Pen and Sword Books
Pen and Sword Books is a British publisher which specializes in printing and distributing books on military history and other niche subjects.
Pen & Sword Books is part of the Barnsley Chronicle newspaper group. The Barnsley Chronicle is one of the UK's oldest provincial newspapers and one of the few weeklies still in private ownership. It was launched in 1858 and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2008.
History
The first books produced by the company were in response to public demand, following a series of articles first published weekly in the Barnsley Chronicle. Dark Peak Aircraft Wrecks told the story of crash sites in the Dark Peak National Park and a further weekly feature on the history of two Kitchener battalions, known as the Barnsley Pals, aroused a public thirst for more. Over the years these books have been reprinted a number of times and collectively have reached a sales figure of around 20,000 copies.
Following on from the success of the Dark Peak and Barnsley Pals books, a number of local history paperbacks were produced along with a series of battlefield guide books. Battleground Europe proved immediately successful and as more and more titles were produced the company made the decision to launch a book publishing arm of the group.
When the Leo Cooper imprint became available the Barnsley Chronicle bought it; and the Pen and Sword publishing house was established in 1990.[1] Leo Cooper (25 March 1934 – 29 November 2013), the husband of novelist Jilly, had established a strong reputation for publishing military history titles and had some well-known books in his list. Cooper later retired.[1]
Pen and Sword also covers naval and maritime history, aviation, local history, family history, collectables and antiques, nostalgia and true crime.
Select series
- Aviation Heritage Trail—stories, history and events behind famous aviation operations
- Battlegrounds—Over 100 illustrated battleground guide books from periods including 1066, Wars of the Roses, the English Civil War, Napoleonic, Zulu War, The Boer War, World War I to World War II
- Holt's Guidebooks—Overview general information books with detailed maps, memorials, battleground descriptions and tourist-focused summaries covering varied campaigns from World War I and World War II
- Pals—narratives documenting the lives of friends, comrades and pals who joined together in the same Battalions to serve King and Country during the Great War
- Classics—books covering military operations and stories from many different periods throughout history
- Warships of the Royal Navy—stories behind famous Royal Navy ships from the Napoleonic Wars to contemporary military conflicts
- Images of War—photographs from wartime archives with detailed captions and references
- Shot in the Tower: The Story of the Spies Executed in the Tower of London During the First World War [2]
References
- 1 2 Obituary: Leo Cooper, telegraph.co.uk, 2 December 2013.
- ↑ "Shot in the Tower: The Story of the Spies Executed in the Tower of London During the First World War: Amazon.co.uk: Leonard Sellers: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-08.