New from Richard Tames, the well-known popularizer of English history, comes this entertaining exploration of the bits of English history that have been sidelined, lost or somehow overlooked.Written in an engaging, easy-toread and often humorous style, he brings to life the various colourful characters, famous in their day, who have now sunk into obscurity, from St Cuthbert and Nicholas Breakspear (the only English pope) to Octavia Hill and the Marquis of Granby. Tames also covers such diverse areas as sports, lost villages, forgotten war heroes and inventors. Did you know, for example, that Barking was once home to the largest fishing fleet in the world? Or that coffee houses were once known as `penny universities'? Peppered with quotes and anecdotes, and arranged into concise sections, this book is ideal for dipping into or reading from cover to cover.

Author Biography

Richard Tames is Lecturer on London's history for the Institute of Tourist Guiding. He has written over 20 books on different aspects of English history, including Shakespeare's London on Five Groats a Day, also published by Thames & Hudson.