82ASK

A A Gill

Andrew Swanston read law at Cambridge, but was inspired to write by his lifelong interest in early modern history. His Thomas Hill novels – The King’s Spy, The King’s Exile and The King’s Return – are set against the backdrops of the English Civil War, Cromwell’s Commonwealth and the early Restoration respectively. He is also the author of Waterloo: The Bravest Man and Beautiful Star and Other Stories. His first historical thriller set during the reign of Elizabeth I – Incendium (published in paperback as The Incendium Plot) – introduced readers to the academic, lawyer and intelligencer Dr Christopher Radcliff, whose adventures continue in Chaos. Andrew Swanston lives in Surrey.

A D Swanston

A E Langsford

A G Hopkins

A. J. BAIME is the New York Times best-selling author of The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War and Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans. Both books are in development for major motion pictures. Baime is a longtime regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and his articles have also appeared in the New York Times, Popular Science, and Men’s Journal. He lives in Granite Bay, California. Visit him at facebook.com/ajbaime and trumanbook.com.

A J Baime

A J Jacobs

A J P Taylor

Anthony James Pollard is a British medieval historian, specialising in the fifteenth century and in particular the Wars of the Roses. A leading authority in the field, he is profesor emeritus of Teesside University. His books include North-Eastern England during the Wars of the Roses, Richard III and the Princes in theTower, Imagining Robin Hood: the Late Medieval Stories in Historical Context and Warwick the kingmaker: Politics, Power and Fame.

A J Pollard

A J Rochester

A K Benjamin is a clinical neuropsychologist and the author of Let Me Not Be Mad: A Story of Unravelling Minds.

A K Benjamin

A. L. Berridge read English at Oxford, and taught for ten years before moving into television, where her production credits range from period drama and thrillers to long-running soaps. She has written two previous novels, Top Ten besteller Honour and the Sword and In the Name of the King. Into the Valley of Death is her third novel.

A L Berridge

Alison Gaylin's first job was as a reporter for a celebrity tabloid, which sparked a lifelong interest in writing about people committing despicable acts. More than a decade later, she wrote and published her Edgar-nominated first novel, HIDE YOUR EYES. 
 
She's since published nine more books, including the USA Today and international bestselling Brenna Spector suspense series, which has been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony and Thriller awards and won the Shamus award. 
 
She lives in upstate New York with her husband, daughter, cat and dog.

A L Gaylin

A Maxwell-Hyslop

A McArthur

A P Wavell

A.S. Webb is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Daughter of Chaos, the first instalment of The Dark Pantheon Trilogy. She is inspired by stories rooted in history and mythology, that push the boundaries of imagination and urge us to reflect on what it means to be human.

A S Webb

A. A. Dhand is the author of six previous novels, and has been shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger Award. His DI Harry Virdee novels are currently being adapted for TV by the BBC. He was raised in Bradford and spent his youth observing the city from behind the counter of a small convenience store. After qualifying as a pharmacist, he worked in London and travelled extensively before returning to Bradford to start his own business and begin writing. The history, diversity and darkness of the city have inspired all his novels. For more information about A. A. Dhand and his books, follow him on X @aadhand, and on Instagram @aa_dhand.

A. A. Dhand

A. A. Gill

A. A. Milne

A. Anatoli

A. B. Poranek grew up sharing her time between Ontario, Canada and rural Poland, and eventually completed a veterinary degree at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. A lover of mythology and history, she enjoys exploring both in her writing. Her debut novel, Where the Dark Stands Still, an instant New York Times bestseller, is an ode to Poland's folktales, while A Treachery of Swans transports readers to a world inspired by 17th century France.

A. B. Poranek

A. Bradley

Professor A. C. Grayling is Principal of the New College of the Humanities at Northeastern University, London, and a Supernumerary Fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He has written and edited over thirty books on philosophy, history, science and current affairs. For several years he wrote columns for the Guardian newspaper and The Times and was the chairman of the 2014 Man Booker Prize.

A. C. Grayling

A.D. Miller is the author of Snowdrops, The Earl of Petticoat Lane and The Faithful Couple. Snowdrops was a bestseller and was shortlisted for many prizes including the Man Booker and the CWA Gold Dagger. It was translated into 25 languages. As Moscow Correspondent of The Economist A.D. Miller has travelled across the former Soviet Union and covered the Orange Revolution in Ukraine; he is now the magazine’s Culture Editor based in London. 
 
admillerbooks.com

A. D. Miller

A. E. Ellis

A. E. W. Mason

A. Humphreys

A. Igoni Barrett was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, in 1979 and lives in Lagos. He is a winner of the 2005 BBC World Service short story competition, the recipient of a Chinua Achebe Center Fellowship, a Norman Mailer Center Fellowship, and a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center Residency. His short story collection, Love is Power, or Something Like That, was published in 2013. In 2014 he was named on the Africa39 list of sub-Saharan African writers under 40. Blackass is his first novel.

A. Igoni Barrett

The short life of A.J.A. Symons (1900-41) was described by his biographer as an intricate and largely harmless confidence trick. His many interests included the collection of musical boxes and rare books as well as the study and practice of forgery; they left him time to edit an anthology of Edwardian verse and compose studies of H.M. Stanley and other notable figures. He is remembered for The Quest for Corvo, one of the most remarkable biographies ever written, and for co-founding the Wine and Food Society.

A. J. A. Symons

PublicationStatus

Brand

Format

AgeRange

Series

Imprint

CategoryLabel

Richard Hammond

Richard Hammond - TV presenter and self-confessed mystery addict - is on a quest to uncover the truth behind the rumours and whispers around some of the world's strangest alien encounters. 
 
Have you ever spotted a UFO? Are you in danger of alien abduction? And what did happen at Roswell? 
 
Don't miss this instalment in the incredible series by Britain's best-loved TV personality. Explore the world's greatest mysteries - all from the comfort of your armchair!

Richard Hammond's Mysteries of the World: Alien Encounters

Richard Hammond - TV presenter and self-confessed mystery addict - is on a quest to uncover the truth behind the rumours and whispers around some of the world's strangest ancient mysteries. 
 
Don't miss this instalment in the incredible series by Britain's best-loved TV personality. Explore the world's greatest mysteries - all from the comfort of your armchair!

Richard Hammond's Mysteries of the World: Ancient Treasures

John Farman

Warning: This book could change your ideas about history for ever!! 
 
Do you know why the Celts got the best girls? Or who had his portrait painted after he was dead? And have you any idea who planned the first Channel Tunnel? From the dawn of civilization to the end of the Second World War, it's all here in the factually accurate and hilariously funny Very Bloody History of Britain. 
 
Bizarre, barmy and almost beyond belief, you've never had a history lesson like it!

The Very Bloody History Of Britain

The First Bit!

Generally regarded as a gentlemanly profession, after extensive research John Farman has discovered the terrible truth about the life of your average Knight. To start with there's the uniform. A suit of armour not only cost the earth in medieval times but it probably weighed more than a small planet when you put it on. Best not to mention the chain-mail underwear that was considered the height of fashion at the time. There was danger involved in everything a Knight was asked to do. Saving maidens was no mean feat (sometimes they didn't want to be saved!) and jousting might have made a nice day out for all those bored princesses and peasants but lances were pretty lethal, especially if you can't see where you're going in your visor. And I haven't even begun to tell you the real truth about dragons

The Short And Bloody History Of Knights

Ah ha me hearties. So you're thinking of running away to experience life on a gorgeous pirate galleon. Well, before you book your one-way ticket be warned - a pirates life isn't all fish and chips and treasure troves.From parrot poo to woodworm in the wooden leg, a life on the ocean wave wasn't all plain sailing, you know. For starters there were the disease-ridden ships and the disgusting food. Not to mention all the other pirates out there just itching to try out their latest tortures. This book will tell you the terrible truth about life as a pirate. So before you go and nail your colours to the mast, perhaps you'd better have a look . . .

The Short And Bloody History Of Pirates

Listen carefully, I shall say this only once.' 
 
John Farman has been doing some espionage of his own and has uncovered the secrets that they teach spies for their own survival. This top security information will separate the rats from the moles. Spying is an ancient profession, and there have been some very exotic characters to exercise this art. From the true, Mata Hari, to the completely fictional, James Bond, there's a glamorous aura to spies and the job they do but never fear, our intrepid author will expose the truth and as always, it's not what you would expect. 
 
This message will self-destruct in five seconds.

The Short And Bloody History Of Spies

Anne Harvey

Anne Harvey traces the patterns of the early years through such varied themes as toys, night-time, theatre and school. The book reflects many moods and emotions so that every reader will find something to their taste and discover the new and excitingly familiar as well as the classic half-remembered favourite.This outstanding collection includes work by renowned poets such as William Blake, Charles Causley, Percy Shelley, W.H. Auden, John Betjeman, Roger McGough and William Wordsworth, that will delight everyone from nine to ninety.

Swings And Shadows

Have you heard about the ghost bus that drives through London? Or seen the vampire who haunts Highgate cemetery? And would you know how to behave if you met a ghost? It's all in John Farman's spooky book of ghosts, poltegeists, vampires and things that go bump in the night! 
 
Open if you dare?

The Short & Bloody History Of Ghosts

John Farman makes history hysterical in this must-have companion volume to the best-selling THE VERY BLOODY HISTORY OF BRITAIN: THE FIRST BIT! 
 
It's the wittiest and wackiest chronicle of modern British history you'll find - ranging from post-war rationing, through the glut of the Thatcher yuppy years to the new millenium.

The Very Bloody History Of Britain, 2

The Last Bit!

Did you know that highwaymen used to be 'as common as crows'? So where did they all come from? And what happened to them? This hilarious book will stand and deliver the terrible truth about the gentlemen of the road. What they ate, where they lived, and what happened to them if they were caught. If you've ever fancied life as a highwayman, then take a look inside!

The Short And Bloody History Of Highwaymen

Hugh Lofting

Dctor Dolittle heads for the high seas in another amazing adventure and takes nine-and-a-half-year-old Tommy Stubbins along as his assistant. Tommy tells the story of their exciting voyages

The Voyages Of Dr Dolittle

The year is 1Q84. This is the real world, there is no doubt about that. But in this world, there are two moons in the sky. Discover the 1Q84 Trilogy by Haruki Murakami.

1Q84

365 Days of Art

A BBC Christmas

A Black Book Thriller

A Box Full of Murders

A Cal Leandros Novel

A Christmas Mystery

The intelligent and capable police commissioner Guido Brunetti confronts crime in and around his home town of Venice.

A Commissario Brunetti Mystery

A DC Smith / Kings Lake Investigation Series

A Daisy Story

Chronicling the lives of over three hundred characters, unrivalled for its scope and humour, this is a unique evocation of life in twentieth-century England.

A Dance to the Music of Time

A Fairy Tale Revolution

A Frank Grasby Mystery

A Guide For the Curious

A Horatio Hornblower Tale of the Sea

A Jo Birmingham Thriller

A Jon Roscoe Thriller

A Ladybird Book

A Ladybird Magic Windows Book

A Look Back at

A Luke Carlton Thriller

A Max Mingus Thriller

A Michael Bennett Thriller

A Midge McGowan Mystery

A Mitchum Thriller

A Moneybunny Book

A Murder Most Unladylike Collection

A Murder Most Unladylike Mini Mystery

A Murder Most Unladylike Mystery

A Nigel Strangeways Mystery

biblio.categories.code

biblio.publicationStatus

biblio.brand

biblio.workEditions.format

biblio.ageRange

biblio.series.seriesName

biblio.imprint.description

biblio.type

About us

About Us (Header 4)

Best-Jane-Austen-quotes_Online-Desktop_Penguin

James-Baldwin

Marian-Keyes

haruki-murakami-320×320-1

Richard-Osman

Malorie Blackman

Lisa-Jewell

Charlie-Mackesy

Authors (Header 3)

Children&#039;s

Company

Discover

Fiction

Non-fiction

Penguin Classics

Penguin Shop (Header 5)

Useful links

Work with us

Search Results

Penguin Shop: 15% off for a limited time with code PENGUINXMAS2025

Little Black Classics Box Set

White Nights

Frankenstein

Features

New Year, New You: Transform Your Life with Paul McKenna

Uncategorized

WIN A ONE OF THREE FALCON BAKE SETS WHEN YOU PRE-ORDER THE GREATEST TRAYBAKE COOKBOOK EVER BY JOHN GREGORY SMITH

Sophie Kinsella in 2015. Photo by John Swannell.

News

Madeleine Wickham (Sophie Kinsella), 1969-2025

What were the best books of 2025?

Extracts

Extract: Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen

Competitions

Win five stunning prints from Doctor Who: The Art of Time Travel!

What makes a setting feel so vivid it becomes a character?

Reading lists

Best audiobook picks from Vintage for effortless reading anywhere 

A Vintage book for every mood in 2026

2026 classic books from Vintage you don’t want to miss 

Crafts &amp; activities

Download the Rick vs. Myth Printable Paddle

Start achieving your 2026 reading goals with these short books

14 fun reading challenges to set yourself this year

Thank you for requesting a proof copy of My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein: A Fiction by Deborah Levy!

Thank you for requesting a proof copy of The Keeper by Tana French!

Thank you for requesting a hardback proof of The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery!

Filters

Category

Age

Publication Date

Format

Imprint

Follow penguin

Follow ladybird

Follow puffin

Sign up to the Penguin newsletter