Oliver Hayes: 28 books

The Battle of Barrosa was an unexpected British victory in the Peninsular War. Caught strung out on the march on a mountain road by a superior French army, the British should have been annihilated, but instead gained a stunning victory. In the spring of 1811, the French were laying siege to...

By the spring of 1814 the Peninsular War was nearing its climax. The British army under Wellington was invading southern France, but they were faced by a larage French army under the cunning French Marshal Soult. Wellington’s attack on Toulouse was to prove to be one of his hardest fought actions. The...

According to legend, London was founded by King Lud, ruler of the Trinovantes tribe of Celts in the 1st century bc. But there is much more to King Lud than prehistoric kingship. Tracing the ancient legends back to their source, historian Oliver Hayes reveals a remakable truth - that “King Lud” was really a god and London was his Holy City.

"Ave Caesar. We who are about to die salute you". Or maybe not.Gladiators, lions, tigers, chariot racing, wrestlers, executioners, dancing girls, musicians, comedians, emperors and slaves, the Games had it all. And the referee had to keep them all in order - somehow.Being a Gladiator Referee was not...

The sweeping victory of the Welsh at Cardigan (Crug Mawr) was historic. It not only put the victor, Owain Gwynedd in a position to rule Wales free of English domination, it also marked the arrival on the battlefields of Europe of a new, deadly and uniquely Welsh weapon. The longbow had arrived. A...

Of all the Knights of the Round Table, none is so famous as Sir Lancelot. He is both the finest of the Arthurian knights, and the worst. He is the champion of the Round Table, and the reason for its destruction. He is loyal, yet treacherous. Noble, but base. His is a complex character that combines...

At Talavera a British army under Sir Arthur Wellesley (later the Duke of Wellington) tried to link up with a Spanish army under General Cuesta to ambush a French corps under Marshal Victor. But things went wrong and the British had to fight their way to safety. This book forms part of the Bretwalda...

By the summer of 1813 the Peninsular War had reached a crisis. The Port of San Sebastian had to be captured, and captured fast if Wellington’s British armies were to avoid a humiliating retreat due to lack of supplies. But in San Sebastian was the wily French commander Louis Rey. The scene was set...

At Gerona in 1808 the French for the first time ran into a Spanish army that neither ran away nor surrendered. The epic defence of Gerona lasted for over a year and saw the French throw everything that they had at the old walls around the city. The Spanish fought back gallantly, using their bare hands...

By the summer of 1813 the Peninsular War had reached a crisis. The British army under Wellington was poised to invade France, but he was faced by the towering Pyrenees mountains and the cunning French Marshal Soult. What followed was a classic campaign of mountain fighting. The British, Portuguese...

On 2 May 1808 the Spanish capital of Mardrid erupted into savage violence. The citizens of Madrid had had enough of the French army in thier city and were rising up to throw them out. Artillery blasted down narrow streets, cavalry charged across the plazas and infantry slaughtered each other in the...

It was the Battle of Vimeiro that established the reputation of Sir Arthur Wellesley, later to be the Duke of Wellington. This book forms part of the Bretwalda Battles series on The Peninsular War. The book outlines the Peninsular War up to the start of the Gerona Campaign. It then analyses...

Dragon-slayer, English hero, martyr, warrior, soldier and saint — St George has been all these things. But who was the real St George? This fascinating book draws on the most recent academic research into folklore and legends to put together an accurate account of St George’s original life story, and how he has developed in folklore and legend to become what he is today.

Become an Explorer Today! It's 2052 and the first known wormhole appears in lunar orbit. Earth sends a ship to investigate and the future of space travel changes forever. The Solar System develops in many ways over the centuries, but one thing remains constant; the wormholes continue to appear. Join...