Autobiography: writers Books

Book SynopsisThe final volume in the renowned Danish poet Tove Ditlevsen's autobiographical Copenhagen Trilogy (A masterpiece The Guardian). Following Childhood and Youth, Dependency is the searing portrait of a woman's journey through love, friendship, ambition, and addiction, from one of Denmark's most celebrated twentieth century writersTove is only twenty, but she''s already famous, a published poet, and the wife of a much older literary editor. Her path in life seems set, yet she has no idea of the struggles aheadlove affairs, wanted and unwanted pregnancies, artistic failure, and destructive addiction. As the years go by, the central tension of Tove''s life comes into painful focus: the terrible lure of dependency, in all its forms, and the possibility of living freely and fearlesslyas an artist on her own terms.The final volume in the Copenhagen Trilogy, and arguably Ditlevsen''s masterpiece, Dependency is a da

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Book SynopsisSon of Mine is a beautiful, multi-layered account of what it means to be a family. Peter Papathanasiou successfully intertwines two life journeys – his own and his mother’s – over the course of nearly a hundred years, to tell the story of an astonishing act of kindness, and an incredible secret kept hidden for two decades. This exceptional memoir sensitively documents the migrant experience, both from the unfamiliar perspective of first-generation migrants and the tension felt by the second-generation trapped between two cultures. At its core, Son of Mine is about the search for identity – for what it means to be who you are when everything is torn down and questioned, and the wisdom we can pass on to the next generation.Son of Mine is a compelling account of unknown heritage, of life gifts and losses, and the reclamations of parenting. It is dramatic, poignant and uplifting. But above all, it is a memoir of shock, discovery and reconciliation, all delivered in exquisite prose.Trade ReviewAged 24, Peter Papathanasiou was summoned to his mother’s bedroom and told he was adopted. This kickstarts a search for identity that echoes across decades and continents as the author moves between his mother’s life in Greece and Australia. Though this is a unique family history, there’s something universal about this affecting memoir, particularly when Papathanasiou becomes a parent himself. The writing is graceful but never portentous, filling this debut with heart and meaning. -- Ben East * Observer *

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Book SynopsisThe Works contains 120 of Pam Ayres' best-known poems, including 'The Battery Hen', 'Please Will You Take Your Children Home Before I Do Them In?', 'Sling Another Chair Leg on the Fire, Mother' and, of course, 'Oh, I Wish I'd Looked After Me Teeth'.This edition includes a general introduction by Pam, as well as individual introductions to these classic poems of the seventies and eighties, many of which are now illustrated with specially commissioned line drawings by Susan Hellard. The Works is certain to delight Pam's fans of all ages.Trade ReviewPam Ayres is a proper poet, whose wistful, funny, and perceptive verse captures both the joy and unfairness of life * Sunday Times *One of the fastest selling tickets at the Fringe, Pam Ayres' appeal seems undiminished * Edinburgh Herald *Pam Ayres is a poet for the people. Her verse portrays a wicked sense of humour, and deals with subjects not normally thought to be worthy of poetry * Melbourne Herald Sun *Pam Ayres, the bestselling poet, writes as rhapsodically about the Wonderbra as Wordsworth did about daffodils * Guardian *There are clear comparisons between Pam and Sir John Betjeman * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisAn ode to childhood and to “woolgathering” as the wellspring for a creative life—now in an expanded paperback editionTrade Review"Smith is well attuned to the otherworldly dimension of dreams and cosmic visions. In this intimate and vaulting collection, she ushers us into the kingdom of childhood…Smith looks to family history for sources of her artistic impulses and portrays herself in adulthood as a roaming mystic, journal in hand, heart and mind open. Exultations of concentrated beauty and mystery ignite Smith’s soulful poems about the making of an artist." -- Booklist"One thing I’ve always admired about Patti Smith is her refusal to be characterized… Such a sensibility — fluid, visionary, risky — marks the eleven pieces in Woolgathering, a collection of impressionistic prose poems that dances at the edge of memoir before opting for something harder to pin down." -- David Ulin - The Los Angeles Times"Half beautiful language and metaphors, half raw emotion, this book (which includes a handful of personal photos) will inspire and influence a new generation of logophiles as they read and reread this absorbing, meditative work." -- Publishers Weekly"Smith pares down her prose to a state of vivid impressionism, so enigmatic that even ordinary acts - preparing mint tea, nodding off while sewing - take on spiritual weight. The passages evoking her childhood reverberate with serene joy." -- The Observer"Capturing moments of her adult life, Smith pares down her prose to a state of vivid impressionism, so enigmatic that even ordinary acts take on spiritual weight." -- The Guardian"A slim, poetic memoir of Smith’s early years....Ethereal spins of innocence and enchantment." -- Kirkus

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Book SynopsisAt the time of his death Eric Hobsbawm was the most famous historian in the world. He not only wrote history was also witness to it, from the Communist uprising in Europe to revolution in Cuba where he was Che Guevara's interpreter. He was instrumental in the birth of New Labour and was also a jazz journalist for The New Statesman. This is the story of his family life. Marlene Hobsbawm grew up in a comfortable middle class Jewish home in Vienna but that life was shattered by the rise of Nazism. Age five she fled the country with her family and settled in the UK. A talented linguist, Marlene worked post-war for the UN in Italy helping to rebuild the country and then onto war torn Congo. Returning to the UK she met Eric Hobsbawm. This is the story of their roller coaster life together, much of it spent under the scrutiny of M15.Trade Review'Suffused in warmth, wit and much love, Marlene Hobsbawm’s memoir is an un-put-down-able account of an inimitably fascinating life, a record of family, friendship, travel, and an unwavering love between two unlikely individuals who spent fifty years together.'LoveReading

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Book SynopsisThe deeper he read, the more he came to realize that he, too, had a superpower: the ability to tell stories and make everything come out the way he wanted it.Trade Review“J. Michael Straczynski is, without question, one of the greatest science fiction minds of our time.” — Max Brooks (World War Z) “Everything I read made me want to stand up and salute. I can’t stress enough how significant and moving (to say nothing of gripping and sometimes hilarious) this book is. It’s a magnificent piece of work that will stay with me for a long, long time.” — Cory Doctorow, author of Radicalized and Walkaway “Once I started, I couldn’t put it down. Straczynski embedded a mystery in an autobiography. Has to be a first.” — Dan DiDio, Editor in Chief, DC Comics “Part Hollywood how-to, part Frank McCourt-style reflection on emotional neglect and poverty, “Becoming Superman” is an enveloping look back at a unique career.” — Washington Post “His ability to stay the course, to work hard at all times, and to keep writing were his salvation time and again. This book is a testament to that — and it is an inspiring, touching look at how someone born into darkness can find the light and go on to do great things.” — NPR “I just finished reading Becoming Superman and can, without a mote of hyperbole, state it is one of the most terrifying and inspirational, funny and empathic nonfiction books of our time. I’m too old to be currying favors. Just trust me. Buy it or die!” — Walter Koenig “A fascinating journey through careers in three different professions—comic books, TV, and movies—from an accomplished master of each. Rare to have such detail and such access. A major literary autobiography!” — Bestselling author Greg Bear “Straczynski [...] delivers a frank memoir that’s equally harrowing and triumphant.” — Publishers Weekly “Becoming Superman is a valuable resource for those wishing to look behind the curtain to one of pop culture’s most cherished and esteemed writers [...] It is an incredible story of familial abuse and its aftermath, of perseverance and fortitude, of endurance and determination. Highly recommended.” — Fantasy Book Review “Gripping. An amazing testament to the range of human durability and determination, overcoming our impossibly dark side with something even more unlikely and miraculous -- hope.” — Hugo and Nebula Award Winning Novelist David Brin “A deeply moving testament to the power of storytelling, and a no-bullshit guide to becoming, if not Superman, a better person and writer.” — Tor.com “Straczynski’s memoir more than lives up to the promises of its sub-subtitle…Joe never saves the world à la Superman, but pulls through with a heart, spine, and soul of steel. ..” — AV Club “Straczynski’s life story is simultaneously horrifying and uplifting. He survives a childhood worse than almost anything you could imagine and ends up taking an unlikely path to Hollywood success. It’s funny, sad, infuriating, and inspiring--often all at once.” — Jason Snell, host of The Incomparable podcast “His true life story turns out to be as gripping and inspiring as any of his fiction.” — B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog “I’ve rarely felt such pain while reading a memoir, or felt so satisfied at its conclusion. It’s some kind of miracle that he’s taken this lifelong experience, leavened it with perspective, and created something so universal. Powerful, powerful stuff.” — Andy Ihnatko, Tech Author and Co-Host of The Material Podcast

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Book SynopsisWoodbrook is a rare house that gives its name to a small, rural area in Ireland, not far from the old port of Sligo. He stayed for ten years.This memoir, acknowledged as a masterpiece, grew out of two great loves - for Woodbrook and for Phoebe, his pupil.Trade ReviewA brilliantly original mix of love-story, memoir and history -- Brian MooreIt remains with one long after the story is told, a haunting sadness, a memory and a dream -- Olivia Manning * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisLike all poets, inspired by death, Lynch is, unlike others, also hired to bury the dead or cremate them and to tend to their families in a small Michigan town where he serves as the funeral director. In the conduct of these duties he has kept his eyes open, his ears tuned to the indispensable vernaculars of love and grief. In these twelve essays is the voice of both witness and functionary. Lynch stands between ''the living and the living who have dies'' with the same outrage and amazement, straining for the same glimpse we all get of what mortality means to a vital species. So here is homage to parents who have died and to children who shouldn''t have. Here are golfers tripping over grave-markers, gourmands and hypochondriacs, lovers and suicides. These are essays of rare elegance and grace, full of fierce compassion and rich in humour and humanity - lessons taught to the living by the dead.Trade ReviewThese craggy "life studies," forged during his years in the "dismal trade," are always forceful, authentic and full of a kind of ethical and esthetic clarity. -- Richard Bernstein * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewIt was the discovery of the essays celebrating his childhood and youth that altered my perception of him, from a thinker to a writer whose intellectual lucidity was a product of the wealth - the sensual immediacy and clarity - that had been heaped on his senses -- Geoff DyerProbably no European writer of his time left so deep a mark on the imagination -- Conor Cruise O'BrienWhat will strike many readers is the author's extraordinarily evocative language, his astonishing facility to create memorable phrases and take readers to places most have never been but where, because of his artistry, they feel immediately at home. Much eloquent-often lyrical-evidence that the author deserved his Nobel Prize. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisDown and Out in Paris and London was George Orwell’s first published book. It is at once a very personal account, and a vivid exposé of hard lives weighed down by poverty in France and England between the wars.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is introduced by writer Lara Feigel.Towards the end of the 1920s, whilst living in Paris, George Orwell’s few remaining funds are stolen and he quickly falls into a life of severe poverty. Living hand to mouth, he shares squalid lodgings with Russian-born Boris and finds tedious and back-breaking work washing up in the bowels of Paris restaurant kitchens. On his return to England, he lives as a tramp, finding occasional shelter in often dangerous doss houses.Trade ReviewThe thief who took the last of an ailing George Orwell’s money from his Paris room in 1929 did a big favour to political literature. -- Vanessa Thorpe * Observer *Little that Orwell has written, here and elsewhere, has lost the hum of relevancy, from the causes of poverty and its long-term effects – “it annihilates the future” – to its everyday toll of boredom. -- Laurence Mackin * Irish Times *Down and Out is an extraordinary and curious book: beautifully phrased, meticulous, honest and funny. George Orwell’s 1933 memoir, and a study of poverty, is a book both rooted in its era and able to transcend it. * Independent *Orwell’s is a plea for empathy for the laborer, the tramp, and the impoverished . . . [it] is a fascinating anthropological study of poverty, its empirical value tarnished by its richly entertaining prose, and overt imposition of Orwell’s political dispositions upon his observations. * Medium *Books like Down and Out show us that the line between deprivation and success can be a very thin one. The latter is often achieved through learning how to love the former . . . What makes [it] fantastic is his lucid prose. * LA Review of Books *Have a look at the book and catch the strange fascination of the telling. Vivid and lurid and unappetizing, are the pictures he gives of what goes on behind the scenes, human and otherwise. * Kirkus Reviews *

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Book SynopsisWyl Menmuir's The Draw of the Sea is a book about the fishermen, surfers, swimmers, beachcombers, conservationists, sailors and boatbuilders who make their living on the Cornish Coast.Trade Review‘Light and wonder illuminate the pages of this magical book, a fitting tribute to the majesty and mystery of the sea’ The Observer‘Wyl Menmuir explores the different ways in which people can be drawn to the sea, content to leave it a mystery why they are drawn – and perhaps the mystery is the point.’ The Spectator ‘Wyl Menmuir poetically explores our fascination with and dependence on the sea. He talks to fishermen, beachcombers, surfers and other locals about living their lives by the tides, and explores his own personal emotional connection to the water.’ Wanderlust magazine 'A beautiful exploration of how the ocean shapes and intrigues us' Lovereading. Table of ContentsMap 1. St Randline Gleaner-Beachcombing & wrecking around Cornwall’s coast 2. Island Fisher-Eel fishing & lobster potting in St Martin’s & St Agnes 3. Rock Pool Pilgrim -Spring tide on the north coast 4. Depth Plumber-Freediving off the Lizard Peninsula 5. Caul Child-Making handplanes & bellyboards in Porthtowan 6. Wind Worker-Running away to sea 7. Memory Keeper-Searching for cowrie shells 8. Wave Rider-Surfing Cornwall’s Badlands 9. Ocean Wanderer-Watching a walrus in St Mary’s 10. Dawn Patroller-Swimming in St Ives 11. Oar Raiser-Pilot gig rowing in Mount’s Bay 12. Horizon Scanner-Wildlife watching at St Agnes Head 13. Song line Shaper-Beach art at Porthcurno A Glossary of Sea Words Notes Bibliography Index Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisA stunning new book about the role of animals in our lives, by a popular and acclaimed writer From the time she is nine years old, biking to the farmland outside her suburban home, where she discovers a disquieting world of sleeping cows and a “Private Way” full of the wondrous and creepy creatures of the wild—spiders, deer, moles, chipmunks, and foxes—Lauren Slater finds in animals a refuge from her troubled life. As she matures, her attraction to animals strengthens and grows more complex and compelling even as her family is falling to pieces around her. Slater spends a summer at horse camp, where she witnesses the alternating horrific and loving behavior of her instructor toward the animals in her charge and comes to question the bond that so often develops between females and their equines. Slater’s questions follow her to a foster family, her own parents no longer able to care for her. A pet raccoon, rescued from a hole in the wall

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Book SynopsisA poignant, complex and hugely resonant memoir about the shift from being a daughter to a guardian and caregiver, by Giller Prize-winning author.Trade ReviewIt's sublime. Elizabeth Hay is such a masterful writer, I'm joyously in awe. She writes with such grace. There's not a word, image or emotion out of place. I felt as if I was reading the act of healing itself. -- Sarah WinmanA moving, poignant, honest and beautifully written memoir. -- Brian Maye * Irish Times *Compelling . . . Hay's accounts of her parents' last days are luminous and moving. -- Alice Jolly * Times Literary Supplement. *As a novel, this book would have been heartbreaking. But, being a memoir, it is 10 times more powerful. Those of us who have lived through similar experiences with ageing, ailing parents can discern the truth to Hay's book. * Artsfile *Hay has written about it all, with care and candour, in a remarkable memoir * Maclean's *This book is likely to break your heart, and it will definitely make you think about your own family in the context of ageing. * Quill and Quire. *Elizabeth Hay is a marvel. She honours her parents in this portrait of their final years. As steadfast a daughter as she is a writer, Hay writes with sometimes scalding authenticity about aging and the challenges that come with the end of a life, but she is never less than tender. I loved this moving memoir -- Michael Redhill, author of Bellevue SquarePiercingly candid and exquisitely written, Elizabeth Hay's memoir describes the intensity of the love, uncertainty and exasperation triggered by her parents' dying. Yet there is humour here, too, even - especially - after the final goodbyes -- Charlotte Gray, author of The Promise of CanadaIn All Things Consoled, Hay chronicles with breath-taking honesty the ravages of age and decline. She also shows how love, beauty and the sustenance of writing are a kind of balm for this reality of the human experience * C.B.C. Books *Poignant, poetic and sharply observed * Winnipeg Free Press *

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Book SynopsisThe ultimate meaning of the Russian Revolution which took place on March 7, 1917, can be best understood through the pages of the Journal of Leo Tolstoi which is here printed. The spiritual qualities which make up the mind and personality of Tolstoi are the spiritual qualities which make up the new era among men which is being waged so painfully and so uncompromisingly on the soil of Russia. One holds the key to the other, for no land but Russia could have produced a Tolstoi, and in no land but Russia could Tolstoi have been so embraced and so absorbed.Table of ContentsFor more information visit: https://novapublishers.com/shop/the-journal-of-leo-tolstoi-first-volume-1895-1899/

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Book SynopsisJames Rahn has led the Rittenhouse Writers'' Group since he founded it in 1988, making it one of America''s longest-running independent fiction workshops. Hundreds of writers and would-be writers have sought out the group for its remarkable level of instruction and collaboration. Rittenhouse Writers is Rahn''s memoir of the workshop and how his own evolution as both a teacher and a writer -- and as a son, husband, and (somewhat reluctant) father -- has been intertwined with the establishment and growth of the RWG. In addition, Rahn includes ten short stories written by current and former members of the workshop. Rahn graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and earned an MFA at Columbia. He then began to imagine a future that included more than just writing, one that would also tap his aspiration to offer other writers support and motivation, tough but gentle -- his self-described "Iron Fist in the Velvet Glove" approach. After all, as he says more than once, "Writing is hard. Over the years, James Rahn has witnessed every imaginable writing-group scenario, from awkward flirtations to suicide scares, catty critiques, near fistfights, and of course the satisfaction of watching someone''s writing soar. With insight gained through years of observation and participation, and a discerning eye for amusing detail, he takes us along for the journey. Rahn''s struggle to perfect his role as instructor runs throughout the narrative, as does his effort to balance that role with the friendships he forms in the group, and to keep up with his own writing while still giving the group the attention it needs to flourish. Through his eyes, we catch the spark of the workshop''s spirit and get to meet various spirits who have invigorated Rittenhouse Writers'' Group. Rahn cuts back and forth, reflecting, not only on the workshop, but also on his days as a high school dropout in Atlantic City, dead-end jobs and hopeless moves, the difficulty of his mother''s decline and death, and his own unexpected plunge into parenthood -- when, at age 51, he and his wife took on the responsibility of raising her two young nieces. His memoir serves, in a way, as an introduction to the short stories that follow; and the stories -- as surprising and varied as the writers Rahn describes working with -- stand as a fitting coda to Rahn''s tale and offer another window onto his life''s work.

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Book SynopsisUsing the richness of braided essays, Theresa Kishkan thinks deeply about the natural world, mourns and celebrates the aging body, gently contests recorded history, and considers art and visual phenomena. Gathering personal genealogies, medical histories, and early land surveys together with insights from music, colour theory, horticulture, and textile production, Kishkan weaves a pattern of richly textured threads, welcoming readers to share her intellectual and emotional preoccupations. With an intimate awareness of place and time, a deep sensitivity to family, and a poetic delight in travel, local food and wine, and dogs, Blue Portugal and Other Essays offers up a sense of wonder at the interconnectedness of all things.Trade Review"...Kishkan’s writing is lyrical and free-ranging, a true pleasure to read.... In Blue Portugal the essays’ themes are allowed to slip their boundaries; a topic addressed in one essay recurs in later essays, a recognition, perhaps, that thoughts and interests develop over time, shifting slightly as they are put in the company of other thoughts, are seen from different perspectives. The essays in Blue Portugal seem to talk to each other; they interlace in interesting and thought-provoking ways. The book is a fine example of the personal essay at its best." Michael Hayward, The British Columbia Review, August 2, 2022 [Full review at https://thebcreview.ca/2022/08/02/1533-hayward-kishkan]"Kishkan is a prolific, perceptive and gifted writer. Never forgetting her poetic roots, her mind works metaphorically—linking disparate but connectable things in revealing ways…. Blue Portugal and Other Essays is a book to be savoured…” Gene Walz, Winnipeg Free Press, August 13, 2022 [Full review at https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/2022/08/13/lyrical-essays-bring-musings-on-family-travel-and-more]“Rivers meander but with purpose. So too do the ten loosely connected pieces that make up Theresa Kishkan’s Blue Portugal and Other Essays…. These elegantly braided essays reveal a lifetime of curiosity and contemplation in ways that invite the reader to come along…. Blue Portugal and Other Essays is part of the University of Alberta Press’s literary travel series, Wayfarer—and a poetic journey very much worth booking.” Literary Review of Canada, September 2022"Much pleasure awaits the reader of Blue Portugal, Theresa Kishkan's collection of ten essays that sing individually and re-engage with each other throughout the volume. It is not simply a matter of rebounding colours among 'The Blue Etymologies,' 'Blue Portugal,' and 'Blueprints,' nor the recurrence of journeys dark and light; rather, Kishkan's poetic phrasing and rhythms thread these braided essays with originality of perception, reflection, and a lyric sensibility." Michael Greenstein, Miramichi Reader, September 3, 2022 [Full review at https://miramichireader.ca/2022/09/blue-portugal-by-theresa-kishkan/]"To those of us who’ve been following Theresa Kishkan on her blog for many years, the preoccupations of her latest book, the collection Blue Portugal & Other Essays, will be familiar, the quilts, the homesteads, the memories, the blue. But it’s the stunning craftsmanship of the book, the fascinating threads that weave the pieces together and also recur throughout the text, that make this book such a pleasure to discover. " Kerry Clare, Pickle Me This, September 9, 2022"...[with openness,] Theresa Kishkan, a poet-cum-essayist, tackles the many subjects that make up her new collection: rivers she has known and loved, age-old methods of dyeing textiles, medical problems, the inspiration to be found in Dante, the joy of antique buttons.... Our enjoyment of essays, I believe, depends very much on our sense of the person behind the pen, and Kishkan’s sensibility is an appealing one." Merna Summers, Alberta Views, December 1, 2022 [Full review at https://albertaviews.ca/blue-portugal-essays]"Kishkan’s writing in this collection will be enjoyed by those who appreciate a particular poetics of contemporary creative nonfiction, one that is fragmented, interlaced with visual images, possibly experimental and hybrid in style. It will be equally enjoyed by those who like watching rivers, listening to Janáček, travelling by train, and drinking wine!" Martina Horáková, Central European Journal of Canadian Studies, 2022Table of ContentsPreface 1. A Dark Path 2. The Blue Etymologies 3. We Are Still Here 4. Blue Portugal 5. How Rivers Break Away and Meet Again 6. Blueprints 7. Anatomy of a Button 8. Love Song 9. The River Door 10. Museum of the Multitude Village Acknowledgements Sources"

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Book SynopsisA journalist, columnist, humorist and musician, Miles Kington began his writing career at Punch, where he created Franglais, a hugely popular fictional language, before going on to write a daily column for The Times, followed by the Independent. He wrote over thirty thousand newspaper columns in his lifetime, as well as contributing to countless magazines and other publications. When he died in 2008, he left behind an enormous archive of correspondence. Effortlessly funny and entertaining, this collection is full of Kington's inimitable style. He had kept copies of every letter he had sent or received for the best part of fifty years, letters to and from the great and the good of the arts - Terry Jones, Melvyn Bragg, Joanna Lumley, John Cleese, Andre Previn, Philip Larkin, Alan Coren, Kenneth Williams, and many more. My Mother, The Bearded Lady is a selection of these captivating letters, chosen and edited by his wife, Caroline Kington.

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Book SynopsisCome. Your glass is empty. Fill and forget.In one of the great works of American literature, Jack London tells a poignant tale of the power of addiction through his alter-ego, John Barleycorn. With alcohol as his sole companion, John travels across North America, living as a sailor, gold prospector, unemployed vagabond, and struggling novelist. Written with elegance and intelligence, and never shying away from the addiction that bedevilled him, A Drinking Life presents its author''s arduous transformation from hard-bitten adventurer to renowned writer.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Arcturus Classics series brings together high-quality paperback editions of classics works, presented with contemporary graphic cover designs. Together they make a wonderful collection which is perfect for any home library.

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Book SynopsisNew Zealand's most extraordinary literary everyman - poet, novelist, critic, activist - C. K. Stead told the story of his first twenty-three years in South-West of Eden. In this second volume of his memoirs, Stead takes us from the moment he left New Zealand for a job in rural Australia, through study abroad, writing and a university career, until he left the University of Auckland to write full time aged fifty-three. It is a tumultuous tale of literary friends and foes (Curnow and Baxter, A. S. Byatt and Barry Humphries and many more) and of navigating a personal and political life through the social change of the 1960s and 70s. And, at its heart, it is an account of a remarkable life among books - of writing and reading, critics and authors, students and professors. From Booloominbah to Menton, The New Poetic to All Visitors Ashore, from Vietnam to the Springbok Tour, C. K. Stead's You Have a Lot to Lose takes readers on a remarkable voyage through New Zealand's intellectual and cultural history.Table of ContentsNote by Way of Introduction ix Part One - Getting There 1. Booloominbah and Beyond 2. Woodbines with Lionel Knights 3. London and Dr Johnson's Stone 4. In and Out of Auckland Part Two - The Professor 5. Poetry & Politics, Children & Vietnam 6. Allez Mansfield! Allez Menton! 7. Critic, Editor, Poet . . . 8. Wellington, Sydney, and the End of a War 9. UCL, ASD & Menton Again 10. The Fellowship and a Taste of Freedom Part three - Edging towards the Exit 11. 1981 - and Farewell Frank 12. Cross-Eyed with the Effort of It 13. All Visitors Ashore, Allen Curnow, and Mermaids 14. Sligo, Gateway to the World

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Book SynopsisWriter Elspeth Sandys was born during the Second World War, the result of a brief encounter between two people who would never meet again. The first nine months of her life were spent in the Truby King Karitane Hospital in Dunedin, where she was known by her birth name, Frances Hilton James. This would change with her adoption into the Somerville family. A new birth certificate was issued and Frances James became Elspeth Sandilands Somerville. Tom and Alice Somerville, Elspeth''s new parents, lived with their son John in Dunedin''s Andersons Bay. While Elspeth was happy among the ebullient and welcoming Somerville clan, she had a difficult relationship with her adoptive mother, who was frequently hospitalised with mental health problems. Elspeth''s search for her birth parents did not begin until much later in her adult life. What she discovered after an exhaustive search provided answers that were both disturbing and, ultimately, rewarding. What Lies Beneath is a searing, amusing, and never less than gripping tale of a difficult life, beautifully told.

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Book SynopsisPioneering New Zealand poet Jan Kemp's memoir of her first 25 years is a vivid and frank account of growing up in the 1950s, and of university life in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It tracks from an innocent Waikato childhoodto the seedy flats of Auckland, where anarchic student life, drugs, sexual experimentation and a failing marriage could not keep her away from poetry. She became one of the few young women poets of her era to be allowed into the then male poet club.Weaving its own patterns and colours, Raiment shines a clear-eyed light on the heady, hedonistic hothouse of our literary community in the 1970s and reveals what it took, back then, to be an independent woman.

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Book SynopsisFollowing the bestselling publication of THE KENNETH WILLIAMS DIARIES, the devastating self-portrait of one of our most loved and complex performers is completed with this marvellous selection of his letters.Trade Review‘Endlessly absorbing… all the letters can be read and reread with such pleasure… scintillating’A. N. Wilson, Times Literary Supplement ‘His superb instinct for comedy is revealed time and again’Jonathan Coe, Spectator ‘Fascinating… the camp fire crackles merrily’George Melly, Sunday Times ‘A big dipper, full of acid drops and high rises, and it doesn’t matter where you start or finish - that’s the joy of it… rarely have I read a collection of letters of such broad scope in terms of their content and the diversity of their recipients’Barry Cryer, Mail on Sunday

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Book Synopsis“Tell Me A Story is breathtakingly tender, heartbreakingly true...The best memoir I’ve read.”   — Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times bestselling author of The Beach House Reunion Bestselling author Cassandra King Conroy considers her life and the man she shared it with, paying tribute to her husband, Pat Conroy, the legendary figure of modern Southern literature.Cassandra King was leading a quiet life as a professor, divorced “Sunday wife” of a preacher, and debut novelist when she met Pat Conroy. Their friendship bloomed into a tentative, long-distance relationship. Pat and Cassandra ultimately married, ending Pat''s long commutes from coastal South Carolina to her native Alabama. It was a union that would last eighteen years, until the beloved literary icon’s death from pancreatic cancer in 2016.I

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Book SynopsisKatherine Mansfield's letters are as finely written as her stories and prized by ordinary readers as much as by literary critics and feminists. The fifth and final volume of this celebrated edition reveals Mansfield's courage, wit, independence, and honesty in the final year of her life.Trade ReviewThis fifth volume of the Collected Letters brings a satisfying completeness * Stephen Barkway, Virginia Woolf Bulletin *Its completion is a triumphant achievement... The editors' labours throughout have been meticulous yet unobtrusive * Trev Broughton, Times Literary Supplement *Top of my wishlist... plangent, wishful and determined even at the end with O'Sullivan's learned and sensitive introduction. * Kirsty Gunn, The Scotsman Books of the Year *...her last year has never appeared as vibrant as in this elegantly produced and unobtrusively edited volume, filled with previously unknown material. * Christopher Hawtree, Telegraph on Saturday *The editors deserve our gratitude for publishing these letters * A. Banerjee, English Studies *Table of ContentsTHE LETTERS

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Book SynopsisThis volume is part of the Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh critical edition, which brings together all of Waugh's writings for the first time. The first of twelve volumes in the Personal Writings sequence, it covers the years 1903 to 1921, and presents a rich anthology of unusual and entertaining letters and diary entries by the future novelist.Trade ReviewExpertly edited [..] The editor's notes to the new volume of early letters and diaries are not only extremely thorough and informative, but also, as one might expect from the grandson of Evelyn Waugh, very witty [...] If these initial offerings (Volumes two, sixteen, nineteen, twenty-six and thirty) are an indicator of things to come, then the edition will justify its grandiose claim to "revolutionize Waugh studies" [...] It will indeed become one of the great monuments of twenty-first-century literary scholarship. * Paula Byrne, Times Literary Supplement *a welcome opportunity to look again at [Waugh's] evolution as a writer and thinke...These volumes reveal different aspects of Waugh's youthful plasticity and show how his adult persona developed as he tested himself as a write [...] a major event in Waugh scholarship, and...an essential research resource for many years to come. * Lisa Mullen, Worcester College, Oxford, Essays in Criticism *If these initial offerings are an indicator of things to come, then the edition will justify its grandiose claim to "revolutionize Waugh studies" ... It will indeed become one of the great monuments of twenty-first century literary scholarship. * Paula Byrne, The Times Literary Supplement *As scholarship the new editions cannot be faulted. * Matthew Walther, The Week *As a scholarly treatment of a modern British novelist, The Complete Works of Evelyn Waugh looks as if it will stand in a class of its own, not only for its presentation of definitive texts but also for its patient accumulation of large amounts of personal material that have hitherto escaped the biographers' gaze. * D.J Taylor, Literary Review *A must read. * David Sexton, Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisIncluding an introduction and annotations by the distinguished Proust scholar William C Carter, this book presents the memoirs of Ernest A Forssgren, the young Swede who served as Marcel Proust's last valet. It includes documents relating to the Proust household and to Forssgren, and aims to contribute to Proust scholarship.Trade Review"To have this memoir and the ancillary materials made available is important for Proust scholarship, and of considerable interest for a general public endlessly fascinated by Proust. It should also attract those interested in American immigrant history and sociology, and those who enjoy variations of the 'Upstairs-Downstairs' theme."—Katherine Kolb, Southeastern Louisiana University -- Katherine Kolb

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Book SynopsisOne of the undisputed masters of English prose in the twentieth century, Graham Greene (1904-91) wrote tens of thousands of personal letters. This substantial volume presents a new and engrossing account of his life constructed out of his own words. Meticulously chosen and engagingly annotated, this selection of Greene''s letters - including many to his family and close friends that were unavailable even to his official biographer - gives an entirely new perspective on a life that combined literary achievement, political action, espionage, travel, and romantic entanglement. The letters describe his travels in Mexico, Africa, Malaya, Vietnam, Haiti, Cuba and other trouble spots, where he observed the struggles of victims and victors with a compassionate and truthful eye. The book includes a vast number of unpublished letters to Evelyn Waugh, Auberon Waugh, Anthony Powell, Edith Sitwell, R. K. Narayan, Muriel Spark and other leading writers of the time. Some letters reveal the agonies ofTrade Review** 'Graham Greene: A Life in Letters will offer the most important contribution to studies of the writer since the completion of Norman Sherry's epic, three-volume biography * BOOKSELLER *** 'A triumph of judgment and judicious selection that offers a vivid new picture of Greene the man: his pleasures, foibles and, above all, his generosity... Now, perhaps for the first time, he emerges whole from the shadow of his biographers, as distinctiv * Ian Thomson, SUNDAY TIMES *** 'Impeccably edited by Richard Greene, it succeeds admirably in it's declared purpose: to bring together for the first time in one volume letters "that are engaging to read and that reveal Greene's personal, literary, religious and political concerns over a period of 70 years." * Nicholas Shakespeare, DAILY TELEGRAPH *** 'A condensed portrait of the successful literary life in the 20th century. * Craig Brown, MAIL ON SUNDAY *

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