Hobnob Press

The Rise of the English Poltergeist, by Andrew Pickering — Hobnob Press ‘I know what I heard and saw’. It is 1650 and something is very wrong in your house. Pots and pans are flying through the air. Invisible hands are pelting your family with stones. Doors slam shut on t...

Do you know which quote is fake?

Or perhaps you're stumped and want to know more?

Find Andrew Pickering's 'The Rise of the English Poltergeist' here for an in-depth look into the early modern poltergeist
#Poltergeist #FolkloreThursday #HauntedHistory

www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/the-...

Spot the AI generated poltergeist quote:

"Something he thought, stopt both his breath and held down his eye lids"
"All the pewter was found in a heap in the yard, tho’ no thief could have passed the door"
"There was such stamping over the roof of the house, as if 1000 horse had been there trotting"

Hobnob Press | Substack Your independent publisher of historical non-fiction - follow us in unearthing the strangest corners of history! Subscribe for exclusive excerpts & obscure non-fiction Check out our website here - htt...

UPDATE!
For anyone interested in more Hobnob Press news & exclusive excerpts from our newest release 'The Rise of the English Poltergeist', please note that we have just started a Substack account!
Available via the link below.
thehobnobpress.substack.com?r=5xmhbn&utm...

The Rise of the English Poltergeist, by Andrew Pickering — Hobnob Press ‘I know what I heard and saw’. It is 1650 and something is very wrong in your house. Pots and pans are flying through the air. Invisible hands are pelting your family with stones. Doors slam shut on t...

“I know what I heard and saw…”
It's 1650.
Stones fly through the ceiling.
Doors slam in the night.
And a great black dog walks upright.
This isn't folklore. These are real accounts by respectable people.
Pre-order 'The Rise of the English Poltergeist' now!
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/the-...

So pleased to see that this excellent @vchlondon.bsky.social book (our first collaboration with @hobnobpress.bsky.social), is out soon - the book tracks the first transformation of modern Basingstoke (there have arguably been two since with a third under way).

This is #LocalHistory today.

Basingstoke Reinvented, 1800–1925: from Agricultural Town to Manufacturing Centre, edited by Jean Morrin — Hobnob Press Basingstoke is frequently seen as a modern town, the product of the last decades of the 20th century. In reality it has a long, rich and prosperous history dating from the medieval period. This study ...

We could not be prouder to publish this fantastic book on behalf of our friends at Hampshire VCH! A huge congratulations to them for this great piece of local history.
#VCHPartnershipPublications @vchlondon.bsky.social
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/basi...

Chippenham on this Day, by Chris Dallimore — Hobnob Press Chippenham on this Day contains 366 days of events from the history of Chippenham in north Wiltshire. As you work through the calendar you will discover a wide range of subjects: tragedies, celebratio...

It is #LocalHistoryMonth & Local History is what we do. So, here is another one of our fabulous titles.😊Chris is a great advocate for Chippenham and a fantastic local historian.
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/chip...

Front cover of a book, entitled 'Basingstoke Reinvented, 1800-1925, from Agricultural Town to Manufacturing Centre', edited by Jean Morrin. The title is white on a red band occupying the top third of the cover. Beneath are two views if the town from the same spot. The top (a black/white engraving), shows trees and thatched cottages. The lower image, a hand tinted photograph shows the 19th century streets that replaced the cottages, c. 1920.

Today is our annual #VCHDay where colleagues from around the country gather for a catch up and to share ideas, experiences and new publications.

Here's a preview of our next book, a proof of 'Basingstoke Reinvented, 1800-1925, soon to be available from @hobnobpress.bsky.social. 🗃️ #LocalHistory

The Quest for Wansdyke, by Alan Soldat — Hobnob Press Wansdyke is one of the great linear, bank-and-ditch earthworks of England. From end to end it stretches 35 miles across Somerset and Wiltshire. Only the Devil’s Dyke, near Newmarket, is higher. Archae...

It is #LocalHistoryMonth & Local History is what we do. So here is one of our fabulous titles (we love the contents, but are also very proud of this cover).😊The mysterious Wansdyke is one of the great linear, bank-and-ditch earthworks of England. Recommended!
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/the-...

The Costs of Pleasure: Visiting Georgian Bath and other Spas, the Family & Excursions of Jacob & Priscilla Franks, by Colin Fisher — Hobnob Press The costs of the pleasures of visiting Bath in the Georgian period were not only the price of tickets to the balls, of tips for the Sedan chairmen and many other expenses, but also the external costs ...

We are delighted to publish👇The Costs of Pleasure explores the dual meaning of 'costs' through the lens of Jacob and Priscilla Franks' visits to Bath 1777-1808, examining both their expenses for leisure activities & the colonial exploitation that funded it. www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/the-...

Made in Swindon: a Social History, 1840s – 1940s, edited by Philip Garrahan — Hobnob Press A small market town in rural Wiltshire became a leading centre for manufacturing in the century after 1840. This is Swindon, a creation of the Great Western Railway which built its trains there. Behin...

It is #LocalHistoryMonth & we thought we should promote some of our newest titles. This is a fabulous book on #Swindon. It focuses not on trains 🚆but rather at the people who made them 😲
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/made...

Gilbert White’s Disciple: a Biography of John Leonard Knapp (1767-1845) together with his The Journal of a Naturalist, 5th edition (previously unpublished), by George S.J. White, Bt — Hobnob Press Revd. Gilbert White published his revolutionary Natural History of Selborne in 1789, an entirely new insight into the natural world. John Knapp was the first to follow White's successful format, publi...

We are thrilled to publish this! The first biography of the naturalist John Leonard Knapp (1767-1845) and the previously unpublished 5th edition of his nature journal. Knapp may not be well known now but his journal was a bestseller when it was first published.
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/gilb...

Made in Swindon: a Social History, 1840s – 1940s, edited by Philip Garrahan — Hobnob Press A small market town in rural Wiltshire became a leading centre for manufacturing in the century after 1840. This is Swindon, a creation of the Great Western Railway which built its trains there. Behin...

We have been swamped at Hobnob Press working on new books but consequently have some amazing titles coming out including this fabulous history of #Swindon which focuses not on the #trains but on to the people who made them.
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/made...

John Walker's Commonplace Book: A Traveller in the 1670s, edited by Anthea Jones — Hobnob Press Travelling for pleasure in the 1670s required plenty of stamina. John Walker, a well-to-do country gentleman in his early thirties, rode many miles on horseback through England, Wales and Scotland, an...

I have my proof of this beauty! The previously unpublished c17 travel writings of John Walker, edit. by Anthea Jones. Walker travelled England, Scotland, Wales, France & more. It is fab. #17thCenturyTravel

www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/john...

Jane Austen Exhibition Step back in time to learn more about Jane Austen, who is considered a pioneer in fiction, breaking new ground in subject and style.

Interested in Jane Austen? Check out the exhibition at Seacity Museum, Southampton. It ties perfectly with our new release on Austen's Southampton Circle by Cheryl Butler. Available from the museum soon or from our website!
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/firs...
seacitymuseum.co.uk/whats-on/jan...

John Walker's Commonplace Book: A Traveller in the 1670s, edited by Anthea Jones — Hobnob Press Travelling for pleasure in the 1670s required plenty of stamina. John Walker, a well-to-do country gentleman in his early thirties, rode many miles on horseback through England, Wales and Scotland, an...

Discover 17th century travel through the eyes of John Walker in our new release. Edited by Anthea Jones.
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/john...

First Impressions: Jane Austen's Southampton Circle, 1780–1820, by Cheryl Butler — Hobnob Press Jane Austen’s writings often reflect on the influence of mothers, of parental failings and the dynamics of family relationships. This book reflects the potential influence of her Southampton networks ...

We are thrilled to have just published this fabulous book on #JaneAusten & her Southampton connections.
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/firs...

‘Your Church Newly Built…’ a History of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, by Chiz Harward — Hobnob Press The church of the Holy Trinity in the small Cotswold town of Minchinhampton traces its origins back to Domesday. The medieval church was largely demolished and rebuilt in the 1840s but the church’s so...

We @hobnobpress.bsky.social are shortly publishing this beauty. It tells the story of a Cotswold church that lovingly weaves evidence from the standing remains, archaeological excavations and documentary sources inc. churchwardens’ acc. & eyewitness records. www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/your...

We were deeply sad about the passing of our friend Ken Rogers but are very happy to publish this book he completed in collaboration with his son shortly before his death. A companion to Wiltshire & Somerset Woollen Mills, it focuses on the lives of weavers.
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/wilt...

It's only taken me 5 years to get this far but this Summer my book "Murder in the archives: The stories that crime files tell" will be published by @hobnobpress.bsky.social. Deep dive into the material culture and strange world of murder files. Find out more at angelasuttonvane.com/murder-in-th...

John Billingsley, 1747-1811: Entrepreneur turned Agriculturalist, by Lin Thorley — Hobnob Press John Billingsley of Ashwick Grove in the Somerset Mendips of south-west England - agricultural pioneer and 'improver'. His story gives a unique insight into eighteenth-century rural life in the west c...

Just out we have a biography of John Billingsley. Best known for the General View of Agriculture in Somerset, he was also a key member of the early Bath and West Society and an authority on enclosure, and was active in wool, turnpikes, canals, & much more.
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/john...

What is going on at your favourite small publishers? Here is all our news!
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/news

Yes! Please can we be added. Thank you!

Great to see you on here, big fan of your books.

I spent yesterday reading the excellent Chalk Stories from @bethbpoet.bsky.social @hobnobpress.bsky.social. It is seeped in nature celebrating the #Dorset landscape with powerful memories of the past and moving personal poems too from Beth. Well done, I loved it. Recommend!

Avebury without the Stones: a Social History c.1550-1800, by Stuart A Raymond — Hobnob Press In Avebury the prehistoric stone circle, together with the manor house, receive most of the attention. But what about the history of the ordinary people of the parish? Their story is just as interesti...

We are new to Bluesky, but excited to be here, and for the publication of this new title featured on BBC Radio Wiltshire this afternoon!
www.hobnobpress.co.uk/books/p/aveb...