Did you know that after the Civil War a fine was imposed on Newport parents who allowed their children to play on a Sunday, that Darwin began On the Origin of the Species, while staying at the Kings Head Hotel, or that there are 21 tourists to every Island resident? This is a funny, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic, or simply strange information which no one will want to be without. The Island's most eccentric inhabitants, blood-curdling murders, and literally hundreds of facts combine to make this required reading for locals and visitors alike. Illustrated with humorous cartoons and delivered with wit and flair, this captivating compendium is almost impossible to put down.

This is a comprehensive guide to the buildings of the Isle of Wight. The beguiling architecture of the many towns, villages and resorts is explored in full, as are the charming villas and cottages ornes dotted around the spectacular coasts. But the Island also boasts architecture on the grandest scale: the powerful fortress of Carisbrooke Castle, with its evocative Saxon foundations; the rich and enigmatic baroque mansion of Appuldurcombe; Osborne House, the domestic paradise of Victoria and Albert, with its formal gardens; and the extraordinary "Quarr Abbey", a masterpiece of Expressionist brick by the French monk and architect, Dom Paul Bellot. Other attractions include Roman villas, sturdy manor houses, powerful coastal defences built for Henry VIII (and reinforced under Queen Victoria), and the retreats of Tennyson and other Victorian notables, not to mention a well-established tradition of innovative modern design. Each town or village is treated in a detailed gazetteer. A general introduction provides a historical and artistic overview. Numerous text illustrations, maps and plans, nearly a hundred new colour photographs, full indexes and an illustrated glossary help to make this book invaluable as both reference work and guide

Nammet is a celebration of the very best food and drink that originate the Isle of Wight. Isle of Wight-based food writer Fiona Sims and photographer Julian Winslow help present Island cheeses, honey, gin, meat, fish, veg, bakery products and more

A part-volume detailing the history of Hampshire religious houses, including the early history of Winchester cathedral.

"The Isle of Wight is England's largest island, but its diamond-shape is at most 23 miles long and 13 miles wide. Anchored close to the Hampshire coast, its location has created a sheltered waterway, the Solent, with its own local roadsteads and a unique double tidal system. This geography has shaped the area's history. Southampton's docks, located on Southampton Water to the north-west, had become the country's largest civilian port by the mid-twentieth century. Just north-east across the stretch of water called Spithead is the island city of Portsmouth with its ideal natural harbour. This was an internationally important port for over three hundred years, while the whole area has been places of naval significance on the world stage for even longer. From when Queen Victoria bought Osborne House in 1845 and had it remodeled as an Italianate mansion the Isle of Wight became a hub of Victorian society. The Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson lived at Freshwater, while Charles Swinburne grew up at Bonchurch, a place where Charles Dickens vacationed. Charles Darwin began his Origin of Species here, and Karl Marx came to restore his health; it was the expanding rail network that brought them there. Mark Bardell explores the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth and the surrounding maritime landscapes, revealing unexpected historical and literary associations."--PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION.