{"title":"Steve Ragnall","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"sea-of-contumely-book-steve-ragnall-9781800465244","title":"A Sea of Contumely","description":"Dr John Webster (1610-1682), was a defrocked cleric, Schoolmaster, alchemist, astrologer, surgeon and writer. He is at once arrogant, worldly and with a wry sense of humour. Written mainly in the first person, this historical fiction is based on his life.   While living and working in Lancashire during the early days of the English Civil War, Webster finds a fraud, perpetrated by one of the governors, in the accounts of the Grammar School at which he is the Master. The fraudster, now knighted by King Charles, becomes a sworn enemy.   Webster’s household is chased from the town after the satanic murder of his black servant and, with his enemy serving with the Royalists, he is co-opted into the Parliamentary forces as a surgeon.   With larger than life characters, murder, intrigue \u0026amp; betrayal, Webster, accompanied by his housekeeper’s son and a Sergeant-at-Arms takes us into the little-known battles of Lancashire and the Fylde, the story reaching its climax at the Battle of Read Bridge in April 1643, a pivotal though little known action in the Civil War in Lancashire.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49744409002257,"sku":"NGR9781800465244","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49766837846289,"sku":"GOR013779292","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50797084016913,"sku":"GOR014076104","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53262670266641,"sku":"GOR014842153","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1800465246.jpg?v=1750898091"},{"product_id":"better-conceiv-d-than-describ-d-book-steve-ragnall-9781780883595","title":"Better Conceiv'd than Describ'd","description":"`Our feelings could be better conceiv'd than describ'd,' wrote James King in February 1779 after unwrapping a bundle handed to him by a Hawaiian Priest and finding in it a human thigh, the thigh of his late commander, the renowned Captain James Cook.    Better Conceiv'd than Describ'd is the first full biography of James King - the interesting, though tragically short-lived, Royal Navy Officer in the reign of George III. Captain James King's adventurous life saw him lay claim to Alaska in the name of George III, fight as a frigate captain in the American War of Independence and test the marine chronometer that revolutionised navigation.    Starting in the small town of Clitheroe (in Lancashire), and taking us to the edges of the then known world on a great voyage of discovery, this book shows the development of James King not only as a sailor but also as an astronomer sponsored by the Board of Longitude, while also examining the death of Captain Cook at the hands of the Hawaiians.    With cameo appearances from Horatio Nelson, the infamous William Bligh, society artist Sir Joshua Reynolds, diarist Fanny Burney and statesman Edmund Burke, this is a `who's who' of Georgian society and shows the importance of patronage in the second half of the 18th century.    Better Conceiv'd than Describ'd is a must read for anyone interested in Captain Cook, Georgian and maritime history","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49981998104849,"sku":"GOR008383207","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1780883595.jpg?v=1750994164"},{"product_id":"who-brydles-heavens-most-cleare-book-steve-ragnall-9781836281276","title":"Who Brydles Heavens most Cleare","description":"It is 1644 and Dr Webster, after his adventures chronicled in A Sea of Contumely, continues his trials and tribulations during the English Civil War. Chased from his home, badly wounded, and now taking refuge from his enemies, he is again pulled into the turmoil of the war.    His income as Master of the Grammar School has been lost, due to embezzlement by a governor, Sir Christopher Kendall, so he is now employed, in part, as a Surgeon for Parliamentary forces in Lancashire. Dragged from sanctuary in the village of Downham, his writing, scientific experiments, and his beloved library must be put aside as he travels from the battle of Heptonstall, to the siege of Hornby Castle, and on to Preston with his young assistant Nate and escort Will Cummins, Sergeant-at-Arms.    All this time he must constantly look over his shoulder as the whereabouts of his nemesis, Kendall, is unknown. Kendall’s wife, however, has appeared to claim her husband’s fortune, which might lead us to think that he is dead...","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":51216188014865,"sku":"NGR9781836281276","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1836281277.jpg?v=1751445830"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/fr-fr\/collections\/auteur-livres-de-steve-ragnall.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}