Sophie Jackson

Medieval Christmas roaring fires, Yule logs, boars head on a platter and carols. So many of our best-loved traditions have their origins in the medieval period that it would be impossible to imagine the season without holly and ivy, carol singers calling from door to door and a general sense of celebration in the face of the harshest season. Sophie Jackson investigates the roots of the Christmas celebration in this beautifully illustrated book. She offers guidance for re-creating elements of the medieval Christmas at home, tips on decorations, instructions for playing medieval games and recipes for seasonal dishes. Fascinating facts about some of our most cherished customs, such as the nativity crib, are unearthed, as are some that are less well known wassailing the apple trees, the ritual beating of children on 28 December and the appointment of a Lord of Misrule and a boy bishop. Lively and entertaining, this book illuminates the medieval Christmas, showing how the traditions of the Middle Ages continue to delight us today.

Forest Yeo-Thomas GC was one of the bravest of the brave. A fluent French-speaker, he joined SOE and was parachuted into occupied France three times to work with the Resistance. Appalled by the lack of help the British were providing, he managed to arrange a five-minute meeting with Winston Churchill, during which he persuaded him to do more. On his third mission he was betrayed and captured by the Gestapo; he suffered horrendous torture before being sent to Buchenwald concentration camp, from where he eventually managed to escape, making it back to Allied lines shortly before the end of the war. Sophie Jacksons biography reveals new information about how the torture affected Yeo-Thomas, the state of SOE-Resistance co-operation, Gestapo typhus experiments at Buchenwald and how White Rabbit, Yeo-Thomas, provided the inspiration for Ian Flemings famous secret agent, James Bond.

In 1940 the Nazis hoped to cripple the British war effort by blockading Swedish cargo ships containing ball bearings, steel and tools vital for making arms and equipment. In desperation the newly formed SOE was asked to rescue these badly needed supplies and a daring escapade was dreamt, which involved sneaking in under the Germans noses to steal the ships. It was a dangerous mission and the 147 men involved knew there was a high chance they would not come home. The terrifying operation to rescue cargoes of ball bearings in clunky transport ships, while trying to outrun the Luftwaffe and German navy, had never been attempted before. It was a success that was never repeated. Making use of newly released files from the National Archives, Sophie Jackson tells the story of a forgotten adventure that saved Britain and her troops from certain defeat, all because of brave men willing to sacrifice their lives for millions of small balls of steel.

The British system of interrogation has always been distinctly different from other countries. Subtler, quieter and far more devious than its contemporaries, it has been admired by those who have inadvertently succumbed to it. So much so that the Nazis adopted some of the British methods in their own intelligence operations. During the Second World War the system became highly developed and vast numbers of people were employed in the collating and recovery of information. Vital data regarding military advances such as the Enigma machine and the Tiger Tank were wrung from prisoners not by force but by trickery and deceit. The eccentric, quirky, but also very successful, wartime interrogation methods of the British are revealed in this book, including their triumphant discoveries and also their occasional disastrous mistake.

Un nuevo fenómeno de la literatura erótica, adictivo e inolvidable, que ya ha enamorado a más de cuatro millones y medio de lectores.Wes Carter, el preso más problemático y sexi de la cárcel, se apunta a un curso de Literatura para que le concedan la libertad condicional. Alli coincide con la profesora Kat Lane, la niña a la que salvo del ataque de unos pandilleros quince años atras. Desde el primer momento se desata una irrefrenable atraccion entre ellos. Carter siempre mantiene a los demas a distancia; es tan guapo como peligroso, y tan misterioso como inteligente. Sin embargo, Kat derriba sus defensas y lo desafia a que deje salir al hombre que se esconde tras esa intimidatoria fachada. Saben que el suyo es un amor prohibido, pero ninguna ley podra impedir que las barreras emocionales se desmoronen. Pero ¿que pasara cuando Kat descubra el papel que Carter desempeño la noche en que su padre fue asesinado? Una libra de carne es una historia de lealtad, de redencion y de un amor arrebatador que supera todos los obstaculos.

Hanna Reitsch longed to fly. Having broken records and earned the respect of the Nazi regime, she was the first female Luftwaffe test pilot, and eventually became Adolf Hitlers personal heroine. An ardent Nazi, Hanna was prepared to die for the cause, first as a test pilot for the dangerous V1 flying bombs and later by volunteering for a suggested Nazi kamikaze squadron. After her capture she complained bitterly of not being able to die with her leader, but she went on to have a celebrated post-war flying career. She died at the age of 67, creating a new mystery did Hanna kill herself using the cyanide pill Hitler had given her over thirty years earlier? Hitlers Heroine reveals new facts about the mysterious pilot and cuts through the many myths that have surrounded her life and death, bringing this fascinating woman back to life for the twenty-first century.

During World War II over 400,000 Germans and Italians were held in prison camps in Britain. These men played a vital part in the life of war-torn Britain, from working in the fields to repairing bomb-damaged homes. Yet despite the role they played, today it is almost forgotten that Britain once held PoWs. For those who worked, played or fell in love with the enemies in their midst, those times remain vivid. Whether they took tea on the lawn with Italians or invited a German for Christmas dinner, the PoWs were a large part of their lives. This book is the story of those men who were detained here as unexpected guests. It is about their lives within the camps and afterwards, when some chose to stay and others returned to a country that in parts had become a hell on earth.

Un nuevo fenómeno de la literatura erótica, adictivo e inolvidable, que ya ha enamorado a más de cuatro millones y medio de lectores.Wes Carter, el preso más problemático y sexi de la cárcel, se apunta a un curso de Literatura para que le concedan la libertad condicional. Alli coincide con la profesora Kat Lane, la niña a la que salvo del ataque de unos pandilleros quince años atras. Desde el primer momento se desata una irrefrenable atraccion entre ellos. Carter siempre mantiene a los demas a distancia;es tan guapo como peligroso, y tan misterioso como inteligente. Sin embargo, Kat derriba sus defensas y lo desafia a que deje salir al hombre que se esconde tras esa intimidatoria fachada. Saben que el suyo es un amor prohibido, pero ninguna ley podra impedir que las barreras emocionales se desmoronen. Pero ¿que pasara cuando Kat descubra el papel que Carter desempeño la noche en que su padre fue asesinado? Una libra de carne es una historia de lealtad, de redencion y de un amor arrebatador que supera todos los obstaculos. Encontraras mas informacion sobre Sophie Jackson y su obra en: http://sophiejacksonauthor.com/.