Lucy Lethbridge

Paints a vivid picture of the lives of British servants through the letters and diaries of those who served in upper crust households and explores the complicated relationships and social implications between the server and those they served. 20,000 first printing.

Servants: A Downstairs History of Britain from the Nineteenth Century to Modern Times

How the British Went Abroad to Find Themselves

Tourists

Although pirates ruled the oceans 300 years ago--attacking and robbing rich trading ships--their careers were short and cruel. This collection of stories brings to life the flamboyant characters of the most famous pirates and the determination of the men who set out to capture them.

True Stories of Pirates

'I really can't recommend Lucy Lethbridge's new book on the history of tourism enough - especially if you are going on holiday.' Tom Holland 'Full of human interest and fresh insights, Tourists offers a wonderfully enjoyable account of one of the defining phenomena of the past two centuries.' David Kynaston 'It is the paramount wish of every English heart, ever addicted to vagabondizing, to hasten to the Continent...' In 1815 the Battle of Waterloo brought to an end the Napoleonic Wars and the European continent opened up once again to British tourists. The nineteenth century was to be an age driven by steam technology, mass-industrialisation and movement, and, in the footsteps of the Grand Tourists a hundred years earlier, the British middle-classes flocked to Europe to see the sights. In Tourists, the voices of these travellers – puzzled, shocked, delighted and amazed – are brought vividly to life. From the discomfort of the stagecoach to the 'self-contained pleasure palace' of the beach resort, Lucy Lethbridge brilliantly examines two centuries of tourists' experience. Among a range of disparate characters, we meet the commercial titans of Victorian tourism, Albert Smith, Henry Gaze and Thomas Cook, as well as their successor, Vladimir Raitz, the creator of the modern beach holiday. The growth of popular tourism introduced new markets in guidebooks, souvenirs, cuisine and health cures. It smoothed over class differences but also exacerbated them. It destroyed traditional cultures while at the same time preserving them. From portable cameras to postcards and suntans, Tourists explores how tourism has reflected changing attitudes to modernity and how, from the grand hotel to the campsite, the foreign holiday exposes deep fears, hopes and even longings for home.

An original look at the social history of the twentieth century, brilliantly retold through the eyes of the household servants.

A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain

Servants

In the late nineteenth century, general housework in the British home was so labour intensive that it required an army of servants to undertake it. Since then, the ways in which we look after our homes may have changed dramatically but the best and simplest of methods from that time still work for us today.From floor to ceiling, and leaving no awkward corner untouched, here are the tricks and techniques that generations once took for granted, distilled for modern use: how to get rid of water marks or heat rings on polished wood; the antibacterial qualities of simple vinegar; the damp cloth versus the dry duster; and using lemon juice to clear limescale. Combining fascinating 'below-stairs' social history with startling facts and useful tips, Lucy Lethbridge restores fast-disappearing skills to keep at bay dust, rust, mildew, stains and pests. Here, beautifully illustrated and entertainingly presented, are a bygone era's keys to a clean house.

Old-Fashioned Ways to Banish Dirt, Dust and Decay

Spit and Polish

Daughter of the famous romantic poet Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace was a child prodigy. Brilliant at maths, she read numbers like most people read words.Lady Byron wanted Ada to be as unlike her father as possible. Ada grew up surrounded by an army of tutors who taught her every subject every waking moment, except for poetry.In 1843 Ada came to the attention of Charles Babbage, a scientist and inventor who had just built a miraculous machine called the ‘Difference Engine’. Ada and Mr Babbage started working together – a perfect partnership which led to the most important invention of the modern world: the computer! Short Books is re-releasing some of its finest writing as a newly designed series of six children’s biographies called The Great Victorians. These are entertaining and engaging stories of some of history’s most fascinating characters. They tell history in a novelistic, engaging way, a halfway house between storybooks and traditional history. There is abundant humour and drama too.With beautifully designed covers these books will catch the eyes of parents as well as children. Also published in a highly collectable set.

Computer Wizard of Victorian England

Ada Lovelace

Daughter of the poet Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace was a child prodigy. Brilliant at maths, she read numbers like most people read words. In 1834 she came to the attention of scientist Charles Babbage, who had just built an amazing 'thinking machine'. Thus began a remarkable collaboration in the invention of computer. Ages 10+.

The Computer Wizard of Victorian England

Who Was Ada Lovelace?

Servants: A Downstairs View of Twentieth-century Britain is the social history of the last century through the eyes of those who served. From the butler, the footman, the maid and the cook of 1900 to the au pairs, cleaners and childminders who took their place seventy years later, a previously unheard class offers a fresh perspective on a dramatic century. Here, the voices of servants and domestic staff, largely ignored by history, are at last brought to life: their daily household routines, attitudes towards their employers, and to each other, throw into sharp and intimate relief the period of feverish social change through which they lived. Sweeping in its scope, extensively researched and brilliantly observed, Servants is an original and fascinating portrait of twentieth-century Britain; an authoritative history that will change and challenge the way we look at society.

Robin Lawrie

Sent to a military school at nine, Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the French Army. But a brilliant military career wasn't enough. Soon, he had seized control of France and then he embarked upon a plan to rule all of Europe.

Napoleon

British estates were known to be the epitome of cleanliness with their white-glove perfection. For her research on servants, Lucy Lethbridge absorbed an amazing trove of knowledge about how these homes were made to gleam from Victorian through Edwardian years. She noticed that many household tasks used common, nontoxic ingredients, which feel very modern in their display of frugality and ecological soundness. Tea leaves were used to freshen up rugs, while lemon was applied to dispatch marks on teakettles and stewed rhubarb to remove rust stains. Here, Lethbridge reveals these old-fashioned and almost forgotten techniques that made British households sparkle before the use of complicated contraptions and chemical concoctions. Including quotes from servants and the doyennes of household cleaning, as well as charming art from the classic domestic manuals, this is the perfect gift for Anglophiles and those who want to put time-tested cleaning methods to work.

Tried-And-True British Household Cleaning Tips

Mind Your Manors

”Det är ett kort men roligt liv.” Bartholomew Robert, pirat. Den fjärde boken i serien bjuder på spännande historier om pirater – havets skräck. Deras storhetstid sträckte över nära 300 år. Men sjörövarnas guldålder varade bara i trettio år, från 1690–1720. Det var en period då handeln blomstrade och handelsfartygen var fyllda med värdefullt gods. Det var en lönsam tid för en pirat och att färdas över haven var långt ifrån säkert. Piraternas äventyrliga och ofta ganska korta liv har fascinerat författare, konstnärer och filmskapare genom tiderna. I Sanna historier om pirater möter vi några av personerna bakom myterna. I fjorton korta, spännande berättelser får vi läsa om några av de värsta och mest fruktade sjörövarna. Lucy Lethbridge har tidigare skrivit böcker för barn. Hon medverkar även flitigt som skribent i den brittiska pressen.

Sanna historier om pirater

Three hundred years ago, pirates ruled the oceans. Attacking and robbing the rich trading ships that crossed their paths, the most successful pirates acquired fabulous treasure and lived like kings. But a pirate's career was short and cruel. These stories tell a tale of hardship and brutality, bringing to life the flamboyant characters of the most famous pirate captains and the determination of the men who set out to capture them. Gripping and engaging for readers who prefer real life to fiction.

Lucy Lethbridge

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