Best Selling Books by Kate Williams

The final installment in the hilarious, action-packed Babysitters Coven series that Refinery29 calls "candy for 90''s girls and Gen Z''ers alike," featuring a coven of witchy babysitters sworn to protect the innocent and defend the world from an onslaught of evil--all before bedtime. Ever since Esme met Cassandra Heaven and discovered the truth about their shared legacy--that they''re Sitters, supernaturally gifted teens tasked with protecting the innocent from evil--her life has been moving at 90 mph. During the day, she chases wild toddlers, and at night, she employs a different skill set for a different kind of demon. Like, literal ones. And sometimes it''s almost fun. Her spells are getting better, her telekinesis is on point, and now that Esme''s dad and her best friend Janis know the truth, she''s no longer lying to the people she loves. She''s also learned that there''s a way to undo her mother''s curse, and with the Synod out of the picture, she might even have a chance to do it. If she could just figure out how. But she can''t, and even with her mom living at home again, Esme can''t shake the feeling that she''s failing. Throw in the fact that Pig is still gone, Esme''s crush is MIA, and it''s cold, slushy February, and she''s in bummer city. Esme needs a serious pick-me-up, and Janis has a plan: a Galentine''s stay-cation, with the Sitter friends Esme and Cassandra made at the Summit. Except things are getting weird in Spring River again. Esme and Cassandra just discovered a new band, and not in a good way: these guys reek of Red Magic, and their music sucks. Trouble is brewing, and if Esme''s not careful, this show might be her last--and no one likes a one-hit wonder.

''I will be good, '' promised the thirteen-year-old Victoria, when she understood that she would be Queen of the most powerful country in the world. With a combination of novelistic flair and historical accuracy, the author begins by relating the heartbreaking story of Princess Charlotte, the Queen who never was, and her impact on the young Victoria.

We can hardly imagine a Britain without Elizabeth II on the throne. It seems to be the job she was born for. And yet for much of her early life the young princess did not know the role that her future would hold. She was our accidental Queen.Elizabeth''s determination to share in the struggles of her people marked her out from a young age. Her father initially refused to let her volunteer as a nurse during the Blitz, but relented when she was 18 and allowed her to work as a mechanic and truck driver for the Women''s Auxiliary Territorial Service. It was her forward-thinking approach that ensured that her coronation was televised, against the advice of politicians at the time.Kate Williams reveals how the 25-year-old young queen carved out a lasting role for herself amid the changes of the 20th century. Her monarchy would be a very different one to that of her parents and grandparents, and its continuing popularity in the 21st century owes much to the intelligence and elusive personality of this remarkable woman.

This concise and user-friendly guide explains why referencing is an essential part of good writing and shows students how to reference correctly. It also develops students'' understanding of what plagiarism is and how they can avoid it in their work. Featuring clear explanations and examples throughout, this book will help students to draw on the work of others in their field in a responsible and ethical way. This is an indispensable resource for all students that need to get to grips with referencing. New to this Edition: - Extensively revised and updated, with new extracts and examples to reflect changes in referencing norms and practices - Features more advice on introducing quotations and citations - Contains even more examples of referencing from real students'' work across a range of disciplines

From kitchen table to protest marches, The Suffragette Cookbook is a history of female love and power. The history of feminism is a history of women coming together. Modern feminists and Suffragettes share much in common, the same core fight spread through centuries. But the fight for women''s rights goes beyond marches and protests - it is present wherever women gather. And for much of history, that has been in the kitchen. When the Suffrage movement gained momentum, many Suffragette groups released cookbooks, declaring to the world that ''women''s work'', like cooking, was not lesser but something to be celebrated. In distributing their cookbooks, they slipped the message of Suffrage between recipes and allowed it entry into homes. Professor Kate William explores the way feminism exists in the domestic sphere, and shows that the fight for women''s rights was a struggle fought within homes long before it was protested in the streets. The Suffragette Cookbook offers unique insight into the very real world of the women of history, and through them we see a celebration of female strength, power and love. Within these pages you''ll find many recipes passed from mother to child, a history of female unity that stretches through generations: from mouth-watering recipes you may still make today, to delightfully incoherent recipes you can''t believe were ever truly served. But you''ll also find messages of female strength, male solidarity and a history that''s only beginning to be told. The perfect gift for the feminists in your life, with beautiful pages full of untold women''s history.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The perfect companion to the PBS Masterpiece series Victoria • A gripping account of Queen Victoria’s rise and early years in power from CNN’s official royal historian “Kate Williams has perfected the art of historical biography. Her pacy writing is underpinned by the most impeccable scholarship.”—Alison Weir In 1819, a girl was born to the fourth son of King George III. No one could have expected such an unassuming, overprotected girl to be an effective ruler—yet Queen Victoria would become one of the most powerful monarchs in history. Writing with novelistic flair and historical precision, Kate Williams reveals a vibrant woman in the prime of her life, while chronicling the byzantine machinations that continued even after the crown was placed on her head. Upon hearing that she had inherited the throne, eighteen-year-old Victoria banished her overambitious mother from the room, a simple yet resolute move that would set the tone for her reign. The queen clashed constantly not only with her mother and her mother’s adviser, the Irish adventurer John Conroy, but with her ministers and even her beloved Prince Albert—all of whom attempted to seize control from her. Williams lays bare the passions that swirled around the throne—the court secrets, the sexual repression, and the endless intrigue. The result is a grand tale of a woman whose destiny began long before she was born and whose legacy lives on. Praise for Becoming Queen Victoria “An informative, entertaining, gossipy tale.”—Publishers Weekly “A great read . . . With lively writing, Ms. Williams [makes] the story fresh and appealing.”—The Washington Times “Sparkling, engaging.”—Open Letters Monthly

From CNN’s official royal historian, a highly praised young author with a doctorate from Oxford University, comes the extraordinary rags-to-riches story of the woman who conquered Napoleon’s heart—and with it, an empire. Their love was legendary, their ambition flagrant and unashamed. Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife, Josephine, came to power during one of the most turbulent periods in the history of France. The story of the Corsican soldier’s incredible rise has been well documented. Now, in this spellbinding, luminous account, Kate Williams draws back the curtain on the woman who beguiled him: her humble origins, her exorbitant appetites, and the tragic turn of events that led to her undoing. Born Marie-Josèphe-Rose de Tascher de La Pagerie on the Caribbean island of Martinique, the woman Napoleon would later call Josephine was the ultimate survivor. She endured a loveless marriage to a French aristocrat—executed during the Reign of Terror—then barely escaped the guillotine blade herself. Her near-death experience only fueled Josephine’s ambition and heightened her determination to find a man who could finance and sustain her. Though no classic beauty, she quickly developed a reputation as one of the most desirable women on the continent. In 1795, she met Napoleon. The attraction was mutual, immediate, and intense. Theirs was an often-tumultuous union, roiled by their pursuit of other lovers but intensely focused on power and success. Josephine was Napoleon’s perfect consort and the object of national fascination. Together they conquered Europe. Their extravagance was unprecedented, even by the standards of Versailles. But she could not produce an heir. Sexual obsession brought them together, but cold biological truth tore them apart. Gripping in its immediacy, captivating in its detail, Ambition and Desire is a true tale of desire, heartbreak, and revolutionary turmoil, engagingly written by one of England’s most praised young historians. Kate Williams’s searing portrait of this alluring and complex woman will finally elevate Josephine Bonaparte to the historical prominence she deserves. Praise for Ambition and Desire “Not just a scholarly work, but a page-turner . . . Williams is no stranger to creating works on strong and influential women, and, as in those works, here she does an admirable job of demystifying Josephine. . . . This engrossing and accessible account is for all readers who enjoy historical biography.”—Library Journal “[A] riveting account . . . Williams perfectly illustrates all that was bizarre and maddening about French life during the reign of Josephine and Napoleon Bonaparte.”—Publishers Weekly “Intelligent and entertaining.”—Kirkus Reviews “An in-depth portrait of the substantive woman behind the throne.”—Booklist “Reading [Ambition and Desire] is like watching Silk Stockings, the 1957 Hollywood masterpiece with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. The book flows and jumps, taking the reader by the hand through tormented times in French history without ever letting you go or losing itself in the intricacies of French politics.”—The Times “A sparkling account of this most fallible and endearing of women.”—Daily Mail “A whirlwind tour of French history.”—The Telegraph

She was the most famous woman in England–the beautiful model for society painters Joshua Reynolds and George Romney, an icon of fashion, the wife of an ambassador, and the mistress of naval hero Horatio Nelson. But Emma Hamilton had been born to the poverty of a coal-mining town and spent her teenage years working as a prostitute. From the brothels of London to the glittering court of Naples and the pretentious country estate of the most powerful admiral in England, British debut historian Kate Williams captures the life of Emma Hamilton with all its glamour and heartbreak. In lucid, engaging prose, Williams brings to life a complex and intelligent woman. Emma is sensuous, generous, artistic, at once shamelessly seductive and recklessly ambitious. Willing to do anything for love and fame, she sets out to make herself a star–and she succeeds beyond even her wildest dreams. By the age of twenty-six, she leaves behind the precarious life of a courtesan to become Lady Hamilton, wife of Sir William Hamilton–the aging, besotted, and probably impotent British ambassador to the court of Naples. But everything changes when Lord Nelson steams into Naples harbor fresh from his triumph at the Battle of the Nile and literally falls into Emma’s adoring arms. Their all-consuming romance–conducted amid the bloody tumult of the Napoleonic Wars–makes Emma an international celebrity, especially when she returns to England pregnant with Nelson’s baby. With a novelist’s flair and an historian’s eye for detail, Williams conjures up the world that Emma Hamilton conquered by the sheer force of her charisma. All but inventing the art of publicity, Emma turned herself into a kind of flesh-and-blood goddess–celebrated by wits and artists, adored by thousands, and, for a time, very rich. Yet Emma was willing to throw it all away for the man she adored. After four years of archival research and making use of hundreds of previously undiscovered letters and documents, Kate Williams sets the record straight on one of the most fascinating and ravishing women in history. England’s Mistress captures the relentless drive, the innovative style, and the burning passion of a true heroine.

Spitalfields, 1840. Catherine Sorgeiul is nineteen and lives with her uncle in a rambling house in London’s East End. Sheltered and nervous, she has few companions and little to occupy the days beyond her own colourful imagination. But then a murderer strikes the city, ripping open the chests of young girls and stuffing hair into their mouths to resemble a beak, leading the press to christen him the Man of Crows. Catherine becomes obsessed with the grim crimes, and as she devours the news, she discovers she can channel the voices of the dead . . . and comes to believe she will eventually channel the Man of Crows himself. The murders continue to incite panic in the city, and Catherine gradually realizes she has put herself in the centre of a deadly trap of sexual obsession, deceit and betrayal. Elegant, mysterious and thrilling, The Pleasures of Men reveals the dark, beating heart of 19th-century London, where corruption and desperate desires lurked under a serene surface.

This is the incredible rise and unbelievable fall of a woman whose energy and ambition is often overshadowed by Napoleon’s military might. In this triumphant biography, Kate Williams tells Josephine’s searing story, of sexual obsession, politics and surviving as a woman in a man’s world. Abandoned in Paris by her aristocratic husband, Josephine''s future did not look promising. But while her friends and contemporaries were sent to the guillotine during the Terror that followed the Revolution, she survived prison and emerged as the doyenne of a wildly debauched party scene, surprising everybody when she encouraged the advances of a short, marginalised Corsican soldier, six years her junior. Josephine, the fabulous hostess and skilled diplomat, was the perfect consort to the ambitious but obnoxious Napoleon. With her by his side, he became the greatest man in Europe, the Supreme Emperor; and she amassed a jewellery box with more diamonds than Marie Antoinette’s. But as his fame grew, Napoleon became increasingly obsessed with his need for an heir and irritated with Josephine’s extravagant spending. The woman who had enchanted France became desperate and jealous. Until, a divorcee aged forty-seven, she was forced to watch from the sidelines as Napoleon and his young bride produced a child.

Elizabeth and Mary were cousins and queens, but eventually it became impossible for them to live together in the same world.This is the story of two women struggling for supremacy in a man’s world, when no one thought a woman could govern. They both had to negotiate with men—those who wanted their power and those who wanted their bodies—who were determined to best them. In their worlds, female friendship and alliances were unheard of, but for many years theirs was the only friendship that endured. They were as fascinated by each other as lovers; until they became enemies. Enemies so angry and broken that one of them had to die, and so Elizabeth ordered the execution of Mary.But first they were each other’s lone female friends in a violent man’s world. Their relationship was one of love, affection, jealousy, antipathy – and finally death. This book tells the story of Mary and Elizabeth as never before, focusing on their emotions and probing deeply into their intimate lives as women and queens.They loved each other, they hated each other—and in the end they could never escape each other.

In the idyllic early summer of 1914, life is good for the de Witt family. Rudolf and Verena are planning the wedding of their daughter Emmeline, while their eldest son, Arthur, is studying in Paris, and Michael is just back from his first term at Cambridge. Celia, the youngest of the de Witt children, is on the brink of adulthood and secretly dreams of escaping her carefully mapped-out future and exploring the world.But the onslaught of war changes everything and soon the de Witts find themselves sidelined and in danger of losing everything they hold dear. As Celia struggles to make sense of the changing world around her, she lies about her age to join the war effort and finds herself embroiled in a complex plot that puts not only herself but those she loves in danger.With gripping detail and brilliant empathy, Kate Williams tells the story of Celia and her family as they are shunned by a society that previously embraced them, torn apart by sorrow, and buffeted and changed by the storms of war.

Daily Prayer 2026 provides a thoughtful order of prayer for each day, allowing you to spend time reflecting on Scripture and the liturgical year as you gather the wisdom and strength to live out your day as a disciple of Jesus. Equally useful for group or individual prayer, Daily Prayer 2026’s easy-to-use format centers each day’s prayer on a Scripture reading from the daily Mass, along with the recitation of a psalm, reflection, intercessions, the Lord’s Prayer, and closing prayer.

The finale of the Storms of War trilogy finds Celia de Witt in glittering 1920s New York, hunting for Michael, the son who was taken from her at birth. Desperate and vulnerable, she looks to the valiant girls of an underground flapper army—and a runaway boy with a big heart—for help in her search. Meanwhile, Celia sets up a business in New York called Flapper Foods, in hopes of saving her family and their home, Stoneythorpe, from ruin. Flapper Foods takes off, only to have the Great Depression fall. All seems lost—but the Depression brings Michael and Celia together. Back in England, Celia’s family is in desperate need. As World War II approaches, Stoneythorpe, despite her efforts, must be sold. But the world around her is watching, hope is on the horizon, and Celia will have to risk everything she has held dear to save her family.

From New York Times bestselling author Kate Williams, the new novel in The Storms of War trilogy finds young Celia de Witt embracing the Roaring Twenties in postwar London. In the aftermath of the Great War, the De Witt family is struggling to piece together the shattered fragments of their lives. Rudolf and his wife Verena, still reeling from the loss of their second son, don''t know how to function in the post-war world. Stoneythorpe Hall has become an empty shell with no servants to ensure its upkeep. Celia, the de Witt''s youngest daughter, is still desperate to spread her wings and see more of the world. To escape Stoneythorpe and the painful secrets that lie there, she moves to London and embraces life and love in the Roaring Twenties.

From Cleopatra to Grace Kelly, an epic new history of royal women that shatters the myths we have built around them. Stories about royal women form some of our most foundational myths about femininity, and yet their legacies have been almost entirely constructed by the words and images created by men. In Regina, acclaimed historian Kate Williams leads us deep into a world of queens, empresses, princesses, mistresses and courtiers, uncovering how their ambitions were shaped, celebrated and often thwarted, exposing a tangled web of women and power that spans thousands of years. Ranging from the ancient civilisations of Egypt and Mesopotamia to the opulent courts of the pre-modern world and the last days of colonialism, Williams delves into the lives of these remarkable women, revealing both their trials and triumphs as they navigate political intrigue, family rivalries and personal sacrifices. From Hatshepsut and Boudica, through Tudor queens Catherine of Aragon and Lady Jane Grey, to Queen Victoria''s contemporaries Yaa Asantewaa of Ghana and Queen Lili''uokalani of Hawaii, and right up to Princess Diana, this is a thrilling, globe-spanning story of queens and royal woman, of female power through the ages that unlocks how we understand women, politics and power today.