Neil R Storey

Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula is an affectionate and revealing biography of the man who created the vampire novel that would define the genre and lead to a new age in Gothic horror literature. Based on decades of painstaking research in libraries, museums, and university archives and privileged access to private collections on both sides of the Atlantic, the private letters of Bram and the reminiscences of those who knew him not only shed new light on Stoker's ancestry, his life, loves and friendships they also reveal more about the places and people who inspired him and how he researched and wrote his books. Bram wrote numerous articles, short stories and poetry for newspapers and magazines, he had a total of eleven novels and two collections of short stories published in his lifetime, but he would only become known for one of them - Dracula. Tragically, he did not live long enough to see it as a huge success. In his heyday as Acting Manager for Sir Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End of London, Bram was a well-known figure in a golden age of British theater. He was a big-framed, ebullient, genial, gentleman, with red hair and beard, who never lost his soft Irish brogue, was blessed with wit, and a host of entertaining stories fit for every occasion. Described as having the paw of Hercules and the smile of Machiavelli, above all he knew what it meant to be a loyal friend.

An Illustrated Biography

Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula

In 1907, H.G. Wells published a science fiction novel called The War in the Air. It proved to be portentous. In the early years of the First World War, German lighter-than-air flying machines, Zeppelins, undertook a series of attacks on the British mainland. German military strategy was to subdue Britain, both by the damage these raids caused and by the terrifying nature of the craft that carried them out. This strategy proved successful. The early raids caused significant damage, many civilian casualties and provoked terror and anger in equal measure. But the British rapidly learnt how to deal with these futuristic monsters. A variety of defence mechanisms were developed: searchlights, guns and fighter aircraft were deployed, the British learnt to pick up the airships’ radio messages and a central communications headquarters was set up. Within months aerial strategy and its impact on the lives of civilians and the course of conflict became part of human warfare. As the Chief of the Imperial German Naval Airship Division, Peter Strasser, crisply put it: ‘There is no such thing as a non-combatant any more. Modern war is total war.’ Zeppelin Blitz is the first full, raid-by-raid, year-by-year account of the Zeppelin air raids on Britain during the First World War, based on contemporary official reports and documents.

The German Air Raids on Great Britain During the First World War

Zeppelin Blitz

Discover the darker side of Norfolk with this remarkable collection of true-life crimes from across the county. Featuring tales of some of the most notorious, nefarious and murderous characters from the county’s past, including pirates, smugglers, highwaymen, poachers, thieves, murderers and bodysnatchers, all factions of the criminal underworld are included in this macabre selection of tales. Drawing on a wide variety of historical sources and containing many cases which have never before been published, Norfolk Villains will fascinate everyone interested in true crime and the history of Norfolk.

Rogues, Rascals and Reprobates

Norfolk Villains

Neil R. Storey has drawn on a vast array of original sources - among them witness statements, coroners' reports and court records - to produce a revealing insight into the East End's darkest moments. As well as the murders of Jack the Ripper, perhaps the most infamous in history, he looks at nine other cases in detail: the still mysterious Ratcliffe Highway Murders of 1811; Henry Wainwright, who dismembered his mistress and rolled up her remains in a carpet in 1874; Israel Lipski, whose name became a term of derision and abuse against Jews in East London for years following his conviction for the murder of a young woman in 1887; the unsolved murder of Frances Coles in 1891; the Whitechapel High Street Newspaper Shop Murder in 1904; the Houndsditch Murders and the Siege of Sidney Street in 1910, in which a robbery potted by Russian anarchists went badly wrong; the throat-cutting William Cronin in 1925; the Bow Road Cinema Murder in 1934; and finally the shooting of George Cornell by Ronnie Kray at the Blind Begger pub in 1966. East End Murders is a unique re-examination of the darker side of the capital's past

From Jack the Ripper to Ronnie Kray

East End Murders

Fiona Kay

Victorian Fashions for Women explores the British styles and clothing throughout the long reign of Queen Victoria, from the late 1830s to the first years of the 20th century. Within are a superb overview of the dresses, hats, hair styles, corsetry, undergarments shoes and boots that combined to present the prevailing styles for each decade. From those who had enough money to have day and evening wear and clothes for sports and outdoor activities, to those with limited income and wardrobes or labouring folk with little more than the clothes they stood up in. All decades are illustrated with original photographs, adverts and contemporary magazine features from the authors' own remarkable collections, accompanied by a knowledgeable and informative text that describes the fashions, their social history context and influences reflected in the clothes of the time. Laid out in a clear and easy-to-follow chronological order, the key features of styles, decoration and accoutrements will help family historians to date family photographs and will provide a useful resource for students and costume historians or for anyone with a love of fashion and style to enjoy.

Victorian Fashions for Women

Beating the Nazi Invader is a revealing and disturbing exploration of the darker history of Nazis, spies and ‘Fifth Columnist’ saboteurs in Britain, and the extensive top secret countermeasures taken before and during the real threat of invasion in 1940. The author’s research describes the Nazi Party organization in Britain and reveals the existence of the Gestapo headquarters in central London. The reader gains vivid insights into Nazi agents and terrorist cells, the Special Branch and MI5 teams who hunted them and investigated murders believed to have been committed by Third Reich agents on British soil. Accessing a host of recently declassified files the book explores the highly classified measures taken for the protection of the Royal Family, national treasures and gold reserves. The British government made extensive plans for the continuation of government in the event of invasion including the creation of all-powerful Regional Commissioners, ‘Black Lists’ of suspected collaborators and a British resistance organization. We also learn of the Nazis’ own occupation measures for suborning the population and the infamous Sonderfahndungsliste G.B, the Nazi ‘Special Wanted List.’ The result is a fascinating insight into the measures and actions taken to ensure that Great Britain did not succumb to the gravest threat of enemy invasion and occupation for centuries.

Hitler’s Spies, Saboteurs and Secrets in Britain 1940

Beating the Nazi Invader

The 4th and 5th Battalions, the Norfolk Regiment were formed in the early days of The Great War as part of the Territorial Force and deployed with 54th (East Anglian) Division to Gallipoli in 1915\. Most significantly the 1/5th Battalion was unique in that it contained The Sandringham Company, the only unit to be raised entirely from a Royal Estate. Tragically the Company, along with King George V’s Agent Captain Beck, disappeared without trace on 12 August 1915, presumed to have been overcome by their Turkish adversaries. The Battalion was rebuilt and saw out the ill-fated Gallipoli Campaign being evacuated to Egypt in December 1915\. Thereafter the Norfolks served with distinction in Palestine as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. The Author has compiled a fascinating history of these Battalions’ distinguished service using contemporary records and personal accounts illustrated with a splendid selection of photographs. The result is a fitting tribute to the memory of these brave volunteers.

The Sandringham Company and Norfolk Regiment Territorial Battalions, 1914–1918

The King's Men

“An absorbing account of the Norfolk Territorials who fought at Gallipoli and created a legend” from the author of Beating the Nazi Invader (Firetrench). The 4th and 5th Battalions, the Norfolk Regiment were formed in the early days of The Great War as part of the Territorial Force and deployed with 54th (East Anglian) Division to Gallipoli in 1915. Most significantly the 1/5th Battalion was unique in that it contained The Sandringham Company, the only unit to be raised entirely from a Royal Estate. Tragically the Company, along with King George V’s Agent Captain Beck, disappeared without trace on 12 August 1915, presumed to have been overcome by their Turkish adversaries. The Battalion was rebuilt and saw out the ill-fated Gallipoli Campaign being evacuated to Egypt in December 1915. Thereafter the Norfolks served with distinction in Palestine as part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. The author has compiled a fascinating history of these Battalions’ distinguished service using contemporary records and personal accounts illustrated with a splendid selection of photographs. The result is a fitting tribute to the memory of these brave volunteers. “Brilliant local (Norfolk) social historian Neil Storey tells the story of the Norfolk Regiment and its campaigns during and after the Great War. Beautifully illustrated and full of amazing and fascinating facts, this is social and military history at its very best.” —Books Monthly “Neil Storey manages to compose a very interesting and passionate book, which once again demonstrates the effort and war contribution of small British communities during the Great War tragedy.” —On the Old Barbed Wire

Neil R Storey

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