The history of the Freemasons has been often shrouded in mystery and suspicion. Since 1717, with the establishment of Grand Lodge in London, the Freemasons have been a power within the nation, withstanding attacks from Catholic Church, Hitler and public disapproval. This title explores the role of society in both American and French Revolutions.

Beginning with the arrival of Henry Tudor and his army in 1485, at Milford, and ending with the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, this is an account contrasting the life of palaces, grand tournaments and English drama with the harshness of peasant life and the misery of the Plague.

This text traces the essential features of what constitutes a secret society before dealing with the more important such set-ups in ancient and modern times, in the Middle East, in central and western Europe, and in Britain and the US.

Queen Mary's brutal methods for restoring Catholicism to England earned her the name Bloody Mary . This is the story of her persecution of men such as Ridley and Thomas Cranmer, both of whom were burned at the stake, as were some 300 others who refused to renounce their Protestantism.