County

Local history series

Kent: 1800-1899

Bob Ogley's new book on 19th-century Kent has been written and published by popular demand. Influenced by the Napoleonic Wars, the industrial revolution, the introduction of steam ships and the inauguration of universal schooling, the years between 1800 and 1900 saw more rapid and remarkable changes in Kent than any preceding period.

National figures feature prominently. William Pitt, Prime Minister for a record 18 years, was born at Hayes and lived at Holwood House, Keston. It was from here that William Wilberforce set forth on his ambitious and quite tortuous journey to abolish slavery. Horatio Nelson began his naval career at Chatham and Lord Wellington died at Walmer Castle where he was Lord Warden.

What county can possibly match Kent for its impressive array of literary heroes? They are led by Charles Dickens of Gads Hill, Higham, Charles Darwin of Downe, Richard Barham of Snargate and Somerset Maugham of Whitstable. Jane Austen travelled extensively in Kent, J.M.W.Turner painted in Margate, Deal and other places, Samuel Palmer at Shoreham and William Morris lived at Bexleyheath.

The red badge of courage has been earned by many. From General George Harris of Belmont, near Faversham, who annexed Mysore and killed the Tipu Sahib in 1800, to General Charles Gordon and his legendary stand at Khartoum in 1885, stouthearted Kentishmen have earned their place in history.

This is a book about people and the way in which they behaved when confronted by the momentous changes that struck the roots of their society — such as the coming of the "iron horse", the introduction of a police force, the implementation of the Poor Laws and much, much more.

Kent: 1800-1899 — A Chronicle of the Nineteenth Century
	Hardback ISBN 978-1-872337-51-7	£18.99
	Paperback ISBN 978-1-872337-56-2	£14.99

Kent — A Chronicle of the Century

Bob Ogley's most ambitious project is Kent — A Chronicle of the Century, a series of four books on the history of Kent in the 20th century, which are available individually or in an attractive boxed set with gold lettering. Written in Bob's inimitable style with events of the past placed alongside scores of evocative illustrations, it tells the story of the county year by year from the time that Queen Victoria was head of the greatest empire in the world, motor cars were a novelty and aeroplanes were still a dream, to the introduction of communication satellites, the birth of the Internet and the opening of the Channel Tunnel.

As Bob Ogley explains no county in England has a more dramatic story to tell than Kent. In the front line throughout two world wars, it is a county of soldiers, scientists, designers, engineers and politicians who have not only helped to reinvent our world but led the march to freedom.

From those magnificent men in their flying machines to fashions of the day, from political upheavals to sporting victories, from chilling disasters to artistic triumphs, from archaeological discoveries to engineering achievements here is the story of the century in 800 lively, well presented pages.

The illustrations (more than 600 of them) are evocative. They help to take you back in time, to relive history as it happened. They help to capture the changing social and cultural life of a county that is also rich in folklore and legend.

To our knowledge no other publisher in England has produced such a comprehensive and attractive set of books to celebrate the passing of the 20th century.

Kent — A Chronicle of the Century (Volumes One - Four)
Volume One 1900 - 1924
Paperback ISBN 978-1-872337-19-7	£12.99
Hardback ISBN 978-1-872337-24-1	£16.99
Volume Two 1925 - 1949
Paperback ISBN 978-1-872337-89-0	£10.99
Hardback ISBN 978-1-872337-84-5 [Temporarily out of print]	£16.99
Volume Three 1950 - 1974
Paperback ISBN 978-1-872337-11-1	£10.99
Hardback ISBN 978-1-872337-16-6	£16.99
Volume Four 1975 - 1999
Paperback ISBN 978-1-872337-01-2	£12.99
Hardback ISBN 978-1-872337-06-7	£16.99
Boxed Set Hardback ISBN 978-1-872337-15-9 [Now available again as a special offer]	£65.00
Boxed Set Paperback ISBN 978-1-872337-75-3	£45.00
Sevenoaks Chronicle of the Century
by Bob Ogley & Roger Perkins Published November 1999 Hardback ISBN 978-1-872337-26-5 [Temporarily out of print]	£14.95
Underriver: Samuel Palmer's Golden Valley
by Griselda Barton and Michael Tong Paperback ISBN 978-1-872337-45-6	£9.95
Tales of Old Tunbridge Wells
by Frank Chapman Hardback ISBN 978-1-872337-25-8 (special offer price)	£8.95

Updated 19 July 2012