Beautifully-illustrated and written, this lively, engaging book celebrates the lives of talented individuals who came to the UK and built a sparkling new life here.

From Hans Holbein to Marie Tussaud, Mary Seacole to Mo Farah, find out the real stories of people recognizable to children and adults alike, and other quieter individuals, who have shaped our lives from business to food to medicine.

Discover how:

• Refugee Michael Marks founded Marks & Spencer

• Banker Charles Yerkes built the London Underground

• Scientist Ernst Chain developed life-saving penicillin

• Activist Claudia Jones launched the Notting Hill Carnival

Each individual is celebrated with an original illustration and a short biography. Many showed grit to make their mark on Britain after fleeing persecution or war abroad. All achieved their success through talent and hard work.

100 Immigrants Who Made Britain Great is a stirring gift for any teenager curious about how modern Britain came into being.

Many of them arrived in Britain penniless, knowing little or no English. They succeeded through their hard work and ingenuity – and their legacies shape society. Without Michael Marks, we wouldn’t have Marks & Spencer. Without Stelios Haji-Ioannou, holidaymakers would not have jetted abroad on easyJet. Without Ludwig Guttmann, there would be no Paralympics.

Without so many others featured in this book, the United Kingdom would be drastically different and immeasurably poorer.

Each entry contains an original illustration and a profile of each individual and their incredible achievements.

This book is an ideal accompaniment to Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, 100 Great Black Britons and Amazing Muslims Who Changed the World. Tying in with Black History Month, this book is a great source of inspiring stories around immigration all year round.

Here are the inspirational individuals featured in 100 Immigrants Who Made Britain Great:

Ade Adepitan, athlete and TV presenter

Alan Yau, restaurateur

Alec Issigonis, car designer

Alek Wek, model

Alf Dubs, politician

András Schiff, pianist and conductor

Anish Kapoor, sculptor

Anna Freud, psychoanalyst

Arthur Wharton, footballer

Barbara Cooper, RAF officer

Bernard Katz, physician

Bushra Nasir, headteacher

Carlos Acosta, ballet dancer

Caroline Herschel, astronomer

Charles Kao, physicist and engineer

Charles Yerkes, financier

Charlotte Auerbach, geneticist

Claudia Jones, journalist and activist

Claus Moser, statistician

Connie Mark, campaigner

Deborah Doniach, immunologist

Dennis Gabor, physicist and engineer

Dietrich Küchemann, engineer

Doreen Lawrence, campaigner

Edith Bülbring, scientist

Emma Orczy, novelist and playwright

Erich Reich, entrepreneur

Ernst Chain, scientist

Ernst Gombrich, author

Eugène Rimmel, perfumer

Fanny Eaton, model

Freddie Mercury, pop singer

George Frideric Handel, composer

George Weidenfeld, publisher

Gina Miller, entrepreneur and activist

Graeme Hick, cricketer

Hans Holbein, painter

Hans Krebs, scientist

Harry Gordon Selfridge, retailer

Henry Wellcome, scientist

Ida Copeland, politician

Ida Freund, academic

Ira Aldridge, actor and playwright

Iris Murdoch, novelist

Isaiah Berlin, philosopher

Jacob Epstein, sculptor

Jimi Hendrix, musician

Joan Armatrading, musician

Johanna Weber, engineer

John Barnes, footballer

John Edmonstone, footballer

Joseph Conrad, author

Joseph Rotblat, physicist

Judith Kerr, author

Karan Bilimoria, entrepreneur

Karel Kuttelwascher, fighter pilot

Krystyna Skarbek, wartime spy

Kylie Minogue, pop singer

Lew Grade, broadcaster

Lucian Freud, painter

Ludwig Goldscheider, publisher

Ludwig Guttmann, neurologist

Magdi Yacoub, heart surgeon

Malala Yousafzai, campaigner

Marc Isambard Brunel, engineer

Margaret Busby, publisher and editor

Marie Tussaud, entrepreneur

Mary Prince, campaigner

Mary Seacole, nurse

Maureen Dunlop de Popp, pilot

Michael Marks, retailer

Mo Farah, athlete

Mona Hatoum, artist

Montague Burton, retailer

Moses Montefiore, banker

Nasser Hussain, cricketer

Oscar Nemon, scupltor

Parveen Kumar, doctor

Peter Porter, poet

Prince Albert, royal consort

Raheem Sterling, footballer

Richard Rogers, architect

Sake Dean Mahomed, surgeon

Shanta Pathak, entrepreneur

Sislin Fay Allen, police officer

Solly Zuckerman, military adviser

Stelios Haji-Ioannou, entrepreneur

Steve Shirley, entrepreneur

Stuart Hall, academic

TS Eliot, poet

Tessa Sanderson, athlete

Trevor McDonald, newscaster

Valerie Amos, lawyer and politician

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, biologist

Vera Atkins, wartime spy

Violette Szabo, wartime spy

William Butement, scientist

Yasmin Qureshi, politician and barrister

Yvonne Thompson, entrepreneur

Zaha Hadid, architect

The introduction is by Bonnie Greer, the Chicago-born playwright and cultural commentator.

Buy the book to see what she says about the contribution of immigrants to the UK