On 28th June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his morganatic wife, Sophie Chotek, were shot dead in broad daylight on a crowded street in Sarajevo. The murder of a relatively unknown archduke in a remote Bosnian city might well have been quickly forgotten were it not for the fact that this seemingly minor event ignited a spark that would explode into one of the bloodiest conflicts in history. Within four years, over sixteen million people from one hundred countries would lie dead on the battlefields of the First World War. By 1914, through a series of alliances, Europe was largely divided...

In the summer of 1914 the capitals of Europe erupt in a patriotic frenzy as peoples on all sides, roused by the press, rejoice at the outbreak of the 'war to end wars'. The rejoicing soon turns to disillusionment as the full horrors of the bloodiest conflict the world has ever seen become apparent. For the Emperors of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia comes the growing awareness that this war, which they sought desperately to avoid, is not being fought for territory or honour, but rather to destroy the old world order and to replace their autocracies with secular ideologies and...

Spring 1917 - the war has been raging for over two and a half years and neither the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey) nor the Entente (Britain, France, Russia and Italy) are any closer to a decisive victory. In Russia, the Revolution and enforced abdication of the Tsar has left the country in the shaky hands of the Provisional Government but as the Bolsheviks begin to seize power it is clear that behind the scenes something rather sinister is occurring. Both Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, and Karl, the new Emperor of Austria-Hungary, are eager to pursue peace but the United...

On 6th July 1868, when told of the birth of her seventh granddaughter, Queen Victoria remarked that the news was 'a very uninteresting thing for it seems to me to go on like the rabbits in Windsor Park.' Her apathy was understandable - this was her fourteenth grandchild, and, though she had given birth to nine children, she had never been fond of babies, viewing them as 'frog-like and rather disgusting...particularly when undressed.' The early years of her marriage had, she claimed, been ruined by frequent pregnancies; and large families were unnecessary for wealthy people since the children...

Haunted by a painting seen in the Louvre, a young artist returns to her native town to discover the truth about what happened to her mother, who is believed to have committed suicide. As the mystery begins to unravel, she finds herself drawn into a web of hypocrisy and deceit, leading to a startling conclusion...

"What a joyous childhood we had " wrote Princess Alice, the second daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. These were no mere words and it was a sentiment shared by many of her siblings. Far from being the tyrannical or neglectful parents presented so often by the sensational press, Albert and Victoria devoted themselves to their children, doing their utmost to secure their happiness while preparing them for a future of personal fulfilment and service to their people in a rapidly-changing world. "Dear Papa, Beloved Mama" covers the period from 1840 to the death of Prince Albert in 1861,...

Born into eight very different families, the upbringing and fortunes of Queen Victoria's grandsons varied widely. Some died in childhood, some were killed in action, and others lived to see grandchildren of their own. There were heroes and villains, valiant soldiers and dissipated youths, but their lives were interconnected through the tiny Queen for whom their welfare and happiness was a constant preoccupation. As part of a wide, extended family, they lived through the halcyon days of the late nineteenth century European monarchies, witnessing the most spectacular and the most tragic events...

Almost a century after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Kaiser Wilhelm II is still viewed as either a warmonger or a madman, as the hundred-year-old propaganda posters remain fixed in the general consciousness. Was he, though, truly responsible for the catastrophe of the First World War, or was he in fact a convenient scapegoat, blamed for a conflict which he desperately tried to avoid?

When eighteen-year-old Stephen sees a mysterious woman running along a cliff top, he is desperate to discover more about her. His search compels him to reconsider his understanding of the world, and leads him into a mystery of mysticism and reincarnation, through turmoil and tragedy to ultimate redemption.