Biography: adventurers and explorers Books

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Book SynopsisFor fans of Downton Abbey, this is the riveting real-life story of the Vanderbilt heiress who married the Duke of Marlborough in 1895. A fascinating insight into upstairs-downstairs life and the highest circles of Edwardian aristocracy.Trade ReviewWonderfully evocative [...] now reissued in an elegant new edition' * Country Life *

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Book SynopsisThe bestselling, much-loved classic account of an English couple escaping to enjoy the fruits of French rural summer living - an irresistible feast of humour and heart.Peter Mayle and his wife did what most of us only imagine doing when they made their long-cherished dream of a life abroad a reality: throwing caution to the wind, they bought a glorious two hundred year-old farmhouse in the Lubéron Valley and began a new life.In a year that begins with a marathon lunch and continues with a host of gastronomic delights, they also survive the unexpected and often hilarious curiosities of rural life. From mastering the local accent and enduring invasion by bumbling builders, to discovering the finer points of boules and goat-racing, all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life are conjured up in this enchanting portrait.''One of the most successful travel books of all time... Mayle created a new travel genre'' Guardian''Delightful'' Washington Post''Engaging, funny and richly appreciative'' New York Times Book Review''Stylish, witty, delightfully readable'' Sunday Times''I really loved this book'' Julia Child

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Book Synopsis'He's like an American Alan Bennett, in that his own fastidiousness becomes the joke, as per the taxi encounter, or his diary entry about waiting interminably in a coffee-bar queue' Guardian review of An Evening with David SedarisTrade ReviewSedaris is the premier observer of our world and its weirdnesses -- Adam Kay, author of This is Going to HurtStill keeps me company like a party guest who's been asked to spend the night...His essays about living in Paris are full of piss and vinegar and achingly funny * Armistead Maupin *He is, simply, very funny... refusing to find anything an unfit subject for humour * Sunday Times *A deadpan, darkly comical portrait of the American underbelly . . . Sedaris shares something of [Alan] Bennett's detached curiosity, and they both have a thirst for amusement -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *So often Sedaris's phrasing is beautiful in its piquancy and minimalism...His life is extraordinary in so many ways - the drug addiction, the eccentric family, the crazy jobs, the fame, the globetrotting - but one of the more unlikely achievements here is in making it all seem quite ordinary. Ultimately, his masterstroke is in acting as a bystander in his own story * Guardian *Audaciously combining memoir, essay, and what has to be fiction, this fourth collection of short pieces offers pleasures normally to be found only in the best novels and the rare standup act that is actually funny * The New Yorker *He makes me laugh so much. In an era when US satire is outpacing our own he's a sharp, humane and hilarious voice that never fails to make you smile - and sometimes weep. Apparently effortless humour is difficult, and precious. He's the real thing -- James Naughtie * Radio Times *The world's most eloquent malcontent, Sedaris has turned self-deprecation into a celebrated art form * Amazon.com editor review *Still keeps me company like a party guest who's been asked to spend the night...His essays about living in Paris are full of piss and vinegar and achingly funny. * Armistead Maupin *Audaciously combining memoir, essay, and what has to be fiction, this fourth collection of short pieces offers pleasures normally to be found only in the best novels and the rare standup act that is actually funny. * THE NEW YORKER *He is, simply, very funny... refusing to find anything an unfit subject for humour. * SUNDAY TIMES *A sophisticatedly funny take on modern life. Treat yourself to this book. * IRISH TIMES *

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Book SynopsisThe story of one of the most brilliant, flamboyant and historically important men who ever lived.''A superb achievement'' LITERARY REVIEW''Combines scholarship with storytelling to bring the ancient world to life: in his masterly new CAESAR he shows us the greatest Roman as man, statesman, soldier and lover'' Simon Sebag Montefiore''Magnificent'' DAILY TELEGRAPHFrom the very beginning, Caesar''s story makes dazzling reading. In his late teens he narrowly avoided execution for opposing the military dictator Sulla. He was decorated for valour in battle, captured and held to ransom by pirates, and almost bankrupted himself by staging games for the masses. As a politician, he quickly gained a reputation as a dangerously ambitious maverick. By his early 30s he had risen to the position of Consul, and was already beginning to dominate the Senate. His affairs with noblewomen were both frequent and scandalous.His greaTrade ReviewGoldsworthy's magnificent biography places Caesar in the context of the Roman world and shows why we return to the great man * DAILY TELEGRAPH *Goldsworthy is renowned as a military historian, but his coverage here of messy late Republican politics is also authoritative and clear. He gives us a colourful sense of the wider world and Roman society at this time, and above all, the commanding, unmistakeable presence of the timelessly fascinating man himself * INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY *Adrian Goldsworthy's account of this extraordinary period is a superb achievement. He writes at length and in detail, but with a light touch, never allowing the complexities to obscure the sharpness of the story line...It is a model of the way ancient biographies should be written * LITERARY REVIEW *Goldsworthy is the one of the new generation of young classicists who combine scholarship with storytelling to bring the ancient world to life: in his masterly new CAESAR he shows us the greatest Roman as man, statesman, soldier and lover -- Simon Sebag MontefioreThe analysis of Caesar's generalship is predictably excellent, the account of the Gallic wars, in particular, has rarely been bettered * SPECTATOR *This admirable biography... is so lucid, so comprehensive and so balanced -- Allan Massie * DAILY TELEGRAPH *A compelling biography of Julius Caesar, charting his fantastically eventful life * FINANCIAL TIMES *Goldsworthy is a fine military historian and his account of the Gallic Wars is exemplary * INDEPENDENT *[Goldsworthy] is careful and judicious in his analyses, seeking to integrate the man of action, the scholar, the showman, the lover, legal reformer, town planner * THE TABLET *Adrian Goldsworthy's 519-page work certainly does justice to the scale of his subject, and the evidence is masterfully assembled -- Boris Johnson * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Richness of detail illuminates to great effect the risk-taking, self-promotion and sheer force of will that fuelled Caesar's extraordinary career * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *A thorough and wide-ranging biography of a legendary figure * DAILY EXPRESS *Highly enjoyable... [Goldsworthy] writes well, and with real authority -- Simon Heffer * COUNTRY LIFE *Goldsworthy's magnificent biography places Caesar in the context of the Roman world and shows why we return to the great man. -- Toby Clements * Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisWith unprecedented access to the Cuban Government''s archives and total co-operation from Che''s widow, Aleida March, as well as access to hitherto unpublished documents, including several of Che''s personal diaries, this biography of one of history''s most fascinating figures by critically-acclaimed New York Times journalist Jon Lee Anderson is truly definitive and monumental - not least because its creation solved a twenty-eight-year-old mystery: the whereabouts of Che Guevara''s body...''Masterly and absorbing'' -- The Sunday Times''Brilliantly evoked... The portrait is now as complete as it will ever be'' -- The Times Literary Supplement''Absorbing and convincing... an indispensable work of contemporary history'' ? Guardian''Probably the best biography I have read'' -- ***** Reader review''It''s hard to imagine that this work can be bettered'' -- ***** Reader review''Simply outstTrade ReviewMasterly and absorbing -- Frank McLynn * The Sunday Times *Brilliantly evoked... The portrait is now as complete as it will ever be -- Alberto Manguel * The Times Literary Supplement *Absorbing and convincing... an indispensable work of contemporary history * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis* ERNEST HEMINGWAY wrote to a friend: 'She can write rings around all of us ... I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book' * introduction by MARTHA GELLHORNTrade ReviewA beautiful and evocative story that deserves to be ranked alongside Karen Blixen's Out of Africa * Time Out *A poet's feeling for her land, an adventurer's response to life * New York Herald Tribune *[Markham] can write rings around all of us . . . I wish you would get it and read it because it is really a bloody wonderful book -- Ernest HemingwayMarkham made her name as one of the first pilots to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1936 . . . A vivacious account of an eccentric life, with Markham's headstrong nature and spirit shining out * Daily Mail *A beautiful and evocative story that deserves to be ranked alongside Karen Blixen's OUT OF AFRICA * Time Out *A poet's feeling for her land, an adventurer's response to life * New York HERALD Tribune *Markham made her name as one of the first pilots to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1936 . . . A vivacious account of an eccentric life, with Markham's headstrong nature and spirit shining out * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisYou've heard all about the brilliant men' of ancient myth, but what about the scheming and scandalous women who were so often lost in their shadow?Bad Girls of Ancient Greece contains profiles of wayward wives, mad mothers, scandalous sisters and damsels, that quite frankly, caused others A LOT of stress in the ancient world.With the ever-growing popularity of mythological retellings, Lizzy Tiffin has written THE guide to all of the baddies of ancient Greece. This book stands as a reminder that us women really have been bad in the best way possible from the start.Written with humour and sass, Lizzy profiles the women in Greek myth and legend covering: mortals, goddesses, titans, nymphs (you name it, she's done it). Here you'll find the weird and wonderful escapades of the women we're often lead to believe were minor characters.Bad Girls of Ancient Greece is an accessible, intelligent, hilarious (sometimes spicy) guide to the women we love and know Athena, Medusa, Aphrodite and also those we may not, like Polyphonte, who was cursed with burning hot lust for a wild bear imagine!So dive into the stories you thought you knew with Bad Girls of Ancient Greece as your illuminating guide

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE SLIGHTLY FOXED BEST FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE 2017Born into nobility and married into the royal family, Catherine Howard was attended every waking hour secrets were impossible to keep. In this thrilling reappraisal of Henry VIII's fifth wife, Gareth Russell's history unfurls as if in real time to explain how the queen's career ended with one of the great scandals of Henry's reign. This is a grand tale of the Henrician court in its twilight, a glittering but pernicious sunset during which the king's unstable behaviour and his courtiers' labyrinthine deceptions proved fatal to many, not just to Catherine Howard.Trade ReviewA Daily Mail Book of the Week ‘A stunning reappraisal of the tragic life of Henry VIII’S fifth wife’ The Times ‘A timely and powerful re-examination of Henry's fifth queen … Gareth Russell has done some beautiful new research to indicate that Catherine was not as foolish as some historians have suggested, and that her death was managed and manipulated by her offended husband, purely for his own revenge … I love it when historians take the women who have been neglected by history seriously and study their lives rather than accepting stereotypes’ Philippa Gregory ‘“Young and Damned and Fair” is everything a historical biography should be’ Kathryn Warner, author of "Edward II: The Unconventional King" ‘Russell marries slick storytelling with a great wealth of learning about sixteenth-century personalities and politics. The result is a book that leads us deep into the nightmarish final years of Henry VIII's reign, wrenching open the intrigues of a poisonous court in a realm seething with discontent. At the heart of it all is the fragile, tragic figure of Catherine Howard, whose awful fate is almost unbearable to watch as it unfolds. This is authoritative Tudor history written with a novelist's lightness of touch. A terrific achievement’ Dan Jones ‘A magnificent account of the rise and fall of Henry VIII's tragic fifth queen – compelling, thought-provoking and above all real. In Russell's meticulously researched narrative Catherine Howard and her household are brought to life as never before. Hugely enjoyable’ Adrian Tinniswood ‘This fascinating and ultimately heartbreaking account of Henry VIII's doomed fifth wife brings to life the cruel, gossip-fuelled, back-stabbing world of the court in which Catherine Howard rose and fell. The uncommonly talented Gareth Russell has produced a masterly work of Tudor history that is engrossing, sympathetic, suspenseful, and illuminating’ Charlotte Gordon, author of Romantic Outlaws

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Book SynopsisChristopher de Bellaigue is the award-winning author of The Lion House: The Rise of Suleyman the Magnificent, which was chosen as a book of the year by The Times, Sunday Times, Spectator and New Yorker among others, as well as five previous books, including The Islamic Enlightenment, which was shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction and the Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2017. As a reporter he has covered war, politics, society and the environment in five continents for the Economist, the New York Review of Books, the Guardian and the BBC. He is the founder of the Lake District Book Festival in Cartmel, Cumbria, an Honorary Fellow of the University of St Andrews and in 2026 he will take up a Visiting Fellowship at All Souls College, Oxford. www.christopherdebellaigue.comTrade ReviewThere are books that enlarge the mind, there are books that enrich the soul, but rarely comes a book so beautifully-written and profound that it manages to do both -- ELIF SHAFAK, author of The Island of Missing TreesThe most daring history book of the year ... told in the present tense with all the dash and flair of a novel. The research is faultless: we are immersed ... it brilliantly conveys a sense of colour and momentum, placing the reader in the thick of the action. Unforgettable -- Dominic Sandbrook * The Times & Sunday Times Best Books of 2022 *This is history, but not as we know it. It is non-fiction posing as a novel, rich in incident and cinematic detail ... it's tremendous -- Justin Marozzi * Sunday Times *An urgent, immersive, present-tense gallop ... the book reads as a non-fiction novel ... cinematically vivid tableaux ... Each spangled scene ... rests on a solid foundation in the primary sources ... De Bellaigue enriches his storytelling with the colourful, meticulous dispatches of its traders, envoys and spies ... behind the bejewelled descriptive prose a thumping pulse of action tugs us through ... de Bellaigue's glittering, deft and often witty prose adds pleasure to each page * Financial Times *Luminous, erudite ... a gripping account that evokes an epic poem, saga or 'book of kings' ... It is as immersive as the blurb claims, conjuring the world of the eastern Mediterranean, Anatolia and south-eastern Europe in the early 16th century with the limpid clarity of the many gems that stud its pages ... Even more than the detail, it is the characters that intrigue and often inspire ... The book leaves the reader with Suleiman truly magnificent * Spectator *Mesmerising . . . steeped in the sensuous detail of banquet and ceremony, stratagem and conspiracy -- Colin ThubronA brilliantly written account of the Ottoman empire in all its opulence and brutality. Rich in colourful historical anecdotes, de Bellaigue brings 16th-century statecraft vividly alive, and offers a chilling insight into the ruthlessness and loneliness of one of the most powerful men of the age * Guardian *A vivid, cinematic account of the rise of Suleyman the Magnificent ... de Bellaigue follows with exhilarating clarity and suspense the era's broader battles across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, and the individual trajectories - grand ambitions, rivalries, betrayals - of these outsiders in Suleyman's court, a place rife with intrigue and back-stabbing, rich with colourful characters -- Claire Messud * Harper's *Those lucky readers who come to Christopher de Bellaigue's book in proximity to reading Mantel can suddenly have a new panel thrown open to them like an unfolding altarpiece ... all written in the present tense. This creates the obvious sense of liveliness and urgency ... Bellaigue sets about the task with such confidence and skill that it works ... a dazzling and dark work. Witty and often wise, it speaks to the frailties and the precarity of power -- David Aaronovitch * The Times *Vivid and compelling ... He presents his story like a novel, but it is not fiction; every detail has been diligently researched, for example by perusing diaries in difficult Venetian dialect ... Whether he is describing a lavish dinner for Italian merchants on the Bosporus, the stately progress of Suleiman's armies through the Balkans or a mass circumcision, he has an eye for the colourful, absurd and ironic ... As this book shows, living in the penumbra of such supreme power can be seductive and intoxicating. But the end of the story is often tragic * Economist *Wolf Hall for the Ottoman Empire ... History at its most gripping * Daily Telegraph *This account really grips... it does so by bringing out the fascinating individuals, the adventure, the lurid details, the barbarities, the opulence and squalor and near misses of the story -- Melanie McDonagh * Evening Standard *Poised effortlessly between two worlds and two ages, a book as pungent and mysterious as the age it depicts -- RORY STEWART, former British Cabinet Minister and author of The Places In BetweenA complex piece of history told with extraordinary clarity * Spectator, *Best Books of 2022* *Christopher de Bellaigue has a magic talent for writing history It is as if we are there as the era of Suleyman the Magnificent unfolds -- ORHAN PAMUK, Nobel Laureate in LiteratureEssential reading for anyone wishing to understand political ambition and the role of narcissistic leaders and scheming courtiers in any age -- ROBERT PESTON, Political Editor ITV NewsGripping, novelistic ... brisk and muscular ... written in a sure-footed historical present, the book creates a simulacrum of the 16th century through the painstaking accumulation of attested details ... [giving] the book its vividness and energy ... [De Bellaigue] writes with supreme confidence about power, diplomacy, clothing, avarice, war, statecraft and the exceptional brutality of the era ... While The Lion House unfolds like a novel, through scenes rich with authenticating detail -- Marcel Theroux * The New York Times Book Review *De Bellaigue is a riveting and expert guide to the story of Suleyman's quest for power -- PETER FRANKOPAN, author of The Silk RoadsNarrated with a verve and flair that make the characters burst from the pages. Outstanding history and an incredibly good read -- EUGENE ROGAN, author of The Fall of the OttomansExquisite ... So arresting is this book, so enveloping in the tensions of its narrative, that most readers will feel a pang of sorrow that the tale does not run on. The Lion House leaves us with a tease, or taunt: "Who, apart from God, can say what will come next?" A sequel, surely. Although it was the peak of the Ottoman Empire, Suleyman's reign also offers clear glimpses of a great decline to come. Who better to tell us about it than Mr de Bellaigue? * Wall Street Journal *Non-fiction with the readability of a thriller. Unputdownable -- VICTORIA HISLOP, author of The IslandSensuous and scholarly, meticulously researched and deliciously irreverent, The Lion House is an intoxicating journey through the Ottomans' golden age -- AMBERIN ZAMAN, correspondent, Al-Monitor, Turkey correspondent for the Economist (1999-2016) and Fellow of the Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, DCReads like the most gripping fiction ... could very well be Netflix's next epic * Radio Times *The Lion House presents a historical universe that captivates and astonishes and is near-impossible to put down. A superb example of historical literature and research -- RICHARD WHATMORE, Professor of Modern History at the University of St AndrewsFull of breath-taking events at the cross-roads of empires at a moment in history when notions such as Europe, Asia, Christianity and Islam were infinitely more fluid and permeable than they are today -- KEREM OKTEM, Professor of International Relations at Ca' Foscari University, VeniceOriginal... de Bellaigue... offers a vivid presentation of events, re-imagined as scenes and episodes... a different, literary kind [of history] -- Noel Malcolm * Times Literary Supplement *De Bellaigue writes with impecable scholarship, piecing together contemporary accounts to create a thrilling narrative * Church Times *De Bellaigue is an expert stylist, sensitive to rhythm and vocabulary, and passionate in his pursuit of the fugitive detail that gives meaning to a whole episode * Literary Review *An exhilarating read -- Rose Shepherd * Saga Magazine *An engrossing book... This is history turned into drama and poetry, awesomely spectacular yet also intensely intimate -- Yasmin Alibhai-Brown * iNews *

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Book SynopsisA SUNDAY TIMES HISTORY BOOK OF THE YEAR 2017''A brilliant, compelling, propulsively written, magnificent tour de force'' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Evening Standard''The second volume of what will surely rank as one of the greatest historical achievements of our age ... The War and Peace of history: a book you fear you will never finish, but just cannot put down'' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times Well before 1929, Stalin had achieved dictatorial power over the Soviet empire, but now he decided that the largest peasant economy in the world would be transformed into socialist modernity, whatever it took. What it took, and what Stalin managed to force through, transformed the country and its ruler in profound and enduring ways. Rather than a tale of a deformed or paranoid personality creating a political system, this is a story of a political system shaping a personality. Building and running a dictatorship, with power of life or death over hundreds of millions, in conditions of capitalist self-encirclement, made Stalin the person he became.Wholesale collectivization of agriculture, some 120 million peasants, necessitated levels of coercion that were extreme even for Russia, but Stalin did not flinch; the resulting mass starvation and death elicited criticism inside the party even from those Communists committed to the eradication of capitalism. By 1934, when the situation had stabilized and socialism had been built in the countryside too, the internal praise came for his uncanny success in anticapitalist terms. But Stalin never forgot and never forgave, with bloody consequences as he strove to consolidate the state with a brand new elite.Stalin had revived a great power with a formidable industrialized military. But the Soviet Union was effectively alone, with no allies and enemies perceived everywhere. The quest to find security would bring Soviet Communism into an improbable pact with Nazi Germany. But that bargain did not work out as envisioned. The lives of Stalin and Hitler, and the fates of their respective countries, drew ever closer to collision.Stalin: Waiting for Hitler: 1929-1941 is, like its predecessor Stalin: Paradoxes of Power: 1878-1928, nothing less than a history of the world from Stalin''s desk. It is also, like its predecessor, a landmark achievement in the annals of the biographer''s art. Kotkin''s portrait captures the vast structures moving global events, and the intimate details of decision-making.Trade ReviewMasterly, a riveting tale, written with pace and aplomb. [of volume one] * New York Times *Exhilarating, compelling, terrifying and utterly gripping... Stalin emerges from Kotkin's book as that most frightening of figures -- a man of absolute conviction. [of volume one] -- Lucy Hughes-Hallett * New Statesman *Original, engaging, with a sharp, irreverent wit [of volume one] -- Sheila Fitzpatrick * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisSarah Bakewell had a wandering childhood, growing up on the "hippie trail" through Asia and in Australia. She studied philosophy at the University of Essex, and worked for many years as a curator of early printed books at the Wellcome Library, London, before becoming a full-time writer. Her books include How to Live: a life of Montaigne, which won the Duff Cooper Prize and the US National Book Critics Circle Prize, and At the Existentialist Café, a New York Times Ten Best Books of 2016. She was also among the winners of the 2018 Windham-Campbell Literature Prize. She still has a tendency to wander, but is mostly to be found either in London or in Italy with her wife and their family of dogs and chickens.www.sarahbakewell.comTrade ReviewIt's not often that you miss your bus stop because you're so engrossed in reading a book about existentialism, but I did exactly that while immersed in Sarah Bakewell's At the Existentialist Café. The story of Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus, Heidegger et al is strange, fun and compelling reading. If it doesn't win awards, I will eat my proof copy -- Katy Guest * The Independent on Sunday *My book of the year is Sarah Bakewell’s At The Existentialist Café, a marvellously rich and evocative journey through one of the most powerful philosophical movements of the twentieth century… This graceful book speaks to our parochial and inward-looking age. -- Sudhir Hazareesingh * Times Literary Supplement, Book of the Year *A wonderfully readable combination of biography, philosophy, history, cultural analysis and personal reflection. -- John Walsh * Independent *At the Existentialist Café takes us back to…when philosophers and philosophy itself were sexy, glamorous, outrageous; when sensuality and erudition were entwined… [Bakewell] shows how fascinating were some of the existentialists’ ideas and how fascinating, often frightful, were their lives. Vivid, humorous anecdotes are interwoven with a lucid and unpatronising exposition of their complex philosophy… Tender, incisive and fair. -- Jane O’Grady * Daily Telegraph *Quirky, funny, clear and passionate…Few writers are as good as Bakewell at explaining complicated ideas in a way that makes them easy to understand. -- Craig Brown * Mail on Sunday *

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Book Synopsis''TRULY INSPIRING'' Mail on SundayNow familiar to millions of Gardeners'' World fans as Longmeadow (the home of Nigel & Nellie), this is the story of Monty & Sarah Don''s early days there. The Jewel Garden is the story of the garden that bloomed from the muddy fields around the Dons'' Tudor farmhouse, a perfect metaphor for the Monty and Sarah''s own rise from the ashes of a spectacular commercial failure in the late ''80s .At the same time The Jewel Garden is the story of a creative partnership that has weathered the greatest storm, and a testament to the healing powers of the soil. Monty Don has always been candid about the garden''s role in helping him to pull back from the abyss of depression; The Jewel Garden elaborates on this much further. Written in an optimistic, autobiographical vein, Monty and Sarah''s story is truly an exploration of what it means to be a gardener.Trade ReviewTruly inspiring... Told with compelling honesty * Mail on Sunday *Overwhelmingly honest, passionate, inspiring, with prose to die for. Like everything else Don does, this purports to be about gardens and gardening but is actually a meditation on family and love. * Julie Myerson, Books of the Year, Independent on Sunday *Overwhelmingly honest, passionate, inspiring, with prose to die for... a meditation on family and love * Independent on Sunday *Truly inspiring ... told with compelling honesty * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisThe fascinating true story of an Englishwoman who spent 12 years alone in a cave in the Himalayas and became a world-renowned spiritual leader

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Book Synopsis''A wonderful memoir, written with great linguistic brio. Candid, shrewd and moving - a classic of its kind,'' William BoydHoward Jacobson''s funny, revealing and tender memoir of his path to becoming a writer.It''s my theory that only the unhappy, the uncomfortable, the gauche, the badly put together, aspire to make art. Why would you seek to reshape the world unless you were ill-at-ease in it? And I came out of the womb in every sense the wrong way round. In Mother''s Boy, Booker-Prize winner Howard Jacobson reveals how he became a writer. It is an exploration of belonging and not-belonging, of being an insider and outsider, both English and Jewish.Born to a working-class family in 1940s Manchester, the great-grandson of Lithuanian and Russian immigrants, Jacobson was raised by his mother, grandmother and aunt Joyce. His father was a regimental tailor, as well as an upholsterer, a market-stall holder, a taxi driver, a bal

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Book SynopsisThe Life of Australia's Pioneer Aviator and Wartime Commander Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett CB CBE DSO FRAeS

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Book SynopsisThe life of Sir Harry Perry Robinson (1859-1930) unfolds like a Boy''s Own adventure. Born in India and educated at Oxford, Harry fled to the United States to make his name and fortune. After a stint in the gold mines of the American West, he became a major force in the railroad industry and helped to elect a U.S. President. Returning to England, Harry had a celebrated career as a book publisher (discovering the American author Jack London) and as a journalist for The Times, serving as the oldest correspondent during the First World War and going on to have one of the scoops of the century: the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1923.Harry''s incredible journey unfolds against the background of his equally adventurous and accomplished family. His father, Julian, was an Indian Army chaplain and newspaper editor. His aunt was a suffragette and personal friend of both Disraeli and Gladstone. Brother Philip was a dashing foreign correspondent, arrested as a spy during the Spanish-AmerTrade ReviewWhat McAleer has come up with is a forensic yet readable account of the gifted, personally adventurous but politically conservative Robinson. * Dominic Maxwell, The Times *Robinson's journalistic career gave him a ringside seat at some of the most dramatic events of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, from the American Gold Rush of the 1880s to the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb. He had the three crucial attributes common to all great reporters: an eye for a good story, the wit and tenacity to research it properly and the ability to write it up in an entertaining way ... Joseph McAleer has performed a valuable service in bringing his fine work to the fore. * William Cook, The Spectator *Escape Artist is well researched and, for the most part, well-written * Wall Street Journal *I don't think I've ever enjoyed a memoir as much as I enjoyed this life of Harry Perry Robinson. The book is a 'keeper' that I intend to read more than once. Author Joseph McAleer has done us a great favor by so ably bringing this complex and intriguing character to life again. * David F. Beer, Roads to the Great War *Here is a life out of the ordinary that holds especial interest. * Philip Waller, University of Oxford, author of Writers, Readers, and Reputations: Literary Life in Britain 1870-1918 *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The English Family Robinson 1: Innocent Abroad, 1883-1886 2: Tycoon in Training, 1887-1894 3: Junior Kingmaker, 1895-1899 4: London Bookman, 1900-1905 5: Man of The Times, 1906-1913 6: War Correspondent, 1914-1918 7: World Traveler, 1919-1922 8: Tut Factotum, 1923 9: Elder Statesman, 1924-1929 Epilogue: 1930 Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA true first person account of Taliban captivity in Waziristan.

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.Three francs will feed you till tomorrow, and you cannot think further than thatAs a young man struggling to find his voice as a writer, George Orwell left the comfort of home to live in the impoverished working districts of Paris and London. He would document both the chaos and boredom of destitution, the eccentric cast of characters he encountered, and the near-constant pains of hunger and discomfort.Exposing the grim reality of a life marred by poverty, Down and Out in Paris and London, part memoir, part social commentary, would become George Orwell's first published work.

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Book SynopsisProfessor Noel Fitzpatrick shares more heart-warming and uplifting stories from his life as The Supervet. The follow-up to the massive No.1 bestseller, Listening to the Animals.

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Book SynopsisKRAUS FAMILY AWARD WINNER FOR BEST AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND MEMOIR AT THE NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDSWINNER OF THE DAYTON LITERARY PEACE PRIZE‘Beautifully told' – John le Carré ‘More than just history’ – Michael PalinIn this remarkably moving memoir, Ariana Neumann dives into the secrets of her father’s past: years spent hiding in plain sight in wartorn Berlin, the annihilation of dozens of family members in the Holocaust, and the courageous choice to build anew. When her father dies and leaves her a box of clues, Ariana Neumann uncovers a heritage she knew nothing about. Exploring the joys and sorrows of the Neumann family, she learns through her tireless investigations why her father, a successful entrepreneur in Venezuela, never spoke about his past. How as a young man from Prague he boldly deceived the Gestapo by doing the unimagiTrade Review‘When Time Stopped is a beautifully told story of personal discovery, of almost unimaginable human bravery and sacrifice, and a harrowing portrait of living, dying and surviving under the yoke of Nazism.’ -- John Le Carre‘When Time Stopped is Ariana Neumann’s journey of discovery, lyrically set down in this truly exceptional book. She shines an intimate light upon a time unique in its horror, and tells a story of bravery, and rare survival. Yet the events she describes happened more than two decades before she was born. To a man to whom she was very close, but whose secrets she was only able to pursue after his death - thanks to the one hoard of evidence he never destroyed. This is a work of very great talent.’ -- Jon Snow, journalist and Channel 4 television presenter.'The story Neumann uncovers is worthy of fiction with hairpin plot twists, daredevil acts of love and unexpected moments of humor in dark times. Given the slew of colorful characters and dramatic details, she could have turned her painstaking research into a historical novel. Instead she has written a superb family memoir that unfolds its poignant power on multiple levels. Yes, her account of one Jewish-Czech family’s race to outwit the Nazis makes for thrilling reading. But just as important is her lucid investigation of the nature of memory, identity and remembrance.' * The New York Times Book Review *‘Ariana Neumann’s story may strike a chord, and rightly so. The slow and pitiless brutality that took hold of much of Europe in the 1930s is a story that can never be told too often. What makes this account so effective is that it’s personal and, because of the dogged extensiveness of her research, Neumann reminds us of the small details that make the Nazi persecution of the Jews all the more chilling. It’s not always a grim story. Alongside anger and despair there is love and hope. But the message is stark. This is the way bullies work. When Time Stopped is more than just history. It’s a warning.’ -- Michael Palin‘Absolutely remarkable’ -- Edmund de Waal‘Grippingly readable, chillingly sad but above all deeply sympathetic and suffused with love and understanding throughout. A compelling and humane portrait of Ariana Neumann’s father and his courageous decision to survive.’ -- Anne Sebba, bestselling biographer and historian‘When Time Stopped is a remarkable and beautifully written book. Hans Neumann's story is astonishing, confirming that when it comes to the Holocaust we should expect only the unexpected. This is one of the most powerful and profoundly moving family stories of the Holocaust to have been published in many years and a must read.’ -- Professor Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History and Director, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London‘When Time Stopped is an astonishing family memoir that will imprint itself on your psyche as only the best books can, forever changing the way you look at your own family. With a mastery of the dogged art of research rarely seen, and with an exquisite narrative sensibility to match, Ariana Neumann has breached the hidden surface of her family’s tumultuous past and brought not only their tragedies and sorrows, but also their joys and loves, to indelible light. I will carry the experience of this book with me for a very long time.’ -- John Burnham Schwartz, author of The Red Daughter, Reservation Road and The Commoner‘In a grand house in Caracas in the 1970s, a young girl comes of age dreaming of becoming a detective and solving mysteries, particularly the mystery of her charismatic, enigmatic father. Four decades later, after he dies, and herself a mother, she embarks on an extraordinary journey through Central Europe and South America to uncover her father's past. Through pre-war Prague's intelligentsia to the rise of fascism in Europe to the horror of Hitler's camps, she combines a daughter's love with a profound yearning for truth. The result is a love letter to a father who, out of sheer will and determination, did not allow the Nazis to destroy him - and who rose to become one of Venezuela's most successful industrialists. Part literary memoir, part mystery tale, Ariana Neumann's tribute to her father is a classic story of redemption and love.’ -- Janine di Giovanni, 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and author of The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria‘This book is utterly riveting: Ms. Neumann's memoir reads like a detective novel, as she unravels her late father's complex, agonizing yet inspiring trajectory. Conjuring the lives of her relatives murdered in the Holocaust, she brings their lost world to vivid life.’ -- Claire Messud, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor’s Children and The Woman Upstairs‘I’ve read countless memoirs. I’ve read hundreds of books about the Holocaust and mysteries and detective stories and rigorously researched tomes of history and psychological studies of the effects of trauma. But never in my reading life have I ever come across anything akin to this magical, brilliant and gripping work of art combining all of these elements into a lyrical tapestry of one woman’s quest to understand her father’s mysterious past and therefore her own. To call this moving is an understatement. It is a journey of untold grace, sorrow and love.’ -- Deborah Copaken, bestselling author of Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War and The Red Book‘Growing up in a comfortable Caracas home, surrounded by joy, gaiety and the ‘birds of paradise’ -- and a father so revered that he had streets named after him in Venezuela -- Ariana Neumann willed an adventure to come her way. But nothing could have prepared her for the true-life story which was to unfold upon her beloved father’s death, back into the darkest depths of human history. Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent * Sunday Telegraph *‘Remarkable...Through painstaking, meticulous research Neumann tells the true story-part memoir, part history-of her heart-wrenching and ultimately life-affirming journey in uncovering her family's long hidden past.’ -- Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones‘Ariana Neumann's beautiful, meticulously researched memoir is an extraordinarily moving story of a family’s lost history, a father’s well-kept secret, and a daughter who pieces it all together with courage, tenacity, and most of all, love.’ -- Dani Shapiro‘Neumann’s efforts to tell [her father] Hans’s story chronologically, rather than in the order she unravelled the mystery, is especially effective. At times the revelations are so extraordinary to modern eyes that the memoir has an almost fictional feel.’ * Financial Times *‘… to unearth such stories takes great determination, patience and sensitivity, not least because so many of those who survived did so by suppressing the truth. ‘Sometimes you have to leave the past where it is – in the past,’ Hans told his daughter. But he didn’t entirely let it go, and nor, on his and our behalf, did she.’ * The Guardian *‘Compelling … brilliant …This remarkable, beautifully written book is full of sadness but it also full of great beauty and joy.’ * Daily Mail, Book of the Week *‘A meticulously researched, gripping and poignant memoir.’ * The Observer *‘[When Time Stopped is] a treasure to be savored as testament of the human will to survive.’ -- Anne Sebba * The Spectator *‘Full of tales of courage … this meticulously researched work is unforgettable.’ * Sunday Mirror *‘This book will be an important addition to Holocaust literature … we have heard many of the atrocities recounted in these pages before. But we must go on hearing them. This is a very fine book indeed.’ * The TLS *‘Extraordinary life-affirming book of survival against the odds, of love and hope, and the threads of humanity that unite us all’ * Surrey Life *‘… a book of exhaustive historical scholarship and profound emotional dedication.’ * The Jewish Chronicle *‘A beautifully wrought book that is both a detective story and a family history.’ * The Times of Israel *‘Occasionally there appears a book so devastating that the only response is stunned silence … When Time Stopped is about the triumph of the human spirit.’ -- Francis Wilson * The Oldie *‘This deeply personal narrative tells the story of Ariana Neumann’s family, many of whom were killed by Nazis, and grapples with Neumann’s attempt to uncover secrets left behind by her Holocaust-survivor father after his death.’ * Vogue *‘Reads like a thriller and it is so, so timely. The work and emotion put into [the] book is unbelievable.’ * Buzzfeed *‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘When Time Stopped is a remarkable and beautifully written book. Hans Neumann's story is astonishing, confirming that when it comes to the Holocaust we should expect only the unexpected. This is one of the most powerful and profoundly moving family stories of the Holocaust to have been published in many years and a must read.’ -- Professor Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History and Director, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London‘When Time Stopped is an astonishing family memoir that will imprint itself on your psyche as only the best books can, forever changing the way you look at your own family. With a mastery of the dogged art of research rarely seen, and with an exquisite narrative sensibility to match, Ariana Neumann has breached the hidden surface of her family’s tumultuous past and brought not only their tragedies and sorrows, but also their joys and loves, to indelible light. I will carry the experience of this book with me for a very long time.’ -- John Burnham Schwartz, author of The Red Daughter, Reservation Road and The Commoner‘In a grand house in Caracas in the 1970s, a young girl comes of age dreaming of becoming a detective and solving mysteries, particularly the mystery of her charismatic, enigmatic father. Four decades later, after he dies, and herself a mother, she embarks on an extraordinary journey through Central Europe and South America to uncover her father's past. Through pre-war Prague's intelligentsia to the rise of fascism in Europe to the horror of Hitler's camps, she combines a daughter's love with a profound yearning for truth. The result is a love letter to a father who, out of sheer will and determination, did not allow the Nazis to destroy him - and who rose to become one of Venezuela's most successful industrialists. Part literary memoir, part mystery tale, Ariana Neumann's tribute to her father is a classic story of redemption and love.’ -- Janine di Giovanni, 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and author of The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria‘This book is utterly riveting: Ms. Neumann's memoir reads like a detective novel, as she unravels her late father's complex, agonizing yet inspiring trajectory. Conjuring the lives of her relatives murdered in the Holocaust, she brings their lost world to vivid life.’ -- Claire Messud, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor’s Children and The Woman Upstairs‘I’ve read countless memoirs. I’ve read hundreds of books about the Holocaust and mysteries and detective stories and rigorously researched tomes of history and psychological studies of the effects of trauma. But never in my reading life have I ever come across anything akin to this magical, brilliant and gripping work of art combining all of these elements into a lyrical tapestry of one woman’s quest to understand her father’s mysterious past and therefore her own. To call this moving is an understatement. It is a journey of untold grace, sorrow and love.’ -- Deborah Copaken, bestselling author of Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War and The Red Book‘Growing up in a comfortable Caracas home, surrounded by joy, gaiety and the ‘birds of paradise’ -- and a father so revered that he had streets named after him in Venezuela -- Ariana Neumann willed an adventure to come her way. But nothing could have prepared her for the true-life story which was to unfold upon her beloved father’s death, back into the darkest depths of human history. Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent, Sunday Telegraph‘Remarkable...Through painstaking, meticulous research Neumann tells the true story-part memoir, part history-of her heart-wrenching and ultimately life-affirming journey in uncovering her family's long hidden past.’ -- Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones‘Ariana Neumann's beautiful, meticulously researched memoir is an extraordinarily moving story of a family’s lost history, a father’s well-kept secret, and a daughter who pieces it all together with courage, tenacity, and most of all, love.’ -- Dani Shapiro‘Neumann’s efforts to tell [her father] Hans’s story chronologically, rather than in the order she unravelled the mystery, is especially effective. At times the revelations are so extraordinary to modern eyes that the memoir has an almost fictional feel.’ * Financial Times *‘… to unearth such stories takes great determination, patience and sensitivity, not least because so many of those who survived did so by suppressing the truth. ‘Sometimes you have to leave the past where it is – in the past,’ Hans told his daughter. But he didn’t entirely let it go, and nor, on his and our behalf, did she.’ * The Guardian *‘Compelling … brilliant …This remarkable, beautifully written book is full of sadness but it also full of great beauty and joy.’ * Daily Mail, Book of the Week *‘A meticulously researched, gripping and poignant memoir.’ * The Observer *‘[When Time Stopped is] a treasure to be savored as testament of the human will to survive.’ -- Anne Sebba * The Spectator *‘Full of tales of courage … this meticulously researched work is unforgettable.’ * Sunday Mirror *‘This book will be an important addition to Holocaust literature … we have heard many of the atrocities recounted in these pages before. But we must go on hearing them. This is a very fine book indeed.’ * The TLS *‘Extraordinary life-affirming book of survival against the odds, of love and hope, and the threads of humanity that unite us all’ * Surrey Life *‘… a book of exhaustive historical scholarship and profound emotional dedication.’ * The Jewish Chronicle *‘A beautifully wrought book that is both a detective story and a family history.’ * The Times of Israel *‘Occasionally there appears a book so devastating that the only response is stunned silence … When Time Stopped is about the triumph of the human spirit.’ -- Francis Wilson * The Oldie *‘This deeply personal narrative tells the story of Ariana Neumann’s family, many of whom were killed by Nazis, and grapples with Neumann’s attempt to uncover secrets left behind by her Holocaust-survivor father after his death.’ * Vogue *‘Reads like a thriller and it is so, so timely. The work and emotion put into [the] book is unbelievable.’ * Buzzfeed *‘Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent. * Sunday Telegraph *‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘When Time Stopped is Ariana Neumann’s journey of discovery, lyrically set down in this truly exceptional book. She shines an intimate light upon a time unique in its horror, and tells a story of bravery, and rare survival. Yet the events she describes happened more than two decades before she was born. To a man to whom she was very close, but whose secrets she was only able to pursue after his death - thanks to the one hoard of evidence he never destroyed. This is a work of very great talent.’ -- Jon Snow, journalist and Channel 4 television presenter.The story Neumann uncovers is worthy of fiction with hairpin plot twists, daredevil acts of love and unexpected moments of humor in dark times. Given the slew of colorful characters and dramatic details, she could have turned her painstaking research into a historical novel. Instead she has written a superb family memoir that unfolds its poignant power on multiple levels. Yes, her account of one Jewish-Czech family’s race to outwit the Nazis makes for thrilling reading. But just as important is her lucid investigation of the nature of memory, identity and remembrance. * The New York Times Book Review *‘Ariana Neumann’s story may strike a chord, and rightly so. The slow and pitiless brutality that took hold of much of Europe in the 1930s is a story that can never be told too often. What makes this account so effective is that it’s personal and, because of the dogged extensiveness of her research, Neumann reminds us of the small details that make the Nazi persecution of the Jews all the more chilling. It’s not always a grim story. Alongside anger and despair there is love and hope. But the message is stark. This is the way bullies work. When Time Stopped is more than just history. It’s a warning.’ -- Michael Palin‘When Time Stopped is a remarkable and beautifully written book. Hans Neumann's story is astonishing, confirming that when it comes to the Holocaust we should expect only the unexpected. This is one of the most powerful and profoundly moving family stories of the Holocaust to have been published in many years and a must read.’ -- Professor Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History and Director, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London‘When Time Stopped is an astonishing family memoir that will imprint itself on your psyche as only the best books can, forever changing the way you look at your own family. With a mastery of the dogged art of research rarely seen, and with an exquisite narrative sensibility to match, Ariana Neumann has breached the hidden surface of her family’s tumultuous past and brought not only their tragedies and sorrows, but also their joys and loves, to indelible light. I will carry the experience of this book with me for a very long time.’ -- John Burnham Schwartz, author of The Red Daughter, Reservation Road and The Commoner‘In a grand house in Caracas in the 1970s, a young girl comes of age dreaming of becoming a detective and solving mysteries, particularly the mystery of her charismatic, enigmatic father. Four decades later, after he dies, and herself a mother, she embarks on an extraordinary journey through Central Europe and South America to uncover her father's past. Through pre-war Prague's intelligentsia to the rise of fascism in Europe to the horror of Hitler's camps, she combines a daughter's love with a profound yearning for truth. The result is a love letter to a father who, out of sheer will and determination, did not allow the Nazis to destroy him - and who rose to become one of Venezuela's most successful industrialists. Part literary memoir, part mystery tale, Ariana Neumann's tribute to her father is a classic story of redemption and love.’ -- Janine di Giovanni, 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and author of The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria‘This book is utterly riveting: Ms. Neumann's memoir reads like a detective novel, as she unravels her late father's complex, agonizing yet inspiring trajectory. Conjuring the lives of her relatives murdered in the Holocaust, she brings their lost world to vivid life.’ -- Claire Messud, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor’s Children and The Woman Upstairs‘I’ve read countless memoirs. I’ve read hundreds of books about the Holocaust and mysteries and detective stories and rigorously researched tomes of history and psychological studies of the effects of trauma. But never in my reading life have I ever come across anything akin to this magical, brilliant and gripping work of art combining all of these elements into a lyrical tapestry of one woman’s quest to understand her father’s mysterious past and therefore her own. To call this moving is an understatement. It is a journey of untold grace, sorrow and love.’ -- Deborah Copaken, bestselling author of Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War and The Red Book‘Growing up in a comfortable Caracas home, surrounded by joy, gaiety and the ‘birds of paradise’ -- and a father so revered that he had streets named after him in Venezuela -- Ariana Neumann willed an adventure to come her way. But nothing could have prepared her for the true-life story which was to unfold upon her beloved father’s death, back into the darkest depths of human history. Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent, Sunday Telegraph‘Remarkable...Through painstaking, meticulous research Neumann tells the true story-part memoir, part history-of her heart-wrenching and ultimately life-affirming journey in uncovering her family's long hidden past.’ -- Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones‘Ariana Neumann's beautiful, meticulously researched memoir is an extraordinarily moving story of a family’s lost history, a father’s well-kept secret, and a daughter who pieces it all together with courage, tenacity, and most of all, love.’ -- Dani Shapiro‘Neumann’s efforts to tell [her father] Hans’s story chronologically, rather than in the order she unravelled the mystery, is especially effective. At times the revelations are so extraordinary to modern eyes that the memoir has an almost fictional feel.’ * Financial Times *‘… to unearth such stories takes great determination, patience and sensitivity, not least because so many of those who survived did so by suppressing the truth. ‘Sometimes you have to leave the past where it is – in the past,’ Hans told his daughter. But he didn’t entirely let it go, and nor, on his and our behalf, did she.’ * The Guardian *‘Compelling … brilliant …This remarkable, beautifully written book is full of sadness but it also full of great beauty and joy.’ * Daily Mail, Book of the Week *‘A meticulously researched, gripping and poignant memoir.’ * The Observer *‘[When Time Stopped is] a treasure to be savored as testament of the human will to survive.’ -- Anne Sebba * The Spectator *‘Full of tales of courage … this meticulously researched work is unforgettable.’ * Sunday Mirror *‘This book will be an important addition to Holocaust literature … we have heard many of the atrocities recounted in these pages before. But we must go on hearing them. This is a very fine book indeed.’ * The TLS *‘Extraordinary life-affirming book of survival against the odds, of love and hope, and the threads of humanity that unite us all’ * Surrey Life *‘… a book of exhaustive historical scholarship and profound emotional dedication.’ * The Jewish Chronicle *‘A beautifully wrought book that is both a detective story and a family history.’ * The Times of Israel *‘Occasionally there appears a book so devastating that the only response is stunned silence … When Time Stopped is about the triumph of the human spirit.’ -- Francis Wilson * The Oldie *‘This deeply personal narrative tells the story of Ariana Neumann’s family, many of whom were killed by Nazis, and grapples with Neumann’s attempt to uncover secrets left behind by her Holocaust-survivor father after his death.’ * Vogue *‘Reads like a thriller and it is so, so timely. The work and emotion put into [the] book is unbelievable.’ * Buzzfeed *‘Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent. * Sunday Telegraph *‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘When Time Stopped is a beautifully told story of personal discovery, of almost unimaginable human bravery and sacrifice, and a harrowing portrait of living, dying and surviving under the yoke of Nazism.’ -- John Le Carre‘When Time Stopped is Ariana Neumann’s journey of discovery, lyrically set down in this truly exceptional book. She shines an intimate light upon a time unique in its horror, and tells a story of bravery, and rare survival. Yet the events she describes happened more than two decades before she was born. To a man to whom she was very close, but whose secrets she was only able to pursue after his death - thanks to the one hoard of evidence he never destroyed. This is a work of very great talent.’ -- Jon Snow, journalist and Channel 4 television presenter.The story Neumann uncovers is worthy of fiction with hairpin plot twists, daredevil acts of love and unexpected moments of humor in dark times. Given the slew of colorful characters and dramatic details, she could have turned her painstaking research into a historical novel. Instead she has written a superb family memoir that unfolds its poignant power on multiple levels. Yes, her account of one Jewish-Czech family’s race to outwit the Nazis makes for thrilling reading. But just as important is her lucid investigation of the nature of memory, identity and remembrance. * The New York Times Book Review *‘Ariana Neumann’s story may strike a chord, and rightly so. The slow and pitiless brutality that took hold of much of Europe in the 1930s is a story that can never be told too often. What makes this account so effective is that it’s personal and, because of the dogged extensiveness of her research, Neumann reminds us of the small details that make the Nazi persecution of the Jews all the more chilling. It’s not always a grim story. Alongside anger and despair there is love and hope. But the message is stark. This is the way bullies work. When Time Stopped is more than just history. It’s a warning.’ -- Michael Palin‘When Time Stopped is a remarkable and beautifully written book. Hans Neumann's story is astonishing, confirming that when it comes to the Holocaust we should expect only the unexpected. This is one of the most powerful and profoundly moving family stories of the Holocaust to have been published in many years and a must read.’ -- Professor Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History and Director, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London‘When Time Stopped is an astonishing family memoir that will imprint itself on your psyche as only the best books can, forever changing the way you look at your own family. With a mastery of the dogged art of research rarely seen, and with an exquisite narrative sensibility to match, Ariana Neumann has breached the hidden surface of her family’s tumultuous past and brought not only their tragedies and sorrows, but also their joys and loves, to indelible light. I will carry the experience of this book with me for a very long time.’ -- John Burnham Schwartz, author of The Red Daughter, Reservation Road and The Commoner‘In a grand house in Caracas in the 1970s, a young girl comes of age dreaming of becoming a detective and solving mysteries, particularly the mystery of her charismatic, enigmatic father. Four decades later, after he dies, and herself a mother, she embarks on an extraordinary journey through Central Europe and South America to uncover her father's past. Through pre-war Prague's intelligentsia to the rise of fascism in Europe to the horror of Hitler's camps, she combines a daughter's love with a profound yearning for truth. The result is a love letter to a father who, out of sheer will and determination, did not allow the Nazis to destroy him - and who rose to become one of Venezuela's most successful industrialists. Part literary memoir, part mystery tale, Ariana Neumann's tribute to her father is a classic story of redemption and love.’ -- Janine di Giovanni, 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and author of The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria‘This book is utterly riveting: Ms. Neumann's memoir reads like a detective novel, as she unravels her late father's complex, agonizing yet inspiring trajectory. Conjuring the lives of her relatives murdered in the Holocaust, she brings their lost world to vivid life.’ -- Claire Messud, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor’s Children and The Woman Upstairs‘I’ve read countless memoirs. I’ve read hundreds of books about the Holocaust and mysteries and detective stories and rigorously researched tomes of history and psychological studies of the effects of trauma. But never in my reading life have I ever come across anything akin to this magical, brilliant and gripping work of art combining all of these elements into a lyrical tapestry of one woman’s quest to understand her father’s mysterious past and therefore her own. To call this moving is an understatement. It is a journey of untold grace, sorrow and love.’ -- Deborah Copaken, bestselling author of Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War and The Red Book‘Growing up in a comfortable Caracas home, surrounded by joy, gaiety and the ‘birds of paradise’ -- and a father so revered that he had streets named after him in Venezuela -- Ariana Neumann willed an adventure to come her way. But nothing could have prepared her for the true-life story which was to unfold upon her beloved father’s death, back into the darkest depths of human history. Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent, Sunday Telegraph‘Remarkable...Through painstaking, meticulous research Neumann tells the true story-part memoir, part history-of her heart-wrenching and ultimately life-affirming journey in uncovering her family's long hidden past.’ -- Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones‘Ariana Neumann's beautiful, meticulously researched memoir is an extraordinarily moving story of a family’s lost history, a father’s well-kept secret, and a daughter who pieces it all together with courage, tenacity, and most of all, love.’ -- Dani Shapiro‘Neumann’s efforts to tell [her father] Hans’s story chronologically, rather than in the order she unravelled the mystery, is especially effective. At times the revelations are so extraordinary to modern eyes that the memoir has an almost fictional feel.’ * Financial Times *‘… to unearth such stories takes great determination, patience and sensitivity, not least because so many of those who survived did so by suppressing the truth. ‘Sometimes you have to leave the past where it is – in the past,’ Hans told his daughter. But he didn’t entirely let it go, and nor, on his and our behalf, did she.’ * The Guardian *‘Compelling … brilliant …This remarkable, beautifully written book is full of sadness but it also full of great beauty and joy.’ * Daily Mail, Book of the Week *‘A meticulously researched, gripping and poignant memoir.’ * The Observer *‘[When Time Stopped is] a treasure to be savored as testament of the human will to survive.’ -- Anne Sebba * The Spectator *‘Full of tales of courage … this meticulously researched work is unforgettable.’ * Sunday Mirror *‘This book will be an important addition to Holocaust literature … we have heard many of the atrocities recounted in these pages before. But we must go on hearing them. This is a very fine book indeed.’ * The TLS *‘Extraordinary life-affirming book of survival against the odds, of love and hope, and the threads of humanity that unite us all’ * Surrey Life *‘… a book of exhaustive historical scholarship and profound emotional dedication.’ * The Jewish Chronicle *‘A beautifully wrought book that is both a detective story and a family history.’ * The Times of Israel *‘Occasionally there appears a book so devastating that the only response is stunned silence … When Time Stopped is about the triumph of the human spirit.’ -- Francis Wilson * The Oldie *‘This deeply personal narrative tells the story of Ariana Neumann’s family, many of whom were killed by Nazis, and grapples with Neumann’s attempt to uncover secrets left behind by her Holocaust-survivor father after his death.’ * Vogue *‘Reads like a thriller and it is so, so timely. The work and emotion put into [the] book is unbelievable.’ * Buzzfeed *‘Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent. * Sunday Telegraph *‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘When Time Stopped is a beautifully told story of personal discovery, of almost unimaginable human bravery and sacrifice, and a harrowing portrait of living, dying and surviving under the yoke of Nazism.’ -- John Le Carre‘When Time Stopped is Ariana Neumann’s journey of discovery, lyrically set down in this truly exceptional book. She shines an intimate light upon a time unique in its horror, and tells a story of bravery, and rare survival. Yet the events she describes happened more than two decades before she was born. To a man to whom she was very close, but whose secrets she was only able to pursue after his death - thanks to the one hoard of evidence he never destroyed. This is a work of very great talent.’ -- Jon Snow, journalist and Channel 4 television presenter.The story Neumann uncovers is worthy of fiction with hairpin plot twists, daredevil acts of love and unexpected moments of humor in dark times. Given the slew of colorful characters and dramatic details, she could have turned her painstaking research into a historical novel. Instead she has written a superb family memoir that unfolds its poignant power on multiple levels. Yes, her account of one Jewish-Czech family’s race to outwit the Nazis makes for thrilling reading. But just as important is her lucid investigation of the nature of memory, identity and remembrance. * The New York Times Book Review *‘Ariana Neumann’s story may strike a chord, and rightly so. The slow and pitiless brutality that took hold of much of Europe in the 1930s is a story that can never be told too often. What makes this account so effective is that it’s personal and, because of the dogged extensiveness of her research, Neumann reminds us of the small details that make the Nazi persecution of the Jews all the more chilling. It’s not always a grim story. Alongside anger and despair there is love and hope. But the message is stark. This is the way bullies work. When Time Stopped is more than just history. It’s a warning.’ -- Michael Palin‘When Time Stopped is a remarkable and beautifully written book. Hans Neumann's story is astonishing, confirming that when it comes to the Holocaust we should expect only the unexpected. This is one of the most powerful and profoundly moving family stories of the Holocaust to have been published in many years and a must read.’ -- Professor Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History and Director, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London‘When Time Stopped is an astonishing family memoir that will imprint itself on your psyche as only the best books can, forever changing the way you look at your own family. With a mastery of the dogged art of research rarely seen, and with an exquisite narrative sensibility to match, Ariana Neumann has breached the hidden surface of her family’s tumultuous past and brought not only their tragedies and sorrows, but also their joys and loves, to indelible light. I will carry the experience of this book with me for a very long time.’ -- John Burnham Schwartz, author of The Red Daughter, Reservation Road and The Commoner‘In a grand house in Caracas in the 1970s, a young girl comes of age dreaming of becoming a detective and solving mysteries, particularly the mystery of her charismatic, enigmatic father. Four decades later, after he dies, and herself a mother, she embarks on an extraordinary journey through Central Europe and South America to uncover her father's past. Through pre-war Prague's intelligentsia to the rise of fascism in Europe to the horror of Hitler's camps, she combines a daughter's love with a profound yearning for truth. The result is a love letter to a father who, out of sheer will and determination, did not allow the Nazis to destroy him - and who rose to become one of Venezuela's most successful industrialists. Part literary memoir, part mystery tale, Ariana Neumann's tribute to her father is a classic story of redemption and love.’ -- Janine di Giovanni, 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and author of The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria‘This book is utterly riveting: Ms. Neumann's memoir reads like a detective novel, as she unravels her late father's complex, agonizing yet inspiring trajectory. Conjuring the lives of her relatives murdered in the Holocaust, she brings their lost world to vivid life.’ -- Claire Messud, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor’s Children and The Woman Upstairs‘I’ve read countless memoirs. I’ve read hundreds of books about the Holocaust and mysteries and detective stories and rigorously researched tomes of history and psychological studies of the effects of trauma. But never in my reading life have I ever come across anything akin to this magical, brilliant and gripping work of art combining all of these elements into a lyrical tapestry of one woman’s quest to understand her father’s mysterious past and therefore her own. To call this moving is an understatement. It is a journey of untold grace, sorrow and love.’ -- Deborah Copaken, bestselling author of Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War and The Red Book‘Growing up in a comfortable Caracas home, surrounded by joy, gaiety and the ‘birds of paradise’ -- and a father so revered that he had streets named after him in Venezuela -- Ariana Neumann willed an adventure to come her way. But nothing could have prepared her for the true-life story which was to unfold upon her beloved father’s death, back into the darkest depths of human history. Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent, Sunday Telegraph‘Remarkable...Through painstaking, meticulous research Neumann tells the true story-part memoir, part history-of her heart-wrenching and ultimately life-affirming journey in uncovering her family's long hidden past.’ -- Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones‘Ariana Neumann's beautiful, meticulously researched memoir is an extraordinarily moving story of a family’s lost history, a father’s well-kept secret, and a daughter who pieces it all together with courage, tenacity, and most of all, love.’ -- Dani Shapiro‘Neumann’s efforts to tell [her father] Hans’s story chronologically, rather than in the order she unravelled the mystery, is especially effective. At times the revelations are so extraordinary to modern eyes that the memoir has an almost fictional feel.’ * Financial Times *‘… to unearth such stories takes great determination, patience and sensitivity, not least because so many of those who survived did so by suppressing the truth. ‘Sometimes you have to leave the past where it is – in the past,’ Hans told his daughter. But he didn’t entirely let it go, and nor, on his and our behalf, did she.’ * The Guardian *‘Compelling … brilliant …This remarkable, beautifully written book is full of sadness but it also full of great beauty and joy.’ * Daily Mail, Book of the Week *‘A meticulously researched, gripping and poignant memoir.’ * The Observer *‘[When Time Stopped is] a treasure to be savored as testament of the human will to survive.’ -- Anne Sebba * The Spectator *‘Full of tales of courage … this meticulously researched work is unforgettable.’ * Sunday Mirror *‘This book will be an important addition to Holocaust literature … we have heard many of the atrocities recounted in these pages before. But we must go on hearing them. This is a very fine book indeed.’ * The TLS *‘Extraordinary life-affirming book of survival against the odds, of love and hope, and the threads of humanity that unite us all’ * Surrey Life *‘… a book of exhaustive historical scholarship and profound emotional dedication.’ * The Jewish Chronicle *‘A beautifully wrought book that is both a detective story and a family history.’ * The Times of Israel *‘Occasionally there appears a book so devastating that the only response is stunned silence … When Time Stopped is about the triumph of the human spirit.’ -- Francis Wilson * The Oldie *‘This deeply personal narrative tells the story of Ariana Neumann’s family, many of whom were killed by Nazis, and grapples with Neumann’s attempt to uncover secrets left behind by her Holocaust-survivor father after his death.’ * Vogue *‘Reads like a thriller and it is so, so timely. The work and emotion put into [the] book is unbelievable.’ * Buzzfeed *‘Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent. * Sunday Telegraph *‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘When Time Stopped is a beautifully told story of personal discovery, of almost unimaginable human bravery and sacrifice, and a harrowing portrait of living, dying and surviving under the yoke of Nazism.’ -- John Le Carre‘When Time Stopped is Ariana Neumann’s journey of discovery, lyrically set down in this truly exceptional book. She shines an intimate light upon a time unique in its horror, and tells a story of bravery, and rare survival. Yet the events she describes happened more than two decades before she was born. To a man to whom she was very close, but whose secrets she was only able to pursue after his death - thanks to the one hoard of evidence he never destroyed. This is a work of very great talent.’ -- Jon Snow, journalist and Channel 4 television presenter.The story Neumann uncovers is worthy of fiction with hairpin plot twists, daredevil acts of love and unexpected moments of humor in dark times. Given the slew of colorful characters and dramatic details, she could have turned her painstaking research into a historical novel. Instead she has written a superb family memoir that unfolds its poignant power on multiple levels. Yes, her account of one Jewish-Czech family’s race to outwit the Nazis makes for thrilling reading. But just as important is her lucid investigation of the nature of memory, identity and remembrance. * The New York Times Book Review *‘Ariana Neumann’s story may strike a chord, and rightly so. The slow and pitiless brutality that took hold of much of Europe in the 1930s is a story that can never be told too often. What makes this account so effective is that it’s personal and, because of the dogged extensiveness of her research, Neumann reminds us of the small details that make the Nazi persecution of the Jews all the more chilling. It’s not always a grim story. Alongside anger and despair there is love and hope. But the message is stark. This is the way bullies work. When Time Stopped is more than just history. It’s a warning.’ -- Michael Palin‘When Time Stopped is a remarkable and beautifully written book. Hans Neumann's story is astonishing, confirming that when it comes to the Holocaust we should expect only the unexpected. This is one of the most powerful and profoundly moving family stories of the Holocaust to have been published in many years and a must read.’ -- Professor Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History and Director, Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London‘When Time Stopped is an astonishing family memoir that will imprint itself on your psyche as only the best books can, forever changing the way you look at your own family. With a mastery of the dogged art of research rarely seen, and with an exquisite narrative sensibility to match, Ariana Neumann has breached the hidden surface of her family’s tumultuous past and brought not only their tragedies and sorrows, but also their joys and loves, to indelible light. I will carry the experience of this book with me for a very long time.’ -- John Burnham Schwartz, author of The Red Daughter, Reservation Road and The Commoner‘In a grand house in Caracas in the 1970s, a young girl comes of age dreaming of becoming a detective and solving mysteries, particularly the mystery of her charismatic, enigmatic father. Four decades later, after he dies, and herself a mother, she embarks on an extraordinary journey through Central Europe and South America to uncover her father's past. Through pre-war Prague's intelligentsia to the rise of fascism in Europe to the horror of Hitler's camps, she combines a daughter's love with a profound yearning for truth. The result is a love letter to a father who, out of sheer will and determination, did not allow the Nazis to destroy him - and who rose to become one of Venezuela's most successful industrialists. Part literary memoir, part mystery tale, Ariana Neumann's tribute to her father is a classic story of redemption and love.’ -- Janine di Giovanni, 2019 Guggenheim Fellow and author of The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria‘This book is utterly riveting: Ms. Neumann's memoir reads like a detective novel, as she unravels her late father's complex, agonizing yet inspiring trajectory. Conjuring the lives of her relatives murdered in the Holocaust, she brings their lost world to vivid life.’ -- Claire Messud, New York Times bestselling author of The Emperor’s Children and The Woman Upstairs‘I’ve read countless memoirs. I’ve read hundreds of books about the Holocaust and mysteries and detective stories and rigorously researched tomes of history and psychological studies of the effects of trauma. But never in my reading life have I ever come across anything akin to this magical, brilliant and gripping work of art combining all of these elements into a lyrical tapestry of one woman’s quest to understand her father’s mysterious past and therefore her own. To call this moving is an understatement. It is a journey of untold grace, sorrow and love.’ -- Deborah Copaken, bestselling author of Shutterbabe: Adventures in Love and War and The Red Book‘Growing up in a comfortable Caracas home, surrounded by joy, gaiety and the ‘birds of paradise’ -- and a father so revered that he had streets named after him in Venezuela -- Ariana Neumann willed an adventure to come her way. But nothing could have prepared her for the true-life story which was to unfold upon her beloved father’s death, back into the darkest depths of human history. Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent, Sunday Telegraph‘Remarkable...Through painstaking, meticulous research Neumann tells the true story-part memoir, part history-of her heart-wrenching and ultimately life-affirming journey in uncovering her family's long hidden past.’ -- Georgia Hunter, New York Times bestselling author of We Were the Lucky Ones‘Ariana Neumann's beautiful, meticulously researched memoir is an extraordinarily moving story of a family’s lost history, a father’s well-kept secret, and a daughter who pieces it all together with courage, tenacity, and most of all, love.’ -- Dani Shapiro‘Neumann’s efforts to tell [her father] Hans’s story chronologically, rather than in the order she unravelled the mystery, is especially effective. At times the revelations are so extraordinary to modern eyes that the memoir has an almost fictional feel.’ * Financial Times *‘… to unearth such stories takes great determination, patience and sensitivity, not least because so many of those who survived did so by suppressing the truth. ‘Sometimes you have to leave the past where it is – in the past,’ Hans told his daughter. But he didn’t entirely let it go, and nor, on his and our behalf, did she.’ * The Guardian *‘Compelling … brilliant …This remarkable, beautifully written book is full of sadness but it also full of great beauty and joy.’ * Daily Mail, Book of the Week *‘A meticulously researched, gripping and poignant memoir.’ * The Observer *‘[When Time Stopped is] a treasure to be savored as testament of the human will to survive.’ -- Anne Sebba * The Spectator *‘Full of tales of courage … this meticulously researched work is unforgettable.’ * Sunday Mirror *‘This book will be an important addition to Holocaust literature … we have heard many of the atrocities recounted in these pages before. But we must go on hearing them. This is a very fine book indeed.’ * The TLS *‘Extraordinary life-affirming book of survival against the odds, of love and hope, and the threads of humanity that unite us all’ * Surrey Life *‘… a book of exhaustive historical scholarship and profound emotional dedication.’ * The Jewish Chronicle *‘A beautifully wrought book that is both a detective story and a family history.’ * The Times of Israel *‘Occasionally there appears a book so devastating that the only response is stunned silence … When Time Stopped is about the triumph of the human spirit.’ -- Francis Wilson * The Oldie *‘This deeply personal narrative tells the story of Ariana Neumann’s family, many of whom were killed by Nazis, and grapples with Neumann’s attempt to uncover secrets left behind by her Holocaust-survivor father after his death.’ * Vogue *‘Reads like a thriller and it is so, so timely. The work and emotion put into [the] book is unbelievable.’ * Buzzfeed *‘Lucidly-written, this is a gripping, heart-wrenching journey back to wartime Prague and Berlin. Ariana Neumann has written the book that her remarkable father simply couldn’t.’ -- Tom Gross, former Prague and Jerusalem correspondent. * Sunday Telegraph *‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘The story Ariana Neumann has to tell – a true one – is both exotic and extraordinary. Her combination of impeccable research with a pitch-perfect sense of narrative and suspense kept this early bird up reading, utterly captivated for every single moment, until long after dawn. I can’t begin to remember how many people I’ve since urged to buy this moving and highly original tribute to a remarkable man. What is truly astonishing is that it marks Neumann’s debut.’ -- Miranda Seymour‘When Time Stopped is a beautifully told story of personal discovery, of almost unimaginable human bravery and sacrifice, and a harrowing portrait of living, dying and surviving under the yoke of Nazism.’ -- John Le Carre‘When Time Stopped is Ariana Neumann’s journey of discovery, lyrically set down in this truly exceptional book. She shines an intimate light upon a time unique in its horror, and tells a story of bravery, and rare survival. Yet the events she describes happened more than two decades before she was born. To a man to whom she was very close, but whose secrets she was only able to pursue after his death - thanks to the one hoard of evidence he never destroyed. This is a work of very great talent.’ -- Jon Snow, journalist and Channel 4 television presenter.The story Neumann uncovers is worthy of fiction with hairpin plot twists, daredevil acts of love and unexpected moments of humor in dark times. Given the slew of colorful characters and dramatic details, she could have turned her painstaking research into a historical novel. Instead she has written a superb family memoir that unfolds its poignant power on multiple levels. Yes, her account of one Jewish-Czech family’s race to outwit the Nazis makes for thrilling reading. But just as important is her lucid investigation of the nature of memory, identity and remembrance. * The New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisEveryone knows about the six flamboyant Mitford girls but in fact there were seven remarkable women in the famous family the seventh was Muv', the mother of the notorious sisters. Too often portrayed as different from them and outside the girl gang, she was really the original and much of her daughters' strong will, self-confidence and extremism came from her.Sydney Redesdale was a divisive figure both among her daughters and subsequent biographers. Until their deaths, her girls were still squabbling over what she was really like, their differing views of her persisted for even longer than the political divides between them. Each daughter wanted to control the narrative and they wrote competing novels, memoirs and letters to vindicate their perspective. For Nancy and Jessica, she was a scapegoat, for Unity, Diana, Debo and Pam a saint.Biographers have been equally divided about how she should be portrayed. Many wondered how such exceptional children could spring from such ordinary parents, but was Sydney really so ordinary'? The story of her life at the heart of one of Britain's most famous families is told in full here for the first time.

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Book SynopsisThe instant Sunday Times bestsellerThe UK's bestselling medieval historian brings unforgettably to life the astonishing rise of Henry V, who survived rebellion, a near-fatal arrow wound and a lengthy and precarious princely apprenticeship to become England's greatest warrior king. 'A historian who writes as addictively as any page-turning novelist.' ObserverHenry V reigned over England for only nine years and four months, and died at the age of just 35, but he looms over the landscape of the late Middle Ages and beyond. The victor of Agincourt was a model king for his successors. Shakespeare's version of Henry V saw his youthful folly redirected to sober statesmanship, and in the dark days of World War II, Henry's victories in France were recounted in British propaganda. Churchill called Henry a gleam of splendour in the dark, troubled story of medieval England', while for one modern medievalist, Henry was, quite simply, the greatest man who ever ruled England'. For Dan Jones, He

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Book SynopsisThe New York Times bestseller: the incredible untold story of Virginia Hall, an American woman with a wooden leg who infiltrated Occupied France for the SOE and became the Gestapo's most wanted Allied spy, written by acclaimed biographer Sonia Purnell.Trade ReviewPurnell's account of Hall's hectic, amphetamine-fuelled exploits never falters. It recalls Caroline Moorehead's wonderful book, Village of Secrets, but has an added touch of Ben Macintyre's brio ... A rousing tale of derring-do' -- Richard Davenport-Hines * The Times, Book of the Week *Soon to be a film starring Daisy Ridley, Purnell's life of the SOE agent Virginia Hall is a cracking story about an extraordinarily brave woman * Telegraph Best Holiday Beach Reads *As gripping as any thriller ... a superb biography ... Purnell nimbly takes the reader through Hall's complicated manoeuvres all over central France and beyond. And in doing so, she paints a rounded portrait of a complicated, resourceful, determined and above all brave woman * Irish Times *Brimming with moving tales of courage in the face of tyranny, this is a worthy tribute to an incredible figure -- Deirdre O'Brien * Sunday Mirror *A cracking story of an extraordinarily brave woman . . . extraordinarily well-researched . . . thrilling -- Anne de Courcy * Telegraph *Excellent . . . Purnell's meticulous research into Hall's life and work has taken her not only through British SOE papers and resistance files in France, but also through nine levels of security at the CIA in Langley * Spectator *Purnell mixes telling detail with narrative verve to convey both the excitements of Hall's precarious existence and the force of her indomitable spirit * Mail on Sunday *Riveting ... one of the most breath-taking stories yet told of female courage behind enemy lines ... An intimate and moving portrayal * Sarah Helm, author of If This Is A Woman and A Life In Secrets *A gripping, relevant and timely read about a remarkable woman from a talented writer * Deborah Frances-White, author of The Guilty Feminist *Purnell's extensive research brings the facts of Virginia's life into brilliant focus -- Jane Shilling * Evening Standard *With her thriller-writer's style and copious new research, Purnell has written a fitting and moving tribute to an amazing woman * The Economist *It is easy to see why Hollywood is showing interest in Purnell's account of Hall, an authentic heroine who was also American, disabled and a woman. "Marie" thoroughly deserved her laurels -- Max Hastings * Sunday Times *The extraordinary facts of [Hall's] life are brought onto the page here with a well-judged balance of empathy and fine detail. This book is as riveting as any thriller, and as hard to put down -- Mick Herron * New York Times *Gripping . . . With this book, the true extent of Hall's heroic contribution to the war effort is known at last -- Jane Warren * Express *Impressively researched and compellingly written, this brilliant biography puts Virginia Hall - and her prosthetic leg Cuthbert - back where they belong: right in the heart of resistance history * Clare Mulley, author of The Spy Who Loved and The Women Who Flew for Hitler *The remarkable life of the American Second World War spy Virginia Hall is due to get the Hollywood treatment - the Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley is slated to play her on screen. In Hall's biography by Sonia Purnell all the details of her incredible adventures are gathered together for a breath-taking read * Irish Examiner, This summer's top reads *Courage, resourcefulness, ingenuity: Hall possessed them all, and in Purnell she has found the ideal biographer * Tablet *Sonia Purnell has exhaustively researched Virginia Hall's career in archives in many countries, and she writes with authority and in vivid detail. This book is a cracking story * Oldie *A compelling biography of a masterful spy, and a reminder of what can be done with a few brave people -- and a little resistance * NPR *An incredible story of under-appreciated heroism * USA Today *An inspiring account of an extraordinary woman's bravery that will keep you gripping your seat -- Rebecca Wallersteiner * The Lady Book of the Week *Remarkable ... this lively examination... shows how, if Hall had been a man, dropping undercover in and out of occupied Vichy, Paris, and Lyon, setting up safe houses, and coordinating couriers for the Resistance, she would now be as famous as James Bond... Meticulous research results in a significant biography of a trailblazer who now has a CIA building named after her * Kirkus Reviews *This true tale of courage will take your breath away * Best *Purnell vividly resurrects an underappreciated hero and delivers an enthralling story of wartime intrigue...fans of WWII history and women's history will be riveted * Publishers Weekly *Fascinating! careful research and skilful writing, Sonia Purnell, in A Woman of No Importance, takes you deep into the covert operations Hall led in Nazi-occupied France, first for the British and then for the Americans. Readers will find this tale of her cunning and courage riveting * Douglas Waller, author of Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage *Virginia Hall was considered the most dangerous of all the Allieds' spies by the Nazis - and her the untold story of the American with a wooden leg who became the French Resistance's key intelligence contact is finally revealed * Independent *This compelling story has remained under wraps until now, with the publication of Sonia Purnell's dramatic and extremely well-researched account. * Country Life *[A Woman of No Importance is] Sonia Purnell's astonishing account of the wartime escapades of special ops agent Virginia Hall . . . Hall's actions, which helped galvanise the Resistance movement, were guided by an indomitable spirit and fierce sense of purpose, and her perilous escape over the Pyrenees in November 1942 makes for nail-biting reading * Financial Times *A cracking biography of Virginia Hall, the tall, beautiful, one-legged Special Operations Executive agent who in 1941 was sent to occupied France undercover as a journalist to mobilise résistants ahead of D-Day. She became, in the Gestapo's view, the Allies' most dangerous spy. -- Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisAN INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERA Telegraph Best Book of the Year''An intense, evocative portrait of one of the most remarkable figures of our era'' ANNE APPLEBAUM''This is the Zelensky book we've been waiting for' CATHERINE BELTONTHE TIMES: A BEST BOOK OF 2024 NEXT YEAR'S TOP READSGUARDIAN: BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2024INDEPENDENT: A BOOK OF THE MONTHWritten with unprecedented access, this is the first inside, intimate account of the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the perspective of President Zelensky and his team.Based on four years of reporting; extensive travels with President Zelensky to the front; and dozens of interviews with him, his wife, his friends and enemies, his advisers, ministers and military commanders, The Showman tells an intimate and eye-opening story of the President's evolution from a slapstick actor to a symbol of resilience, revealing how he managed to rally the world's democracies behind his cause.Clear-eyed about the President's early failures as a peacemaker and his willingness to silence political dissent, the book offers a complex picture of a man struggling to break what he sees as a historical cycle of oppression that began generations before he was born. Even as the war drags on, Zelensky lays out his vision for its future course and, through his actions, demonstrates his strategy for countering the Russians and keeping the West on his side. The result is a riveting, up-close picture of the invasion as experienced by its number one target and improbable hero.The Showman, as a work of eyewitness journalism, provides an essential perspective on the war defining our age. As a study in leadership and human resolve, its appeal is timeless and universal.''Intimate but unflinchingly objective, this biography gives you a seat at Zelensky''s war cabinet and penetrates his mind as he battles to save Ukraine''s freedomand ours'' Peter Pomerantsev, author of Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible

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Book SynopsisTHE NO.1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER An exciting Cold War story about a KGB double agent, by one of Britain''s greatest historians and the ultimate gift for anyone who loves a good spy thriller!''The best true spy story I have ever read'' John le Carré________________On a warm July evening in 1985, a middle-aged man stood on the pavement of a busy avenue in the heart of Moscow, holding a plastic carrier bag. In his grey suit and tie, he looked like any other Soviet citizen. The bag alone was mildly conspicuous, printed with the red logo of Safeway, the British supermarket.The man was a spy. A senior KGB officer, for more than a decade he had supplied his British spymasters with a stream of priceless secrets from deep within the Soviet intelligence machine. No spy had done more to damage the KGB. The Safeway bag was a signal: to activate his escape plan to be smuggled out of Soviet Russia. So began one of the boldest and most extraordinary episodes in the history of spying.Ben Macintyre reveals a tale of espionage, betrayal and raw courage that changed the course of the Cold War forever . . .________________''The world''s most important spy since the Second World War. Mercilessly gripping'' Sunday Times''Extraordinary. His best book yet'' John Preston, Evening Standard''A remarkable story of one man''s courage'' The Times, Book of the WeekBen Macintyre, Sunday Times bestseller, August 2023Trade ReviewAn incredible true life spy story...Every word ramps up the tension as you're drawn deeper into the danger * Mail on Sunday *If any spy writer were to put it in a novel, it would not be believed. But, blow by blow, trick by trick, it is all in Macintyre's book -- Fredrick ForsythHe writes like a novelist. One of the last chapters is as tense as any thriller. No wonder le Carré liked it * Daily Express *

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Book SynopsisIn the first authoritative biography of Alexander the Great written for a general audience in a generation, classicist and historian Philip Freeman tells the remarkable life of the great conqueror. The celebrated Macedonian king has been one of the most enduring figures in history. He was a general of such skill and renown that for two thousand years other great leaders studied his strategy and tactics, from Hannibal to Napoleon, with countless more in between. He flashed across the sky of history like a comet, glowing brightly and burning out quickly: crowned at age nineteen, dead by thirty-two. He established the greatest empire of the ancient world; Greek coins and statues are found as far east as Afghanistan. Our interest in him has never faded. Alexander was born into the royal family of Macedonia, the kingdom that would soon rule over Greece. Tutored as a boy by Aristotle, Alexander had an inquisitive mind that would serve him well when he faced formidableTrade Review“Mr. Freeman’s ambition, he tells us in his introduction, was ‘to write a biography of Alexander that is first and foremost a story.’ It is one he splendidly fulfills.” —Tom Holland, The Wall Street Journal "A well-written, chronological narrative that allows Alexander’s remarkable career and achievements to speak for themselves. . . . Readers will appreciate this fine account of a man truly deserving of the title 'Great.'" —Booklist"Fast-paced and dramatic, much like Alexander himself, this is a splendid introduction into one of the most dramatic true stories of history." —Adrian Goldsworthy, author of Antony and Cleopatra“Lean, learned, and marked by good judgment on every page, Alexander the Great is also a roaring good yarn. Philip Freeman has the eye of someone who has walked in Alexander’s footsteps, and he writes with grace and wisdom.” —Barry Strauss, author of The Spartacus War and professor of history, Cornell University"Freeman tells us about Alexander's life like a novel—a remarkably interesting novel, to boot." —Sarah Hann, The Saturday Evening Post

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Book SynopsisIf you want to find out who the royal servants are, what they do and why, in so many cases, they devote their whole lives to royal service, then this book is for you.

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Book SynopsisComic riffs and diatribes on the America of G.W. Bush from the author of Slaughterhouse 5Trade Review'Part memoir, part rant and part joke, Vonnegut's latest book is as elusive as it is beguiling. Throughout this slim volume, the author walks a fine line between despair over our deteriorating world and a consummate entertainer's urge to amuse' Sunday Times 'Vonnegut's A Man without a Country is pure late Twain, darkly funny, never less than enraged at corruption and greed, and overflowing with compassion for the powerless. We've never needed him more' Russell Banks 'If Vonnegut isn't the enduring Good Humor man, who is?' John Irving, The Times 'This enjoyable volume of reflections and anecdotes reminds us what is unique about the author of those startlingly good American novels Slaughterhouse Five, Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions ... Kurt Vonnegut is one of the greatest writers of the past 50 years' Daily Telegraph

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewAn entrancing biography. * Elle *A subtly distilled life. Fargeon’s impressions of Marie Antoinette are particularly compelling. -- Judith Thurman * New Yorker *Rhapsodic and piquant… full of information. * New York Review of Books *The book’s heroes are Marie Antoinette, perfume and Fargeon in that order, but what emerges is a powerful evocation of a lost world. -- Erica Wagner * The Times *Learning about Fargeon’s relationship with the Queen and about the fragrances that he compounded is particularly relevant for me. It is also fascinating to read about the ingredients, many of which are used to this day. -- Evelyn Lauder * Vanity Fair *De Feydeau’s descriptions of Versailles Palace’s obsessions with coiffure, fashion, perfume and cosmetics are alluring. -- Sam Leith * Daily Telegraph *De Feydeau’s lively account gives the reader an additional twist on the life and times of Marie Antoinette and her influence on two of France’s continuing major industries – fashion and scent. * Washington Post *Interesting and well-written. -- Rebecca Chappell * French Magazine *Table of ContentsIntroduction by Catherine Wright Prologue 1. The Main Theme 1748-1774 2. The Touches from the Heart 1774-1782 3. The Basic Tenor 1782-1794 Epilogue Appendix 1: The Palette of Jean-Louis Fargeon Appendix 2: Procedures for the Manufacture of Perfumes Notes

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE NONFICTION CROWN AWARD 2024 GUARDIAN: BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2024 'GRIPPING' THE TIMES

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThe remarkable true story of one man''s escape from the depths of depression through his 3,000 mile walk across the country''A great and inspirational read'' MATT HAIG, bestseling author of Reasons to Stay Alive''Inspiring'' INDEPENDENT ''An uplifting and inspirational journey through raw emotion'' RAYNOR WINN, bestselling author of The Salt PathAS SEEN ON BBC BREAKFAST______ After coming terrifyingly close to suicide, Jake Tyler was determined to take back control of his life from the clutches of depression. With only a pair of walking boots and a backpack, he left his home town of Maldon and began a 3000-mile walk around the British mainland. In documenting every step of his adventure, Jake shares the ways in which his road to recovery was enhanced by the kindness of strangers, who helped him to better understand himself and the power of human connection. This is the story o

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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