Biography: arts and entertainment Books

Book SynopsisA gorgeously illustrated and hilarious celebration and appreciation of Internet Daddies, from Pedro Pascal to Paul Rudd... The PERFECT gift for Galentine's and Valentine's this year!

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Book SynopsisJohn Lennon and Yoko Ono head to Canada to stage a bed-in for peace, play a peace concert, and meet prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

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

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Book SynopsisOne of the most famous footballers of all time, George Best is an icon to football fans all over the world. He lived a tumultuous life, and died in 2005 after battling with alcoholism. He is someone who has crossed over into legend status, with his personal life sometimes overshadowing his footballing prowess. There have been many books written about George, but here, Michael Parkinson combines his professional and personal knowledge of George with his classic and much loved writing style to produce a new, and interesting biography of a football and cultural icon.

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Book SynopsisFrom the outset, Caroline Lamb had a rebellious nature. From childhood she grew increasingly troublesome, experimenting with sedatives like laudanum, and she had a special governess to control her. She also had a merciless wit and talent for mimicry. She spoke French and German fluently, knew Greek and Latin, and sketched impressive portraits. As the niece of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, she was already well connected, and her courtly skills resulted in her marriage to the Hon. William Lamb (later Lord Melbourne) at the age on nineteen. For a few years they enjoyed a happy marriage, despite Lamb''s siblings and mother-in-law detesting her and referring to her as ''the little beast''. In 1812 Caroline embarked on a well-publicised affair with the poet Lord Byron - he was 24, she 26. Her phrase ''mad, bad and dangerous to know'' became his lasting epitaph. When he broke things off, Caroline made increasingly public attempts to reunite. Her obsession came to define much o

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Book SynopsisForeword by Sandi Toksvig WATERSTONES'' BEST BOOKS OF 2023: ENTERTAINMENT''Give this book to everyone you know - NOW!'' Miriam Margolyes''This is a joyous, uplifting book'' Observer''He was so funny and such fun and here he is again in all his rib-tickling glory'' Gyles BrandrethI don't know how long I've got left I don't even buy green bananas anymore' When the legendary comedian Barry Cryer died in January 2022, there was a vast outpouring of grief, appreciation and anecdotes from the general public and fellow comics alike. Now, his son, Bob, is doing what Barry's humility did not allow: revealing the story of the man behind the jokes.This book is an ode both to Barry's incredible life and to the lessons he so generously imparted on the art of comedy during his sixty-year career. Stretching from the music halls of the fifties, via working alongside everyone from Morecambe a

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Book SynopsisThe best of the best from the Comedians' Comedian 2020'If you loved Jeremy Hardy, or if you know anyone who did, this is the most brilliant present because it's got every part of his voice in it' DAWN FRENCH'Well good evening, my name is Jeremy Hardy and I'm a comedian who likes to make wry witty satirical observations about the society we live in -- but I prefer to keep them to myself, thank you very much.'Edited by his wife, Katie Barlow and his long-time producer David Tyler, this comprehensive celebration of Jeremy Hardy's work is introduced by Jack Dee and Mark Steel. Further reflections on Jeremy come from Rory Bremner, Paul Bassett Davies, Jon Naismith, Francesca Martinez, Sandi Toksvig, Victoria Coren Mitchell, Andy Hamilton, Graeme Garden and Hugo Rifkind. Katie Barlow also provides a moving Afterword.Jeremy Hardy, who died in February 2019, was perhaps the most distinctive and brilliant comedian to arise from the 80s Alternative Comedy circuit. He regularly entertained the millions who heard his outrageous rants on The News Quiz, his legendary singing on I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, or his hilarious monologues and sketches on the award-winning Jeremy Hardy Speaks to The Nation and Jeremy Hardy Feels It.Often referred to as 'the comedian's comedian', Jeremy's comedy could be both personal and political, ranging in topics from prison reform to parenting, from British identity to sex. His comedy could be biting, provocative and illuminating, but it could also be surreal, mischievous and, at times, very silly. And while Jeremy's unwavering socialism was a thread that ran throughout his comedy, his greatest skill was that, whatever their political beliefs, Jeremy always brought his audience along with him.Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes is a fitting celebration of this brilliant comedian. Introduced by Jack Dee and Mark Steel and containing material from his stand-up to his radio monologues and political satire to the joyfully silly gems, as well as tributes from his friends and fellow comedians, it is curated to encompass everything about Jeremy that fans adored. Edited by Katie Barlow and David Tyler, Jeremy Hardy Speaks Volumes is wise, daft, outrageous, personal and, above all, very funny: like Jeremy himself.'Ground-breakingly brilliant, off-the-register funny' JACK DEE'A one-off. Part genius, part naughty schoolboy' SANDI TOKSVIG'Unfussy, unshowy, principled, self-deprecating, hugely loved and admired by his fellow comedians and funnier than the lot of us put together' RORY BREMNERTrade ReviewIf you loved Jeremy Hardy, or if you know anyone who did, this is the most brilliant present because it's got every part of his voice in it * Dawn French *Ground-breakingly brilliant, off-the-register funny, compassionate and caring * Jack Dee *A glorious friend and a mischievous comedian - a clown and a commentator all at once * Mark Steel *Jeremy Hardy was a one-off. Part genius, part naughty school boy . . . there was no one to match him for his brilliant understanding, his satire and his straightforward ability to make us sob with laughter. How many evenings he made the radio theatre rock with delight * Sandi Toksvig *Jeremy Hardy was so special and brilliant and mischievous, a miracle of a person * Victoria Coren-Mitchell *Unfussy, unshowy, principled, self-deprecating, hugely loved and admired by his fellow comedians, and funnier than the lot of us put together. A unique comedian and a lovely man * Rory Bremner *He chose to use his comedy to change the world, rather than to fill stadia * Richard Osman *He would light fires of indignation with his blazing wit * Independent *[A] fine and fitting collection . . . poignant * Chortle *Brings together the late comedian's musings on both the personal and political * Choice *

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Book Synopsis***One of The New Yorker's Best Books of 2022******One of The New York Time's 100 Notable Books of 2022***'Exuberantly entertaining' NYT Book Review'Mark Braude's writing and subject make this book irresistible, as was Kiki herself.' Jim Jarmusch'A delightful, marvelously readable, meticulously-researched romp of a book, Kiki Man Ray brings to life not just the kaleidoscopically talented Kiki herself, but the endlessly fascinating Montparnasse milieu over which she reigned.' Whitney Scharer, author of THE AGE OF LIGHTThough many have never heard her name, Alice Prin - Kiki de Montparnasse - was the icon of 1920s Paris. She captivated as a ground-breaking nightclub performer, wrote a bestselling memoir, sold out exhibitions of her paintings, and shared drinks and ideas with the likes of Pablo Picasso, Peggy Guggenheim, and Marcel Duchamp. She also shepherded along the career of a then-unknown American photographer: Man Ray.Following Kiki in the years between 1921 and 1929, when she lived and worked with Man Ray, Kiki Man Ray charts their complicated entanglement and reveals how Man Ray - always the unabashed careerist - went on to become one of the most famous photographers of the twentieth century, enjoying wealth and prestige, while Kiki's legacy was lost.But this isn't a story of an overbearing male genius and his defeated muse. During the 1920s it was Kiki, not Man Ray, who was the brighter of the two rising stars and a powerful figure among the close-knit community of models, painters, writers and café wastrels who made their homes in gritty Montparnasse. Following the couple as they created art, struggled for power and competed for fame, Kiki Man Ray illuminates for the first time Kiki's seminal influence on the culture of 1920s Paris, and challenges ideas about artists and muses, and the lines separating the two.'Kiki de Montparnasse was more than a muse - she was a vivacious, independent woman whose talent and magnetism helped make Paris the center of the art world in the 1920s. In Mark Braude's riveting cultural history, the Queen of Montparnasse rises again. This is a lively and compassionate tribute to the chanteuse, model, and portraitist who held center stage in her life, and who inspired some of the finest Surrealist art of the twentieth century.' Heather Clark, author of Pulitzer Prize-finalist Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia PlathTrade ReviewA lively study of [Kiki de Montparnasse] who exemplified [a] cocktail of high spirits and a heedless self-destruction. * The Times *[Kiki is] a vibrant force in a colorful world - and the heart of Braude's history. A rich, affectionate look at bohemian Paris. * Kirkus Reviews *Mark Braude focuses on Kiki de Montparnasse and Man Ray . . . immersing the reader in a world where everyone was pushing their creativity in unimaginable directions. * The Spectator *Exuberantly entertaining . . . A riveting glimpse into the absinthe-fuelled Parisian jazz age * Lady Magazine *Finally, a detailed and entertaining account of Alice Prin, aka Kiki de Montparnasse, and her artistic and romantic relationship with Man Ray. Best known as a popular (and usually nude) artists' model, Kiki was a singer and performer, a painter, a writer, and the central female instigator for the avant-garde demimonde of Paris in the 1920s. Mark Braude's writing and subject make this book irresistible, as was Kiki herself. * Jim Jarmusch *The frank, lively voice that comes through in Kiki's vignettes makes a cornerstone for the case, which Braude renews, that she was far more than Man Ray's party-girl companion - that it was, in fact, her vitality, her connectedness in artistic networks, and her intuitive understanding of his creative process that hoisted Man Ray on to the highway to fame. * The Telegraph *Kiki de Montparnasse was more than a muse - she was a vivacious, independent woman whose talent and magnetism helped make Paris the center of the art world in the 1920s. In Mark Braude's riveting cultural history, the Queen of Montparnasse rises again. This is a lively and compassionate tribute to the chanteuse, model, and portraitist who held center stage in her life, and who inspired some of the finest Surrealist art of the twentieth century. * Heather Clark, author of Pulitzer Prize–finalist RED COMET: THE SHORT LIFE AND BLAZING ART OF SYLVIA PLATH *Kiki Man Ray is a thoroughly researched and gracefully written life of the (until now) underestimated model, performer, painter, actress, and influencer known as Kiki de Montparnasse. Mark Braude's biography brings her out of the wings and sets her firmly center stage in this evocative portrait of artistic life in the Paris of the 1920s. * Carolyn Burke, author of FOURSOME and LEE MILLER *A delightful, marvelously readable, meticulously researched romp of a book, Kiki Man Ray brings to life not just the kaleidoscopically talented Kiki herself, but the endlessly fascinating Montparnasse milieu over which she reigned. -- Whitney Scharer, author of THE AGE OF LIGHTMan Ray captured 1920s Paris in his photographs, especially those of a singular muse: Kiki de Montparnasse, a hostess, a celebrity, a cabaret performer, a woman whose bawdy, heartfelt songs were the pulse of Paris. Mark Braude turns the tables - and the lens - and gives us a unique portrait: Man Ray from the perspective of that celebrated muse and her ephemeral art of performance. * Tilar J. Mazzeo, New York Times bestselling author of THE HOTEL ON PLACE VENDÔME: LIFE, DEATH, AND BETRAYAL AT THE HOTEL RITZ IN PARIS *Kiki de Montparnasse - model, muse, artist - is the sole realist in a room of Surrealists. Unafraid of contradiction, she lived the fast life in the stillness of a pose, the intimacy of a public dream. Beautifully written, with a light touch and a wise eye, Mark Braude's Kiki Man Ray arranges the elements of Kiki's life, letting radiant patterns emerge. * Alexander Nemerov, author of FIERCE POISE: HELEN FRANKENTHALER AND 1950S NEW YORK *Exquisitely crafted . . . [S]harp and succinct . . . Kiki Man Ray rescues its protagonist from the dustbin of history and advocates eloquently for the vitality and importance of the world she helped to forge. * HAMILTON CAIN, Wall Street Journal *If the only 'Kiki de Montparnasse' you are aware of is a lingerie brand, please check out this top-notch, highly readable nonfiction from cultural historian Mark Braude right now. * CAT AUER, A.V. Club *[An] affectionate biography . . . As irresistible as it is overdue. * Chicago Review of Books *Mark Braude's exuberantly entertaining biography sets out to rebalance the much-told story of Left Bank Paris, in which Kiki - model, memoirist and muse - is usually cast as a bit player. * The New York Times *[A] heady romp through the galleries and nightclubs of interwar France * Vogue *I loved Mark Braude's entertaining dual-biography . . . Kiki entranced the American Surrealist Man Ray, and the book charts their tempetuous relationship. * Lady Magazine *2022 Bookshelf Christmas Special - The Lady's Pick of the Year's BEST BOOKS* *'Mark Braude's spirited and thoroughly researched account brings [Kiki] to life, highlighting her belligerent nature and generous spirit, as well as her activities as an artist and writer . . . Braude's colourful evocation captures the heady atmosphere of a Paris still traumatized by the First World War' * TLS *

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Book Synopsis*A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR A GUARDIAN MEMOIR OF THE YEAR A TELEGRAPH BEST MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR *'Chronicles, in enthralling detail, Madonna Louise Ciccone's path from terrifyingly ambitious trainee dancer to pop colossus, all the while placing her in a wider social and cultural context.' GUARDIAN MAGAZINE'Gabriel charts her extraordinary life, right through to pop icon. She deserves a biographer as meticulous, intelligent and insightful as Gabriel.' DAILY MAIL'Madonna built the house in which nearly all female artists now live . . . A Rebel Life brings home not just her obvious willpower and strength, but her fearlessness and sheer intelligence' DAILY TELEGRAPH'A fascinating take on one of music's greatest icons' BELFAST TELEGRAPH'It's a mark of Gabriel's skill that she has managed to wrestle this complex, sprawling, eventful life into a book that rarely flags and conveys its subject's wider significance without tipping into hagiography. We come to understand Madonna the person as well as Madonna the concept: a woman who, for a generation, embodied female artistic, sexual and financial liberation.' GUARDIANIn this exceptional biography, Pulitzer Prize finalist Mary Gabriel chronicles the meteoric rise and enduring influence of the greatest female pop icon of the modern era: Madonna.With her arrival on the music scene in the early 1980s, Madonna generated nothing short of an explosion - as great as that of Elvis or the Beatles - taking the nation by storm with her liberated politics and breathtaking talent. But Madonna was more than just a pop star. Everywhere, fans gravitated to her as an emblem of a new age, one in which feminism could shed the buttoned-down demeanour of the 1970s and feel relevant to a new generation. Amid the scourge of AIDS, she brought queer identities into the mainstream, fiercely defending a person's right to love whomever - and be whoever - they wanted. Despite fierce criticism, she never separated her music from her political activism. And as an artist, she never stopped experimenting. Madonna existed to push past boundaries by creating provocative, visionary music, videos, films and live performances that changed culture globally. Deftly tracing Madonna's story from her Michigan roots to her rise to super-stardom, master biographer Mary Gabriel captures the dramatic life and achievements of one of the greatest artists of our time.Trade ReviewMary Gabriel has dared to write a biography of a woman with whom the entire world is on a first-name basis. Here, she reveals Madonna as a rock-and-roll suffragette, managing the stress test of her personal life and using the power of music to bring about social change. Exquisitely detailed in her storytelling, Gabriel convinces us that we all still vogue in the House of Madonna -- Brad Gooch, author of CITY POET: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FRANK O'HARAMary Gabriel's astonishing book with its pointillist detail feels fresh, surprising, vital, and necessary. It's thrilling to be reminded of how brave Madonna has been-to a fault! It doesn't matter where it springs from, because the results are the same: a singular, towering career that changed the culture -- Jonathan Van Meter, author of THE LAST GOOD TIMEMary Gabriel eloquently tells the engrossing story of how Madonna combined music, dance, art, fashion, theater and pop stardom to develop a completely contemporary way to be an artist. It chronicles how her embrace of the artistic vanguard transformed popular culture -- Jeffrey Deitch, author of ART IN THE STREETSMadonna built the house in which nearly all female artists now live . . . A Rebel Life brings home not just her obvious willpower and strength, but her fearlessness and sheer intelligence -- Suzanne Moore * Daily Telegraph *This meticulous study puts the shape-shifting star in proper context . . . It's a mark of Gabriel's skill that she has managed to wrestle this complex, sprawling, eventful life into a book that rarely flags and conveys its subject's wider significance without tipping into hagiography * Guardian, *Book of the Day* *

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Book Synopsis'Modern classics: elegantly written and breathtaking in their honesty' Daily ExpressSiân Phillips has a long and celebrated career on both stage and screen. For the first time, her two bestselling volumes of memoir Private Faces and Public Places will be available as a single volume with a brand new foreword by the author. With wonderful stories and unflinching candour, Private Faces and Public Places covers her life from its beginnings in the remote Welsh countryside, where life hadn't changed for centuries, to finding herself at the epicentre of the acting world at its most glamorous alongside husband Peter O'Toole, whose career was about to take off with the spellbinding Lawrence of Arabia. Siân describes the mad and wonderfully impulsive times with O'Toole alongside the tempestuous, insecure, and often lonely periods in their marriage. Incredibly, it endures over 20 years. When it ends, surprising even herself, she plunges straight into another marriage, with the much younger actor Robin Sachs. Emerging alone from her second marriage, triumphant and unrepentant, the story Siân tells ranks alongside the very best in show business.Trade Review'Magnificent' * Sunday Times *'A fascinating read, easily one of the best autobiographies of the year' -- Lynn Barber * Daily Telegraph *'A stimulating work of art . . . a rare bird indeed among "showbiz" books' -- Hugh Massingberd * Daily Telegraph *'A delightful memoir, written with great warmth and freshness' * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisAS HEARD ON RADIO 4 WOMAN'S HOUR'Captivating . . . a brilliant many-layered social history of women's ambition and a rapidly changing New York' Observer'A fascinating look at a piece of forgotten female history' Sunday Times'A treat, elegantly spinning a forgotten story of female liberation, ambition and self-invention' Guardian'A deeply researched history, leavened with gossip . . . offers a full sweep of the changing status of American women in the twentieth century' TLSWELCOME TO THE BARBIZON, NEW YORK'S PREMIER WOMEN-ONLY HOTELBuilt in 1927 as a home for the 'Modern Woman' seeking a career in the arts, the Barbizon became the place to stay for ambitious, independent women, who were lured by the promise of fame and good fortune. Sylvia Plath fictionalized her time there in The Bell Jar, and over the years, its 688 tiny floral 'highly feminine boudoirs' also housed Joan Crawford, Grace Kelly (notorious for sneaking in men), Joan Didion, Candice Bergen, Charlie's Angel Jaclyn Smith, Ali MacGraw, Cybil Shepherd, Elaine Stritch, Liza Minnelli, Eudora Welty, The Cosby Show's Phylicia Rashad, Grey Gardens's Edith Bouvier Beale, and writers Mona Simpson and Ann Beattie, among many others. Mademoiselle boarded its summer interns there - perfectly turned-out young women, who would never be spotted hatless - as did Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School its students - in their white-gloves and kitten heels - and the Ford Modelling Agency its young models.THE BARBIZON is a colourful, glamorous portrait of the lives of the young women, who -- from the Jazz Age New Women of the 1920s to the Liberated Women of the 1960s -- came to New York looking for something more.'The story of the Barbizon is in many ways the story of American women in the twentieth century' Economist 'Illuminating . . . this vivid, well researched account is testament to its vibrant history and the women who made it such a powerhouse' Daily ExpressTrade Review[An] insightful, well-written account...[Bren] details the lives of some of the Barbizon's most well-known residents, including Molly Brown, Grace Kelly, Sylvia Plath, and Joan Didion, and provides historical context about midcentury single women, careers, and sex...A must read for anyone interested in the history of 20th-century women's lives, fashion, publishing, and New York. * Library Journal *Varying delectably in cadence, from high-heel tapping and typewriter clacking to sinuous and reflective passages analyzing the complex forms of adversity Barbizon women faced over the decades, Bren's engrossing and illuminating inquiry portrays the original Barbizon as a vital microcosm of the long quest for women's equality. * Booklist *A rare glimpse behind the doors of New York's famous women-only residential hotel...Drawing on extensive research, extant letters, and numerous interviews, Bren beautifully weaves together the political climate of the times and the illuminating personal stories of the Barbizon residents...Elegant prose brings a rich cultural history alive. * Kirkus Reviews *An entertaining and enlightening account of New York's Barbizon Hotel and the role it played in fostering women's ambitions in 20th-century America...Carefully researched yet breezily written, this appealing history gives the Barbizon its rightful turn in the spotlight. * Publishers Weekly *Before Sex and the Single Girl, before "Sex and the City," there was the Barbizon. It was a romantic building with a romantic purpose: It fixed a woman up with her dreams. Paulina Bren has written a stylish, charming history of a unique institution, brimming with aspiration and idiosyncrasy, and one that allowed a woman to survive without either marrying someone or cooking him dinner - even when she was barred from so much as taking a seat at the bar. * STACY SCHIFF, author of The Witches and Pulitzer Prize Winner *Residents of the Barbizon Hotel were once described as 'young women alone.' Thanks to Paulina Bren, they are alone no longer. The Barbizon is a fascinating social history of a forgotten place and time and an intimate portrait of women, trying to find their way in a pre-feminist world. I'll never look at a hotel and think the same way again. * KEITH O'BRIEN, New York Times bestselling author of Fly Girls *This is the history I've been wanting to read all my life. I just didn't know where to look. How delightful to find it in the legacy of this magical hotel, captured in brilliant detail by the masterful Paulina Bren. Even if you can't move into the Barbizon, reading this book will make you feel like you've lived there for years. You'll never want to move out. * MEGHAN DAUM, author of The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through The New Culture Wars *From famous models to Joan Didion, from hopeful stenographers to Sylvia Plath. The Barbizon housed women who eagerly sought independence, adventure, and careers in New York City. Besides the story of the famous women-only hotel, The Barbizon chronicles key aspects of American women's history in the first half of the twentieth century. A compelling read! * LYNN DUMENIL, author The Second Line of Defense: American Women and World War I *Touching in its loyalty to these women, the ones who arrived with suitcases and dreams in the Barbizon's grand lobby. Bren draws on an impressive amount of archival research, and pays tender attention to each of the women she profiles. * International New York Times *This vivid, well-researched account is testimony to its vibrant history and the women who made it such a powerhouse. * Daily Express *A fascinating look at a piece of hidden female history. The fortunes of the hotel are entwined with the changing role of women in the 20th century. It's timely too: 100 years afterit was built, in the wake of #MeToo and the death of Sarah Everard, the idea of a women-only hotel feels not anachronistic but liberating. * The Sunday Times *The stories of Candice Bergen, Joan Crawford, Liza Minnelli and many more (as well as the importance of Mademoiselle magazine's guest editorships) weave in and out of the story of the hotel and the country. A pleasurable, fascinating read that is superbly researched and told. * WA Today *

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Book SynopsisA fascinating and hilarious gallop through twentieth-century British history, by comedian Al Murray.An awful lot has happened in the last 100 years or so. In fact, when you look at how much went on in the 20th century, it's amazing it didn't take longer than that.And what have we learnt? A few obvious lessons include: megalomaniac men with moustaches in charge of countries tend to turn out to be BAD; anyone who thinks they can explain let alone sort out the Middle East is WRONG; France simply cannot be relied upon; America may or may not be the cause of everything GOOD and BAD in the world (depending on who you ask).This isn't your bog-standard history book. We all know that history books (Which Shall Not be Questioned because they ARE ALL TRUE according to our History Teachers of Yore) are dry and dull, and they go on as if there's only ONE version of history (spoiler: it's all about perspective). Enter Al Murray, alter-ego of everyone's favourite Pub Landlord.Al knows his way around 20th century Britain, and he's good enough to illuminate it for you. From the Big Bang of the 20th Century, DOUBLEYOUDOUBLEYOU ONE, to the eve of the new Millennium (when all the computers in the World DIDN'T stop working and the Queen had to do the Hokey Cokey with Tony Blair) and all the forgotten tales in between, this is a brilliantly funny, irreverent and eye-opening whistle-stop tour of Britain since 1914.

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Book SynopsisLondon, November 1966. John Lennon can't speak, he can't take his eyes off a photo of a car in flames with the body of Paul McCartney inside. His friend is no longer there, and that means the Beatles are no longer there, either. But John wants to know the truth, and with George and Ringo, he starts to re-examine the final hours in Paul's life. Set in the magical atmosphere of Abbey Road Studios during the writing sessions for Sgt. Pepper, the definitive version of the legend of the Paul McCartney's death.

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Book SynopsisOne hundred years after the singer’s birth, Peggy Lee: A Century of Song brings to life the eventful career of an iconic performer whose contributions to the Great American Songbook, jazz, popular music, and film music remained unparalleled.Lee stood out among her peers as an exquisite singer possessing a cool vocal style, a songwriter frequently collaborating with leading composers of American jazz and film music, and a globally-loved entertainer with star quality. Tish Oney sheds new light upon this Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner’s impressive musical talents while guiding the reader through the best of Lee’s fifty-plus albums, radio and TV performances, creative contributions to the film industry, and over half a century of finely-polished live performances.Oney focuses on the evolution of Peggy Lee’s recorded music, vocal development, artistic achievements, and contributions to American music while interviews with Lee’s family, friends, and music colleagues reveal new insights and memories of this musical icon. Peggy Lee enables readers to discover a brilliant artist’s inimitable legacy in the history of American popular music.Table of ContentsIntroductionThe International Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel resounded with cascades of applause and loving affirmation of a timeless music legend on May 11, 1994. Peggy Lee was honored that evening with a gala tribute event in Beverly Hills by the Society of Singers, and as a fitting gesture of appreciation for their financial support as well as for the public honor, Lee performed a touching, heartfelt rendition of her original song, “Here’s To You,” melodiously wishing those in attendance “good luck” in several languages before closing with her favorite blessing, “angels on your pillows…” The masterful timing, declamatory phrasing and gentle, musical delivery that were Peggy’s alone shone through one of the last performances this remarkable artist would share with her adoring public…The highly diverse, six-decade catalog of music created by vocalist/songwriter Peggy Lee—a globally beloved singer, composer, lyricist, voiceover artist, actress and entertainer—represents one of the greatest singular contributions by anyone to the oeuvre of American music. Lee’s remarkable work in big band swing, popular music, jazz, blues, the “cool” school, film music, radio, television, and crossover styles forever changed the landscape of American music as well as the role and society’s expectations of the female vocalist. Hailing from rural North Dakota nee Norma Delores Egstrom, she was first nicknamed “Peggy Lee” by a radio DJ. Deciding to keep the new stage name, Peggy moved to Los Angeles and continued to sing, being fortuitously heard and hired by Benny Goodman shortly after his band’s vocalist, Helen Forrest, resigned. Peggy would soon prove that she could not only successfully replace Forrest, but also carve her own path as a force to be reckoned with in 1940s American popular music.Chapter 1The Goodman BandAt the beginning of her career, the newly monikered Peggy Lee may have seemed to be just one of many attractive “chick” singers fronting important big bands of the 1930s. During the Goodman years, she was relegated to sing songs in other singers’ keys, causing her high-pitched, youthful tone to match that of many other leading big band vocalists. When finally given opportunities to show off her lower, sultry, softer, bluesy approach via arrangements in lower keys, Lee began to come into her own signature style. Early hits propelling Lee to the top of the pop music charts began with “Somebody Else Is Taking My Place” from 1941 (peaking at #1) and “Why Don’t You Do Right?” which rose to #4 in 1942. “We’ll Meet Again,” which topped at #16 that same year, became a song long associated with Lee. Meeting her first husband, Dave Barbour, through association with Goodman’s band proved to be doubly advantageous for Peggy—Barbour also became her first collaborative composer with whom she wrote several hit songs. Chapter 2A Capitol IdeaFollowing her split with the Benny Goodman Orchestra, Lee pursued a wildly successful career as a solo artist with Capitol Records. Recording sessions and hits were plentiful for Lee throughout the 1940s and 50s, and she proved to be a public favorite with her cool, seductive delivery, musical phrasing and magnetic sex appeal. The Barbour/Lee songwriting team churned out dozens of great songs over the next few years while Lee also continued to record songs by other composers. At Capitol, record executives began to encourage Lee to focus on recording songs they provided her, rather than on writing her own material. Fortunately, she managed to find time to be successful at both ventures.Chapter 3The Peggy Lee ShowRadio shows were all the rage in the mid-1940s through the 1950s, and were hosted by famous entertainers including Bing Crosby, Jimmy Durante, Woody Herman and eventually, Peggy Lee. Highlights from Lee’s show were often created when she brilliantly performed songs normally associated with other artists (“Somewhere Along The Way,” a Nat Cole hit, and “A Kiss To Build A Dream On,” associated with Louis Armstrong). Performances from hosted radio programs represented a crucial connection between leading pop musicians and their adoring American fans during this period. These shows finally gave way to widely popular television variety shows filmed before a live studio audience (hosted by Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Ed Sullivan and many others). Among a slew of interesting skits and other acts, these variety shows broadcast hundreds of impromptu performances showcasing the top entertainers of the day. Lee made history when she sang the Academy Award-nominated song, “Zing a Little Zong,” from Just For You at the first-ever televised broadcast of the Oscars.Chapter 4The Decca YearsIn 1953 Lee turned to the Decca label to record what jazz history scholars have ranked as one of the top ten vocal jazz albums of all time: Black Coffee. This important Decca recording reveals Lee to be no less than a serious jazz artist, capable of text-based improvisation bathed heavily in the blues. Her characteristic skills in backphrasing, understatement, unprecedented use of soft dynamics and astounding vocal control are readily apparent on this recording. Although Lee was criticized for sounding a bit like Billie Holiday here, her original approach to this material makes itself apparent to the discriminating listener. This decade also birthed a Capitol hit single most associated with Lee (“Fever,” in 1958) as well as a highly controversial rendering of the formerly innocuous Rodgers and Hart composition, “Lover,” which caused a public outcry in 1952 due to its vividly sensual, emotionally intense interpretation. Chapter 5A Flair for FilmLee contributed music to fourteen films throughout her storied career. Two of the most notable include Disney’s Lady and the Tramp, for which she served as both lyricist for all the songs in the film and voiceover artist for all female characters, and Pete Kelly’s Blues, in which she attained a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her acting role as an alcoholic nightclub singer. Both films feature Lee’s singing as well as her original songs. Several other films include songs co-written by Lee, showcasing her innate ability to adapt lyrics to a variety of storylines and film scores. For these and other projects, Lee collaborated with A-list composers Sonny Burke, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mandel and Henry Mancini. Film dramas including Johnny Guitar, The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! and Anatomy Of A Murder boast Peggy Lee’s songs in their soundtracks. Chapter 61960s Jazz and BluesThe 1960s found Lee as prolific and focused as ever, and eager to collaborate with some of the most talented young musicians in the business. Mink Jazz, another exquisite straight-ahead jazz album showcasing Lee’s jazz sensibilities, was a successful venture with trumpeter Jack Sheldon, reinforcing Lee’s rightful place in the circle of top jazz vocalists. Blues Cross-Country was a songwriting collaboration with a young Quincy Jones, proving Lee’s fearless willingness to foray into the blues--a genre for which her voice was uniquely suited. In 1965 Lee recorded Cy Coleman’s bluesy classic, “Big Spender,” from his new musical, Sweet Charity. Lee obtained special permission to record the song before the original cast recording was made, releasing her version upon the premiere of the Broadway production in January 1966 to become an instant hit.Chapter 7Live at Basin Street EastThis historically important recording of a live New York performance in 1961 offers a rare glimpse into the extraordinary “live” Peggy Lee concert experience during the height of her career and worldwide fame. This recording best exemplifies Lee’s artistry as the masterful performing artist that she was, capable of casting a musical spell and holding an audience in the palm of her hand for an entire evening. The full show includes various hits, originals and three multi-song medleys. Lee’s former bandmates claim that Lee loved to program medleys into her show songlists as a preferred way to present related material to a live audience while adding to the flow and unpredictability of the music. One such related group on this recording is a Ray Charles tribute medley connecting four of Ray’s signature songs together.Chapter 8Leiber and StollerThe songwriting team that is often identified with Lee’s 1960s work is the duo that penned two of her signature songs in that decade—Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. While the later ubiquitously known “I’m a Woman” never charted when it was released in 1963, “Is That All There Is?” earned Lee and the songwriting duo their only Grammy awards (1969). Mirrors, a problematic album collaboration in 1975, was irreparably plagued by poor recording quality, and never managed more than a lukewarm album remodeling project in recent years. Still, the Leiber and Stoller period in Lee’s total output represents a particular sound and genre exemplifying the aging persona of Peggy Lee.Chapter 9The Late AlbumsLee managed to snag not one, but two Grammy nominations for albums she recorded in her late 60s—Peggy Lee Sings the Blues (1988) and The Peggy Lee Songbook: There’ll Be Another Spring (1989). These records (released on the MusicMasters label) featured a young, very talented combo of jazz instrumentalists who would go on to become jazz masters themselves (Mike Renzi and Emilio Palame, piano, John Chiodini, guitar and Mark Sherman, drums). While these albums revealed a very different vocal quality than heard in Lee’s early work, her timing, phrasing and storytelling capabilities were still intact.Chapter 10That’s Not All There IsThe long, successful musical career and extensive song catalog of Peggy Lee, totaling several hundred recorded covers and 270 originals, boasts the productivity of a truly universal woman capable of singing and recording at a level that shattered most of her competition. Not only this, but Lee’s ability to write artistically viable lyrics and music at a highly prolific clip despite incessant discouragement from record label executives continued throughout her career. Moreover, her ventures into performing a wide variety of genres with relative authenticity and courageous, inspiring voraciousness illuminates a comparatively boundless creative spirit. Several albums of Lee’s previously unreleased work have been made public since her death in 2002 including “lost” Capitol masters and several original songs. Lee’s ongoing commitment to musical excellence, artistic integrity and the protection of intellectual property for songwriters serve as timely reminders for today’s artists about the importance of contributing something positive and enduring to the body of art in our current musical culture.

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Book SynopsisA #2 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Tom Segura is known for his twisted takes and irreverent comedic voice. But after a few years of crazy tours and churning out podcasts weekly, all while parenting two young children, he desperately needs a second to himself. It's not that he hates his friends and family - he's not a monster - he's just beat, which is why his son's (ruthless) first full sentence, "I'd like to play alone, please," has since become his mantra. In this collection of stories, Tom combines his signature curmudgeonly humor with a revealing look at some of the ridiculous situations that shaped him and the ludicrous characters who always seem to seek him out. The stories feature hilarious anecdotes about Tom's time on the road, including some surreal encounters with celebrities at airports; his unfiltered South American family; the trials and tribulations of parenting young children with bizarrely morbid interests; and, perhaps most memorably, experiences with his dad who, like any good Baby Boomer father, loves to talk about his bowel movements and share graphic Vietnam stories at inappropriate moments. All of this is enough to make anyone want some peace and quiet. I'D LIKE TO PLAY ALONE, PLEASE will have readers laughing out loud and nodding in agreement with Segura's message: in a world where everyone is increasingly insane, sometimes you just need to be alone.

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Book SynopsisNAMED A BEST GIFT BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: Instyle, Oprah Daily, Business Insider, Esquire, Boston Globe, and RedbookRevered as much for her fierce spirit as she is for her art, Frida Kahlo stands today as a feminist symbol of daring creativity. Her paintings have earned her admirers around the world, but perhaps her greatest work of art was her own life. What Would Frida Do? celebrates this icon's signature style, outspoken politics, and boldness in love and art-even in the face of hardship and heartbreak. We see her tumultuous marriage with the famous muralist Diego Rivera and rumored flings with Leon Trotsky and Josephine Baker. In this irresistible read, writer Arianna Davis conjures Frida's brave spirit, encouraging women to create fearlessly and stand by their own truths.

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Book SynopsisIn 1772, upon the death of her second husband, Mary Delany arose from her grief, picked up a pair of scissors, and, at the age of seventy-two, created a new art form: mixed-media collage. Over the next decade, Mrs. Delany produced an astonishing 985 botanically correct, breathtaking cut-paper flowers, now housed in the British Museum and referred to as the Flora Delanica. As she tracks the extraordinary life of Delany-friend of George Frideric Handel and Jonathan Swift-internationally acclaimed poet Molly Peacock weaves in delicate parallels in her own life and, in doing so, creates a profound and beautiful examination of the nature of creativity and art. This gorgeously designed book, featuring thirty-five full-color illustrations, is to be devoured as voraciously as one of the court dinners it describes.

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Book SynopsisJuly, 1967: It seems the entire country stopped to listen to a husky voice steeped in the simmering secrets of the South tell a tragic tale of teenage suicide. So much for the Summer of Love. “Ode to Billie Joe” knocked the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love” off the top of the charts, and Bobbie Gentry became an international star. Almost 50 years later, Gentry is as enigmatic and captivating as her signature song. Of course, fans still want to know why Billie Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. They also wonder: Why did Bobbie Gentry, who has not performed or made a public appearance since the early 1980s, leave it all behind? Through extensive interviews and unprecedented access to career memorabilia, Murtha explores the real-life mysteries ensnarled within the much-disputed origin of Ode to Billie Joe. The result is an investigative pop history that reveals, for the first time, the full breadth of Bobbie Gentry’s groundbreaking career—and just may help explain her long silence. Foreword by musician Jill Sobule.Trade ReviewTara Murtha examines that song and the rest of Bobbi Gentry’s career in Ode To Billie Joe, the latest release in the 33 1/3 series of books. It is a wonderfully compelling book and the best I’ve read in the series since "Television: Marquee Moon." Perhaps it’s her background as a reporter, but Murtha does not go down the pedantic path that many of the books in this series seem to do lately. Instead, the author presents a fascinating study of Gentry and her career-defining debut. That’s right; "Ode to Billie Joe" was her debut recording. Wow. -- Steve J * AllMusicBooks *Murtha pulls free the threads of truth from a tangled knot of personal mythology and contradictions. Her book is likely to be a hit with casual listeners and pop-culture obsessives alike. -- Katie Haegele * Utne Reader *Philadelphia journalist Tara Murtha has dug deep into the story behind Gentry’s song with the latest entry in the '33 1/3' book series devoted to various pop albums of significance… Murtha charts Gentry’s challenges as a musician who in her teens was most interested in selling her songs to other singers, not recording them herself. But once she did get into the position of recording, she was up against a male-dominated record industry that offered little validation to a young woman with her own ideas about performance and production. -- Randy Lewis * L.A. Times *While Murtha's exploration of the Gentry myth is fascinating, the writer also takes pains to ensure that the myth - as well as Gentry's sexual aura - will not eclipse her real achievement […] Murtha's gem of a book is, above all, a testament to the enduring complexity of Bobbie Gentry. -- Helen W. Mallon * Philly.com *Murtha’s book conveys a Bobbie Gentry who knew what she wanted and then went about to get it. For the past 30 years, Bobbie Gentry has wanted to be left alone. The closest Murtha gets to Gentry is when she tries on an old fur coat of hers that ended up in the closet of her step-brother in Oregon, who only met Gentry once. This isn’t nearly enough for Murtha ... Tara Murtha’s accessible and engaging book is a welcome addition to the 33 1/3 Series. I believe her Ode to Bobbie Gentry will succeed in attaining renewed attention and interest in her music. -- Aaron Goldstein * The American Spectator *In Ode To Billie Joe, a new contribution to Bloomsbury's 33 1/3 series, journalist Tara Murtha puts Gentry's feminism and efforts to control her own image at the center of the work, which re-introduces the world to Bobbie Gentry ... Today, it is unclear where she lives and remains in touch with only a few friends from her days in show business — leaving many questions unanswered. Ode To Billie Joe is a 'looking glass that cuts both ways,' Murtha writes. 'The wild commercial success of 'Ode' transformed Gentry from an unknown working musician to an international star. But it also ... ultimately served to obscure a larger, richer body of work — and caged the artist into a persona she spent the rest of her career trying to transcend.' -- Audrey White * The Quietus *Who was Billie Joe McAllister and why did he die? ... There’s another riddle to be solved: that of Gentry herself ... The American journalist Tara Murtha, in her recently published book Ode to Billie Joe (Bloomsbury), attempts to solve these mysteries. Her book, then, is a reporter’s quest that takes her across America to find people who knew Gentry and are willing to talk ... She finds plenty of them. -- Karl Whitney * Irish Times *Table of ContentsForeward, by Jill Sobule Chapter 1: Out of a Swamp Fog Chapter 2: Where is Bobbie Gentry? Chapter 3: The Bobbiebilia Chapter 4: Chickasaw County Child Chapter 5: Becoming Bobbie Gentry Chapter 6: "Produced by Kelly Gordon and Bobby Paris" Chapter 7: The Summer of "Ode to Billie Joe" Chapter 8: Capitol Pre-Orders Five Times as Many Records as Meet the Beatles Chapter 9: The Capitol Years Chapter 10: Viva Las Vegas Chapter 11: What the Song Didn't Tell You, the Movie Will Chapter 12: So I'm Packin' Up and I'm Checking Out

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Book SynopsisThe instant New York Times bestselling author of Bad Mormon and breakout star of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City returns with a hilarious, illustrative, and deeply reflective book about life and love as a former Mormon, mother, and reality TV star.In Bad Mormon, Heather Gay pulled back the veil on her orthodox adolescence and marriage in the Mormon Church, and the painful process of leaving it all behind. Becoming a successful business owner and reality TV star gave the single mom of three a second lease on life. After years of living in an insular bubble, Heather emerged bright-eyed, eager to take on the world…no matter how ill-equipped her upbringing may have left her. Now, in this provocative and laugh-out-loud funny book, the mother of three proves that she isn’t just a Bad Mormon; she’s also a Good Time Girl! With her “thoughtful, smart, and funny” (

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Book SynopsisIt's a life of the two of us.' The complete surviving correspondence between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. To read these letters is to climb up a wall and peer into the secret garden of two giants.' From the Foreword by FIONA SHAW This volume comprises the complete surviving correspondence between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears. The 365 letters written throughout their 39-year relationship are here brought together and published, as Pears intended, for the first time. While the correspondence provides valuable evidence of the development of Britten's works, more significant is the insight into his relationship with Pears and their day-to-day life together. Entertaining to read, domestic and intimate, the letters provide glimpses of cultural and artistic life in the twentiethcentury, including pacifism and conscientious objection, critical assessments of music and other artists, transport and communications development in the twentieth century, the 'Aldeburgh corpses', art collecting, gossip, everyday life in an English country house, the development of the Aldeburgh Festival, performance practice in early music, looking after dachshunds, travel, and a host of other topics. Above all, when read together, Britten and Pears's letters allow the clearest possible look 'behind the scenes' of one of the most productive creative partnerships of the twentieth century. VICKI P. STROEHER is Professor of Music History at Marshall University where she isalso Coordinator of the Music History & Literature area. NICHOLAS CLARK is the Librarian at the Britten-Pears Foundation at The Red House, Britten and Pears's home in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. JUDE BRIMMER is an Archivist at the Britten-Pears Foundation.Trade Review[T]his collection of letters between Britten and Pears engages two very different and equally fascinating roles. On the one hand, the book is immensely valuable as a research tool with clues about Britten's compositional process, insights from both men about music and prominent musicians of their day, and poignant, first-hand accounts of history. On the other hand, the letters are so touching and honest that even the most dispassionate researcher might accidentally get lost in the compelling love story and intimate look into a deeply personal, committed relationship. * NABMSA REVIEWS *365 letters - one to read for each day of the year...Here we are allowed into the private world of two of the greatest musicians of their generation. * BRIO *My Beloved Man is, quite simply, a love story...it is fascinating to read. * GRAMOPHONE *Elegantly written and highly informative...a desirable volume for any academic library, and specialists in twentieth-century opera or British music generally will find it a rewarding read. * JNL OF THE SOCIETY FOR MUSICOLOGY IN IRELAND *It is difficult not to be moved by the personal and artistic courage of the relationship of which these letters, and the accompanying texts, present such a vivid...complete, picture. * FONTES ARTIS MUSICAE *Published here in full for the first time, these letters bear witness to a relationship in which love and creativity and romantic and professional lives are so tightly entwined that to try and separate them would make a nonsense of both. * THE SPECTATOR *'To read these letters is to climb up a wall and peer into the secret garden of two giants.' From domestic dramas and dachshunds to ideas for the Aldeburgh Festival, a new book captures the lives of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears in their own words. [...] While it does feel as if we're steaming open the envelopes and reading the letters while the house is still quiet, the editors of the book make it clear both men wanted their story to be told. * EAST ANGLIAN DAILY TIMES *[...] These are primarily communications by two loving partners who wish to share quotidian details [...] in order to bridge the gap as best they can during times of separation. [...] Still, there are occasional insights into Pears's musicianship, and particularly his and Britten's profound admiration of Bach. * BBC MUSIC AUTUMN *These letters are important. . . [and] have never had quite the impact they do here. * TELEGRAPH *Table of ContentsForeword by Fiona Shaw Introduction: Britten and Pears's 'personal and consistent' correspondence 'When I am not with you..': August 1937 to January 1941 'My life is inextricably bound up with yours': May 1942 to November 1944 'I don't know why we should be so lucky, in all this misery': July 1945 to April 1949 'You are potentially the greatest singer alive': Late 1949 to January 1954 'Why shouldn't I recognise that you are such a large part of my life. ': May 1954 to December 1959 'Far away as you are, at least I feel there is contact!': January 1960 to March 1968 'It is you who have given me everything': January 1970 to June 1975 'My days are not empty': January to November 1976 Personalia List of Works Select Bibliography

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Book SynopsisMicky Flanagan is one of Britain's best-loved cheeky-chappy comedians, thanks to his stand-up routines about how he's gone from growing up in London's East End in the 1970s to his life now in middle-class suburbia. To date he has two sell-out tours under his belt, nominations from the British Comedy Awards and the Edinburgh Fringe (for Best Comedy Newcomer), not to mention regular stints on 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mock the Week and The Last Leg, as well as guest appearances on The Jonathan Ross Show, Alan Carr: Chatty Man, The Graham Norton Show and The One Show. Yet a career as a professional comedian was not something that he had ever dreamed of when, as a troublesome teen, he left school aged 15 to work in a fish market. Abi Smith looks at how Micky, who was laughed at by his teachers when he said he wanted to be a vet, has triumphed from his early days working as a fish porter in the East End and as a dishwasher in New York. In this page-turning biography you'll also discover why his mum labelled him a drama queen, and how he tried his hand at various professions - including trainee teacher and painter and decorator - before having the last laugh by becoming one of the country's most popular funny men. So, pour yourself a cup of Rosie Lee, take the weight off your plates and prepare for a right giraffe as you read this engaging tale of 'an East Boy done good'.

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Book SynopsisNo other pop group in recent history has faced fame with such intelligence, humour and shrewdness as the Pet Shop Boys. In 1991, the band toured North America for the first time shadowed by journalist Chris Heath and legendary rock photographer Pennie Smith. They visited fourteen cities in one month, confronting the American music industry and colliding with the likes of Liza Minnelli, Steven Spielberg and Axl Rose. This is more than a documentary of a tour; it is an unusually intimate portrait of two maverick British musicians always reluctant to compromise.‘There was a time when the Pet Shop Boys seemed to exist entirely on radio, television and in magazines. This is the other world of the Pet Shop Boys in concert, travel and backstage, as they bring their art and glamour to America. It’s funny too.’ Johnny Marr‘A brilliant book, to be read over and over again. How could anyone not love these men?’ NMETrade ReviewOne of the best biographies in pop history. A phenomenal piece of observational journalism. Heath's books offers unprecedented access. -- Mark Savage * BBC News *Candid, hilarious and revealing...gloriously gossipy. [They set] a benchmark for music biographies. Engrossing stuff. * Classic Pop Magazine *Candid, insightful and frequently hilarious dispatches from the front line of pop stardom. An astonishingly intimate and honest portrait of the maverick duo. Page turners of the highest order, saying more about their subjects than any “straight” biographies could ever hope to achieve.- * Record Collector Magazine *

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Book SynopsisCool, talented and transgressive, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s life is just as fascinating as the work he produced.Delve into 1980s New York as this vivid graphic novel takes you on Basquiat’s journey from street-art legend SAMO to international art-scene darling, up until his sudden death. Told through cinematic scenes, this is Basquiat as seen through the eyes of those who knew him, including his father, Suzanne Mallouk, Larry Gagosian and, most importantly, the man himself. Basquiat is a moving depiction of a troubled artist’s life for those interested in both the art and the man who made it.Trade Review"Following his graphic biographies of Billie Holiday and John Coltrane, illustrator Paolo Parisi turns his attention to no wave New York's most famous son. Birthed by street culture but borne aloft by its art crowd, the rise and fall of its most emblematic artist is here visually re-created, putting Basquiat back where he belongs: at the heart of what was, at the time, the pop cultural centre of the world." -- GQ

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Book SynopsisSince she stepped onstage unannounced at the 1959 Newport Folk Festival, Joan Baez has occupied a singular place in popular music. Within three years, she had recorded three best-selling albums and had embarked on a tour of southern US campuses, playing to integrated audiences in an era of segregation. When Time magazine chronicled the folk revival in November 1962, her portrait was on the cover. Her voice was “as lustrous and rich as old gold.” She has mentored generations of singer-songwriters, most famously Bob Dylan. But Joan Baez has always been much more than simply a singer. Even before she stood on the podium beside Dr Martin Luther King at the March on Washington, her voice was raised in sorrow and anger as well as in song. The causes for which she has campaigned are legion and it’s no surprise that she was chosen to open Live Aid in Philadelphia in 1985. In 1993, amid the siege of Bosnia, she donned a flak jacket to sing for the citizens of Sarajevo offering, as so many times before and since, “an act of love, sharing, witness and music”. Now approaching 80, Baez has stepped down from the stage following a worldwide farewell tour and a final Grammy-nominated album. The Last Leaf is a celebration of a timeless figure whose music and influence will endure long after her voice is silenced. The Discography is by Grammy-nominated music historian Arthur Levy. Joan Baez is the recipient of the 2020 Woody Guthrie Prize.Trade Review"I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that this is a book destined to become the definitive word on the life and times of Joan Baez; put it on your list of this year's essential reads. What we get with this book is something more than a standard biographical approach to documenting an artist's career. All the career information you might want is there, along with a comprehensive discography, filmography and bibliography, but Thomson's book is more insightful than just providing simple biographical data. This book offers us an opportunity to discover the person behind the legend...[Thomson] has interviewed Joan Baez herself a number of times over a forty-year period and also draws on a variety of other interviews with long-time associates and friends, both from the world of music and from wider afield...The illustrations and photos embellish the book beautifully and it is a triumph." -- Americana UKJoan Baez: The Last Leaf presents us with a lot of detail, with a fair number of questions and with a picture of a woman who has given so much to the world, to music and to activism that it is surprising how little has been written about her... Thomson's book is an excellent starting point. -- Folk RadioShe writes beautifully and covers a cram-filled, spectacular life in a very knowledgeable way... a very well sourced and a very thoughtful book. -- Will SwiftThomson is a sharp listener, her evocative musical descriptions sing along with her subject’s songs... she has delivered the definitive biography. Five Stars. -- MOJOExhaustively researched...pack[s] a hell of a lot into its 224 pages, miraculously managing to include a comprehensive discography, filmography and bibliography and a plethora of photographs that really do enhance the text. * Living Tradition magazine *

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Book Synopsis5/5 - CLASSIC POP 4/5 - THE TELEGRAPH Everyone has their favourite era of the Bee Gees' career, but so much is still unclear about this celebrated but often misunderstood band. This book will provide the perfect route in, pulling together every fascinating strand to tell the story of these pioneering, melancholic masters of pop. Uniquely, the Bee Gees' tale spans the entire modern pop era - they are the only group to have scored British top-ten singles in the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s - and includes world-conquering disco successes like 'Stayin' Alive' and 'More Than a Woman', both from the soundtrack of hit film Saturday Night Fever. But the Bee Gees' extraordinary career was one of highs and lows. From a vicious but temporary split in 1969 to several unreleased albums, disastrous TV and film appearances, and a demoralising cabaret season, the group weren't always revelling in the glow of million-selling albums, private jets and UNICEF concerts. Yet, even in the Gibbs' darkest times, their music was rarely out of the charts, as sung by the likes of Al Green, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton and Diana Ross. Award winning author Bob Stanley captures the human story at the heart of the Bee Gees in this lyrical and stylish read.Trade Review'Told with the delicious lyricism and candour we've come to expect from Stanley, the band's extraordinary story is recounted In meticulous detail 5/5.' -- Classic Pop'Stanley is a wonderful guide...showing us gems of their vast catalogue with enthusiasm, insight and wit. 4/5' -- The Telegraph'A loving vindication of the band... alert to the comedy of pop star existence but also tells a deeply melancholy tale.' -- Sunday Times'Finally, the definitive biography of the Bee Gees. Bob Stanley tells one of the most extraordinary stories in the history of pop, epic and mythical, with tales of heart-stopping joy and sadness. Children Of The World does full justice to the Gibb brothers' extraordinary musical legacy. I pretty much inhaled it in one sitting.' -- Pete Paphides'The Bee Gees are my all-time favourite band. Perhaps I love them that fraction more than any other artist because I don't think their genius - or their flat-out weirdness - has ever been fully appreciated. But they are here: meticulously researched, endlessly entertaining, written with both love and a cool critical eye. Bee Gees: Children of the World wins again and again.' -- Alexis Petridis'A brilliant book.' -- Mark Ellen

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Book SynopsisFor fans of Really Good Actually and I'm Glad My Mom Died'Moving, hilarious and generally astonishing' - Guardian'Brave, funny and moving' - Aisling Bea 'A deftness that catches your breath' - Fern Brady'An incredible piece of writing' - Brett Goldstein'Interrogates moments of trauma with insight, kindness and humanity' - John RobinsThis is a book about mistakes. And why we should de-flower shame in all its messy, complicated glory...Hello!It's Lou here...I've poured my heart and guts on to the page and shared my soul in this book. This won't be for everyone but I hope it helps the people it does connect with. We all have stories and I think its useful to share them, I think it helps unite us and in some ways it helps us release some shame.I've been alarmingly truthful and sincere, because I think society would be better if we could all be honest. I've of course used humour too, not as a way to cope (I've processed the darker things that have happened to me), but as a change in pace, some gorgeous light relief, because life is light and dark dancing together in the wind. And I love jokes.If this is the sort of thing you're after, please pick me up and take me to bed (that's the book speaking so a little joke there).

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Book SynopsisComprising a vivid and varied series of miniature biographies, revealing profiles, thought-provoking essays and a multitude of previously unknown anecdotes and quotes, Hercules!: The A to Z of Elton John is the perfect compendium for the casual fan or devoted connoisseur, providing a funny, comprehensive and fully alphabetised overview of the star's life and music.Charting all the highs and lows, the major record releases and the significant tours, the strokes of genius and the bottoms of barrels, this insightful portrait will cover serious subjects such as Elton's battle with the media, his highly publicised addictions, his route to sobriety, his tangled love life and his struggles to come to terms with his sexuality, hair loss and temper. But, as Elton himself always does so well in the hundreds of interviews he has given over the past half-century, his stories will also be told frankly and humorously, his demons now conquered and his success unrelenting.And at the heart of this book is a joyride through one of the all-time greatest musical catalogues from a brilliant, versatile, glamorous and universally loved pop superstar.Trade Review'Hercules! The A to Z of Elton John comes down to us in three primary mediums: the typography, the text, and the music. Not exactly a memoir, but a memento of events that can be pieced together into one fascinating work.' -- Culture Sonar

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Book SynopsisThis is the first comprehensive study in English of surrealist leader André Breton’s life-long commitment to the visual arts. As an essayist, art critic, collector, gallery director and artist, he actively promoted many painters, from Gustave Moreau and outsider artists to fellow surrealists like Max Ernst and André Masson. The book tracks both the development of Breton’s surrealist aesthetics within the Parisian avant-garde art scene and the centrality of art to his political agenda. It also highlights Breton the collector/collagist – the works he displayed in his Paris apartment, ranging from Oceanic masks to African sculptures, paintings to pebbles, are themselves seen as an ever-changing assemblage.Trade Review'An excellent overview of André Breton as the leader of the surrealist movement as a collective experiment with writing and visual art in equal measure that dominated the avant-garde in the twentieth century. This book should become an essential reference for anyone interested in surrealism.' – Kate Conley, Professor of French & Francophone Studies, William & Mary; 'This book manages to be both concise and comprehensive, giving the reader an excellent sense of the scope, variety and contradictions of Breton’s interactions with artists, art practices and artworks. Though informed by a deep and detailed scholarly background in the field, it is a lively and engaging read, offering a new perspective on both Breton himself and the vagaries of the visual arts as a category of surrealist activity.' – Johanna Malt, Professor of French Literature & Visual Culture, King's College London

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Book SynopsisMina Loy was born in London in 1882, became American, and lived variously in New York, Europe, and finally, Aspen, Colorado until she died in 1966. Flamboyant and unapologetically avant-garde, she was a painter, poet, novelist, essayist, manifesto-writer, actress, and dress and lampshade designer. Her life involved an impossible abundance of artistic friends, performance and spectacular adventures in the worlds of Futurism, Christian Science, Feminism, Fashion, and everything modern and modernist. This new account by Mary Ann Caws explores Mina Loy's exceptional life, and features many rare images of Loy and her husband, the swiss writer, poet, artist, boxer and provocateur Arthur Cravan, who disappeared without trace in 1918.Trade Review'Reading Mary Ann Caws' book today reminds me of the excitement I felt when I first encountered Mina Loy's writing nearly fifty years ago. Mina Loy is not for everyone, I wrote at the time. She is an acquired habit. But if she gets into your system, you may become addicted. In fact you may not ever get over her, in which case this charismatic book will not help you. It will only make withdrawal more difficult.' - Roger Conover, writer, editor and Mina Loy's literary executor

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Book SynopsisUnquestionably one of the most popular composers of classical music, Sergei Rachmaninoff has not always been so admired by critics. Detractors have long perceived Rachmaninoff as part of an outdated Romantic tradition from a bygone Russian world, aloof from the modernist experimentation of more innovative contemporaries such as Igor Stravinsky. In this new assessment Rebecca Mitchell re-situates Rachmaninoff in the context of his time, bringing together the composer and his music within the remarkably dynamic era in which he lived and worked. Both in Russia and later in America, Rachmaninoff and his music were profoundly modern expressions of life in tune with an uncertain world. This concise yet comprehensive biography will interest general readers as well as those more familiar with this giant of Russian classical music.

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Book SynopsisIn 1976 the British band Throbbing Gristle emerged from the radical arts collective COUM Transmissions through core members Genesis P-Orridge and Cosey Fanni Tutti, joined by Hipgnosis photographer Peter Christopherson and electronics specialist Chris Carter. Though having performed previously in more low-key arts environments, their major launch coincided with the COUM retrospective exhibition Prostitution at London’s ICA gallery, showcasing and contextualising an array of challenging objects from COUM’s various actions in performance art and pornography. In a deliberately curated strategy inviting press, civic and arts dignitaries, extravagant followers of the nascent punk scene and music journalists, the band created an instant controversy and media panic that tapped into the restrictive climate and encroaching conservatism of late 1970s Britain. Any opportunities that were being explored by a formative punk ethos and movement around sex, censorship and transgression were amplified and exposed by Throbbing Gristle and Prostitution. An outraged Member of Parliament Nicholas Fairbairn took the bait and called the ensemble the ‘wreckers of civilisation’, providing the suitable newspaper headline that would be followed a month later by ‘the filth and the fury’ as the Sex Pistols uttered strong profanities on live television. The switch from COUM to Throbbing Gristle encompassed a primary mode of expression in making music as opposed to art, to further coincide with the energy of the nascent punk scene. The band quickly developed a radically deviant and challenging reputation through pushing the punk format past its strictures in terms of lyrical themes, amateurism, and considerations of what constitutes music. Through a handful or record releases on their own label Industrial Records, and a sporadic string of live performances, the band nurtured a strong and devoted following including key journalists and fanzine editors of the punk and post-punk scenes such as Jon Savage and Sandy Robertson. The band’s style of exploring harsh pre-recorded sounds, samples of disconcerting narrative and conversation, and feeding all sounds through messy electronic processing devices gave rise to the title industrial music. This was further buttressed by performing a strictly timed set of one hour, and adopting a non-rockstar mode by appearing disinterested and preoccupied with electronic devices. Having given a name and impetus to the industrial music scene, many of their followers and fans formed bands in later years. Drawing on works such as Andy Bennett’s When the Lights Went Out, this book looks at late 1970s Britain, before, during and immediately after the Winter of Discontent, to situate the activism of Throbbing Gristle in this time. It explores how the band worked in and against the time, and how they worked in and against punk as punk worked in and against the time and place. Punk acts as a mediating factor and nuisance value, as Throbbing Gristle emerged with punk in late 1976, seemingly grappled with it through 1977, and then went on to create and eventually criticise a number of post-punk scenes that had flourished around 1979. Trowell narrates the story through a series of live performances, as this is a point where Throbbing Gristle interact with the various city-scenes around England during their original period of operation (1975-1981). The band reflected (and incorporated into their live music) key tropes form the time, both ‘mainstream’ and fringe (subcultural, avant-garde art, counter-culture, taboo subjects, extremes) such that Throbbing Gristle events had an impact and affect, and Trowell traces these as a series of impressions and reverberations amongst fans who went on to do their own music and projects. Table of ContentsACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1. DISPLACEMENTS 2. ORIGINAL SINNERS – TOWARDS PROSTITUTION 3. IN AND AGAINST PUNK – 1977 THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS 4. ANTI-GIG – ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION, 3 MARCH 1978 5. IN THE MACHINE – WAKEFIELD COLLEGE, 1 JULY 1978 6. ANACHRONY IN THE UK – DERBY AJANTA THEATRE, 12 APRIL 1979 7. RESTLESSNESS – SHEFFIELD UNIVERSITY, 10 JUNE 1980 8. ENDGAMES/AFTERLIVES REFERENCES INDEX

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Book SynopsisThe most successful Bond of all time. One of the most stylish men in Britain. A United Nations ambassador. Skydiving with the Queen herself. Is there anything Daniel Craig can't do? With the release of No Time to Die, Craig will appear for the fifth time as James Bond. The public and the critics have been united in their praise for Craig in the most-pressurised role there is in global film. However, there has been much more to Craig over the years than just Bond. Roles in Layer Cake, Knives Out and the movie adaptation of Stieg Larssons's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have met with acclaim, and shown breadth and charisma beyond being 007. In this biography, author Sarah Marshall explores the road to success for one of Britain's finest actors - from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama his status as a global icon. A must for any fan, this biography examines not just the star gracing billboards and magazines covers, but also the character of the man behind the famous blue eyes.

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Book SynopsisFrom Sunday Times bestselling author Lesley-Ann JonesOn 12 July 1962, the Rollin' Stones performed their first-ever gig at London's Marquee jazz club. Down the line, a 'g' was added, a spark was lit and their destiny was sealed. No going back.These five white British kids set out to play the music of black America. They honed a style that bled bluesy undertones into dark insinuations of women, sex and drugs. Denounced as 'corruptors of youth' and 'messengers of the devil', they created some of the most thrilling music ever recorded. Now, their sound and attitude seem louder and more influential than ever. Elvis is dead and the Beatles are over, but Jagger and Richards bestride the world. The Stones may be gathering moss, but on they roll. Yet how did the ultimate anti-establishment misfits become the global brand we know today? Who were the casualties, and what are the forgotten legacies? Can the artist ever be truly divisible from the art? Lesley-Ann Jones's new history tracks this contradictory, disturbing, granitic and unstoppable band through hope, glory and exile, into the juggernaut years and beyond into rock's ongoing reckoning . . . where the Stones seem more at odds than ever with the values and heritage against which they have always rebelled. Good, bad and often ugly, here are the Rolling Stones as never before.

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Book SynopsisGrazyna Bacewicz (1909-1969) was a composer with an individual, expressive style. She was also an excellent violinist, a very fine pianist, and a talented author. She studied composition at the Conservatory in Warsaw with Kazimierz Sikorski, violin with Jozef Jarzebski and piano with Jozef Turczynski. Graduating in 1932, she travelled to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger, later returning there to work with Carl Flesch. Her compositional output covered many genres, from ballets to songs and choral works, but also ranging from symphonies, concerti, and chamber works to pieces for solo piano. In 1936 she became principal violinist in the Polish Radio Orchestra. She then toured Europe as a soloist in the two years leading up to World War II, later resuming her career as a concert violinist and pianist after the war. For many years, Grazyna Bacewicz held the post of Vice-President of the Union of Polish Composers. She also served as a judge in many prestigious international music competitions. Strong and sensitive, and exceptionally family oriented, Grazyna Bacewicz was also blessed with unusual charm, phenomenal energy and huge creative potential. Grazyna Bacewicz became world famous and won numerous prizes for her compositions, which were regularly performed by the best musicians, and picked up for publication. She received enthusiastic reviews from music critics, among them Stefan Kisielewski, who noted the ''passionate ferocity'' of her playing and described her concerto for string orchestra as ''a rare piece of healthy and tasty music''. This biographical story, based on letters and other family documents, has been brought to us first hand by the composer''s grand-daughter, the writer Joanna Sendlak.

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Book SynopsisRay Brown: His Life and Music is the first full-length biography of Ray Brown, one of the most outstanding practitioners of bass playing in jazz music. Brown''s career spans the most popular and creative eras of jazz, from 1940 to the dawn of the 21st century. During his early professional career, Ray Brown first toured with territory bands, and by 1946, he was hired by Dizzy Gillespie to play in his small group and big band. At this time, Brown became the first call New York bassist to accompany other bop musicians like Charlie Parker and Bud Powell. He also served as the bassist with Norman Granz''s Jazz at the Philharmonic and frequently recorded with an impressive stable of jazz musicians. In 1947 Ray Brown married legendary singer Ella Fitzgerald and soon divided his time by working as the leader of Fitzgerald''s trio while playing with Gillespie, Jazz at the Philharmonic, and as a guest accompanist. After first playing together at Carnegie Hall in 1949, Ray Brown began regularly working with Canadian piano sensation Oscar Peterson until 1965. The Peterson Trio would become one of the most lucrative acts in jazz history. After leaving Peterson, Ray Brown worked as a Los Angeles studio musician and played on numerous commercial recordings but never abandoned swing-based jazz. During these years, he also became involved as a manager, promoter, and teacher. Throughout the mid-1970s until he died in 2002, Ray Brown remained one of the most excellent practitioners of mainstream jazz during a time when some elements of the music moved far away from this style. With so many jazz musicians from his generation succumbing to drugs and tragedy, Ray Brown''s longevity and professionalism are a testament to his talents, intelligence, and professionalism.

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Book Synopsis"The highlights of my extraordinary journey with Mr Clarkson included pizza with Harry and Wills; dancing with Mick Jagger on the private island of Mustique (Mick had to pull me up after, shamefully, I could not recover from the twist!); and having happy birthday sung to me by Brian Ferry and Richard E. Grant. I was asked out by Hugh Grant (and went!); partied at what I called Jimmy Carr’s celebtastic weekly house parties attended by Sir Elton John, James Corden and the like; and, at Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch’s engagement party, I received the ultimate compliment on my outfit from the Dame Joan Collins. The adventures, laughter, drama and excitement were neverending. Party after party, celeb after celeb, private villas, palaces, MPs and royalty adorned our crazy life on this road less travelled. From the low-budget, dark, smoke- and fume-filled halls of Earls Court Exhibition Centre and the NEC in Birmingham, where the highlights of our nights out were a good curry and gallons of beer followed by ridiculous games of girl-on-girl arm wrestling and the Celebrity Loo Roll Challenge – this entailed Clarkson, Hammond, May or The Stig having to return from the bathroom with loo roll tucked down their trousers, trailing a length of loo paper from cubicle to table without it breaking – Jeremy ascended to great heights, both in his professional career and his personal life. So too did our relationship, leading us both into a social circle that most can only dream of." In The Wonderful World of Jeremy Clarkson, Phillipa Sage shares her continuing adventures – the ongoing highs, lows and constant mayhem – she shared for so many years with Clarkson and his fellow presenters, Hammond and May, some of which she had begun to detail in her first book, Off Road with Clarkson, Hammond and May.

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Book SynopsisWhile Fanny Cradock cut a controversial figure – berating Margaret Thatcher for wearing ‘cheap shoes and clothes’, writing off Eamonn Andrews as a ‘blundering amateur’ and famously being forced to apologise for insulting a housewife cook on The Big Time – her cookery programmes were enormously popular.Dressed in evening gown, drop earrings and pearls, donning thick make-up, she boomed orders to her partner Johnnie, a gentle, monocled stooge who was portrayed as an amiable drunk. The programmes were watched by millions and were hugely influential: the Queen Mother told Fanny that she and Johnnie were ‘mainly responsible’ for the improvement in catering standards since the war; Keith Floyd declared that ‘she changed the whole nation’s cooking attitudes’; for Esther Rantzen ‘she created the cult of the TV chef’.Lavishly illustrated and illuminated by amusing facts and anecdotes, Fabulous Fanny Cradock paints a fun, entertaining portrait of this extraordinary woman.

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Book SynopsisThe ambiguous, provocative Austrian composer and conductor Gustav Mahler.

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The first biography of one of the North East’s best-known artists. Written by well-known local art historian and author Marshall Hall, and titled John Falconar Slater – The North East’s Weatherproof Artist, it tells of how the Newcastle-born artist acquired his nickname by wearing his weatherproof oilskins to paint the local coastline in the wildest of climatic conditions. At a time when artists on the Continent were increasingly succumbing to the attractions of open-air painting, leading to their identification as “Impressionists”, a North East artist had been independently practising it for several years, and in weather conditions rarely tackled by its followers in France and elsewhere.

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Book SynopsisShawn Levy, author of ‘Rat Pack Confidential’ brings alive London in the swinging Sixties with a gripping, groovy story of those who created the scene that changed the world. For a few years in the 1960s, London was the coolest city on earth: a spontaneous, dizzying stew of pop music, fashion, film, scandal, drugs & sex, crime, the avant garde underground and the tabloid obsession with fame. The rest of the world watched in awe. Snaking through it are such eminent swinging Londoners as The Dreamer (actor Terence Stamp), The Chameleon (Rolling Stone Mick Jagger), The Loner (Beatles manager Brian Epstein), The Snapper (photographer David Bailey) and The Blue Blood (art dealer Robert Fraser), as well as such figures as comedian Peter Cook; hairdresser Vidal Sassoon; singer Marianne Faithfull; fashion designer Mary Quant; supermodels Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy; gangsters Ron and Reggie Kray; actor Michael Caine; actresses Catherine Deneuve, Lynn Redgrave and Julie Christie; pop groups The Beatles, The Who and The Kinks; filmmakers Roman Polanski, Richard Lester and Michelangelo Antonioni; as well as the various participants in the Profumo scandal, the Great Train Robbery, the rise of LSD, the radical underground, the heyday of the gambling club and the fashion boutique and various and sundry scandals, scenes and sensations. Due to a combination of massive talent and sheer luck, they dominated the world scene. But the party was to end – after seven short years it seemed that everyone was now a Swinging Londoner and the same vibe was found in Paris, New York and San Francisco. ‘Ready, Steady, Go’ recreates the whole show and contrasts a series of emblematic lives with the great events that shaped the time. Through these stories, Shawn Levy, author of ‘Rat Pack Confidential’, shows how the city reinvented cool and then seemed to lose its swing altogether.

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Book SynopsisVincent van Gogh's short, passionate life was driven by an almost unimaginable creative energy that eventually overwhelmed him. The outlines of his story - the early strivings in Holland and Paris, the revelatory impact of the move to Provence, the attacks of madness that led ineluctably to his suicide - are almost as familiar as the paintings. Yet it is more than possible that neither the paintings nor Van Gogh's story would have survived at all if it had not been for his remarkable sister-in-law, Jo van Gogh-Bonger. After Vincent's death and that of her husband, his brother Theo, Jo devoted her life to preserving and exhibiting the paintings, and editing the letters. It is in her short and unaccountably neglected biography that we can come closest to Vincent the man.Trade Review"The London publishing house Pallas Athene has come up with the very welcome and worthwhile project of assembling English translations of early biographies of artists in an easily accessible publication." - Historians of Netherlands Art Reviews

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Book SynopsisA richly illustrated book about the celebrated connoisseur, collector and philanthropist Sir Richard Wallace (1818-1890), published by the Wallace Collection to mark the bicentenary of his birth. Includes 490 illustrations and new information on Wallace’s origins and life.

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Book SynopsisKathleen Ferrier has a reputation as the greatest lyric contralto of the twentiety century. Her story, from her humble beginnings as a telephone operator in Blackburn to the height of international fame as one of the world's leading concert artists and her untimely death at the age of forty-one, is told told with compelling insight and perception, using a variety of sources, from photographs, diaries, and private letters to the memoirs and recollections of those who knew her best. Despite having no formal musical training, Kathleen worked with all the celebrated conductors of the time, and is remembered for her performances of music by Brahms, Schubert and Mahler, as well as a handful of operatic roles. Enlarging considerably on many alternative biographies, this excellent account captures the warmth, humour and charm of a figure whose astonishing life and career proved to be, sadly, all too brief.

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Book SynopsisThis 1997 revised and updated biography of the celebrated artist, using the mass of new material which has come to light since Holroyd's two-volume first edition in the mid 1970s, reveals the complete story of John and his circle, from one of our great biographers. John studied at the Slade with his sister Gwen before both of them went to Paris. He lived and worked at feverish speed and his drawings were astonishing for their fluid lyrical line, their vigor and spontaneity. His life became a complex tale of two cities, London and Paris, of two wives and many families. 'The age of Augustus John was dawning,' Virginia Woolf wrote of the year 1908, which saw many portraits of writers and artists and small glowing oil panels of figures in a landscape. His most striking work was done in the years before the First World War and when he died in 1961 his death was treated as a landmark signaling the end of a distant era.Trade ReviewSuperb biography. . . . Holroyd has it all -- Robert Hughes * Time *Vastly informative and hugely entertaining * Newsweek *An entertaining, essentially comic story... Holroyd tells it with great skill and elegance * Sunday Telegraph *Here is one of the most entertaining lives ever written... Holroyd depicts his subjects with great sympathy and understanding... Very funny... thought-provoking -- Philip Hensher * Mail on Sunday *Both a celebration and a tragedy. The celebration of a man of enormous vitality, intermittent zest and remarkable magnetism, and of the most naturally gifted artist that the English-speaking world has produced in the last hundred years; and the tragedy of a man who never came to terms with himself... A wonderfully engrossing, entertaining and even moving book -- Allan Massie * Daily Telegraph *

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