lamdha books -
Catalogue of works of history in Folio Society editions

Click on the small images at right to see a larger picture

77713 Allingham, William (H. Allingham & D. Radford, eds.) The Diaries - Folio Society edition Introduced by John Julius Norwich The Folio Society, London, 1990. First printing. Octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine-title and gilt decorated upper board; 351pp., with a monochrome photographic frontispiece and 15 plates likewise. Some creasing to the first few pages; top corner of upper board bumped; a small dent to the first few pages where an object has been closed within the book; rear pastedown scuffed. Otherwise good to very good in a bumped and lightly stained slipcase. Click here to order $25

209201 Briggs, Asa England in the Age of Improvement, 1783-1867 - Folio Society edition A History of England, Vol.8 The Folio Society, London, 2002. Reprint: octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine-titling on a light blue label and gilt-decorated upper board; 498pp., on laid paper with text block top edge dyed navy blue, a colour frontispiece, 8pp. of plates likewise, and 16pp. of monochrome plates. Very minor wear only; near fine in slightly rubbed gilt-titled slipcase. Asa Briggs' masterly study of the period stresses the underlying unity of the age. In the background are the new economic powers based on the development of a coal and iron technology, in the foreground, the problems posed by the world's first industrial revolution. Click here to order $40

34672 Burchard, Johann (Geoffrey Parker, ed.& trans.) At the Court of the Borgia - Folio Society edition Being an Account of the Reign of Pope Alexander VI, written by his Master of Ceremonies Johann Burchard The Folio Society, London, 1996. Reprint. Hardcover, octavo; tan buckram boards with elaborate gilt black and red front board decoration with similar motifs on spine and spine titling, map endpapers, top edges dyed brown; 245pp., monochrome frontispiece and illustrations. Minor wear; tiny scrape on front board and very mild insect damage to last few page edges of book. Near fine otherwise in black slipcase. Click here to order $25

51280 Cobbett, William (John Derry, ed.) Cobbett's England - Folio Society edition A Selection From the Writings of William Cobbett with Engravings by James Gillray The Folio Society, London, 1968. First printing. Octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine-titling and decorated boards; 276pp., top edges dyed blue, with 8pp. of monochrome plates. Lightly toned text block edges; some sunning along the spine. Very good in a like slipcase. From the time Cobbett found his vocation as a journalist during the 1790s, publications poured from his pen - articles on politics and finance, pieces of autobiography and reminiscence, compendiums of instruction and advice, even textbooks for those wishing to find a wife or improve their command of the English language. As well he participated vigorously in most of the major controversies of his time - parliamentary reform, the evils of paper money, the problems of the Poor Law, the consequences of enclosing the open fields and building new factories, the abolition of slavery and the plight of the English urban workers. Click here to order $25

50663 Cochrane, Admiral Lord (introduced by Brian Vale) Memoirs of a Fighting Captain - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 2007. Third printing. Octavo; hardcover, with blue cloth gilt decorated boards and spine-titling; 311pp. with a frontispiece and 16pp. of colour plates. A few faint scattered spots on text block edges. Otherwise, near fine in illustrated slipcase. Thomas Cochrane 1775-1860, 10th Earl of Dundonald, came from a family with a long tradition in military service. Having turned 17, he joined the Navy where he developed a brilliant career in the contest of the Napoleonic Wars, exploits such as the capture of the Spanish frigate El Gamo or the Battle of the Basque Roads made the Scottish aristocrat a real crowd pleaser. In 1807, he became MP in the House of Commons, where he supported the propositions of the Radical group. Seven years later, the admiral got involved in a financial scandal known as the Great Stock Exchange Fraud, as a result he spent a year in prison and lost his position in the Navy and as MP. That did not mean the end of Cochrane's lifework, he went to America where he took part in the process of Chilean and Brazilian independence, and he also helped the Greek army with his fight against the Turkish. In the 30's, the 10th Earl of Dundonald arrived back in the United Kingdom, where he managed to regain his position in the British Navy. He spent his last years writing his memoirs and designing engines. Click here to order $32

69383 Debo, Angie (maps by Reginald Piggott) A History of the Indians of the United States - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 2003. Second printing: octavo hardcover; illustrated boards green buckram spine and gilt spine-titling, dark brown endpapers; 490pp., 32pp. of colour and monochrome photographic plates. Near fine in like, slightly rubbed slipcase. Angie Debo became a long-time champion of the Amerindian cause through her academic study; not, she makes clear, because she was "pro-Indian" but because she felt that the integrity of the treatment of America's indigenous population was being violated at the highest levels of Public Administration. This work, first published in 1971, was the first to present the history of the Indian Nations from the indigenous perspective and follows on from Debo's lecture notes during her teaching years wherein she staunchly reversed the viewpoint of the existing dogma to that of the Native Americans. The result is a standard text of Amerindian history from the coming of the White Man to the late 1960s, a period when the role of the US Government vis-a-vis the reservation population of North America was hanging in the balance. Debo may not have wanted especially to be a champion in this cause, but her pursuit of truth and fairness for all made her one in the end. Click here to order $45

60280 Elton, G.R. England under the Tudors: History of England, Vol. 5 - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 2002. Reprint: octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine-titling on a light blue label and gilt-decorated upper boards; 518pp., on laid paper, top edges dyed blue, with a monochrome frontispiece, maps and 24pp. of colour and monochrome plates. Very minor wear. Near fine in a mildly scuffed gilt-titled slipcase. Click here to order $40

85401 Evelyn, John (Philip Francis, ed.) John Evelyn's Diary - A Selection from the Diary - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1963. First printing. Hardcover, octavo; blue boards with gilt spine titling and upper board decoration; blue decorated endpapers and top text block edge dyed blue; 253pp., monochrome frontispiece by Robert Nanteuil of the author, and monochrome illustrations. Owner's name. Minor wear; spine faded and text block edges toned. Very good to near fine in plain grey slipcase with a few small stains and scuffing to edges. Click here to order $20

14819 Fothergill, John (Introduction by Craig Brown; Peter Bailey, illus.) An Innkeeper's Diary - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 2000. First printing. Royal octavo; hardcover, quarter-bound in cloth with decorated boards and spine titles on a yellow label; 278pp., with a monochrome frontispiece and many illustrations likewise. Minor wear. Fine in like slip-case. Click here to order $30

84007 Frere, Sheppard (Reginald Piggott, illus.) Britannia: A History of Roman Britain - Folio Society edition A History of England The Folio Society, London, 2004. Reprint: octavo; hardcover, withgilt spine titles on a sky-blue label and gilt spine and upper board rules and decorations; 431pp., on laid paper, top edges dyed navy blue, with a full-colour frontispiece, 8pp. of plates likewise, maps and many monochrome illustrations. Minor wear. Fine in a slightly rubbed, titled slipcase. Click here to order $40

86654 Fuller, Thomas (Richard Barber, ed.) Fuller's Worthies - Folio Society edition Selected from the Worthies of England The Folio Society, London, 1987. First printing. Hardcover, octavo; black cloth boards with gilt spine titling and upper board decoration, blue endpapers and top text block edge dyed blue; 441pp., monochrome frontispiece and illustrations, in plain beige slipcase. Upper text block edges slightly faded and other sides mildly toned. Very good to near fine otherwise. Click here to order $22

69785 Glover, Robert, & Thomas Milles (Derek Parker, ed.; Introduction by Nigel Ramsay) The Kings of England ever since it was so called - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1995. First printing. Octavo; hardcover, quarter bound in leather with decorated boards and gilt spine titling and decoration; 367pp., top edges dyed brown, with many colour illustrations. Minor wear. Near fine in a like slipcase. The work was begun by Glover and left with Milles, who translated the Latin manuscripts and reduced them to a printable form. The text of 'The Kings of England' was first published in Latin under the title 'Nobilitas Politica et Civilis' in 1608. An expanded English version entitled 'The Catalogue of Honor' was published in 1610. The text for this edition is taken from the first section of the 1610 edition. Click here to order $30

69779 Green, John Richard (edited with an introduction by Roger Hudson) A Short History of the English People - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1992. First printing. Royal octavo hardcover; green & gilt decorated boards with top edges dyed green, gilt spine titling and decoration, pale brown endpapers; 878pp., monochrome illustrations; top text block edge dyed green. Near fine in brown slipcase. John Richard Green (1837 - 1883) was an English historian. Born the son of a tradesman in Oxford, where he was educated, first at Magdalen College School, and then at Jesus College where he is commemorated by the J. R. Green Society, which meets several times a term and is run by students from the undergraduate body. He entered the Church, and served various cures in London, under a constant strain caused by delicate health. Always an enthusiastic student of history, the little leisure time he had was devoted to research. In 1869 he finally gave up his work as a clergyman, and was appointed librarian at Lambeth. He had been laying plans for various historical works, including a 'History of the English Church' as exhibited in a series of 'Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury', and, what he proposed as his magnum opus, a history of 'England under the Angevin kings'. After suffering from failing health he abandoned these projects and instead concentrated his energies on the preparation of his 'A Short History of the English People', which appeared in 1874, and at once gave him an assured place in the first rank of historical writers. Click here to order $50

60447 Hudson, Roger (ed.) The Folio Book of Days - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 2002. First printing. Quarto; hardcover, full cloth with gilt decorated upper board, decorative endpapers and gilt spine titles; 336pp with a colour frontispiece and many monochrome and colour illustrations. Very minor wear. Fine in mildly rubbed illustrated slipcase. Drawing on diaries, letters, journals, eyewitness accounts, newspaper reports, speeches and sermons - indeed, on any source that is dated - this specially commissioned volume features around 500 entries by 95 writers, selected and edited by Roger Hudson and 160 paintings, photographs and engravings - 100 in full colour. In The Folio Book of Days you can eavesdrop on the everyday conversations or idle thoughts of the great and the good; view earth-shattering events from a new perspective; or relive memorable days from the lives of the great diarists. From an eyewitness account of the murder of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury Cathedral on 29 December 1170, to the terror attacks on New York on 11 September 2001, the voices of past and present echo loud and clear. Click here to order $40

56125 Hudson, Roger (ed.) The Jubilee Years - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1996. First printing. Hardcover, octavo, 240pp., colour and monochrome illustrations. Illustrated boards and dark blue cloth spine. Near fine in slightly sunned slipcase. This was a special presentation volume published by the Folio Society in honour of the 100th anniversary of the diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. It examines many aspects of the period between the two jubilee years by providing comments from contemporaries of the time. It is profusely illustrated with paintings, drawings and photographs. In all, this book gives an intimate first-hand portrait of England during this ten-year period, a period that set the tone for the country's future. Click here to order $25

84129 Hudson, Roger (ed.) London - Folio Society edition Portrait of a City The Folio Society, London, 1998. First printing. Small quarto; hardcover, quarter-bound in cloth with illustrated boards, 272pp, mostly colour plates. Fine in a like slipcase. Samuel Johnson famously said that: "When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life." London's remarkable history, architecture, landmarks, streets, style, cool, swagger, and stalwart residents are captured in this sweeping biography of the city. London is a vast sprawling metropolis, constantly evolving and growing, yet throughout its complex past and shifting history, the humour, unique character, and bulldog spirit of the people have stayed constant. This book salutes all those Londoners, their city, and its history. Click here to order $40

69381 Hyde, Edward, Earl of Clarendon (Roger Lockyer, ed.) The History of the Great Rebellion - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1967. First printing. Royal octavo; hardcover, boards decorated in gilt; 469pp., top edges dyed blue, with some maps and monochrome plates. Minor wear; slight spotting to fore edge; slightly rubbed along the hinges and on the rear board. Very good to fine in slightly worn slipcase. After serving Charles I, Hyde had preferred to go into exile and serve Charles II rather than come to terms with the king's enemies. He could have made his peace with Cromwell, and returned to England to safeguard what was left of his estates, as many men did in the eleven years that passed between the execution of Charles I and the restoration of Charles II. But Hyde was not a compromiser. The History shows him to be a man of principle who believed that the best guide to action is morality, and that time servers are detestable. He could not be sure as we can that the Restoration would one day take place. he had to endure exile and often poverty in the hope that eventually England would return to her senses, but he must sometimes have wondered whether in fact that day would ever come. Meanwhile he did all that he could to advance the royalist cause. He kept up a voluminous correspondence with his contacts in England, he went on missions to foreign courts, and most important of all he acted as chief advisor to the young and politically inexperienced Charles II, constantly impressing on him the need to remain faithful to those two great works of time: the English church and the English constitution. It says much for Charles that he listened to Hyde's advice, and in 1658 appointed him Lord Chancellor. Clarendon's History of the Rebellion is divided into sixteen books, beginning with the accession of Charles I in 1625 and ending with the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. The present selection is taken from books 6-11 and covers the period from the raising of the king's standard at Nottingham in 1642 to the end of the second civil war and the execution of Charles I. Long passages dealing with negotiations between king and Parliament, and with events in Scotland and Ireland have been omitted. Click here to order $30

205618 Josephus, Titus Flavius (Introduction by Martin Goodman; John Gregory, trans.) Life of Herod - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 2007. First printing. Octavo; hardcover, in full cloth, with gilt spine and upper board titles and decorations and decorative endpapers; 295pp., with maps, a full-colour frontispiece and 12pp. of plates likewise. Minor wear. Slipcase lightly rubbed. Near fine. Josephus (37-100), who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus, was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal ancestry who survived and recorded the destruction of Jerusalem in 70. His works give an important insight into first-century Judaism. His works provide crucial information about the First Jewish-Roman War. They are also important literary source material for understanding the context of the Dead Sea Scrolls and post-Second Temple Judaism. Josephus offers information about individuals, groups, customs and geographical places. His writings provide a significant, extra-biblical account of the post-exilic period of the Maccabees, the Hasmonean dynasty and the rise of Herod the Great. Click here to order $30

97742 Macaulay, Thomas Babington (Introduction Prof. J.P. Kenyon; Peter Rowland, ed.) The History of England in the Eighteenth Century - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1980. First printing. Octavo, hardcover; gilt decorated red cloth boards with gilt spine titling and decoration, dark cream endpapers; top text block edge dyed cream/green; 318pp., monochrome illustrations. Mild spotting to spine. Near fine in light brown slipcase with small tears and browning to edges. Click here to order $28

97804 Madame de la Tour du Pin (Felice Harcourt, trans. & ed.) Escape from the Terror - Folio Society edition The Journal of Madame de la Tour du Pin The Folio Society, London, 1979. First printing. Octavo; hardcover, full cloth, with gilt spine and upper board titles and decorations and endpaper maps; 351pp., top edges dyed plum with a red and white headband, with a monochrome portrait frontispiece and 11 plates likewise. Minor wear. Slipcase rubbed and sunned with some mild splitting. Very good to near fine. When she turned 50 in 1820, Lucie Dillon, Marquise de la Tour du Pin, began to write her memoirs. She intended them for her two surviving children (four were deceased), but in 1822 Lucie's daughter Charlotte suddenly died, leaving only Aymar, her last-born son, as recipient of the record of his mother's extraordinary life. The unfinished text, which breaks off at Napoleon's return from Elba in 1815, was not published until 1907; it has rarely been out of print since. Click here to order $30

75639 Masterman, J.C., Introduction by M.R.D. Foot, Foreword by Norman Holmes Pearson The Double-Cross System - Folio Society edition In the War of 1939 to 1945 The Folio Society, London, 2007. First printing. Octavo; hardcover; blue buckram boards with illustrated upper board and gilt spine-titling; 215pp., with monochrome portrait frontispiece and 12pp. of photographic plates similar. Fine in like slightly rubbed slip-case. The Double Cross System is not the only document to describe double agents and deception. It is simply the best. Masterman gives us a world of stratagems, inhabited by characters like SNOW, ZIGZAG and TRICYCLE. They were known only by these cover names and in them they lived and operated. Nuance became all. Even the methods of communication between the agent and the enemy, whether by wireless, by secret writing, or by personal contact in neutral countries, required empathy on the part of the case officers and planners. The details of a man's wireless style, for example, the warning signals, the very rhythm of the key in sending messages must be mastered so that if the agent should die or for one reason or another be removed, a substitution could be made but not recognised. 'A game played with dynamite in which those who couldn't play were executed ... Should on no account be missed by anyone who enjoys a good thriller.' - Anthony Price Click here to order $30

97800 Napier, Major General Sir William (Introduction by Brian Connell, ed.) History of the War in the Peninsula - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1973. First printing. Octavo; hardcover, full cloth, with gilt spine titles on a plum label, spine and upper board decorations, and endpaper maps; 332pp., top edges dyed plum and a plum and white headband, with an engraved frontispiece and 13 plates likewise. Minor wear. Slipcase mildly rubbed. Near fine. Classic account of the Napoleonic War in Spain and Portugal. Abridged version of the monumental six volume work. Click here to order $30

218145 Psychoundakis, George (trans. Patrick Leigh Fermor; annotated by the translator and Xan Fielding) The Cretan Runner - The Story of the German Occupation - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 2009. Reprint. Octavo hardcover; illustrated boards with green spine label and gilt titling, gray map endpapers; 221pp., monochrome plates and photographic frontispiece. Minor wear only; near fine in slightly rubbed green slipcase with tiny tear on top edge. George Psychoundakis was a young shepherd boy who knew the island of Crete intimately when the Nazis invaded by air in 1941. He immediately joined the resistance and took on the crucial job of war-time runner. It was not only the toughest but the most dangerous job of all. It involved immense journeys carrying vital messages, smuggling arms and explosives and guiding Allied soldiers, agents and commandos through heavily garrisoned territory. This brilliant account of George's activities across mountainous terrain, come blazing summer or freezing winter, is a gripping story of bravery against impossible odds. Click here to order $35

10734 Russell, William (Introduction by Max Hastings; Denys Baker, illus.; Roger Hudson, ed.) William Russell, Special Correspondent of the Times - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1997. Reprint: royal octavo; hardcover, with gilt decorated and titled spine and upper board; 426pp., top edges dyed brown, with a monochrome portrait frontispiece and 27pp. of plates likewise. Minor wear. Very good to near fine in a like slipcase. Initially sent by editor John Delane to Malta to cover British support for the Ottoman Empire against Russia in 1854, Russell despised the term 'war correspondent' but his coverage of the conflict brought him international renown, and Florence Nightingale later credited her entry into wartime nursing to his reports. The Crimean medical care, shelter and protection of all ranks by Mary Seacole was also publicised by Russell and by other contemporary journalists, rescuing her from bankruptcy. Russell was described by one of the soldiers on the frontlines thus: 'a vulgar low Irishman, who sings a good song, drinks anyone's brandy and water and smokes as many cigars as a Jolly Good Fellow. He is just the sort of chap to get information, particularly out of youngsters.' This reputation led to Russell's being blacklisted from some circles, including British commander Lord Raglan who advised his officers to refuse to speak with the reporter. His dispatches were hugely significant; for the first time the public could read about the reality of warfare. Shocked and outraged, the public's backlash from his reports led the Government to re-evaluate the treatment of troops and led to Florence Nightingale's involvement in revolutionising battlefield treatment. In the 1868 General Election Russell ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative candidate for the borough of Chelsea. He retired as a battlefield correspondent in 1882 and founded the Army and Navy Gazette. Russell was knighted in May 1895. He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) by King Edward VII on 11 August 1902, - a dynastic order handed out by the King without government interference. During the investiture, the King reportedly told Russell 'Don't kneel Billy, just stoop'. Russell died in 1907 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery, London. Click here to order $40

14862 Sitwell, Edith (Introduction by Mervyn Horder; Roland Pym, illus.) English Eccentrics - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1996. Second printing. Octavo; hardcover, quarter-bound in decorated papered boards with navy blue cloth spine and silver-gilt spine-titling; 268pp., with a woodcut frontispiece and 16 plates and decorations likewise; blue endpapers. Near fine in pale blue slipcase with mild sunning at front fore-edges. Eccentricity exists particularly in the English, states Dame Edith Sitwell, because of "that peculiar and satisfactory knowledge of infallibility that is the hallmark and the birthright of the British nation." Originally published in 1933, The English Eccentrics has lost none of its vitality and wit. We find hermits, quacks, mariners, indefatigable travellers, and men of learning. We meet the amphibious Lord Rokeby, whose beard reached his knees and who seldom left his bath; the irascible Captain Thicknesse, who left his right hand, to be cut off after his death, to his son Lord Audley; and Curricle Coats, the Gifted Amateur, whose suit was sewn with diamonds and whose every performance ended in uproar. This is a glorious gallery of the extremes of human nature, portrayed with humour, sympathy, knowledge, and love. Click here to order $30

85397 Tannahill, Reay (ed.) Paris in the Revolution: A Collection of Eye-witness Accounts - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1966. First printing. Quarto hardcover; blue papered boards with black cloth spine and gilt titling; 127pp., colour and monochrome illustrations. Boards slightly rubbed with wear to corners; faint spotting to upper text block edge; small mark on side edge of title page. No slip-case, as issued. Very good. Click here to order $22

60279 Trevelyan, George Macaulay England under the Stuarts: History of England, vol. 6 - Folio Society edition The Folio Society, London, 1997. Reprint. Hardcover, octavo, 503pp., monochrome illustrations and colour plates. Blue cloth boards with gilt decoration to front panel and titles on spine. Light spotting to text block edges; minor wear; near fine in a like slipcase. This is George Macaulay Trevelyan's timeless treatise on English history. Covering the period from 1603-1714: the time of the English Civil War, the Glorious (Great) Revolution, and the Restoration. He not only looks at the historical events that occurred, but how these events affect modern England. Trevelyan takes a multifaceted approach, looking not only at the political, but also the social and cultural aspects of England during this tumultuous era. Click here to order $40

14863 Trevelyan, Raleigh The Shadow of Vesuvius - Folio Society edition Pompeii AD 79 The Folio Society, London, 1976. First printing: quarto; hardcover, quarter bound in cloth with silver gilt upper board decoration, with gilt spine-title and illustrated endpapers; 128pp., with a full-colour frontispiece, a decorated title page and many full-colour illustrations. Mild wear; boards very slightly rolled with bumping to corners and mildly spotted upper text block edge; small mark on upper front edge. No slipcase. Very good. Among Trevelyan's early popular books were several about Italy, including "Princes Under the Volcano" (1973), an account of the British role in Sicily in the 19th and 20th centuries; and "The Shadow of Vesuvius" (1976), about the discovery of the remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum in the 18th century. This is the Folio Society edition of that last work, which came out in the year of the work's first publication. Click here to order $22

97819 Vossler, Lt. Heinrich August (Walter Wallich, trans.; Christian-Wilhelm von Faber du Faur, illus.) With Napoleon in Russia, 1812 - Folio Society edition The diary of Lt. H.A. Vossler, a soldier of the Grand Army, 1812-1813 The Folio Society, London, 1970. Reprint: octavo; hardcover, full decorated cloth, with gilt spine titles on a brown label, and endpaper maps; 176pp., top edges dyed yellow, with many lithographic plates. Minor wear; light rubbing and sunning to the spine. Slipcase is lightly rubbed. Near fine. A compelling and honest account of one of the most infamously devastating conflicts in war history, told by an officer serving in Napoleon's army. Click here to order $28

78984 Wolff, Leon, with Lyn Macdonald & Major-General J.F.C. Fuller (maps by Reginald Piggott) In Flanders Fields - Folio Society edition The 1917 Campaign The Folio Society, London, 2003. First printing. Octavo; hardcover; illustrated boards, gray endpapers; 298pp., with a monochrome photographic frontispiece, 16pp. of plates likewise, and many maps. Minor wear only; near fine in brown slipcase. Click here to order $32