Alumni authors: P-R

The Treasuries at Delphi - an architectural study, SIMA 160, Jonsered, 2000

The author investigates 30 buildings in the ancient oracular sanctuary at Delphi, to define their composite function, to establish their chronology and to determine the donors and the workshops responsible for construction. Archaeological evidence is juxtaposed to historic sources and travellers' accounts. Physical remains and spolia help us identify the provenance of the architects, as well as the city-state that dedicated each one of these votive monuments. Furthermore we gain an insight into the role of the sanctuary's officers and the pattern of administration as regards sacred monuments. One of the conclusions of this collective examination is that the treasuries at Delphi can be ultimately interpreted as a stimulus to the development of Classical architecture.

Delphi - Torch and Channel of Civilisation, Cultural Foundation of the Bank of Cyprus, Athens, 2004

This monograph epitomises the outcome of recent archaeological research at Delphi. A synthetic approach of architecture and monumental topography combined with geology, mythology and religion. An attempt at justifying the reputation of this oracular site in antiquity and its diachronic significance for humanity.

Accounting for a Better Life, Troubador Publishing Ltd, 2007
A new approach to home and personal accounting, sub-titled Gain Control of Personal Finances.

 The Thick Blue Line, GET Publishing

Light-hearted memories of Ian's policing career from the 1960s and 1970s. The time of indelible pencils - not computers, of push bikes - not cars.

From Lucker Street to Wongawilli, GET Publishing

Ever since the First Fleet set sail for Australia back in 1787 with its motley crew of sailors, marines and prisoners, that huge desert continent has exerted an influence over our families in Northern Britain. Some followed the transported prisoners looking for gold; to escape the debtor's prison: others - too many - to escape the TB, deprivation and hopelessness after the 1st World War. Successive generations followed until the 1970s; followed to the 'Lucky Country' which still offers one thing above all else: Hope - Hope for a better future.

The stories of our ain' folk, their journeys, the people, the places are all to be found in From Lucker Street to Wongawilli.

Under the Red Eagle, 2005, Woodfield of Bognor Regis

This auto-biographical account, which is now in the Royal Archives, details the author's military experiences oversees, including postings in Italy and France, with the 239 Wing, the famous fighter-bomber wing of the Desert Air Force.

Disasters and Miracles: How it Might Have Been, 2009, Bridge House Publishing

Anna, who writes under the pen-name of Elise Harter, has had her first story published in the anthology of alternative Bible stories, Disasters and Miracles: How it Might Have Been. Her story, ‘Noah and the Caterpillars’ is an adaptation of Noah’s Ark narrated by one of the Ark’s inhabitants, Charlie the Caterpillar. It is on sale at Amazon (UK).

All of Elise’s personal proceeds for this venture will be split equally between the Butterfly Conservation and the Green Belt Movement. Find out more at Elise's website.

Private Lives, 2011, Headline Review

Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller Tasmina Perry delivers the ultimate summer blockbuster: a jet-setting, rollercoaster ride set around a glamorous media law firm riddled with secrets, scandals and danger...

Anna Kennedy loves her career. A young associate with a top media law firm, she's the lawyer to the stars, hiding their sins from the hungry media. When Anna fails to prevent a damaging story being printed about heart-throb movie star Sam Charles she finds herself fighting to save not only his reputation, but also her own. But Anna is about to uncover a scandal more explosive than even Sam's infidelities. A party girl is already dead and those responsible are prepared to silence anyone who stands in their way. Not least a pretty young lawyer who knows too much.

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to Scottish Independence, 2013

Andy Pickering was a middle-aged accountant who had loathed his dull job for thirty years. He was on his third mid-life crisis and desperately needed an interesting project before he started self-harming. Although English, Andy had a lifelong fascination with Scotland and was an expert on the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, his specialist subject when he won a place on the BBC's Mastermind. When it was announced that there would be a Scottish independence referendum held in the autumn of 2014 and that there was now a very real chance of Scotland leaving the United Kingdom, he resigned, hoisted up his rucksack and set off to see what all the fuss was about. Despite not having hitched a lift since his student days, he thumbed the route of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite Army from the Highlands of Scotland to the southernmost point they reached in Derby, then back north to Inverness, the scene of their final defeat. Along the way he talked to the people he met to find out what both the Scots and English think about themselves, each other, and independence. The Bryson-esque result is an affectionate, amusing and controversial book which gives real insight into the minds of the Scots and the English, and the possible outcome of the independence referendum. This is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the political future of the United Kingdom.

US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy: Candidates, Campaigns, and Global Politics from FDR to Bill Clinton, University Press of Kentucky, 2017, ed. Andrew Johnstone and Andrew Priest

While domestic issues loom large in voters’ minds during American presidential elections, matters of foreign policy have consistently shaped candidates and their campaigns. From the start of World War II through the collapse of the Soviet Union, presidential hopefuls needed to be perceived as credible global leaders in order to win elections—regardless of the situation at home—and voter behavior depended heavily on whether the nation was at war or peace. Yet there is little written about the importance of foreign policy in US presidential elections or the impact of electoral issues on the formation of foreign policy. 

In US Presidential Elections and Foreign Policy, a team of international scholars examines how the relationship between foreign policy and electoral politics evolved through the latter half of the twentieth century. Covering all presidential elections from 1940 to 1992—from debates over American entry into World War II to the aftermath of the Cold War—the contributors correct the conventional wisdom that domestic issues and the economy are always definitive. Together they demonstrate that, while international concerns were more important in some campaigns than others, foreign policy always matters and is often decisive. This illuminating commentary fills a significant gap in the literature on presidential and electoral politics, emphasizing that candidates’ positions on global issues have a palpable impact on American foreign policy.

Poppy's Big Idea, 2017, Blurb

‘‘Poppy likes to think BIG. She has a brilliant idea, but can she convince her friends to help? When it comes to big ideas, Poppy realizes it's sometimes easier to show, than to tell.’’

Buffy makes books for children. She is also a scientist. With her books, Buffy wants to show how science is all around us and how often science and creativity go hand in hand.

There are not enough books for children that incorporate science, and even fewer with female lead characters doing it, which is really important for improving the gender balance in science, and the way it’s viewed by children… So I wrote one.

I think the picture book is a great medium for communicating difficult ideas and has the double whammy of reaching children and adults at the same time because picture books are almost always read by an adult to a child.

My hope is that by subtly incorporating ‘everyday science’ into early childhood experiences, science will become commonplace, more understandable and less intimidating. If someone was to read the book and think: ‘Oh, is that science?’, then I would consider my job done!

Acting In Solidarity: Reflections in Critical Christianity, 2005, London: DLT

This is a lively resource book of original sketches and studies suitable for groups of all ages, cultures, communities and contexts, designed to kick-start a process of thinking creatively and critically about the Christian faith.

Since leaving University I have become a writer and have written and published four novels:

Time & Tide; Stay in Touch; No Regrets; Look After Each Other

Freedom's Mercenaries: British Volunteers in the Wars of Independence of Latin America, 2006, Hamilton Books

Enrique spent almost 25 years researching the experiences of the 10,000 volunteers who joined the fight for American independence between 1817 and 1824. The result is this book, split into two volumes, which focuses mainly on the military aspects of the British soldiers' and sailors' lives in Latin America.

Back to Life: How to Unlock Your Pathway to Recovery (When Back Pain Persists), 2016, Vermilion

Back pain is very hard (often impossible) to diagnose and to specify, hence heavy painkillers are thrown at people. But the only way to beat the pain is to understand it. Based on cutting-edge research into back pain and the psychology of pain itself, David Rogers and Grahame Brown have set up the Functional Restoration Service at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham – the UK’s leading centre for back pain. Here they have developed the pioneering BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL approach: 

BIO – How your body processes pain; what physical triggers you have and why; where your body holds pain
PSYCHO – where your pain is coming from; what exactly your pain is; the power of your mind to deal with and stop pain
SOCIAL – all the environmental factors that will contribute to your back pain, and how, why and when to change them

Based on this revolutionary and already hugely successful approach, Back to Life offers a whole new way of dealing with back pain: 

- Understand the psychology of pain
- Debunk the myths
- Find the source of your pain
- Manage your pain – including all the emotions and anxiety that go with it
- Master exercises and stretches
- Identify and solve the social factors
- Get lasting relief

Yvonne, Child of the Somme, 2022, Austin Macauley

Yvonne Millet was born into poverty in Paris during La Belle Époque, in the shadow of Notre-Dame cathedral. Taken to a childminder in the countryside a few days after birth, she became a ward of state at the age of three when her mother disappeared. A stable childhood in the beautiful Somme region of northern France was shattered when, aged 15, she was sent to work as a maid in a military town, during the First World War. Her devastating experiences would change her life and haunt her forever.

As a troubled young woman facing a precarious future, chance led Yvonne to marry a former British soldier. Hopes of fulfilment with a husband and family were marred by profound insecurities and the Second World War.

A moving, true account of one girl’s formative years in early 20th century France, Yvonne, Child of the Somme is also the story of thousands of children like her, who shared a similar fate. Most were too ashamed of their background ever to reveal their heart-rending stories. The echoes of their pain reverberated down the generations, unexplained.

‘Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.’

― Søren Kierkegaard, Danish Philosopher, 1813-55