A TIMES BEST BUSINESS BOOK OF 2022 SHORTLISTED FOR A BUSINESS BOOK AWARD 'A gripping story about a great British brand' Jeremy Vine Lightweight, compact, and now, electric: the cityscape has been forever changed by the addition of the Brompton bike, with its distinctive style and clever folding design. For over forty years, the Brompton's modular design has remained virtually unchanged. It has stood not only the test of time but every financial crash since 1976, Brexit, and COVID-19, not to mention every other risk which any business faces. Where, then, did this ingenious feat of engineering come from? Who were the minds behind it? And how did a small company grow to become one of the biggest cycling brand names in the world? This is not only the first look behind the scenes at Brompton Bicycle Ltd, but a masterclass in entrepreneurship, manufacturing, and scaling a business.

Brompton traces the life of a nineteenth century soldier who served in the British Army at the height of English rule. It interlocks with historical accuracy the story of Ireland, the formation of Englands Standing Army and life as it was in a Regiment. A mix of discipline, passion, struggle and personal triumphs. From Portugal to Australia to India with his regiment, William Smith endures campaign hardship, tragedy and tropical illness. He remarries and is repatriated back to Ireland, but his retirement coincides with Irelands crisis, the 1840s famine. Acceptance into the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps offers a new life establishing the colony of New Zealand. His legacy to the country is found in the solid infrastructure that survives from Auckland and Onehungas humble beginnings and the meticulous genealogical research into Williams numerous descendants.

Recently promoted to sergeant, Don Barton is back at Newbury where he is placed in charge of a dysfunctional team of young constables. While he strives to knock his shift into shape, darker forces are conspiring against him. The psychopathic terrorist, Irene, has been released from prison and is determined to take revenge on Don for his part in her arrest. At the same time, a patient walks away from an Oxfordshire mental hospital, ready to declare war on the world. Back in Newbury, Sean Treadaway, a vicious local thug, has vowed to rip Don’s lungs out. When he needs support the most, Don’s old boss has retired only to be replaced by a superintendent who hates him for damaging his career. Can Don survive the convergence of evil that now surrounds him, and bring the criminals to justice?

This volume describes the buildings in the narrow triangle extending from Knightsbridge to the Brompton cemetery between the Brompton Road and the Fulham Road, and from the quiet salubrious backwater of georgian and pre-Georgian days to the prosperous suburb that submerged it, and the bustling outskirts of the metropolis marked by spectacular late-Victorian buildings like Harrods and the Oratory.