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Brenda Ralph Lewis

In the 10th century, being head of the Catholic Church didn’t stop Pope John XII from allegedly committing incest with his sisters, calling on pagan gods and goddesses, being an alcoholic and putting his mistress in charge of his brothel. Of course, being pope didn’t make popes popular either: in 896AD, Pope Formosus died, but that was no obstacle to Lambert of Spoleto, who bore something of a grudge, in exhuming the pontiff and putting him on trial. Formosus was found guilty of being unworthy of his papal office, had all his acts annulled and his body was thrown in the Tiber. From corruption to nepotism, from crusade to witch-burning to Inquisition, from popes sanctioning murder to popes being murdered, Dark History of The Popes explores more than 1000 years of sinister deeds surrounding the papacy. Ranging from the 9th century AD to Pope Pius XII’s position during World War II, the book examines political, religious and social history through the skulduggery of popes and courtiers, the role the Borgias family played in the papacy, the persecution of Jews and the religious controversy over Galileo Galilei’s heretical views, among other topics. Using diaries, letters, reports from foreign ambassadors to the Vatican and official registers of the ecclesiastical courts, a picture of both sinning and sinned against popes is revealed. Packed with more than 200 colour and black-&-white photographs, paintings and artworks, Dark History of The Popes is an eye-opening account of the history of the papacy that pontiffs would rather not mention.

Amber Books Ltd

Dark Histories

Dark History of the Popes

Michael Kerrigan

The office of the American President has evolved dramatically over the last 200 years, from George Washington's heroic posturing as leader of a renegade nation, to calculated cunning as commander of a nuclear superpower. This colourful inventory of presidential transgressions reveals that every modern scandal is the descendant of remarkably similar predecessors. Detailing the disgraces of all forty-four Presidents, from sexual skirmishes to CIA cover-ups, Dark History of the American Presidents covers every dirty deed committed behind the White House fence, from financial profiteering and insider trading to illicit bugging of the opposition. Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Kennedy are all present, as are the more likely suspects such as Nixon. Running right up to the present and including the terms of Presidents Bush and Obama, Dark History of the American Presidents also tells the story of a nation’s advancement: from post-Revolutionary days of anti-monarchy and slavery, through the bitter strife of internal wars, Reconstruction, boom and Depression, to her emergence onto the world stage as a superpower. Using reproductions of portraits in oil, period caricature and cartoons, as well as superbly-telling 20th-century photojournalism, Dark History of the American Presidents reveals the true face behind what has become the most powerful job in the world.

Dark History of the American Presidents

‘Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. ’ - William Shakespeare

‘I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his. ’ - Catherine the Great

To many, Europe has been the pinnacle of world sophistication and culture. Yet beneath the power, the glamour, and the splendour there has also been scandal, mystery and skullduggery. Dark History of the Kings & Queens of Europe peels away the glory and the glitz to take a wry look at what has really gone on in the corridors, bedrooms and dungeons of European power from the fourteenth century up to the present day. Including Vlad the Impaler’s stakes, Elizabeth Bathory’s razor blades, Philip IV’s starvation of the Knights Templars, the man in the iron mask, many mad monarchs from Juana I the Mad of Spain to Ludwig II of Bavaria, and the troubled life of Princess Grace of Monaco, Dark History of the Kings & Queens of Europe is illustrated throughout and offers a lively, highly varied portrait of continental European monarchy.

Dark History of the Kings & Queens of Europe

Five of the first eleven emperors of Rome were assassinated and another two killed themselves rather than face the fury of their subjects. Nero sang while Rome burned. Caligula proclaimed himself a god. If not mad enough already, he also gave one of his horses a place on the senate. Rome rejoiced when many emperors died, only to find that they hated the next one just as much. From the death of Julius Caesar in 44BC to the fall of Rome in 476AD, Dark History of the Roman Emperors presents a wry and witty look at five centuries of Roman mayhem, murder, incest, infanticide, sadism, sexual depravity and madness. Featuring such notorious names as Claudius, Tiberius and Commodus, this book retells all of the most eye-opening accounts of imperial misdeeds, drawing on many original Roman sources. Illustrated with striking images of the protagonists and their deeds, from ancient statues to medieval engravings and renaissance paintings, Dark History of the Roman Emperors is an entertaining and visually spectacular account of the skulduggery of the greatest empire the world has ever known – and the hubris that came with it.

Dark History of the Roman Emperors

Despite its reputation as the longest established in Europe, the history of the English monarchy is punctuated by scandal, murders, betrayals, plots, and treason. Since William the Conqueror seized the crown in 1066, England has seen three civil wars; six monarchs have been murdered or executed; the throne of England has been usurped four times, and won in battle three times; and personal scandals and royal family quarrels abound. Dark History of the Kings & Queens of England provides an exciting and dramatic account of English royal history from 1066 to the present day. This engrossing book explores the scandal and intrigue behind each royal dynasty, from the ‘accidental’ murder of William II in 1100, through the excesses of Richard III, Henry VIII and ‘Bloody’ Mary, to the conspiracies surrounding the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, William and Kate Middleton’s on-off courtship before they married, and Prince Harry’s years of partying, girlfriends and Las Vegas strip poker, before his 2018 marriage to American divorcée Meghan Markle. Carefully researched, superbly entertaining and illustrated throughout with more than 200 colour and black-and-white photographs and artworks, this accessible and immensely enjoyable book highlights the true personalities and real lives of the individuals honoured with the crown of England—and those unfortunate enough to cross their paths.

Dark History of the Kings & Queens of England: 1066 to the Present Day

‘Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it. ’

The Lord’s words to Cain, Book of Genesis

Human sacrifice, floods, plagues, murders, massacres, betrayal, wars, incest, sea monsters and dragons – how well do we really remember the stories we learnt in school scripture lessons?

From Genesis to the Book of Revelation, Dark History of The Bible explores some of the oldest stories in the world. Whether we are believers or not, these are some of the most influential stories in life and in art. As well as looking at the historical roots behind the stories, the book examines their inconsistencies and how they can be interpreted in different ways.

From Jacob tricking his father Isaac over his brother’s inheritance to the walls of Jericho tumbling down, from Moses crossing the Red Sea to Jesus’s Flight into Egypt, from King David and Bathsheba to John the Baptist and Salome, from the sea monster Leviathan to the Beast and the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, Dark History of the Bible includes the most compelling stories from the King James’s Authorised Version of the Old and New Testaments.

Easily accessible and illustrated with 180 colour and black-and-white photographs, maps and artworks, Dark History of the Bible examines the tales of skulduggery, vengeance and retribution in the world’s most famous book. "

Dark History of the Bible

Judith John

'Divorced, beheaded, died,

Divorced, beheaded, survived.'

– Rhyme describing the fates of Henry VIII’s wives

Beginning with the victory of Henry Tudor over Richard III at Bosworth Field in 1485, and ending with the death of the childless Elizabeth I in 1603 following a 45-year reign, the Tudor dynasty marks a period in British history where England was transformed from a minor medieval kingdom to a preeminent European power on the verge of empire. 

Yet this period of great upheaval had a dark side: Henry VIII’s notorious break with the Roman Catholic Church and his divorce or execution of four of his six wives; the sad story of teenaged Lady Jane Grey, who was monarch for just nine days before being executed in favor of the Catholic Mary I; and Queen Elizabeth I, who defeated the Spanish Armada, suppressed the Irish rebellion, and sponsored pirates and slave traders in the quest for new territories in America.

Illustrated with 180 photographs, paintings, and illustrations, Dark History of the Tudors is a fascinating, accessible account of the murder, adultery, and religious turmoil that characterized England’s most infamous royal dynasty.

Dark History of the Tudors: Murder, adultery, incest, witchcraft, wars, religious persecution, piracy

Kieron Connolly

'Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.' – Marilyn Monroe

It is now over 100 years since Hollywood became the centre of American cinema and, while it has always presented itself as a place of glamour and home to the beautiful and talented, from its very creation there was a darker side to Tinseltown. Film-makers didn’t just move to southern California for its sunny weather, they went West to evade the patent laws restricting the use of movie cameras. 

From its earliest days, Hollywood, the home of fantasy, created a hothouse of excess – too much money, too much adulation, too much expectation and too much ego. Some actors would trade sex in the, often vain, hope of career advancement, mobsters muscled in on the unions and extorted the studios, while the accountants appear to be among Hollywood’s most creative people, managing to ensure that even the Star Wars films haven’t yet shown a profit. But while stars have always been indulged, once their moment in the limelight has passed, their fall can be cruel.

From the setting up of the studios by the movie moguls to the corporations that run them today, from drug addictions to McCarthy-era witch-hunts to the Mob, Dark History of Hollywood is the story of sex and excess, murder and suicide, ambition and betrayal, and how money can make almost everyone compromise. 

Intensively researched and superbly entertaining, Dark History of Hollywood reveals that the stories behind the silver screen are at least as gripping as many of those on it.

Dark History of Hollywood: A century of greed, corruption and scandal behind the movies

The world’s largest Christian organization with 1.2 billion members, the Catholic Church is one of the world’s oldest institutions and has played a crucial part in the development of Western civilization. But in its rise from Jewish sect to global faith, it has been both the persecuted and the persecutors; it has become powerful but guilty of corruption; and it has preached moral purity but has been marred by abuse scandals.

From the persecution of the early Christians in ancient Rome, through the terrors of the anti-heresy witchhunts of the notorious Grand Inquisitor, Torquemada, to papal collaboration with the Nazis during World War II, Dark History of the Catholic Church tells the stories of heretics and pogroms, Mother Teresa and martyred priests, papal purges and crooked clergy, false prophets and faithless pontiffs. 

Illustrated with 180 photographs, paintings, and illustrations, Dark History of the Catholic Church reveals the infamous underside of the world’s oldest Christian faith.

Dark History of the Catholic Church: Schisms, wars, inquisitions, witch hunts, scandals, corruption

Martin J Dougherty

“From the fury of the Northmen, good Lord deliver us. ” – Anonymous monk, Noirmoutier, France, 9th century AD

Beginning in 789AD, the Vikings raided monasteries, sacked cities and invaded western Europe. They looted and enslaved their enemies. But that is only part of their story. In long boats they discovered Iceland and America (both by accident) and also sailed up the Seine to Paris (which they sacked). They settled from Newfoundland to Russia, founded Dublin and fought battles as far afield as the Caspian Sea.

A thousand years after their demise, traces of the Vikings remain all the way from North America to Istanbul. They traded walruses with Inuits, brought Russian furs to Western Europe and took European slaves to Constantinople. Their graves contain Arab silver, Byzantine silks and Frankish weapons.

In this accessible book, the whole narrative of the Viking story is examined from the eighth to the eleventh centuries. Arranged thematically, Vikings: A History of the Norse People examines the Norsemen from exploration to religion to trade to settlement to weaponry to kingdoms to their demise and legacy. But today questions remain: what prompted the first Viking raids? What stopped their expansion? And how much of the tales of murder, rape and pillage is myth?

Illustrated with more than 200 photographs, maps and artworks, Vikings: A History of the Norse People is an expertly written account of a people who have long captured the popular imagination.

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