Sutton history classics

"In this book, Leonard Cottrell reconstructs everyday life in the Egypt of 1500 BCE. The central character, a real person whose tomb still exists, is Vizier Rekhmire and it is through him that the reader is taken on a tour of the world of ancient Egypt. Accompany him on his round of official duties, watch the craftsman and the labourer at work, go hunting with his son, watch the surgeon performing an operation, or witness the ritual of 'healing magic'. This book also provides an overview of Egyptian history. It includes the City of the Dead, Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, the building of the pyramids, and important figures and places such as Akhenaten and Amarna."--Jacket.

The Great Eastern, launched in 1858, was the largest iron ship ever built. Designed to carry more passengers than the Queen Mary, and too large for the Suez Canal of her day, it was this ship that laid the Atlantic cable. Yet, this ship was also believed to be haunted by a jinx that killed, maimed, or financially ruined hundreds of men. The story of this ship encompasses geniuses, charlatans, crackpots, and celebrities, from the ill-fated I. K. Brunel, considered the greatest engineer of his day, to Louis Napoleon of France, who was thrown for heavy financial losses by the erratic vessel.

"Asa Briggs examines a wide range of Victorian objects and the way in which they express and reflect the preoccupations of Victorian society. He includes information on museums and exhibitions, commemorative artefacts, home furnishings and decoration, hats and other headgear, coal, matches, stamps, telephones and typewriters, spectacles and cameras. A whole world is recaptured for the modern reader, with surprising, delightful, amusing and amazing objects paraded throughout this book."--Jacket.