Using records of the Scottish criminal justice system, Parliamentary Papers and newspaper articles, Alison Brown explores the lives of men and women who killed their children in nineteenth-century Scotland.

This well researched account challenges the idea that parents who committed filicide were necessarily monstrous, and these moving stories demonstrate how social circumstances could lead to the death of a child.

The book also sheds light on the workings of the Scottish criminal justice system and will be of interest to students of the history of crime and Scottish social history, as well as the interested general reader.

Dr Alison L Brown is an independent researcher with a PhD in Scottish social history, and a postgraduate diploma in archives and records management.

Since retiring from her day job, she has dedicated her time to historical research.

Her interests lie in nineteenth-century Scottish social and criminal history, using the wealth of records created by the Scottish criminal justice system, largely untapped and voluminous Parliamentary Papers, and newspaper articles.

Slates, Zeppelins and Evacuees tells the fascinating story of a school which, despite its rural setting, has not always enjoyed complete peace and quiet. Most notably for example, when a German Zeppelin air raid attack created havoc in 1916, inflicting extensive damage on the school building.

In further relation to World War I, the reader is invited to enter into the mind of long-serving Head Teacher Henry Foster. Creating a ‘Roll of Honour’ in his poignant log-book entry of 1914, he respectfully inscribes the names of ex-pupils of the school serving in the nation’s armed forces, all of whom he had taught, adding detail as to the regiments they had joined.

Tragically, many of these same names were fated to appear on the commemorative tribute, erected at the nearby church in honour of those who lost their lives in the conflict. Meanwhile, the onset of World War II brought challenging times again for the school, not least with regard to accommodating evacuee pupils and teachers from Manchester.

Very often described as a ‘true village school’, Holcombe was set to have another rude awakening in more recent times when developments such as Ofsted and SATS came to pose a threat of a different kind to the school’s sense of well-being.

In this fascinating and meticulous exploration of the language used in Shakespeare’s more mysterious Sonnets, John M. Glauser illuminates hitherto misunderstood areas of the poet’s work and suggests solutions to some of the most enduring linguistic puzzles.

To this end, the author extends his research beyond the Sonnets to Shakespeare’s other works – his longer poetical works and plays – and to his relationships with the most important people in his life, particularly his young patron, the 3rd Earl of Southampton, but not excluding the mysterious Dark Lady and other key figures.

The result is an intriguing and convincing new portrayal of Shakespeare’s complex, multi-layered writing and the often hidden religious and political meanings it contains – evidence of the poet’s dangerously unpopular opinions in the brutal world of the late sixteenth century.

Shakespeare’s Cryptic Sonnets is the product of over thirty-five years’ dedicated research.

The author, who is a retired archivist, comes from a fire service family. One of her earliest memories is of a set of her father’s drawings of insurance firemen which adorned the walls of the family home, and it was these which sparked her interest in fire history at an early age.

She went on to gain a first degree in History, a higher degree in English local history and then qualifications in archive administration and genealogy. Historical research has played an important part in her working life and has been a major interest in her spare time . She has contributed articles to several local history journals and has also given talks on the history of fire protection to local organisations

Churchill’s status as the titanic UK figure of the 20th Century is open to question. This book argues that, rather than being the saviour of civilisation, Churchill was the proximate cause of civilisation’s near destruction through his part in causing the two world wars.

Mike Poulter begins by tracing the influences behind Churchill’s rise to become a national politician. Names rarely mentioned in other Churchill biographies loom large: Rhodes, Cassel, Abe Bailey and Strakosch. Churchill’s personal and financial dependence on these very influential individuals, who controlled South African Gold and its supply to London, is vividly described.

The tentacles of South African gold spread world-wide. As the tale unfolds, we see that the Boer War was fought in its interest and the First World War was part of that same endeavour. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, in 1925, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Churchill returned Britain to ‘their’ Gold Standard, a decision that led directly to the Great Depression, the drastic unemployment of working people and the General Strike. A similar sorry tale unwinds through the 1930s when the interests of Strakosch, Bracken and Churchill were closely entwined and Churchill advocated for another, unnecessary World War, the arrival of which displayed Churchill’s strategic ineptitude.

Among this sad cast-list there are, fortunately, some heroes: Alanbrooke, Dowding, Cunningham, Keynes and Sutherland. Indeed many heroes - all the courageous military and civilians who fought and suffered throughout Churchill’s wars.

This persuasive book finishes on a more hopeful note. Post 1945, the heroes were Attlee and Bevan, two men who helped create our future from the debris of the war by founding the National Health Service and the Welfare State.

Educated at St. Ignatius College London, Mike Poulter studied Philosophy/ Theology at The Venerable English College and Gregorian University, Rome during Vatican Council 2 and the Cuban Missile crisis. He met two Popes, 3 Prime ministers and other leaders and pondered ‘What Is Politics For’?

His answer: ‘the creation of a very local, national and indeed an international Community, each safe for the development of properly functioning human beings’ turned him towards social work and politics. He had a professional life 30 years as a Probation officer. Politically: 3 times a parliamentary candidate, as a County Councillor he held seriously responsible posts as Chair : Social Services 1984-92, then Highways, Fire Authority and the Staffordshire Police Authority 2001-2009 for which he received the MBE from Queen Elizabeth.

For more: michaelpoulter.org.uk