Showing results for "life-" in Europe

Flying combat missions in wartime is always dangerous. But imagine doing so in a slow, rickety biplane, at night, with no lights or navigational equipment of any kind. Sound impossible? It wasn't for the Soviet Night Witches. This unit of incredibly brave women flew hundreds of missions to attack German forces on the front lines during World War II. Learn all about these brave women and how their skill and courage in battle helped defeat the Nazis to win the war.

The ghost ship The Flying Dutchman has been spotted around the world for centuries. According to legend, this spooky ship is doomed to roam the seas forever, unable to make port. The ship is thought to be a bad omen for anyone who encounters it. Dating back to the 1600s, alleged sightings of the legendary ghost ship continue to this day.

Step through these pages into the Tudor world: a dangerous place, where one misstep could cost your life. Through the eyes of Henry VIII's six very different queens, from a brave Spanish princess to a wise English widow, historian Dominic Sandbrook takes us on a thrilling journey through the twists and turns of a dramatic age. For no one is safe from the wheel of fortune: it can take you from a golden throne to the Tower of London.

The legend of the ghostly Bloody Mary involves seeing a woman's bloody image appear in the mirror. But where does this eerie legend originate? No matter its origin, this spooky story has haunted people around the world for centuries.

A ghostly woman in a brown dress has been repeatedly sighted in a centuries-old mansion in Norfolk, England. Many believe the Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is the spirit of Lady Dorothy Walpole, wife of Charles Townsend.

While the coronavirus COVID-19 changed the world in 2020, it still isn't the largest and deadliest pandemic in history. That title is held by the Plague. This disease, also known as the "Black Death", spread throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe in the 14th century and claimed an astonishing 50 million lives by the time it officially ended. Author Roberta Edwards takes listeners back to these grimy and horrific years, explaining just how this pandemic began, how society reacted to the disease, and the impact it left on the world.

Mary Seacole is now known for her medical work in the Crimean war and as a brilliant woman who combated the racial prejudice she experienced in her lifetime. But for a long time her story was lost. From growing up in Kingston, Jamaica, as the daughter of a doctress to helping soldiers in the war, discover the details of the amazing life that Mary Seacole led with real-life stories, timelines and facts.

Best known for his best-selling novel, Babe, which was made into a major motion picture, Dick King-Smith draws on his over 14 years of experience on Woodlands Farm to create this thoughtful and humorous memoir. His time on the farm inspired countless stories as well as the numerous lovable characters found in them. In Chewing the Cud, he candidly talks about what moved him to become a children’s author.

Charlie is a compelling account of a poor English boy who works his way out of poverty to eventually become a high-ranking member of the RCMP. Charlie's story, like many others, is an inspiring part of our Canadian heritage, and will fascinate adults as well as children.

One day, villagers from Lacaune, in the mountains of southern France, returned from the woods with a startling story. They’d glimpsed a naked boy digging in the leaves. A year later - in 1798 - the strange, scarred boy appeared again, and this time woodsmen captured him and marched him down the mountain to the village square, where everyone crowded around to take in the spectacle. And so began the curious public life of the boy known as the Savage of Aveyron, whose journey took him all the way to Paris.

This is a true story about Frances, age 9, who saw fairies by the waterfall behind her house. Nobody but Frances saw them, but when she told her cousin Elsie and their parents, the adults teased them. Why not take a photograph? Elsie (who was fifteen) had the idea. She would paint paper fairies and take their picture with Frances, and none would be the wiser. The girls never meant to fool the world. Who could have imagined that Elsie’s photograph would fall into the hands of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the world’s most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes?

When historians are asked to list the most influential people of the last 200 years, a handful of names might vary, but there is no question that the list will include Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), the most successful French leader since Charlemagne and widely acknowledged one of the greatest generals ever. Indeed, Napoleon was likely the most influential man of the 19th century, leaving an indelible mark on everything from the strategy and tactics of warfare to the Napoleonic Code that drafted laws across the continent.

Vera and Mamma are headed out for a march, but it’s not just any march: it’s October 24 in Reykjavík, and on this day in 1975, the women of Iceland took the day off, walked out of their homes and away from their jobs—as farmworkers, butchers, and fisherwomen; wives, daughters, and children—and marched to demand equality and change, chanting: “I dare! I can! I will!” And they did, inspiring and empowering girls and women to make change, not just in their country, but all around the world.