'Heritage' and the power of tradition in British culture since 1890; the cultural dimensions of international relations since 1945; place and belonging in relation to globalisation
Elected 2016
A reissue of Patrick Wright's 1995 classic about the military takeover of the village of Tyneham, with a new introduction taking in Brexit and a new wave of British nationalism.
The story of Uwe Johnson, one of Germany's greatest and most influential post-war writers, and how he came to live and work in Sheerness, Kent in the 1970s.
In 1954, 18 years before Nixon's momentous visit to China, scores of European delegations set off for Beijing, in response to Prime Minister Chou En-Lai's invitation to "come and see" the New China and to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Communist victory. In this delightfully eclectic book - part comedy, part travelogue, and part cultural history - Patrick Wright tells the story of the remarkable Britons who made this journey. First Edition.
"From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic an iron curtain has descended across the Continent." With these words, Winston Churchill famously warned the world in a now legendary speech given in Fulton, Missouri, on March 5, 1946. Illustrated edition.
A unique evocation of Britain at the height of Margaret Thatcher's rule, A Journey Through Ruins views the transformation of the country through the unexpected prism of every day life in East London.
The hulk of Henry VIII's flagship is raised from the seabed in an operation that captures the mind of the nation. An elderly lady whose ancient house is scheduled for demolition dismantles it, piece by piece, and moves it across the country. On Living in an Old Country probes such apparently fleeting and disconnected events in order to reveal how history lives on, not just in the specialist knowledge of historians, archaeologists and curators, but as a tangible presence permeating everyday life and shaping our sense of identity.
History of Art
French Language and Literature
Now full-time writing, speaking and broadcasting on art and science, especially Leonardo da Vinci.
