current releases

Who Was... King Henry VIII Who Was... William the Conqueror The Norman King Who Was... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Child Genius Who Was... Martin Luther King Rubies in the Snow Who Was... Ned Kelly (2nd ed) Gangster hero of the Australian Outback Who Was... William Shakespeare (2nd ed) The mystery of the world's greatest playwright Who Was... Queen Victoria (2nd ed) The woman who ruled the world Who Was... Madame Tussaud (2nd ed) Waxwork queen of the French Revolution Who Was... Nelson Mandela (2nd ed) The Prisoner who Gave the World Hope Who Was... The Bloody Baron (2nd ed) Wicked dictator of the East Who Was... Napoleon Who Was... Elizabeth I The Kingly Queen Who Was... Nero Who Was... Perkin Warbeck The Boy who would be King Who Was... John Lennon The Beatle with the Big Mouth Who Was... Sir John Franklin The Man Who Ate His Own Boots Who Was... Jane Austen The Girl with the Magic Pen Who Was... St Francis of Assisi The Patron Saint of Animals Who Was... Charles Dickens The Man who Invented Christmas Who Was... Nancy Wake World War Two Secret Agent – "The White Mouse" Who Was... Isambard Kingdom Brunel Who Was... Boudicca Warrior Queen Who Was... The Duke of Wellington The Gentleman Soldier

"Remarkably informative and lots of fun,
these excellent little books pack a big punch."
Philip Ardagh

back catalogue

Operation Ward 10 Ada Lovelace (1st ed) (Oct 01) Alexander Selkirk (1st ed) (Oct 01) Anne Boleyn (1st ed) (Oct 01) Charlotte Brontë (1st ed) (Oct 01) Ned Kelly (1st ed) (Oct 01) The Bloody Baron (1st ed) (Oct 01) Who Was... Ada Lovelace? (2nd ed) (Mar 03) Who Was... David Livingstone? (1st ed) (Mar 03) Who Was... Florence Nightingale? (1st ed) (Mar 03) Who Was... William Shakespeare? (1st ed) (Apr 03) Who Was... Madame Tussaud? (1st ed) (May 03) Who Was... Queen Victoria? (1st ed) (May 03) Who Was... Sgt Major Philip Astley? (Jun 03) Who Was... Nelson Mandela? (1st ed) (Aug 03) Who Was... David Livingstone (2nd ed) (Dec 03) Who Was... Admiral Nelson (Apr 04) Who Was... Emily Davison (Apr 04) Who Was... Ada Lovelace (3rd ed) (May 04) Who Was... Alexander Selkirk (2nd ed) (May 04) Who Was... Ann Boleyn (2nd ed) (May 04) Who Was... Samuel Johnson (May 04) Who Was... Annie Oakley (Jun 04) Who Was... Charlotte Brontë (2nd ed) (Jun 04) Who Was... Florence Nightingale (2nd ed) (Jul 04) The Awful Tale of Agatha Bilke (Apr 06)

"Never has a gap in the market been wider. These are exactly what children traditionally love to read."
Gill Hornby, Evening Standard

"A stunning new collection by Short Books that my children love as much as I do... Each has its own distinct style but all are highly charged dramas... There is no sweetening or softening of the historical record. I hope they flood the market with hundreds more."
Maureen Freely, Observer

"A new series which promises to do for nine-to-twelve-year-olds what Ladybird once did for younger children: to introduce history in an accessible way to a new generation... Any child of spirit will adore these tales."
Andrew Roberts, The Guardian