Best Selling Books by Deborah Cadbury

"Cadbury lays out in fascinating detail the historical mystery of the royal heir . . . and uses modern science to try to solve it." — The Wall Street Journal In 1793, when Marie Antoinette was beheaded at the guillotine during the French Revolution, she left her adored eight-year-old son, Louis Charles, imprisoned in the Temple Tower. Far from inheriting a throne, the orphaned boy-king had to endure the hostility and abuse of a nation. Two years later, the revolutionary leaders declared Louis XVII dead. No grave was dug, no monument built to mark his passing. Immediately, rumors spread that the prince had, in fact, escaped from prison and was still alive. Others believed that he had been murdered, his heart cut out and preserved as a relic. As with the tragedies of England''s princes in the Tower and the Romanov archduchess Anastasia, countless "brothers" soon approached Louis-Charles''s older sister, Marie-Therese, who survived the revolution. They claimed not only the dauphin''s name, but also his inheritance. Several "princes" were plausible, but which, if any, was the real heir to the French throne? The Lost King of France is a moving and dramatic tale that interweaves a pivotal moment in France''s history with a compelling detective story that involves pretenders to the crown, royalist plots and palace intrigue, bizarre legal battles, and modern science. The quest for the truth continued into the twenty-first century, when, thanks to DNA testing, the strange odyssey of a stolen heart found within the royal tombs brought an exciting conclusion to the two-hundred-year-old mystery of the lost king of France. "A winning and highly readable account of the French Revolution." — Publishers Weekly

One of the most exhilarating true adventures in history, the race into space was marked by courage, duplicity, political paranoia, astonishing technological feats, and unbelievable triumphs in the face of overwhelming adversity. It is the story of an unparalleled rivalry between superpowers and of the two remarkable men at the center of the conflict. On the American side was Wernher von Braun, the camera-friendly former Nazi scientist, who was granted hero status and almost unlimited resources by a government panicked at the thought of the Cold War enemy taking the lead. The Soviet program was headed by Sergei Korolev, a former political prisoner whose identity was a closely guarded state secret. Korolev was expected to—and did—work miracles on a shoestring budget, his cooperation assured through intimidation and threats of possible disgrace or death. These rivals were opposite in every way, save for one: each was obsessed with the idea of launching a man to the Moon. Deborah Cadbury''s extraordinary history combines action and suspense with a moving portrayal of the space race''s human dimension. Using source materials never before available, she tells a riveting story of the espionage, ambition, ingenuity, and passion behind humankind''s mind-bending voyage beyond the bounds of Earth.

The delicious history of rival chocolate companies and their fascinating dynasties--the Lindts, Frys, Hersheys, Mars, and Nestles-- told by a descendant of the Cadbury family

In 1936, the British monarchy faced the greatest threats to its survival in the modern era—the crisis of abdication and the menace of Nazism. The fate of the country rested in the hands of George V’s sorely unequipped sons: •a stammering King George VI, terrified that the world might discover he was unfit to rule •a dull-witted Prince Henry, who wanted only a quiet life in the army •the too-glamorous Prince George, the Duke of Kent—a reformed hedonist who found new purpose in the RAF and would become the first royal to die in a mysterious plane crash •the Duke of Windsor, formerly King Edward VIII, deemed a Nazi-sympathizer and traitor to his own country—a man who had given it all up for love Princes at War is a riveting portrait of these four very different men miscast by fate, one of whom had to save the monarchy at a moment when kings and princes from across Europe were washing up on England’s shores as the old order was overturned. Scandal and conspiracy swirled around the palace and its courtiers, among them dangerous cousins from across Europe’s royal families, gold-digging American socialite Wallis Simpson, and the King’s Lord Steward, upon whose estate Hitler’s deputy Rudolf Hess parachuted (seemingly by coincidence) as London burned under the Luftwaffe’s tireless raids. Deborah Cadbury draws on new research, personal accounts from the royal archives, and other never-before-revealed sources to create a dazzling sequel to The King’s Speech and tell the true and thrilling drama of Great Britain at war and of a staggering transformation for its monarchy.

"The story of the race into space is marked by the greatest superpower rivalries, political paranoia, and technological feats of the twentieth century. But until now, we have only known half the story. With the end of the Cold War, a generation of secrets and cover-ups has been revealed, bringing a historic opportunity: the unmasking of the true heroes and villains behind the biggest race of mankind." "In this fast-paced account, Deborah Cadbury pits the Americans'' chief rocket designer, ex-Nazi Wernher von Braun, hurriedly white-washed by the US to lead the way, against the obscure Russian engineer Sergei Korolev - a genius known only as the ''Chief Designer'' - whose story has long remained a mystery. Both were men of their times, but with visions that were timeless. And both were prepared to go to extraordinary lengths to see the fulfilment of their dreams." "Von Braun had almost limitless funds and the best minds that could be sourced from the entire globe. Korolev had a budget so tight that initially his engineers used cardboard boxes as drafting tables. They both sent astronauts into space not knowing for sure whether they would ever be seen again. The world watched as the American and Soviet teams, impervious to disaster, took the fight for the coveted prize right up to the wire - but there could only be one winner." "Deborah Cadbury, in this book, combines sheer adventure and nail-biting suspense with a moving portrayal of the human dimension to this epic struggle. Using source materials never before seen, she tells the story of the Cold War, of espionage and ambition, of ingenuity, passion, and the final, mind-bending voyage beyond the bounds of the Earth."--BOOK JACKET.

The story of two nineteenth-century scientists who revealed one of the most significant and exciting events in the natural history of this planet: the existence of dinosaurs.

A captivating exploration of the role in which Queen Victoria exerted the most international power and influence: as a matchmaking grandmother. As her reign approached its sixth decade, Queen Victoria''s grandchildren numbered over thirty, and to maintain and increase British royal power, she was determined to maneuver them into a series of dynastic marriages with the royal houses of Europe. Yet for all their apparent obedience, her grandchildren often had plans of their own, fueled by strong wills and romantic hearts. Victoria''s matchmaking plans were further complicated by the tumultuous international upheavals of the time: revolution and war were in the air, and kings and queens, princes and princesses were vulnerable targets. Queen Victoria''s Matchmaking travels through the glittering, decadent palaces of Europe from London to Saint Petersburg, weaving in scandals, political machinations and family tensions to enthralling effect. It is at once an intimate portrait of a royal family and an examination of the conflict caused by the marriages the Queen arranged. At the heart of it all is Victoria herself: doting grandmother one moment, determined Queen Empress the next.

From the author of ‘Seven Wonders of the Industrial World’, the ebook edition of the TV tie-in charting the shocking but true story behind the space race – and the ruthless, brilliant scientists who fuelled it.

A world that had changed little from the Middle Ages was altered beyond recognition by the pioneering genius of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In Dreams of Iron and Steel, acclaimed historian Deborah Cadbury tells the heroic tale of the visionaries and ordinary workers who brought to life seven great wonders of the world that still have the power to awe and inspire us today. Fueled by Deborah Cadbury''s characteristic scholarship and insight, this extraordinary chronicle re-creates the human odyssey of how our modern world was forged not only with rivets, grease, and steam but also with blood, sweat, and extreme imagination. This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

From the best-selling author of THE DINOSAUR HUNTERS and THE LOST KING OF FRANCE comes the story of how our modern world was forged – in rivets, grease and steam; in blood, sweat and human imagination.

‘This is history as it should be. It is stunningly written, I could not put it down. This is the best account of the French Revolution I have ever read.’ Alison Weir, author of ‘Henry VIII, King and Court’

The extraordinary true story of a courageous school principal who saw the dangers of Nazi Germany and took drastic steps to save those in harm’s way. In 1933, the same year Hitler came to power, schoolteacher Anna Essinger saved her small, progressive school from Nazi Germany. Anna had read Mein Kampf and knew the terrible danger that Hitler’s hate-fueled ideologies posed to her pupils, so she hatched a courageous and daring plan: to smuggle her school to the safety of England. As the school she established in Kent, England, flourished despite the many challenges it faced, the news from her home country continued to darken. Anna watched as Europe slid toward war, with devastating consequences for the Jewish children left behind. In time, Anna would take in orphans who had given up all hope: the survivors of unimaginable horrors. Anna’s school offered these scarred children the love and security they needed to rebuild their lives. Featuring moving firsthand testimony from surviving pupils, and drawing from letters, diaries, and present-day interviews, The School that Escaped the Nazis is a dramatic human tale that offers a unique perspective on Nazi persecution and the Holocaust. It is also the story of one woman’s refusal to allow her belief in a better world to be overtaken by hatred and violence.

In 1812, the skeleton of a monster was discovered beneath the cliffs of Dorset, setting in motion a collision between science and religion, and among scientists eager to claim supremacy in a brand-new field. For Reverend William Buckland, an eccentric naturalist at Oxford University, the fossil remains of a creature that existed before Noah''s flood inspired an attempt to prove the accuracy of the biblical record. Novelist Gideon Mantell also became obsessed with the ancient past, and eminent anatomist Richard Owen soon entered the fray, claiming credit for the discovery of the dinosaurs. In a fast-paced narrative, Terrible Lizard re-creates the bitter feud between Mantell and Owen. Revealing a strange, awesome prehistoric era, their struggle set the stage for Darwin''s shattering theories -- and for controversies that still rage today.