Books like Perkin by Ann Wroe

Bill Bryson turns the universe into a conversational guide, tracing science from the Big Bang through evolution, geology, chemistry, astronomy, and particle physics with humor and clarity.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks follows the story of Henrietta Lacks, a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells were taken in 1951 without her consent and later became the first immortal human cell line, HeLa, driving major scientific breakthroughs while raising questions of ethics, race, and medical exploitation.

The Art of Fermentation is a definitive guide that translates the science, history, and practical techniques of fermentation into clear, step‑by‑step instructions for beginners and experts alike.

A novel exploring the daily lives of people in Tudor England, focusing on a kind father who educates his daughters and becomes influential in the government.

A historical love story set during the English Civil War, spanning decades, featuring the contrasting personalities of Honor Harris and Sir Richard Grenville, and their tragic reunion on the Cornish coast.

A nonfiction true‑story of famed book thief John Charles Gilkey, the detective Ken Sanders, and journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett as they pursue rare‑book robberies across the United States.

James Watson recounts the race to determine DNA’s double‑helix structure, detailing his collaboration with Francis Crick, the scientific rivalry with Linus Pauling, and the insights that reshaped biochemistry and genetics.

An inspiring true story of a WWII pilot’s survival, resilience, and redemption, examined through detailed battlefield context and human courage.

To coincide with the Channel 4 series to be aired at the end of this year – David Starkey's 'Monarchy' charts the rise of the British monarchy from the War of the Roses, the English Civil War and the Georgians, right up until the present day monarchs of the 20th Century.David Starkey's magisterial new book Monarchy charts the rise of the British crown from the insurgency of the War of the Roses, through the glory and dangers of the Tudors, to the insolvency of the Stuarts and chaos of the English Civil War, the execution of Charles I, the rule of a commoner who was 'king in all but name', the importing of a German dynasty, and the coming-to-terms with modernity under the wise guidance of another German, Victoria's Prince Consort Albert. An epilogue brings to story up to the present and asks questions about the future. The crown of England is the oldest surviving political institution in Europe. And yet, throughout this book Starkey emphasises the Crown's endless capacity to reinvent itself to circumstances and reshape national polity whilst he unmasks the personalities and achievements, the defeats and victories, which lie behind the kings and queens of British history. Each of these monarchs has contributed, in their own way, to the religion, geography, laws, language and government that we currently live with today. In this book,Starkey demonstrates exactly how these states were arrived at, how these monarchs subtly influenced each other, which battles were won and why, whose whim or failure caused religious tradition to wither or flourish, and which monarchs, through their acumen and strength or single minded determination came to enforce the laws of England. With his customary authority and verve, David Starkey reignites these personalities to produce an entertaining and masterful account of these figures whose many victories and failures are the building blocks upon which Britain today is built. Far more than a biography of kings and queens, 'Monarchy' is a radical reappraisal of British nationhood, culture and politics, shown through the most central institution in British life.

The book chronicles Perkin Warbeck, a Flemish boatman’s son, who masqueraded as England’s lost heir and sought to convince the kingdom’s powerful monarchs of his legitimacy, detailing the political fallout of his pretensions.

Betty MacDonald recounts her life on a remote chicken farm in Washington after marrying a marine, detailing hard work, household chores, and her family's humor amid farm hardships.

A new, authoritative biography of Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth wife, that reassesses her motives, social milieu, and the courtly forces that led to her execution.