David Hilliam Knihy

The Little Book of Dorset is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic, or simply strange information which no-one will want to be without. The county's most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters, royal connections, and literally hundreds of wacky facts about Dorset's landscape, fossil-rich coast, towns, and villages (plus some authentically bizarre bits of historic trivia), come together to make it essential reading for visitors and locals alike. From Mary Anning to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and from the Tolpuddle Martyrs to seaside nostalgia, no stone is left unturned.

Who invented the "House of Windsor" as a royal name? Who founded Westminster Abbey? Which King had 21 illegitimate children? This engaging volume offers a continuous history of the English monarchy that shows how nine dynasties rose and fell, and uncovers the more unusual incidents of royal history. From Egbert—crowned in 802—to Elizabeth II, the histories of each monarch’s reign, as well as the extraordinary lives of their spouses, consorts, mistresses, and bastard children, are all addressed.

Who travelling through Totteridge and Whetstone is aware that the station got its name from the medieval soldiers who sharpened their swords at the whetstone before the bloody Battle of Barnet? Or that Canary Wharf was built for importing fruit from the Canary Islands?