By Stephen Fried
Recommended By Brenda Cherry, Reference Librarian

How visionary businessman Fred Harvey built a railroad hospitality empire that civilized the Wild West. Traces the story of the nineteenth–century entrepreneur who established a national chain of restaurants, hotels, and bookstores patronizing railroad passengers, in an account that reveals his role in shaping culture and labor.

By David Cannadine

At the outset of the 1870s, the British aristocracy could rightly consider themselves the most fortunate people on earth: they held the lion's share of land, wealth, and power in the world's greatest empire. By the end of the 1930s they had lost not only a generation of sons in the First World War, but also much of their prosperity, prestige, and political significance.

By Julia P. Gelardi

Compares the lives of three royal matriarchs and their daughters, in a collection of histories that illuminates the disparities between Queen Isabella and Catherine of Aragon, Empress Maria Theresa and Marie Antoinette, and Queen Victoria and the Empress Frederick.

By Helen Rappaport

Uses Royal Archives sources to examine how the untimely death of Prince Albert plunged both his queen and the nation into a profound state of grief that reshaped the British monarchy.

By Patricia Cornwell

Examines the century-old series of murders that terrorized London in the 1880s, drawing on research, state-of-the-art forensic science, and insights into the criminal mind to reveal the true identity of the infamous Jack the Ripper.

By Charlotte Zeepvat

Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, was the most intelligent of Queen Victoria’s four sons. He was the youngest, a strong-willed, likeable character with an immense thirst for life who faced two overwhelming handicaps. One was hemophilia, then barely understood, which might have killed him at any moment, and in any case subjected him to recurring pain and disability. The other was his mother’s determination to keep complete control over his life.

By Elisabeth Kehoe

Set against the backdrop of Victorian and Edwardian society, a portrait of the three Jerome sisters - Jennie, Clara, and Leonie, American heiresses who married into the heights of British society - spans three generations, from their parents through their children, including Jennie's son, Winston Churchill.

By Nigel H. Jones
Recommended By Ed Goldberg, Head of Reference

“A history of the Tower of London places its story in the context of national and international events, drawing on primary sources to explore its diverse functions as a British symbol, epicenter for violent events, and modern tourist attraction (From the Publisher).”

By Stanley Weintraub

A study of Queen Victoria's often historically neglected husband reveals his ambition, significant political roles, and the marital strain between the two powerful rulers.

By Gillian Gill
Recommended By Brenda Cherry, Reference Librarian

“Presents a portrait documenting the lives and marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (From the Publisher).”