{"product_id":"9781408721681","title":"Gimson's Heroes","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Gimson, Andrew \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eUnited Kingdom, Great Britain\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 2 October 2025 by Little, Brown Book Group (Constable) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 368 pages, b\/w illustrations\u003cbr\u003e242 x 164 x 34 | 578g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A witty, unforgettable celebration of the courage, genius and defiance that changed the course of history' Jacob Rees-Mogg'Gimson makes excellent cases for all his choices. His 'cardinal point' about heroes, 'seen from Homer to Hollywood, is that they are enjoyable'. That is so right: no one who is immensely worthy but boring can be a hero' Charles Moore'This is a lovely book to dip in and out of, every visit an education' John RentoulA brilliant compendium of Britain's most renowned heroes from Boudicca to Mandela, illustrated by Martin Rowson.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHeroes have flaws, but their stories stir the soul. In Gimson's Heroes, bestselling author Andrew Gimson traces the lives of fifty astonishing individuals who had the courage to defy conventional wisdom.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Horatio Nelson disobeying orders to Lord Byron scandalising polite society; Grace Darling rowing through a deadly storm to Florence Nightingale teaching the British how to nurse - these icons are no mere monuments of history, but living, breathing people of daring and defiance. Here are stories of resolve and sacrifice: Wallace Hartley plays on as the Titanic goes down, Noor Inayat Khan refuses to flee from occupied France, Stan Hollis storms an enemy pillbox and Nelson Mandela brings down the white regime in South Africa.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA hero, Gimson concludes, is someone with the courage, originality and genius to see what must be done - and to dare to do it, no matter the cost. Complemented by Martin Rowson's uniquely charming illustrations, Gimson's Heroes is a witty, fascinating and lively celebration of the extraordinary legacies of those who went further than most would ever dream.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fifty Heroes included in the book are:Boudicca c.25-60\/61 AD  Alfred the Great 848-899  King Harold c.1022-1066\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRobert the Bruce 1274-1329\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJulian of Norwich 1342-1416  Owain Glyndwr c.1359 - c.1415\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBess of Hardwick c.1522 or 1527-1608  Queen Elizabeth I 1533-1603  Sir Francis Drake 1540-1596  Sir Walter Raleigh 1552-1618  Sir Philip Sidney 1554-1586  William Shakespeare 1564-1616  George Herbert 1593-1633  Gerrard Winstanley 1609-1676  Prince Rupert of the Rhine 1619-1682  Robert Boyle 1627-1691  Thomas Coram 1668-1751  Samuel Johnson 1709-1784  James Wolfe 1727-1759  Edmund Burke 1729-1797  James Boswell 1740-1795  Thomas Telford 1757-1834  Horatio Nelson 1758-1805  Mary Wollstonecraft 1759-1797  Thomas Clarkson 1760-1846  Jane Austen 1775-1817  Elizabeth Fry 1780-1845  George Stephenson 1781-1848  Lord Byron 1788-1824  Lord Shaftesbury 1801-1885\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBenjamin Disraeli 1804-1881\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIsambard Kingdom Brunel 1806-1859\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCharles Dickens 1812-1870\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid Livingstone 1813-1873\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGrace Darling 1815-1842\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Prince Albert 1819-1861\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFlorence Nightingale 1820-1910\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOctavia Hill 1838-1912\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFred Burnaby 1842-1885\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eErnest Shackleton 1874-1922\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSir Winston Churchill 1874-1965  Wallace Hartley 1878-1912\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eErnest Bevin 1881-1951  The Unknown Warrior died c. 1914  John Betjeman 1906-1984\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStan Hollis 1912-1972\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMichael Wharton 1913-2006  Noor Inayat Khan 1914-1944\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e Prince Alexander Obolensky 1916-1940\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNelson Mandela 1918-2013Praise for the three previous Gimson books:Gimson's Kings \u0026amp; Queens: Brief Lives of the Monarchs since 1066 'The most entertaining and instructive book on the English monarchy you will ever read' Daily TelegraphGimson's Prime Ministers: Brief Lives from Walpole to Johnson'The best general book on British politics I've ever come across. Learned, witty and wise, and splendidly illustrated by Martin Rowson' Tibor Fischer, GuardianGimson's Presidents: Brief Lives from Washington to Trump'This is history at its liveliest and most enjoyable. Most presidential biographies are abominably long-winded and reverential. With miniaturist wit and precision, Gimson manages to compress all the salient facts about each president into five or six pages, while offering beautifully crafted insights into their characters and temperaments ...There is something fascinating or funny on every page' Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bookshop Mold","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55358039523704,"sku":"9781408721681","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0277\/7802\/3522\/files\/9781408721681_3de49b2f-1878-4c3f-8e19-5745900034ba.jpg?v=1773927411","url":"https:\/\/www.mold-bookshop.co.uk\/products\/9781408721681","provider":"The Bookshop. 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