Literary Non-Fiction
2 total works
In 1834, six Dorset farm labourers were arrested and sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. Their crime? To set up a 'friendly society' to bargain for better wages and escape appalling poverty. This book follows the story of the youngest 'Martyr', James Brine, from his boyhood in Tolpuddle, to the terrors of convict life in Australia, and the triumphant return to England after public outcry forced the sentences to be quashed, and the 'Tolpuddle Martyrs' became popular heroes. It also introduces colourful characters such as James Frampton, the ruthless landowner who framed the Martyrs, and the mythical superhero, Captain Swing, who inspired poverty riots across England.
The amazing true story of one man's fight against a deadly disease. Eighteenth-century Doctor Edward Jenner saved millions of people from smallpox and other diseases by developing vaccination - and paved the way for future advances in medical science. The story starts dramatically, with Jenner deliberately infecting 8-year-old James Phipps first with cowpox and then with deadly smallpox. Will he survive? We follow Jenner's progress in the battle against smallpox, struggling against ignorance and prejudice as well as the killer virus itself. It includes a 4-page section of colour photos.