Find Joy in It


Fig Tree, 16th, £22, HB, 9780241757437


Inspired by her Substack newsletter Home (which I have just discovered and now have a crush on) this is Knight’s room- by-room exploration of what makes a home, debunking intimidating ideas about taste and trends, and dispensing truly useful practical advice about everything from the best lightbulbs and the most flattering paint colours, to what to make when you have people coming to dinner but are feeling uninspired.


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Books New Titles: Non-Fiction


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