Routledge Historical Biographies are concise, accessible introductions to key historical figures. Written by experts in their fields they are designed to help students either starting out on a course, or revising before exams. Far from being dry, academic texts however, they are also perfect, affordable books for the history buff.
By Paula Bartley
February 19, 2016
Paula Bartley’s Queen Victoria examines Victorian Britain from the perspective of the Queen. Victoria’s personal and political actions are discussed in relation to contemporary shifts in Britain’s society, politics and culture, examining to what extent they did – or did not – influence events ...
By Michael Mullett
June 23, 2011
John Calvin (1509-1564) is one of the most important figures in religious history. Sitting on the cusp of the medieval and early modern world, he was centre stage during the Reformation. In this new biography, Michael Mullett introduces us to this most important figure, tying his life together with...
By Graham Goodlad
December 08, 2015
Thatcher provides an accessible and scholarly introduction to the personality and career of Britain’s first female political leader and the twentieth century’s longest serving Prime Minister. Providing a balanced narrative and assessment of one of the most significant figures of the post-war era, ...
By David Grummitt
May 19, 2015
In this new assessment of Henry VI, David Grummitt synthesizes a wealth of detailed research into Lancastrian England that has taken place throughout the last three decades to provide a fresh appraisal of the house’s last King. The biography places Henry in the context of Lancastrian political ...
By Lucy Wooding
March 25, 2015
This new edition of Lucy Wooding’s Henry VIII is fully revised and updated to provide an insightful and original portrait of one of England’s most unforgettable monarchs and the many paradoxes of his character and reign. Henry was a Renaissance prince whose Court dazzled with artistic display, yet ...
By Peter Ling
March 25, 2015
Peter Ling’s acclaimed biography of Martin Luther King Jr provides a thorough re-examination of both the man and the Civil Rights Movement, showing how King grew into his leadership role and kept his faith as the challenges facing the movement strengthened after 1965. Ling combines a detailed ...
By Peter Neville
September 11, 2014
This new edition of Peter Neville’s Mussolini traces and analyses the life of one of the most fascinating twentieth century European dictators, Benito Mussolini, while placing his life in its historic Italian context. Engaging and accessible, the Duce’s career is traced from his roots as a ...
By Michael A. Mullett
August 27, 2014
An engaging and comprehensive new edition of this established biography provides students with an understanding of the European Reformation through the life of its key mover, Martin Luther. Working chronologically through Luther’s life, Michael A. Mullet explains and analyses Luther’s background, ...
By Edgar Feuchtwanger
April 01, 2014
Bismarck was arguably the most important figure in nineteenth-century European history after 1815. In this biography, Edgar Feuchtwanger reassesses Bismarck's significance as a historical figure. He traces his development from a typical Junker, a reactionary and conservative, into the so-called ...
By Peter Ling
February 04, 2014
A lively, concise and cutting-edge biography of one of the towering figures of 20th-century history. Of all the US presidents of the post-Second World War period, John F. Kennedy is the most clearly idolized. There is a well-documented gulf between the public’s largely positive appraisal of this ...
By Antonio Cazorla-Sanchez
October 03, 2013
General Francisco Franco, also called the Caudillo, was the dictator of Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. His life has been examined in many previous biographies. However, most of these have been traditional, linear biographies that focus on Franco’s military and political careers, ...
By Judith M. Richards
November 07, 2011
Elizabeth I was Queen of England for almost forty-five years. The daughter of Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn, as an infant she was briefly accepted as her father’s heir. After her mother was executed at her father’s command she was declared illegitimate and led a sometimes scandalous existence until her...