If you prefer your history straight, rather than fictionalised, Phoenix has re-issued Antonia Fraser's 1996 account of the plot.

Scholarly, authoritative and vividly written, it is a clear and balanced account of a foiled terrorist plot (starring a son of York) that 400 years later is remembered only for the annual burning-of-the-Guy.

Updated: 10:43 Saturday, October 22, 2005