When the Court of Appeal allowed the appeals of the Birmingham Six for the murder of 21 people in 1974, and set them free after 16yrs in prison, the judges said that nothing obliged or entitled them to say whether they thought that the 6 men were innocent. It is exclusively the jury's function to decide guilt or innocence. Judges in the appeal court are under a duty merely to say whether the conviction was wrongful or not. The presumption of innocence, which every accused is entitled to, abides until it has been overcome by evidence which convinces the jury of the guilt of the accused. Any conviction which is quashed on appeal does not revive the presumption. This book puts the record straight about the most famous criminal case in 'recent' British legal history, explaining to both legal and non-legal readers how many people misunderstand our criminal justice system, and how the supporters of those wrongfully convicted tend to persuade the British public that justice has indeed 'miscarried'. The author puts the case for an unbiased perspective on the trial of the Birmingham Six and other appeals, highlighting the true value of circumstantial evidence and pointing out how such evidence is so often preferable to the fallibility of eye-witness testimony. He also includes a European dimension. Finally, he questions whether the jury system itself can survive contemporary society. With Diary of Events, Appendix, Notes and Index.

Trough the prism of the tumultuous life and brilliant intellect of Sir Christopher Wren, the multitalented architect of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, historian Lisa Jardine unfolds the vibrant, extraordinary emerging new world of late-seventeenth-century science and ideas. The man behind the bold, imposing beauty of Saint Paul's was as remarkable as the monuments he has left us. Wren was a versatile genius who could have pursued a number of brilliant careers with equal virtuosity. A mathematical prodigy, an accomplished astronomer, a skillful anatomist, and a founder of the Royal Society, he eventually made a career in what he described disparagingly in later life as "Rubbish " -- architecture, and the design and construction of public buildings. Wren was a major figure at a turning point in English history. He mapped moons and the trajectories of comets for kings; lived and worked under six monarchs; pursued astronomy and medicine during two civil wars; exercised his creativity through the English Commonwealth, the Great Fire, the Restoration. His royal employment out lasted abdication, Dutch invasion, and the eventual extinction of the Stuart dynasty. Beyond the public achievements, Jardine explores Wren's personal motivations and passions. He was a sincere, intensely moral man with a remarkable capacity for friendship. His career was shaped by lasting associations forged during a turbulent boyhood and a lifelong loyalty to the memory of his father's master and benefactor, the "martyred king," Charles I. Everything Wren undertook, he envisaged on a grander scale -- bigger, better, more enduring than anything that had gone before.

In May 2006 Arsenal played its last game at Highbury before moving to the new state-of-the-art Emirates Stadium. It was an emotional farewell to a ground that had witnessed some incredible games and which Arsenal fans had come to love as their second home. Relive those Highbury memories in this lavishly illustrated book that charts the stadium's story from the move to North London, the building of the stands and Chapman's many innovations. It brings to life the stories from the Second World War and the fifties when the team returned to winning ways. Reacquaint yourself with the characters that bought the first double to Highbury in 1971; the celebrations in' 89; the success of the Wenger revolution and the final season at this unique ground. It features rare and previously unpublished photography; exclusive interviews with ex- and current players; key members of staff and fans; and full statistics of every match in Highbury's history.

Originally published in 1951, this book explores the development in England of the Sephardi branch of the Jewish community, the co-heirs, with their kinsmen in Holland, in Italy, in North America and in the Middle East, of the Golden Age of Jewish history in Spain. Based on archival history from within the community, it was the first full-length history of the Sephardi community in England and describes how this little Jewish community, the first in England since the Middle Ages, grew, prospered and contributed the wealth and influence of London, and eventually producing in Disraeli one of England's greatest Prime Ministers.

God bless you, England, on this glorious Year of Our Lord, 1145. Things are definitely not right in Nottingham. Rebecca, daughter of a Jewish money-lender, has a sense for it. A mad monk schemes to resurrect the Christ from body parts. A bone harpist murders creatures of legend for a price. A fae creature binds its wings and embraces a new God and his son. And don't even mention the Hood. The Man in Green. The Prince of Thieves. The tick-tock taker of the ten-toll tax. What hope have the series of sheriffs sent to hold the peace? It's the forest, you see. Sherwood. Ice Age ancient, impenetrable, hiding a dark and secret heart. But hearts, no matter how black, no matter how hidden, are not immune to change. The old world is dying... and a terrifying new one is waiting to take its place. Rebecca senses an opportunity. But how far is she willing to go, and what price - because there is always a price - will she have to pay? The Hood is Lavie Tidhar's narcotic reweirding of an ancient English myth, a tale stitched together from legends lost to time, a tale told and retold, reworked and renewed for each passing century. A tale, reader, for today. 'A wild, inventive tapestry of myth and magic, with a wry sense of humor. Tidhar's writing is wonderfully vibrant' Silvia Moreno-Garcia, bestselling author of Mexican Gothic

This book is a study of the pratical application of a religious idea: the belief in the continuing validity of the Old Testament, especially the Ten Commandments, which ordained the observance of the Sabbath on the seventh day, Saturday. The author traces the growth and development of the most radical of English Sabbath observers, those who revered the Jewish Sabbath in a Christian context. But this is not only a pre-history of the Seventh-Day Adventists. It is also the story of the remarkable persistence of a revolutionary religious belief powerful and convincing enough to survive the Restoration and continue into modern times. The Saturday-Sabbath gradually became institutionalized in a nonconformist sect in which the ideological foundation was sufficient to unite men who on political grounds should have been the most bitter of enemies, including Fifth Monarchists, millenarians, neutrals, and Royalists alike. That those men and their followers could amicably join forces after the Restoration is testimony to the power of religious ideas which might overshadow the political affiliations of the civil war.

Susan Doran describes and analyses the process of the Elizabethan Reformation, placing it in an English and a European context. She examines the religious views and policies of the Queen, the making of the 1559 settlement and the resulting reforms. The changing beliefs of the English people are discussed, and the author charts the fortunes of both Puritanism and Catholicism. Finally she looks at the strengths and weaknesses of Elizabeth I as royal governor, and of the Church of England as a whole.

Describes the historic background and artistic influences of the period, and examines the work of Sir Thomas More, Spenser, Marlowe, and Shakespeare

Reading Shakespeare Historically is a passionate, provocative book by one of the most renowned and popular Renaissance scholars writing today. Charting ten years of critical development, these challenging, witty essays shed new light on Renaissance studies. It also raises intriguing questions about how the culture and history of the past illuminates the key social and political issues of today. Lisa Jardine re-reads Renaissance drama in its historical and cultural context, from laws of defamation in Othello to the competing loyalties of companionate marriage and male friendship in The Changeling. In doing so she reveals a wealth of new insights, sometimes surprising but always original and engrossing. At the same time, these essays also provide a fascinating account of the rise of feminist scholarship since the 1980s and the diversifying of `new historicist' approaches over the same period. Reading Shakespeare Historically will fascinate and provoke students of shakespeare and his historical age, and general readers with an urge to understand how the culture and history of our past illuminates the key scoial and political issues of today.

The past two decades have witnessed a remarkable renaissance in the academic study of the history of the Jews in Great Britain and of their impact upon British history. In this volume Professor Geoffrey Alderman presents essays that reflect the richness of this renaissance, penned by a new generation of British and American scholars who are uninhibited by the considerations of communal image and public obligation that once exercised a powerful influence on Anglo-Jewish historiography. History does not have lessons, says Alderman, but it may provide signposts, and he adds that in the case of the essays presented here "I believe there is one signpost that we would all do well to ponder: in multicultural Britain hard-working immigrants may be welcome, or they may be feared -- or both. They are destined to remain not quite British, and, for better or worse, they are destined to bequeath this otherness to the generations that follow them."

Told for the first time, this is a unique and heart-warming tale of World War Two Jewish evacuees sent to Mousehole, Cornwall from London's East End. In a time of conflict and atrocities, this story of mutual acceptance and integration is an inspiration to modern society. From East End to Land's End is the heart-warming and inspiring story of the World War Two evacuation of Jews' Free School (JFS) in the East End of London to Mousehole, a remote fishing village on the tip of Cornwall. In June 1940, around 100 JFS children and 5 of their teachers, together with thousands of other London evacuees, embarked on the lengthy and exhausting train journey from Paddington to Penzance. The JFS group was bussed to Mousehole, where the children were billeted with the villagers, and Jews' Free School, Mousehole, was established in the premises of Mousehole School. Arrangements were made for synagogue services to be held in the church hall of a nearby village, while many of the evacuees also attended chapel with their foster families, most of whom were strong Methodists. Remarkably, most of the evacuees quickly integrated into village life, and were accepted by the villagers as their own

Book by Berkoff, Steven

"An autobiographical narrative of the career of British author, bookseller, and book collector Colin Franklin, discussing his life and experiences in the book world. Includes essays on figures in the book trade who have influenced and fascinated Franklin. Illustrated in color and black and white"--