The Norman Conquest of 1066 of England was quite remarkable for its completeness. However, the Isle of Ely became what we have come to term a 'Pocket of resistance'. It was then that the natural defenses of the Isle became of prime importance, and were exploited by the Saxon leader, Hereward the Wake. Upon his return to the family estates at Bourne in Lincolnshire in 1068, Hereward found that they had been given to a Norman, Ivo de Taillebuis, by William the Conqueror and his brother's decapi-tated head had been impaled above the entrance. Hereward became possessed, and was not long avenging...

SCHILTBERGER TO THE READER. I, JOHANNS SCHILTBERGER, left my home near the city of Munich, situated in Bavaria, at the time that King Sigismund of Hungary left for the land of the Infidels. This was, counting from Christ's birth, in the thirteen hundred and ninety-fourth year, with a lord named Leonhard Reichartinger. And I came back again from the land of the Infidels, counting from Christ's birth, fourteen hundred and twenty seven. All that I saw in the land of the Infidels, of wars, and that was wonderful, also what chief towns and seas I have seen and visited, you will find described...

During the Civil War, Vincent Wingfield, a young southern gentleman, is involved in the battles and intrigues of his time. His family owns a plantation in Virginia and they treat their slaves in a humane manner. He even dares to interfere when his neighbors harass and mishandle their own slaves. The Civil War pulls him into the armed forces and he serves as an officer. He gets caught spying for the South and is ordered to be shot. But, the night before his execution his colored companion saves him and they race home to Richmond, with many adventures along the way. Many people, real battles...