1903. The British Empire has reached its probable apogee: so much of the world map is coloured red and the sun never set on its boundaries. But Lord Curzon, the ambitious Viceroy of India, has differe...

1914. Simon Fonthill, a fit 59-year-old, is visiting his farm in Northern Rhodesia when the Great War breaks out. With him, as always, is his wife Alice, but also his old comrade and former batman, 35...

1914. Outnumbered British forces are desperately trying to hold off the oncoming German soldiers in France. Star shells – commonly called ‘starlight’ – fly high into the night,...