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Secrets of the Lost Kingdom

More hidden Cumbrian histories

Paul Eastham

£9.99

A huge part of our history has gone missing…

Has there been a cover-up? Why are people struggling to discover the true story of the past? The reason is simple. Official histories ignore regional narratives. They reduce our national story to a patriotic uniformity. But the edited version means we don’t know who we are. Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness are very different from the rest of Britain. For five hundred years after the Romans left, Cumbria resisted takeover by the English empire. It remained a separate kingdom with its own language, tax system, culture and institutions. That autonomy ended with the defeat of Dunmail, the last King of Cumbria in 945 AD. His Lost Kingdom was the final piece of territory forced into England in 1092. But that means Cumbria had more time to develop a unique identity than any other part of England. This book argues that difference influenced what happened afterwards, and that distinctiveness still can be detected today.

Secrets of the Lost Kingdom also reveals the life of a man in a lead casket; why building Hadrian’s Wall was a mistake; how farming brought violence to Cumbria; how Mary Queen of Scots committed a fatal blunder in Carlisle; how Lady Hamilton inspired and destroyed an artistic genius; how a hesitant haberdasher stitched up the Nazis and whether a hero of exploration was a lunatic bungler.

“A renowned writer and journalist, Paul brings forgotten local history to life in a way that is not only eye-opening but also breathtaking, exciting and inspiring” – Cumbria Guide.

 

publisher:

Fletcher Christian Publishers

pages:

308p

Publication Date:

2022

format:

Paperback; 200 x 127mm


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