Biography: writers Books

Book SynopsisA beautifully illustrated collection of haiku poetry from the 100 most famous Japanese poets.

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Book SynopsisADAPTED INTO A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE, STARRING JIM BROADBENT "A painful, funny, frightening, moving, marvellous book ... everybody should read it" - Nick Hornby And when did you last see your father? Was it when they burnt the coffin? Put the lid on it? When he exhaled his last breath? When he last sat up and said something? When he last recognized me? When he last smiled? Blake Morrison's memoir is a candid, profoundly moving reflection on his relationship with his father, Arthur. Following Arthur's cancer diagnosis, Blake witnesses the slow erosion of the man he once knew. As his father's battle with the disease unfurls, Blake reflects on growing up with Arthur in Yorkshire and their relationship in the years since he left home. From Arthur's penchant for saving money - and the lengths he'd go to do so - to his wayward behavior on family holidays, Blake's fearless account resists an unwavering celebration of his father, showing him to be outlandish and recalcitrant, as well as capturing his humorous and caring qualities. The result is a rich, nuanced portrait of their relationship, capturing the accommodations and resentments that lie cloistered within familial love. And When Did You Last See Your Father? is a classic of the confessional memoir genre; a raw and shimmering interrogation of father-son relationships, masculinity, selfhood and pride. "This luminous tribute to a beloved dad made me laugh until I cried and cry till my nostrils were raw. A masterpiece - one of those books that you treasure forever" - Val HennessyTrade ReviewA painful, funny, frightening, moving, marvellous book ... everybody should read it -- Nick HornbyTender, honest, angry, loyal, this extraordinary book balances the life, illness and death of a forceful father with the feelings of his independent son * The Times *This luminous tribute to a beloved dad made me laugh until I cried and cry till my nostrils were raw. A masterpiece - one of those books that you treasure forever -- Val HennessyA marvellous piece of family literature. He says much about death and dying and more about life and living. Sometimes harrowing, sometimes funny, above all, unforgettably humane * Sydney Morning Herald *A splendid book ... it leaps with life * Irish Times *More than any novel could be, And when did you last see your father? is the once-only, all-or-nothing book of a poet: the life held up so close to one's face that one can smell it, touch it, marvel at the power of words to unlock and unravel, then pour helter-skelter over our heads this magical brainstorm of memories * Spectator *Joy and pain are both imminent and distant as the book rocks back and forth between life and death and, while it lasts, it is visceral and real * Observer *Wonderful, eternally moving... I don't think anyone has ever written better about the relationship between fathers and sons -- Tony Parsons * Mail on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisFew would question that Albert Camus (1913-1960), novelist, playwright, philosopher and journalist, is a major cultural icon. His widely quoted works have led to countless movie adaptions, graphic novels, pop songs, and even t-shirts.In this Very Short Introduction, Oliver Gloag chronicles the inspiring story of Camus'' life. From a poor fatherless settler in French-Algeria to the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Gloag offers a comprehensive view of Camus'' major works and interventions, including his notion of the absurd and revolt, as well as his highly original concept of pure happiness through unity with nature called bonheur. This original introduction also addresses debates on coloniality, which have arisen around Camus'' work.Gloag presents Camus in all his complexity a staunch defender of many progressive causes, fiercely attached to his French-Algerian roots, a writer of enormous talent and social awareness plagued by self-doubt, and a crucially relevant author whose Trade ReviewOliver Gloag presents Camus without apologies. The reader must come to terms with the paradox of the colonizer's unreasonable love of "home", his controversial sexual politics, and his luminous prose of anguish and integrity. * Professor Gayatri Spivak, author of A Critique of Postcolonial Reason *An admirably concise but penetrating analysis of unresolved conflicts between Camus' humanism and his attachment to French Algeria as the key to his writing. * Robert O. Paxton, Emeritus Professor at Columbia University *Table of ContentsPreface 1: Camus, son of France in Algeria 2: Camus, from reporter to editorialist 3: Camus and the absurd 4: Rebel without a cause 5: Camus and Sartre -- the breaks that made them inseparable 6: Camus and Algeria 7: Camus' legacies Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisLONGLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTIONA book like no other the tale of a gripping quest to discover the identity of history's most notorious murderer and a literary high-wire act from the legendary writer and director of Withnail and I.For over a hundred years, the mystery of Jack the Ripper' has been a source of unparalleled fascination and horror, spawning an army of obsessive theorists, and endless volumes purporting finally to reveal the identity of the brutal murderer who terrorised Victorian England.But what if there was never really any mystery' at all? What if the Ripper was always hiding in plain sight, deliberately leaving a trail of clues to his identity for anyone who cared to look, while cynically mocking those who were supposedly attempting to bring him to justice?In THEY ALL LOVE JACK, the award-winning film director and screenwriter Bruce Robinson exposes the cover-up that enabled one of history's most notorious serial killers to remain at large. More Trade Review‘Rarely has a book on Jack the Ripper been written with such visceral anger: anger at Jack, at “Ripperology”, at the establishment, and anger at the police cover-up that allowed one of the world’s most infamous serial killers to remain free … One has to admire Robinson’s chutzpah. Most academic historians would break into a cold sweat at the very idea of publishing such an outrageous claim. But his research is undoubtedly impressive and has taken some 15 years … A bloody good read’ Guardian ‘Robinson’s achievement isn’t in revealing the Ripper but in writing the most involving, audacious and wonderfully bonkers book of the year’ Irish Times ‘A strange, mind-boggling mixture … Anyone coming blind to the book might think it a collaboration between Dr David Starkey and Johnny Rotten’ Mail on Sunday ‘Over the years, the figure of the Ripper has become commodified: a cartoon-like Victorian cheeky chappy who kills with a twinkle in his eye. Robinson reclaims the identity and humanity of the victims, and ensures that nobody who reads this remarkable book will ever forget the true circumstances of these crimes. Whether the Ripper was or was not Michael Maybrick, They All Love Jack performs a most valuable moral service’ Daily Telegraph ‘Robinson emerges with his conspiracy – and how he runs with it, with glee, with humour, with disgust and with a weight of research his own. Nobody has written this well on Jack the Ripper before’ Gavin Corbett, Irish Times ‘A painstaking yet visceral account of Jack the Ripper’s life, murders and legend that reads like a reaction from a recently aggrieved party rather than a work of history. Robinson’s line is unswerving, amusing and potent’ Monocle

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Book SynopsisThe definitive biography of Daphne Du Maurier, one of history''s greatest psychological thriller novelistsRebecca, published in 1938, brought its author instant international acclaim, capturing the popular imagination with its haunting atmosphere of suspense and mystery. Du Maurier was immediately established as the queen of the psychological thriller. But the more fame this and her other books encouraged, the more reclusive Daphne du Maurier became.Margaret Forster''s award-winning biography could hardly be more worthy of its subject. Drawing on private letters and papers, and with the unflinching co-operation of Daphne du Maurier''s family, Margaret Forster explores the secret drama of her life - the stifling relationship with her father, actor-manager Gerald du Maurier; her troubled marriage to war hero and royal aide, ''Boy'' Browning; her wartime love affair; her passion for Cornwall and her deep friendships with the last of her father''s acTrade ReviewAltogether a model biography - human sympathy tempered with honesty and spiced with real intelligence -- Lorna Sage * Observer *A startlingly good biography * The Times *Convincing throughout ... Margaret Forster's interpretation of her subject is so complete and so persuasive that it leaves nothing for the reader to do except admire and enjoy * Independent on Sunday *Forster's acute and sensitive book succeeds on many levels ... Its most important achievement is to disprove the highbrow assumption that bestsellers are shallow ... and do not ... engage the depths of the psyche -- John Carey * Sunday Times *Margaret Forster can do no wrong ... The story is as gripping as Rebecca, as full of surprises as My Cousin Rachel ... affectionate, honest, unsentimental and perceptive * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisBracing and essential, a radical reframing of British Romanticism through the lens of Black experience for fans of David Olusoga, Gretchen Gerzina, Saidiya Hartman and Emma DabirWordsworth, Shelley, Byron, Keats the Romantic poets are titans of English literature, taught and celebrated around the world. Their work is associated with sublime passions, violent stormscapes and a questing search for the inner self. It is rarely associated with the racial politics of the transatlantic slave economy.But these literary icons lived through a period when individual and collective resistance by Black people in Britain and her overseas colonies was making it increasingly difficult and increasingly costly to ignore their demands for freedom. A time when popular support for the abolition movement exploded across the country and was met by a vehement, reactionary campaign from the establishment. A time when white supremacist ideologies were fomented to justify the abuse and exploitation of non-white ''races''. This cultural context is not immediately obvious in the canon of Romantic poetry. But that doesn't mean it's not there.The Trembling Hand turns an urgent critical gaze onto six major Romantic authors, examining how their lives and works were entangled with the racist realities of their era. Mathelinda Nabugodi pores over carefully preserved manuscripts, travels to the houses where these writers lived and died, examines the personal objects which survived them: a teacup, a baby rattle, a lock of hair. Amid this archive, she searches for traces of Black figures whose lives crossed paths with the great Romantics. And she grapples with the opposing forces of reverence and horror as her fascination with literary relics collides with feelings of sorrow and rage.

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Book SynopsisJonathan Bate, born in 1958, is the author of The Genius of Shakespeare, Song of the Earth and a novel, The Cure for Love. He is the Leverhulme Research Professor of English at the University of Warwick and writes regularly for the Telegraph, the TLS and the Independent.

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Book SynopsisIn November 1966, by way of Mexico City, Eton College, Balliol College, Oxford, and a Norwegian raspberry farm, Anthony Cheetham entered the doors of a publishing company for the first time to begin work as a junior editor. Fifty-eight years later he could look back on a career in which he had shaped the landscape of post-war British publishing to a significant degree, having established such prominent and notably successful companies as Century, Orion, Quercus and Head of Zeus, and launched imprints from Abacus in 1973 to Zephyr in 2017 that continue to flourish in the third decade of the twenty-first century.Starting with Homer's Odyssey and ending with works by the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and the German historian Ernst Kantorowicz, Anthony Cheetham has selected fifty books as mileposts with which to map the course of his long and productive career. Many of these are titles that he himself published (Dune, The Thorn Birds, A Suitabl

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Book SynopsisAn entertaining guide to history''s most influential and inspiring poets from Homer and Sappho to Shakespeare and Frank O''Hara and how they can teach us to better understand the world around us.How did the greatest poets in history make the world anew? And what can we learn from the magic, wisdom and humour of their poetry? From the genius of the Ancient Greeks through to the love poetry and metaphysics of the Renaissance, through to the New York poets of the 20th century, this is the ultimate guide to the greatest writers of the human age.Through short, biographical portraits, poet and writer Dai George provides an entertaining introduction to the great works of poetry, and a welcoming guide to how we can read them. He addresses questions poets have grappled with: How can we truly describe the world? How can we express love, grief or friendship? How can poetry help us to understand justice, dreams or anger?This book paints vivid pictures of a globa

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Book SynopsisOver seventy years since his premature death, George Orwell (1903-50) has become one of the most significant figures in western literature. His two dystopian masterpieces, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) have together sold over 40 million copies. Even now, he continues to exert a decisive influence on our understanding of international power-politics.D.J. Taylor''s new biography, the first full-length study for 20 years, draws on a wide range of previously unseen material - newly-discovered letters to old girlfriends and professional colleagues, the recollections of the dwindling band of people who remember him, new information about his life in the early 1930s - to produce a definitive portrait of this complex, driven and self-mythologising man.

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Book Synopsis''A daring and mesmerizing twist on the art of biography'' Douglas Smith, author of Rasputin: The Biography''Anyone who loves [Dostoevsky''s] novels will be fascinated by this book'' Sue Prideaux, author of I Am Dynamite! A Life of Friedrich NietzscheDostoevsky''s life was marked by brilliance and brutality. Sentenced to death as a young revolutionary, he survived mock execution and Siberian exile to live through a time of seismic change in Russia, eventually being accepted into the Tsar''s inner circle. He had three great love affairs, each overshadowed by debilitating epilepsy and addiction to gambling. Somehow, amidst all this, he found time to write short stories, journalism and novels such as Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov, works now recognised as among the finest ever written.In Dostoevsky in Love Alex Christofi weaves carefully chosen excerpts ofTrade ReviewA wonderfully readable account of one of the great, and difficult, figures in world literature, Dostoevsky in Love brings the subject brilliantly to life. Anyone who loves his novels will be fascinated by this book. -- Sue Prideaux, author of 'I Am Dynamite! A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche'Christofi immerses us in the forcefield of Dostoevsky’s thought … Beautifully crafted and realised, but it is the great love that Christofi feels for his subject that makes this such a moving book. -- Frances Wilson * Guardian *Whether you know everything or nothing about Dostoevsky, whether you love or hate him (and he was extremely annoying), this is the perfect modern biography. A celebration of human complexity which fuses surprising new information about the life of the writer with a passionate love for his books. Alex Christofi has created the most charismatic and engaging portrait of a tortured, brilliant man. Dostoevsky In Love is as entertaining as it is insightful. -- Viv Groskop, author of 'The Anna Karenina Fix: Life Lessons from Russian Literature'A wonderfully written life of Dostoevsky, in which the boundaries that conventionally separate biography and autobiography are dissolved to revelatory effect. * Tom Holland *Combining equal parts fact and fiction with literary flair, Alex Christofi has crafted in Dostoevsky in Love a stunning, genre-bending work certain to captivate fans of Dostoevsky and the Russian classics. A daring and mesmerizing twist on the art of biography. -- Douglas Smith, author of 'Rasputin: The Biography'Alex Christofi has created a dazzling hybrid, a narrative account of Dostoevsky’s life that blends the known facts with his letters and the most autobiographical elements of his fiction. The effect is like that of colourised film footage: the Dostoevsky that shambles through these pages possesses an immediacy and a realness that’s almost uncanny. -- Chris Power, novelist and author of 'Mothers'A fierce account of Dostoevsky’s inner and outer life … Christofi’s rapidly unrolling tapestry helps to capture the madcap, tumbling and ferocious quality of Dostoevsky’s style * Financial Times *Innovative biography ... The sociopolitical ferment of Russia bubble[s] up through Mr Christofi’s pages * Wall Street Journal *Fluently readable and warmly entertaining * Daily Telegraph *[A] compelling portrait of the writer’s inner world … Christofi reminds us how much Dostoevsky’s own failings and endless remorse informed his work and shaped his characters. My only caveat is that this lively account is too short. * New Humanist *An immersive and visceral journey through the life of the revolutionary author … [Dostoevsky in Love] feels like a cinematic thriller with one of those protagonists that you want to grasp by the shoulders and shake. * Irish Times *An utterly charming, lively and original work that reads like a novel itself. * Globe and Mail *…qualities which we ascribe to [Dostoevsky’s] unforgettable fictional characters, were all to be found in “Fyodor” himself and Christofi describes them with warmth and understanding. -- A. N. Wilson * Times Literary Supplement *In Dostoevsky in Love, Alex Christofi managed to pack the life and works into just two hundred understated pages. -- Oliver Ready * Literary Review *Crafted with novelistic skill, it is a book to fit the vast complexity of the man and his work. -- Frances Wilson * New Statesman *Christofi collages fragments from the fiction and journals to explore Dostoevsky’s three great love affairs. The result, a meticulously sourced, semi-novelistic “biography”, is both immersive and extraordinary. * Times and Sunday Times Literary Non-fiction Books of the Year *...I don’t think I’ve ever read a biography quite like it. Christofi…combines traditional factual accounts, quotes from personal letters, and excerpts from Dostoevsky’s fiction…to form a unique kind of memoir, immersive, believable and emotionally engaging…I found the experience extremely enjoyable and oddly moving…This book is full of [Dostoevsky’s] compassion and humanity, while revealing the same qualities in his worthy biographer. * Big Issue *…Christofi creates a kind of speculative memoir, part juicy information, part romantic guesswork. For me it worked beautifully, being both unexpectedly moving…and an exciting, unpredictable page-turner. * Big Issue *Christofi pieces together all of these elements of Dostoevsky’s dramatic life with great skill and clarity … If you have read only smaller portions of Dostoevsky, Christofi’s account will send you off to look for more. And, if you have never read this giant of Russian and World Literature, Dostoevsky in Love will send you off to start a great literary experience with a master of the written word. * New York Journal of Books *An original, riveting work. * Saga *A fluent, enthralling gallop through a chaotic and painful life … The driving force here is Christofi’s sense that Dostoevsky speaks to our time as never before. * The Tablet *In this probing life study, Christofi illuminates the formative power of the great novelist’s passionate love … Literary scholarship laudably synthesizing insightful analysis with emotional empathy. * Booklist, starred review (USA) *Christofi succeeds in revealing Dostoyevsky’s personality in ways no ordinary biographical treatment could. * Publishers Weekly *Winningly brisk … by the end … you feel you know pretty well the texture of his life and the rhythm of his obsessions. * Sunday Times *Both an illuminating literary biography and an evocative snapshot of the context in which the great writer created his enduring work ... Dostoevsky fans are certain to find this book insightful and captivating. * Kirkus Reviews *Dostoevsky: An Intimate Life by Alex Christofi is a study in precision and counterfactual scholarship that draws heavily upon Dostoevsky’s letters, notebooks, journalism and fiction without missing out on anything of substance. * Hindustan Times *Table of ContentsAuthor's Note Prologue: Life is a Gift (1849) 1 White Nights (1821-45) 2 Circles within Circles (1846-49) 3 The Dead House (1850-54) 4 The Devil's Sandbox (1854-59) 5 Young Russia (1860-62) 6 Polina (1863) 7 Epoch's End (1864-66) 8 The Gambler (1866-67) 9 The Idiot (1867) 10 Death for the Russian (1868-71) 11 The Citizen (1872-77) 12 The Prophet (1878-81) Epilogue Notes Select Bibliography Acknowledgements Index

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Book Synopsis''If a thing loves, it is infinite'' William BlakeA short, impassioned argument for why the visionary artist William Blake is important in the twenty-first centuryThe visionary poet and painter William Blake is a constant presence throughout contemporary culture - from videogames to novels, from sporting events to political rallies and from horror films to designer fashion. Although he died nearly 200 years ago, something about his work continues to haunt the twenty-first century. What is it about Blake that has so endured? In this illuminating essay, John Higgs takes us on a whirlwind tour to prove that far from being the mere New Age counterculture figure that many assume him to be, Blake is now more relevant than ever.

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Book SynopsisA brilliantly original exploration of our obsession with the end of the world, from Mary Shelley’s The Last Man to the HBO’s The Last of Us.'Will make you happy to be alive and reading – until the lights go out . . . Brilliant' – The Spectator'Clever and voluminous . . . So engagingly plotted and written’ – The GuardianWe have always told ourselves stories about the end of the world. Long before we watched superintelligent AI wage war on humanity in The Terminator, or read about a catastrophic deluge in J. G. Ballard’s The Drowned World, art, literature and politics were all haunted by recurring visions of apocalypse.In Everything Must Go – a colourful, witty and stirring cultural history of the modern world that weaves in politics, history and science – Dorian Lynskey explores the endings that we have read, listened

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Book SynopsisThe first biography of this great and tragic poet that takes advantage of a wealth of new material, this is an unusually balanced, comprehensive and definitive life of Sylvia Plath.'Surely the final, the definitive, biography of Sylvia Plath' Ali Smith *WINNER OF THE SLIGHTLY FOXED PRIZE 2021* *A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH AND THE TIMES* *FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE IN BIOGRAPHY 2021*Drawing on a wealth of new material, Heather Clark brings to life the great and tragic poet, Sylvia Plath. Refusing to read Plath's work as if her every act was a harbinger of her fate, Clark evokes a culture in transition in the mid-twentieth century as she thoroughly explores Sylvia's world. We see Plath's early relationships and determination not to become a conventional woman and wife; we witness her Cambridge years and thunderclap meeting with Ted Hughes; and, through clear-eyed portraits of the demonised players in the arena of her suicide, we gain a deeper understanding of her final days.Featuring illuminating readings of Plath's poems, Red Comet brings us closer than ever to the spirited woman and visionary artist who blazed a trail that still lights the way for women the world over.'A first-class biography . . . Each chapter reads with the ease of a novel . . . I couldn't put it down' The TimesTrade ReviewA first-class biography... Red Comet is a mighty achievement. Clark is compassionate, clear-eyed, sceptical. Each chapter reads with the ease of a novel... I couldn't put it down. -- Laura Freeman * The Times *Rescuing Sylvia Plath from the cult of her fans...[Red Comet,] a terrific, even-handed biography of Plath frees the poet from the narrow view of her as 'a mind on course for suicide'... Heather Clark's meticulous research, sweeping up every scrap, deftly integrates drafts, unpublished pieces, stories and critiques of poems...to make this extraordinary story more moving than ever. -- Lyndall Gordon * Daily Telegraph *At last, there is Red Comet, a major biography that recognises Sylvia Plath...and recovers her from cliché. It is a superbly researched, fluent and assured book...and Heather Clark writes with a rare empathy and understanding of her subject... Not one sentence seems extraneous... Red Comet reveals Plath as she ought to be seen. -- Ann Kennedy Smith * Times Literary Supplement *Clark's defining project, both a joyful affirmation for Plath fanatics and a legitimization of her legacy... Clark masterfully analyses the poetry with intelligent incorporation of the biography... In this mammoth biography of a short, troubled life, the deepest impression is of [Plath's] resilience and dogged energy. -- Jessica Ferri * Los Angeles Times *Finally, the biography that Sylvia Plath deserves, one that takes her seriously as both a poet and a person. Combining rigorous research with in-depth literary analysis and immersive style, Heather Clark's magisterial book not only traces Plath's influences and inspirations, but also chronicles her often-tumultuous relationships with respect and empathy. A spectacular achievement. -- Ruth Franklin, author of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

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Book SynopsisA BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week It's as if they're made for each other. Two men, both falling, but holding each other up for a time. Ostend, 1936: the Belgian seaside town is playing host to a coterie of artists, intellectuals and madmen, who find themselves in limbo while Europe gazes into an abyss of fascism and war. Among them is Stefan Zweig, a man in crisis: his German publisher has shunned him, his marriage is collapsing, his house in Austria no longer feels like home. Along with his lover Lotte, he seeks refuge in this paradise of promenades and parasols, where he reunites with his estranged friend Joseph Roth. For a moment, they create a fragile haven; but as Europe begins to crumble around them, they find themselves trapped on an uncanny kind of holiday, watching the world burn. 'Evocative, sharply drawn portraits... an engrossing history' Kirkus, starred review 'Sparkling...Weidermann's storytelling is piquant' Publishers Weekly 'Brilliantly researched and riveting' Die WeltTrade ReviewAbsolutely exquisite... a contemporary classic Dave Eggers Resonant... as Europe tumbles towards darkness, the writers in Ostend create a haven for love and literature - one they know is doomed - that Weidermann evokes with skill and delicacy Sunday Times Death in Venice with more sex, more booze, more action Financial Times For such a slim book to convey with such poignancy the extinction of a generation of "Great Europeans" is a triumph. Sunday Telegraph Elegiac... a potent and melancholy book... Weidermann has combed letters, diaries and reminiscences and used them to tell his sad tale as if it were a novel, in a highly wrought prose style that... matches the heightened emotions and circumstances of his protagonists Michael Prodger, The Times Captivating... [an] effortless combination of grand epoch-defining moments with seemingly mundane observations of the everyday... a historical triumph. Independent A sign of how far [the revival of Zweig and Roth's work] has succeeded... Weidermann finds a moment of relative calm and normality in the emigres lives New Statesman Intimately explores Zweig and Roth's co-dependent friendship Observer Sparkling... Weidermann's storytelling is piquant Publishers Weekly Taut, novelistic... in lyrical prose, Weidermann recreates the atmosphere of an ephemeral moment... evocative, sharply drawn portraits and a wry, knowing narrative voice make for an engrossing history Kirkus (starred review) Weidermann magically evokes the mood of these artistic refugees as the sun set on the civilized order of Europe... abounds in poetry and deadpan understatement... The book is as transporting as fiction - I had to remind myself that it wasn't... Partly this is due to the level of detail. Mr Weidermann knows which cafe each writer favored, what they drank, which manuscripts they read aloud. It could be Hemingway Wall Street Journal Deeply affecting, economically expressed and almost unbearably sad Glasgow Herald A brilliant, hard to bear, short novel about doom Tribune Breezier and more brightly written than a study of two profound minds in torment on the eve of global disaster should reasonably be; an enthralling, juicy read Big Issue A fascinating story, brilliantly told. These writers come together for a summer and then move on, providing a snapshot of the desperate situation of the mid-1930s Jewish Chronicle Ostend is engaging as a meditation on the act of creation, one that explores how we make refuges out of our own pasts. New Republic Compellingly shows this doomed group at one of their last watering holes re-imagining their conversations and repartee London Magazine Another winner from Pushkin! Shiny New Books A rich, moving and entertaining portrait of a wonderful group of artists in transit Kaggy's Bookish Ramblings There's something extraordinarily expressive and expansive about the way friendship has been conveyed throughout this altogether elegiac book David Marx Book Reviews A story of literature and friendship, with an adjoining cast of characters including Arthur Koestler and Irmgard Keun European Literature Network A mesmerising, haunting read The Lady

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Book Synopsis*Longlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize*In late eighteenth-century London, a group of extraordinary people gathered around a dining table once a week.The host was Joseph Johnson, publisher and bookseller and he was joined at dinner by a shifting constellation of great minds including William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, Henry Fuseli, Anna Barbauld and Mary Wollstonecraft.Johnson's years as a maker of books saw profound change in Britain and abroad. In this remarkable portrait of a revolutionary age, Daisy Hay captures a changing nation through the stories of the men and women who wrote it into being, and whose ideas still influence us today.'Rich in period and personal detail' Guardian'Hugely engrossing' Sunday TimesTrade ReviewHay's meticulously researched biography, rich in period and personal detail, sheds light on both Johnson and the vibrant cultural world he inhabited -- Hannah Beckerman * Guardian *[A] compelling and magnificent study... Dinner with Joseph Johnson is an admirable achievement of biography and humanistic imagination -- Katheryn Sunderland * Times Literary Supplement *Dinner with Joseph Johnson sheds much-needed light on a key figure in both the ideological and material context of the 18th century... Hay's meticulous research brings this "paper age" to life... Evokes the noise and excitement of an age characterised by the unceasing hum of literary debate... a fitting reflection of the period that Hay describes: a time when the written word could make someone's name - or cost them their liberty * Financial Times *This delightful book by the English literature professor Daisy Hay gives the reader the feeling of being at a rather elevated party... Johnson's guests talked, wrote and painted about democracy, human rights, atheism, feminism, anatomy, chemistry and electricity. While dreaming of a better future, they befriended each other, loved each other and criticised each other... shaped an era... Johnson was a brilliant talent spotter and supported the best minds of his day -- Emma Duncan * The Times *A portrait of literary ferment... Daisy Hay's compendious and impressive survey illuminates the contribution to these significant ideological shifts of the ill-assorted men and women whose kinship was marked by their shared participation in Joseph Johnson's hospitality * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisLocked in the Arms of a Crazy Life is the classic biography of Charles Bukowski, the hard-drinking barfly whose semi-autobiographical books about low-life America made him a cult figure across the globe. Extensive original research and unique contributions from friends, family and associates - including Mickey Rourke, Robert Crumb, Sean Penn, Norman Mailer and Allen Ginsberg - as well as personal photographs and drawings by Buk himself make this a must for Bukowski devotees and new readers alike.Trade ReviewWonderful - this is the first serious and thorough Bukowski biography. An excellent book about a remarkable man. * * Time Out * *With no shortage of anecdotes, pictures or big names, this biography is so thorough and sharp that it may well be the last. * * Arena * *This biography is an affectionate and thorough introduction that will not be rivaled for some time. Its effect is to revitalize rather than reduce Bukowski's work. * * Independent * *A solid, informative and fascinating account - an excellent biography. * * Uncut * *The dirty story of a dirty man, Howard Sounes's biography of Charles Bukowski confronts an ugly life with an unflinching stare . . . this according to some of Sounes's meticulously compiled sources, was the kind of man who would drive a friend to drink himself to death then try to have sex with his grieving widow. -- Victoria Segal * * Guardian * *This is an appropriately gutsy biography of Charles Bukowski, the American poet and novelist who almost singlehandedly inspired a generation of would-be writers to believe that you could spend your entire life getting drunk and still achieve a reputation as a cult author. -- Robert Collins * * Observer * *

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Book Synopsis‘A marvel of clarity, fluency, and (Morris’s favourite word in her final days) kindness.’ The Sunday Times The first full account of the remarkable life of Jan Morris: writer, soldier, traveller, and trans pioneer. Jan Morris is widely considered one of Britain’s best-loved writers, known for her observational genius, lyricism, and humour. Born in 1926, she spent her childhood amidst Oxford’s Gothic beauty and later participated in military service in Italy and the Middle East, before becoming an internationally fêted foreign correspondent. However, public success masked a private dilemma that was only resolved when she transitioned gender in the late sixties. She went on to live happily with her wife Elizabeth in Wales for another five decades, and never stopped writing and publishing. Here, for the first time, the many strands of Morris’s rich and at times paradoxical life are brought together. Trade Review‘Engaging … meticulously researched.’ -- Kathryn Hughes * The Guardian *‘A measured and elegant biography that Morris aficionados will find fascinating.’ -- Melanie Reid * The Times *‘Paul Clements, a journalist and travel writer who knew Morris for 30 years, has produced a lovely and scrupulous biography … a boon companion to Morris’s sprawling oeuvre.’ -- Alexandra Jacobs * The New York Times *‘A marvel of clarity, fluency, and (Morris’s favourite word in her final days) kindness.’ -- John Walsh * The Sunday Times *‘A textured portrait brimming with details of Morris’s life and work.’ * The New York Times *‘A judicious, richly researched book.’ -- Tim Adams * The Observer *‘Lively and well-written … Clements deserves plaudits.’ -- Andrew Lycett * The Spectator *‘Clements’ respectful approach does raise some fascinating questions.’ -- Miranda Seymour * Financial Times *‘Meticulously researched biography.’ -- Kathryn Hughes * The Guardian *‘Fascinating.’ -- Ysenda Maxtone Graham * Daily Mail *‘A work worthy of its complex and much admired subject, and one that is unlikely to be surpassed … a painstakingly assembled portrait which brings her vividly to life.’ -- John McCourt * The Irish Times *‘Life from Both Sides suggests that Jan Morris was one of the greatest writers and one of the most astonishing humans to grace the stage of English literature — her achievements mock category; her story bamboozles convention; her travels will remain unsurpassed. There are no prizes for the mighty living of life, only biographies. This will not be the last awarded to Jan Morris, but it will surely be judged the best. Beautifully written, fizzing with adventure, alight with the fire-work prose, humour, and chutzpah of its subject … Jan Morris’s was a life-changing life, and Paul Clements’s is a life-lighting book.’ -- Horatio Clare, author of Running for the Hills‘Clements shows an insatiable appetite in immersing himself in Morris’ 70-year career … he has produced here an account which the author herself would unhesitatingly recommend. An amazing life captured as a fly in amber in this riveting study.’ -- Dan McCarthy * Irish Examiner *‘A beautifully written and meticulously researched biography of one of the 20th century’s best writers, who had managed to pack two extraordinary lives into one unique and ever-so-gripping travelogue ... Jan herself, as I knew her, would have loved reading it.’ -- Vitali Vitaliev, journalist and author of Borders Up!‘In her long and extraordinary life, Jan Morris was renowned for her many roles as a writer, a traveller, and a woman: the author of Pax Britannica, “the Flaubert of the jet age”, a courageous trans pioneer, and the quixotic champion of Wales. At the same time, she never ceased to be gloriously herself, and Paul Clements’ enthralling biography brings one of the great figures of the English-speaking world in the late 20th century into focus for the first time, with memorable sympathy and understanding.’ -- Robert McCrum, author of The Story of English‘An important new biography.’ -- John Bowman * Bowman: Sunday *‘Extremely readable.’ -- Jane Hardy * Irish News *‘A striking biography.’ -- Sean Rocks * RTE Arena *‘For anyone interested in world history, it makes for absorbing reading.’ -- Susan Flockhart * The Herald *‘The book of the moment ... Remarkable.’ -- William Crawley * BBC Radio Ulster Talkback *‘A fascinating account.’ -- Orna Mulcahy * The Gloss *‘This is careful, sifted, footnote-heavy stuff, a chronological canter through a century of an utterly captivating and outrageously blessed life … Clements leaves no research stone unturned.’ -- Mike Parker * Nation *‘Humane, reliable, and rounded — a rich, multifaceted portrait of someone whose own daughter, Suki, concurred was “a really complicated person”.’ -- Olivia Edward * Geographical Magazine *‘A stunning and hefty biography … It’s a beautiful tribute … Clement’s book will inspire you to discover Jan Morris if you haven't already, and for people like me who know a little of her work, well, it made me want to read more.’ -- Phil Brown * Q Magazine *‘This is a chaste, sparkling book.’ -- Peter Craven * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘Clements presents an intimate portrait of a writer of a writer of some of the world's most-read travel books.’ -- Barry Reynolds * SA Weekend *‘Clements presents an engaging and loving tribute to a life well lived.’ -- June Sawyers * Booklist *

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Book Synopsis''An outstanding revisionist portrait of an age'' Telegraph''Targoff tells their stories with vim and vigour'' i Paper''[A] fascinating excavation of four intellectual powerhouse women'' Tina Brown, New York Times Discover the lives and work of four ambitious Renaissance women who, against all odds, made themselves heard-and read-in the time of ShakespeareIn an innovative and engaging narrative of everyday life in Shakespeare''s England, Ramie Targoff carries us from the sumptuous coronation of Queen Elizabeth in the mid-16th century into the private lives of four women writers working at a time when women were legally the property of men. Some readers may have heard of Mary Sidney, accomplished poet and sister of the famous Sir Philip Sidney, but few will have heard of Aemilia Lanyer, the first woman in the 17th century to publish a book of original poetry, which offered a feminist take on the cr

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Book SynopsisPUT YOUR MEMORY SKILLS TO THE TEST as you pair up Austen''s most famous couplesSIMPLE GAME PLAY for two or more playersTHE PERFECT GIFT for fans of Jane AustenLEARN MORE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS and their relationships in the accompanying booklet''It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife''! Help Jane Austen''s most eligible characters find their perfect partners in this matchmaking memory game. With all the cards face down, you must turn over two at a time in hopes of pairing up Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, Emma Woodhouse and Mr Knightley, and many more couples besides. Put your literary knowledge and memory skills to the test as you piece together romantic courtships, rash, ill-advised matches, long, comfortable marriages and everything in between.

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Book SynopsisNovember 1925: In search of health and sun, the writer D. H. Lawrence arrives on the Italian Riviera with his wife, Frieda, and is exhilarated by the view of the sparkling Mediterranean from his rented villa, set amid olives and vines. But over the next six months, Frieda will be fatally attracted to their landlord, a dashing Italian army officer. This incident of infidelity influenced Lawrence to write two short stories, "Sun" and "The Virgin and the Gypsy," in which women are drawn to earthy, muscular men, both of which prefigured his scandalous novel Lady Chatterley's Lover. In DH Lawrence in Italy, Owen reconstructs the drama leading up to the creation of one of the most controversial novels of all time by drawing on the unpublished letters and diaries of Rina Secker, the Anglo-Italian wife of Lawrence's publisher. In addition to telling the story of the origins of Lady Chatterley, DH Lawrence in Italy explores Lawrence's passion for all things Italian, tracking his path to the Riviera from Lake Garda to Lerici, Abruzzo, Capri, Sicily, and Sardinia.Trade Review"Beautifully produced. . . . This is a story of friendships and a valuable portrait of a great writer at work."-- "Country Life" "Owen agrees with Anthony Burgess and Aldous Huxley that Lawrence served English literature and himself all the better for staying away from England. Gracefully, he portrays the Riviera and warmth of Italian society in which Lawrence was slowly resurrected and enabled to write."-- "The Times" "Owen offers an engaging picture."-- "Literary Review" "The former Rome correspondent of The Times reconstructs the drama leading to the creation of one of history's most controversial novels and explores DH Lawrence's passion for all things Italian."-- "Sunday Telegraph"Table of ContentsNovember 1925: in search of health and sun, DH Lawrence arrives on the Italian Riviera with his wife Frieda and is exhilarated by the view of the sparkling Mediterranean from his rented villa, set amid olives and vines. But over the next six months Frieda will be fatally attracted to their landlord, a dashing Italian army officer, and Lawrence will write two stories prefiguring Lady Chatterley s Lover: Sun and The Virgin and the Gypsy, both tales of women drawn to earthy, muscular men. Drawing for the first time on the unpublished letters and diaries of Rina Secker, the Anglo-Italian wife of Lawrence s publisher, Owen reconstructs the drama leading up to the creation of one of the most controversial novels of all time, and explores DH Lawrence s passion for all things Italian, tracking his path to the Riviera from Lake Garda to Lerici, Abruzzo, Capri, Sicily and Sardinia.

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Book SynopsisSee inside the gardens where literary giants from Tolstoy to Agatha Christie created some of their finest works in this visually stunning and fascinating book. Discover the flower gardens, vegetable plots, landscapes and writing hideaways of 30 great authors – from Louisa May Alcott’s ‘Orchard House’ where she wrote Little Women and Agatha Christie at Greenway, to Virginia Woolf at Monk’s House and the Massachusetts home of Edith Wharton.Fully illustrated with specially commissioned photography plus archive images, and spanning centuries and continents, this book visits the homes and gardens that inspired novelists, poets and playwrights. It shows how outdoor spaces were important to writers in many different ways and offers insight into the lives and creative processes of beloved authors. Writers featured include: Jane

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Book SynopsisSusan Sontag, one of the most internationally renowned and controversial intellectuals of the latter half of the twentieth century, still provokes. In 1979, Jonathan Cott, of Rolling Stone magazine, interviewed Sontag first in Paris and later in New York. This title publishes the entire transcript of Sontag's conversation.Trade Review"'A great resource for longtime followers of the critic and novelist, as well as for those encountering this great mind for the first time.' (Publishers Weekly) 'A humanizing interview with the late cultural icon, who was often perceived as a fiercely aggressive and polarizing intellect.' (Kirkus Reviews)"

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Book Synopsis** Shortlisted for the @CrimeFest H.R.F. Keating Award **'A smart and highly entertaining portrait of a literary powerhouse'- THE TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR'A riveting portrait' - GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR***'Christie lovers should read this biography for the same reason they read her novels.' - The Times'A model of how to combine biographical information, analysis and literary criticism into a propulsive narrative' - Daily Telegraph'Worsley's book excels in bringing a broader historical perspective to Christie's life and work, and her enthusiasm is infectious.' - ObserverMs Worsley herself writes engagingly... She combines an almost militant support for her subject with a considered analysis of her books and plays.' - Economist'Nobody in the world was more inadequate to act the heroine than I was.'Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was 'just' an ordinary housewife, when clearly she wasn't? As Lucy Worsley says, 'She was thrillingly, scintillatingly modern'. She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness. So why - despite all the evidence to the contrary - did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of leisure? She was born in 1890 into a world which had its own rules about what women could and couldn't do. Lucy Worsley's biography is not just of an internationally renowned bestselling writer. It's also the story of a person who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman. With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley's biography is both authoritative and entertaining and makes us realise what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was - truly a woman who wrote the twentieth century.Trade ReviewAgatha Christie was a modernist, an iconoclast, and a groundbreaker, according to this excellent biography from historian Worsley. Worsley offers close readings of Christie's work and presents a careful reframe of the novelist's famous 1926 disappearance. Drawing on personal letters and modern criticism, Worsley manages to make her subject feel fresh and new. This is a must-read for Christie fans. * Publishers Weekly, (starred review) *One brilliant woman writing about another: an irresistible combination. * Antonia Fraser *This is a warm, intelligent book, which does justice , both to Agatha Christie's character, and to her distinctive genius as a writer of plays and novels. Someone once said that the greatest character Agatha Christie ever invented was Agatha Christie herself. If that's true, she was waiting for the perfect biographer to bring her back to life, and she has found her in Dr Lucy Worsley. * A.N. Wilson *Lucy Worsley brings Agatha Christie back to life, revealing a strong, pioneering, highly intelligent woman whose detective novels rank among the best ever written. Worsley shows us Christie's faults and flaws in the context of her time; she evokes her houses, clothes and the central mystery of her life in spritely sentences with a sharp ear for dialogue. Reading Worsley is as enjoyable as reading Christie herself. * Ruth Scurr *Lucy Worsley's biography of Agatha Christie is as unputdownable as any of the novels by the Queen of Crime herself. Gripping, revealing, and ultimately extremely moving, Agatha Christie is a wonderful tribute to one of the best-loved writers of the 20th century. * Amanda Foreman *Fascinating, seductive, incisive, this beautiful exploration into Christie, her life and times, is full of unique insight, eye opening detail, sharp analysis. Lucy Worsley is a brilliant detective into the letters, the emotion, the drive of Christie, the ambition. Gripping. * Kate Williams *'In the best biography of Agatha Christie ever written, Lucy Worsley gets to the soul - the complex, troubled, but big soul - of our greatest whodunnit writer with laser-like precision. There will not now need to be another biography of the queen of the detective story written for decades.' * Andrew Roberts, author of ‘Napoleon the Great’ and ‘Churchill: Walking with Destiny’ *'Gosh this is BRILLIANT. Read it at one sitting. It's frothy and fast and properly, subtly, furious.' * Annie Gray *'Reading Lucy Worsley's biography is like sharing Agatha Christie's favourite drink: cream. Rich, hearty and extremely satisfying, this book fills the void and, more than that, shows us with much brio and charm why Christie remains a writer for our times' * Dr Daisy Dunn, author of Not Far From Brideshead *Lucy Worsley is simply unparalleled as a biographer who couples historical insight with riveting storytelling. She proves it once again by capturing the life of the elusive Agatha Christie in a book so full of sensitive interpretations and surprising revelations that you won't want to put it down. * Devoney Looser *'Entertaining and authoritative, shining a light on just what an extraordinary pioneer Christie was.' * Belfast Telegraph *'(An) authoritative and entertaining biography.' * Irish Independent *Written with the cooperation of the Christie family and all of Lucy Worsley's trademark wit and wisdom, Agatha Christie emerges from the page as a thoroughly modern woman, full of light and shade and a world away from the cosy little old lady that she's so often perceived to be. * Red *Paint(s) an intriguing picture of Christie as an upper-middle-class Victorian and Edwardian child whose life, then and later, encompassed significant losses and reversals of fortune, * Guardian *With great affection, Worsley masterfully maneuvers her way through Christie's life and prolific oeuvre. * Kirkus (Starred Review) *Ms Worsley herself writes engagingly, with a smattering of racy phrases (Archie Christie, that adulterous first husband, is said to have been "incredibly hot"). She combines an almost militant support for her subject with a considered analysis of her books and plays-making the case that, in her themes and formal innovation, Christie was much more than a writer of formulaic potboilers. * Economist *Presenting Christie in a stimulating new light... the book is a model of how to combine biographical information, analysis and literary criticism into a propulsive narrative. Christie would have hated it, as she would have hated all biographies, but even so she might have saluted the skill of an author who shares her gift for supreme readability. * Jake Kerridge, Daily Telegraph *What makes this biography so fascinating is the way Worsley demonstrates how "everything Agatha experienced became copy". An irreverent historian, she sets in context the events of her subject's life with great skill, then shows how Christie reflected them in her work... Christie lovers should read this biography for the same reason they read her novels: they "address dark, uncomfortable feelings. They address the darkness that can lurk within even normal, respectable people. People like your own spouse." Worsley not only makes you want to reread them all over again, she actually makes you love the talented yet tormented woman who wrote them. * Mark Sanderson, The Times *The first significant biography of Christie since Laura Thompson's... Worsley's book excels in bringing a broader historical perspective to Christie's life and work, and her enthusiasm is infectious. * Stephanie Merritt, Observer *Provocative new biography... the narrative is buoyed by colourful details about Christie's fondness for surfing, fast cars and drinking glasses of neat cream. She certainly emerges as a more subversive figure than is generally realised. * Business Post *Worsley is refreshingly down to earth, and her passion for her subject is palpable... What a shame she never met her heroine - they would have got on like a house on fire. * Irish Examiner *A superlative biography of the Queen of Crime, Worsley's page-turning volume is a fitting tribute to Christie's extraordinary life. * Waterstones Weekly, Best New Literary Biographies *Agatha Christie fans intrigued to learn where the queen of crime gained her real-life inspiration will enjoy Lucy Worsley's new biography. * Yours *Fascinating... A wonderful tribute to one of our most brilliant national treasures. * Best *

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Book SynopsisFitzsimonsâs eye-opening biography brings new light to the life and works of famed literary icon E. Nesbit, in whom pragmatism and idealism, tradition and modernity worked side-by-side to create a remarkable writer and woman.Trade Review'A terrific book' Neil Gaiman'A very well-researched biography' Kate Atkinson'Excellent' Irish Times'Readable and thorough' Guardian'Eleanor Fitzsimons' painstaking research gives us a new insight into the bizarre Bohemian life of the groundbreaking children's author E. Nesbit. It's a fantastic read' Jacqueline Wilson'Absolutely superb!' Hilary McKay, author of Costa Book award-winning The Skylarks War'In this long-overdue new biography, Eleanor Fitzsimons gives us a nuanced yet compelling portrait of E. Nesbit's many-facetted personality, life and works, as well as of the politically and culturally vibrant milieu in which she lived' Fiona Sampson, author of In Search of Mary Shelley'What a stirring and unexpected story Eleanor Fitzsimons tells and what a subject she has found. I can't think of a single writer who doesn't owe something to Edith Nesbit's glorious books for children. The extraordinary woman who wrote them proves to be every bit as brave, funny and imaginative as her own intrepid characters' Miranda Seymour, author of In Byron's Wake'One of the greatest children's writers, and an acknowledged much loved influence on Joan Aiken E. Nesbit is celebrated in this wonderful new biography by Eleanor Fitzsimons' Lizza Aiken'An exceptional biography about an absolutely fascinating individual' Adam Roberts, Vice-President of the H.G. Wells Society'A fascinating, thoughtfully organized, thoroughly researched, often surprising biography' Kirkus Review'Fitzsimons delivers a sprightly and highly readable life of a writer who deserves even wider recognition' Publishers Weekly

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Book Synopsis''I relished every page This is the best book on Jane Austen I have ever read'Spectator''Compelling a delightful and engrossing book Byrne's passion is nothing if not persuasive'Sunday TimesWas Jane Austen a woman of prim manners and genteel calm? Or someone who behaved outrageously, filled with sharp wit and wild comedy?Looking afresh at adaptations of Austen's work from the BBC's Pride and Prejudice to Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility and the wildly successful Clueless bestselling biographer Paula Byrne presents a bold new portrait of Austen as you've never seen her before.A definitive and pioneering study of a wholly neglected aspect of Austen's art'' Michael Caines, TLSEntertaining and engaging'Literary Review..[Previously published as The Genius of Jane Austen]Trade Review‘I relished every page … Byrne’s knowledge of everything Austen wrote has an enviable thoroughness and perception which is rare among Austen scholars and which illuminates the whole of her text. I am tempted to say this is the best book on Jane Austen I have ever read.’ Paul Johnson, The Spectator ‘A definitive and pioneering study of a wholly neglected aspect of Austen’s art’ Michael Caines, Times Literary Supplement ‘A fascinating analysis that marries meticulous historical research with critical imagination and flair’ The Historical Journal

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years.'Including some of Oscar Wilde's most well-known and infamous plays, Lady Windermere's Fan, A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Earnest, this collection of the infamous writer's works displays his brilliant, quick wit to its full glory. Wilde's pithy social comedies dissect the morals and idiosyncrasies of society in the 1890s and offer a view of the sexual politics of the time.

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Book SynopsisIn 1878 the Victorian critic Matthew Arnold wrote: ''Goethe is the greatest poet of modern times... because having a very considerable gift for poetry, he was at the same time, in the width, depth, and richness of his criticism of life, by far our greatest modern man.''In this Very Short Introduction Ritchie Robertson covers the life and work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832): scientist, administrator, artist, art critic and supreme literary writer in a vast variety of genres. Looking at Goethe''s poetry, novels and drama pieces, as well as his travel writing, autobiography, and essays on art and aesthetics, Robertson analyses some of the key themes in his works: love, nature, religion and tragedy. Dispelling the misconception of Goethe as a sedate Victorian sage, Robertson shows how much of his art was rooted in turbulent personal conflicts, and draws on recent research to present a complete portrait of the scientific work and political activity which accompanied Goethe''s writings.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Trade ReviewRobertsone points the reader interested in rediscovery to the best starting points. * Catholic Herald *This Very Short Introduction does exactly what a VSI should do. It introduces the reader to its subject and explains why it is significant, and it's pitched at a non-academic audience in accessible language and with a coherent organisation of the content. Ritchie Robertson's Goethe, A Very Short Introduction made me want to drop what I'm currently reading and find out more about this great German writer ... I can't this VSI highly enough. * ANZ LitLovers *Table of Contents1. Love ; 2. Nature ; 3. Classical Art and World Literature ; 4. Politics ; 5. Tragedy ; 6. Religion ; Further Reading ; Index

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Book SynopsisA lavishly illustrated retrospective in celebration of 100 years since Judith Kerr's birth, author of The Tiger Who Came to Tea and many other iconic books.Judith Kerr was one of the best-loved authors and illustrators to ever put pencil to paper. The books she created, including The Tiger Who Came to Tea, Mog the Forgetful Cat, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit and many many more, have become classics of children's literature, loved by generations of readers.But what of the life behind the iconic characters? Judith's own story is riveting, from her early childhood in Berlin, dramatically cut short by the family having to flee the rising Nazi Party, to her time at the BBC in the 1950s and her long and happy marriage to the celebrated screenwriter Nigel Kneale, creator of British television's first major hit, The Quatermass Experiment.The joy of this very special book is in hearing this story from Judith herself, accompanied by a treasure trove of illustrations and memorabilia. All combine Trade Review“… captures the colourful innocence of the 1950s and 1960s, with its harlequin tights, squat stoves and fathers in hats…Kerr’s world is one in which the small and lost come to be treasured.” – The Times “176 large, beautiful pages of nostalgia for anyone who has been a child in the past half century.” – The Independent

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Book SynopsisIn 1926, Tom Rolt who was then sixteen years old, abandoned his public school education. Having taken a job with a small firm of agricultural engineers, he realised that he had found his life's calling. But the way ahead was neither smooth nor easy. Having secured a premium apprenticeship, the firm which took him on foundered and although he eventually qualified as a mechanical engineer, the 1930s depression made it almost impossible to find regular employment. Nothing daunted, with the encouragement of his mysterious companion Cara', he turned to writing. His literary career flourished alongside his association with the Vintage Sports Car Club, the Inland Waterways Association and the Talyllyn Railway. Between his Inland Waterways Association and Talyllyn phases, Angela, his first wife, left him to join Billy Smart's Circus, and Sonia an actress-turned-boatwoman would become his second wife. Over the course of his life, he produced over thirty books, their subject matters ranging f

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Book SynopsisA dazzling biography of two interwoven, tragic lives: John Keats and F. Scott Fitzgerald.Highly engaging Go now, read this book' THE TIMESFor awhile after you quit Keats,' Fitzgerald once wrote, All other poetry seems to be only whistling or humming.'John Keats died two hundred years ago, in February 1821. F. Scott Fitzgerald defined a decade that began one hundred years ago, the Jazz Age.In this biography, prizewinning author Jonathan Bate recreates these two shining, tragic lives in parallel. Not only was Fitzgerald profoundly influenced by Keats, titling Tender is the Night and other works from the poet's lines, but the two lived with echoing fates: both died young, loved to drink, were plagued by tuberculosis, were haunted by their first love, and wrote into a new decade of release, experimentation and decadence.Luminous and vital, this biography goes through the looking glass to meet afresh two of the greatest and best-known Romantic writers in their twinned centuries.Trade Review‘Keats is unmissably present throughout Fitzgerald’s work … [Bate] borrows a classic form to pay tribute to the broadest, extratemporal similarities between Keats and … Fitzgerald’Sunday Times ‘Keats was Fitzgerald’s guiding star … An energetic and highly engaging game of literary ping-pong across the ages. Life, writing and inspiration are served and returned in a rapid rally of ideas … What an immensely charismatic pair they are … Powerful … Go now, read this book’Laura Freeman, The Times ‘A daring, dizzying attempt to connect Keats and F Scott Fitzgerald has plenty to take pleasure in … Bate, whose recent biography of Wordsworth I admired, is at his best when he zeroes in on the work: his feeling for it, by being so exacting, is infectious, especially in the case of Keats … But in the end, the principal achievement of this pairing is to remind us of the way that literature connects us’Rachel Cooke, Observer ‘Admirable … lively and well researched … Bate’s book is certainly an excellent introduction to each writer … satisfying, engaging and accessible … well designed to make us return tothe work of both Keats and his ‘Keatzian’ devotee’New Statesman ‘Bate tells the tales of these accursed creatures frightfully well’Daily Mail ‘With a fine-tuned ear for poetic language, a master-biographer’s eye for the revealing detail, and an astonishing mental filing system that recognizes countless meaningful matches among the works and lives of these two great, doomed writers, Jonathan Bate has written a wonderfully illuminating and moving book’Robert Watson, Distinguished Professor of English, UCLA

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Book SynopsisA searing, triumphant story. A testament to the tenacity of the human spirit as well as a beautiful ode to an iconic figure' IRENOSEN OKOJIELetters to Gil is Malik Al Nasir's profound coming of age memoir the story of surviving physical and racial abuse and discovering a new sense of self-worth under the wing of the great artist, poet and civil rights activist Gil Scott-Heron.Born in Liverpool, Malik was taken into care at the age of nine after his seafaring father became paralysed. He would spend his adolescence in a system that proved violent, neglectful, exploitative, traumatising and mired in abuse. Aged eighteen, he emerged semi-literate, penniless with no connections or sense of where he was going until a chance meeting with Gil Scott-Heron.Letters to Gil will tell the story of Malik's empowerment and awakening while mentored by Gil, from his introduction to the legacy of Black history to the development of his voice through poetry and music. Written with lyricism and power, itTrade Review‘A searing, triumphant story. A testament to the tenacity of the human spirit as well as a beautiful ode to an iconic figure’Irenosen Okojie ‘An incredible story, one that will have you jaw-dropped in disbelief at the cruelty meted out to Malik as a boy but also uplifted by his courageous, irrepressible exuberance, by his determination to defy the shitty hand he was dealt after he was put into the care system. And at the centre of this remarkable story stands the towering figure of Gil Scott-Heron …This is an intensely powerful and vivid memoir … When a book like Letters to Gil comes along, you are reminded of how indomitable the human spirit can be and how light can emerge from darkness, and joy from pain’Jamie Byng ‘Letters to Gil [is] part of a growing corpus of Black British memoir that confronts difficult subjects … It is also a tribute to artists who blend creative expression with fearless political commentary, such as the hip-hop artists Mos Def, Nas and the members of Public Enemy. With this brave memoir, Al Nasir can be counted among them’TLS ‘So compelling … Given the magnetism that he clearly displays I only hope that he will find time to be a new leader for the UK jazz movement … Voices such as his are certainly needed. His story is a wake-up call’Marlbank ‘Tells the story of his life – including his brutal treatment in care homes as a child –and his friendship with the musician-poet [Gil Scott-Heron]. His candid, eye-opening story includes a joyously uplifting tale of the time he accompanied Scott-Heron to meet Stevie Wonder’Independent, Books of the Month ‘A harrowing yet ultimately heartening memoir, Letters to Gil transcends the purely personal to make an important contribution to the burgeoning science of public history, championed by the likes of David Olusoga’London Jazz News ‘Get this book and read it… Superb’ The Grooved Review

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Book SynopsisREVISED AND UPDATED WITH NEW MATERIAL ON 1Q84As a young man, Haruki Murakami played records and mixed drinks at his Tokyo Jazz club, Peter Cat, then wrote at the kitchen table until the sun came up. He loves music of all kinds - jazz, classical, folk, rock - and has more than six thousand records at home. And when he writes, his words have a music all their own, much of it learned from jazz. Jay Rubin, a self-confessed fan, has written a book for other fans who want to know more about this reclusive writer. He reveals the autobiographical elements in Murakami''s fiction, and explains how he developed a distinctive new style in Japanese writing. In tracing Murakami''s career, he uses interviews he conducted with the author between 1993 and 2001, and draws on insights and observations gathered from over ten years of collaborating with Murakami on translations of his works.Trade ReviewJay Rubin's engaging critical study of Haruki Murakami examines the complex intersection of the Japanese novelist's life...Rubin is a confident guide to this surreal world * Daily Telegraph *This genial guide to 'cool' Japanese author Haruki Murakami mimics the playfulness of his fictions...His intuitive 'critique' gets close to the spirit of his subject * Observer *a lively and eccentric new critical study * New York Times *A magical mystery tour through Murakami's spontaneous, improvised fictional world-Packed with bits of trivia about the author * Evening Standard *

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Book SynopsisIf you love Georgette Heyer, ''the queen of Regency romance'', this is a must-read: the definitive guide to the sparkling world of Georgette Heyer''s celebrated novels, which are currently being reissued.A bestselling novelist since 1921, Georgette Heyer is known across the world for her historical romances set in Regency England. Millions of readers love the outrageous lifestyle, fashion and capricious escapades of the elegant bon ton, and no one has captured that world better than Georgette Heyer, with universally beloved novels such as Regency Buck, The Grand Sophy and Friday''s Child. Georgette Heyer''s Regency World is the ultimate, definitive guide to Georgette Heyer''s wonderful and enchanting realm: her heroines, her villains and dashing heroes, the shops, clubs and towns they frequented, the parties and seasons they celebrated, how they ate, drank, dressed, socialized, shopped and drove. An utterly delTrade ReviewAn invaluable guide for all Heyer fans, old and new * Good Book Guide *Detailed, informative ... impressively researched. A Heyer lover writing for Heyer fans * Times Literary Supplement *This fascinating book is a must for Heyer devotees * Image Magazine *An invaluable guide to the world of the bon ton. No lover of Georgette Heyer's novels should be without it -- Katie FfordeA definitive guide to the people, places and society of her novels * Bookseller *

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Book Synopsis''A ripping read ... fascinating, charming, enjoyably unorthodox'' Daily TelegraphWas Niccolò Machiavelli really the cynical schemer of legend - or was he a profound ethical thinker, who tried to save the democratic freedom of Renaissance Florence as it was threatened by ruthless dynasties? This revelatory biography shows us a man of fox-like dissimulation: a master of disguise in dangerous times. ''A gripping portrait of a brilliant political thinker, who understood the dangers of authoritarianism and looked for ways to curb them'' The New Yorker''Compelling ... this unconventional biography questions whether the philosopher deserves his reputation as an advocate for tyranny'' Julian Baggini, Financial TimesTrade ReviewLively, compulsively readable, fluently written and unshowily erudite—Terry Eagleton, GuardianCompelling, unconventional—Julian Baggini, Financial TimesA ripping read . . . fascinating, charming, enjoyably unorthodox—Tim Smith-Laing, TelegraphA remarkable work of imaginative engagement backed by scholarly learning. . . can be read with pleasure by anyone interested in the craft of politics and the life of ideas.—Edmund Fawcett, The New York TimesEngaging, clever, entertaining . . . Benner brings to life a Machiavelli who's a man of considerable political principle . . . a creative, lively and very readable book with more than a little contemporary resonance.—Catherine Fletcher, Literary ReviewA gripping portrait of a brilliant political thinker, who understood the dangers of authoritarianism and looked for ways to curb them even though independent speech had become impossible.—The New YorkerA rich, vivid and endlessly surprising portrayal of the man and his times—Tracy Borman, BBC History MagazineErica Benner succeeds brilliantly in overturning centuries-old received views of a seminal but misunderstood writer and thinker. Her enthralling and moving evocation of Machiavelli's turbulent career, set in the milieu in which he lived, also reveals how much he is our contemporary—Rosamund BartlettTimely, dramatic . . . an eye-opening, captivating portrait. Benner succeeds at what every biographer tries to do: she brings her subject to life for her readers.—KirkusA readable and excellent book . . . In our world of new princes and divided societies, with increasing confrontations that can seem in constant danger of escalating to conflict, Be Like the Fox reads like a cautionary call from the past—General Sir Rupert SmithFascinating, remarkable . . . Erica Benner illuminates not only the life of Machiavelli but the complex and cruel political world in which he operate—Avi ShlaimVividly drawn . . . biography at its best—Times Higher Education SupplementEnjoyably revisionist . . . Benner deserves great praise for dragging this much-maligned man's reputation at least partly out of the mud—Andrew Lynch, Sunday Business PostA lively and engaging study told with empathy, passion and imagination . . . well-researched, forceful and thought-provoking—Historical Writers' Association

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Book SynopsisJane Austen is one of the most widely-read novelists in the English language, and one of very few pre-Victorian writers to have a large popular following. This book situates Austen in the literary and historical context of her time, and combines critical introductions to each of her six major novels with the exploration of key themes of her work.Table of ContentsNotes on editions Introduction 1: Jane Austen practising 2: The terrors of Northanger Abbey 3: Sense, sensibility, society 4: The voices of Pride and Prejudice 5: The silence at Mansfield Park 6: Emma and Englishness 7: Passion and Persuasion Afterword Timeline References Further reading Index

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Book SynopsisA biography of a long-forgotten but vital American Transcendentalist poet. In September of 1838, a few months after Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered his controversial Divinity School address, a twenty-five-year-old tutor and divinity student at Harvard named Jones Very stood before his beginning Greek class and proclaimed himself the second coming. Over the next twenty months, despite a brief confinement in a mental hospital, he would write more than three hundred sonnets, many of them in the voice of a prophet such as John the Baptist or even of Christ himselfall, he was quick to claim, dictated to him by the Holy Spirit. Befriended by the major figures of the Transcendentalist movement, Very strove to convert, among others, Elizabeth and Sophia Peabody, Bronson Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and most significantly, Emerson himself. Though shocking to some, his message was simple: by renouncing the individual will, anyone can become a son of God and thereby usher in a millennialistTrade Review“In God’s Scrivener: The Madness and Meaning of Jones Very, Clark Davis doesn’t spend much time on his subject’s spectacular breakdown. Instead, relying on new research, he painstakingly reconstructs everything that came before and after. . . . Mr. Davis wonders, at the end of his fine biography, if the world really needs ‘the strange purity’ of Very’s voice. But if you like your poems plain and unfussy, written as if every word mattered and were meant for you and no one else, give Very’s poetry a try. You will even get the occasional piece of useful life advice. Feeling too wrapped up in your own concerns? ‘Open thy window, gaze abroad / Go forth and walk an hour.’” * Wall Street Journal *“Davis . . . enthusiastically argues for a ‘reevaluation of the existing biographical evidence’ in his sympathetic God’s Scrivener. . . . To Davis, Very in the end is a kind of hero devoted to his vision and voice, a maverick committed to something like the beatitudes. He emerges as a kind of protomodern figure, resolute and true, who casts ‘a strong light on the compromises and half-truths of others.’” * New York Review of Books *“God’s Scrivener is a thoughtful, moving, and deeply researched portrait of the otherworldly mystic and poet Jones Very. Clark Davis reveals that, far from being the punchline of an old joke, the unjustly forgotten Very was nothing less than the stillness at the heart of Transcendentalism, joining Thoreau and Whitman as one of the era’s great poet-prophets who articulated a powerful and innovative response to the pressures of modernity. Davis’s biography radically deepens our understanding of the movement’s potential and its limits, a message with surprising resonance today. This is essential reading for anyone who cares about Transcendentalism, the poetry of faith and doubt, or the place of Christian mysticism at the heart of America’s longing for a better world.” * Laura Dassow Walls, author of "Henry David Thoreau: A Life" *“Massively well researched and well argued, God’s Scrivener benefits from Clark Davis’s informed attention to a trove of documents not available fifty-six years ago when the last biography of Jones Very was published. By showing how the life, times, and works illuminate each other, Davis restores to us an author once considered one of the best sonnet writers in the language. Even as he establishes Very’s historical importance, Davis clearly explores both the strengths and dangers of his example.” * Robert Daly, author of "God’s Altar: The World and the Flesh in Puritan Poetry" *“Jones Very has been the lost Transcendentalist for decades, but Clark Davis has recovered him as a superb poet and penetrating spiritual mind in his remarkable God’s Scrivener. This is the story of a moving and enlightening life, artfully told.” * David M. Robinson, author of "Natural Life: Thoreau’s Worldly Transcendentalism" *“God’s Scrivener, the first biography of the enigmatic and fascinating Transcendentalist poet Jones Very in more than half a century, is a masterful revaluation of both Very’s life and work. Davis’s careful analysis of Very’s sometimes ecstatic poetry and surviving accounts of his unconventional behavior help to make sense of Very’s state of mind during the period when he came to public attention in the intellectual, religious, and literary circles of Salem and the greater Boston area. Mining the poet’s neglected ‘commonplace books’ to great effect, Davis builds the most complete picture yet of the poet’s intellectual and spiritual development in his formative years.” * Helen R. Deese, editor, "Jones Very: The Complete Poems" *Table of ContentsList of Figures Introduction Prologue: 1823 I. “There is something very strange in it all” 1. Cousins 2. Federal Street 3. Eldest Son 4. Biography (I) 5. Cornelia Africana 6. Biography (II) 7. A Student’s Notes, 1833–34 8. A Poet’s Notes, 1834 9. Early Poems, 1833–35 10. The Uses of Faith, 1835 11. “Change of heart” 12. Scrapbook, 1835–36 13. Lamartine 14. Poems, 1835–36 15. “The Torn Flower” 16. Spiritual Freedom II. “Flee to the mountains!” 17. “Part or particle of God,” 1836 18. The Messianic Moment 19. Mr. Tutor Very 20. Temptation and Peace 21. “My heart in life’s winter” 22. The White Mountains, 1837 23. Arrival 24. “Beauty” 25. Concord 26. Miracles 27. “Newborn bard of the Holy Ghost” 28. “The end of all things” 29. Madness III. God’s Scrivener 30. Prince Hamlet 31. Asylum 32. “In obedience to the Spirit” 33. “Pierced through with many spears” 34. “Insane with God” 35. “Epistles to the Unborn” 36. “Between Very & the Americans” 37. Essays and Poems by Jones Very 38. Madness and Meaning 39. “True relations . . . in a false age” IV. Man of Peace 40. Nonresistance 41. “Heaven is a state and not a place” 42. War, Slavery, and Intemperance 43. “I war not, nor wrestle with the earthly man” 44. “But still the poet midst the tumult sings” 45. Knowledge and Truth 46. “The presence of things invisible” 47. “The Book of Life” Acknowledgments List of Abbreviations Notes A Note on Sources Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTHE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING MEMOIR OF SPY-WRITING LEGEND JOHN LE CARRÉ*NOW A MAJOR APPLE TV MOTION PICTURE*''As recognizable a writer as Dickens or Austen'' Financial TimesFrom his years serving in British Intelligence during the Cold War to a career as a writer, John le Carré has lived a unique life.In this, his first memoir, le Carré is as funny as he is incisive - reading into the events he witnesses the same moral ambiguity with which he imbues his novels. Whether he''s interviewing a German terrorist in her desert prison or watching Alec Guinness preparing for his role as George Smiley, this book invites us to think anew about events and people we believed we understood.Best of all, le Carré gives us a glimpse of a writer''s journey over more than six decades, and his own hunt for the human spark that has given so much life and heart to his fictional characters.''No other writer has charted - pitilessly for politicians but thrillingly for readers - the public and secret histories of his times'' Guardian''When I was under house arrest I was helped by the books of John le Carré . . . These were the journeys that made me feel that I was not really cut off from the rest of humankind'' Aung San Suu KyiTrade ReviewFascinating, important, pithy. Anyone interested in le Carré and his significant contribution to the literature of the 20th and 21st centuries will want to read these engaging meanderings through his life and career.He has plenty to say about Kim Philby, the movie business, fellow spooks and Russian defectors, encounters with the great and good, and his intrepid travels to research his novels -- William Boyd * Guardian *Vintage le Carré ... [he] remains a magician of plot and counter-plot, a master storyteller * Observer *John le Carré is as recognizable a writer as Dickens or Austen * Financial Times *When I was under house arrest I was helped by the books of John le Carré ... they were a journey into the wider world ... These were the journeys that made me feel that I was not really cut off from the rest of humankind * Aung San Suu Kyi *No other writer has charted - pitilessly for politicians but thrillingly for readers - the public and secret histories of his times * Guardian *A smashing read -- Richard Davenport-Hines * Wall Street Journal *Offers thrills of recognition as le Carré's archetypes spring to life... The 84-year old novelist discards extended narrative and writes in elegiac fragments with linking harmonies, like the late works of that other German Romantic, Beethoven -- John Gapper * Financial Times *Exceptionally well-turned and enjoyable -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *Grippingly written, it is revealing in ways the author never intended it to be * Sunday Telegraph *Cagey, clever, revealing * Daily Telegraph *le Carré is a master of the art... fascinatingly readable * The Times *Frank and fascinating * Daily Express *The Pigeon Tunnel is a delight... a collection of highly polishes oddments from a life, assembled to entertain and inform...fabulously funny * Radio Times *A snapshot of a story that is, truly, as extraordinary as any of his fiction * Daily Mail *For me The Pigeon Tunnel just confirms the enigma... extremely humorous... at no point do I feel that I knew one tiny bit more than he wants me to know -- Susanne Bier, director of The Night ManagerHe has written an uproarious, darkly poignant and precious book -- James Naughtie * New Statesman *A beautiful book. The great glory of it is it comes close to unlocking the central mystery of le Carré -- Tony ParsonsAs enthralling as his fiction * Woman and Home *Le Carré is such a good writer . . . Though urbane and detached, there is rage simmering not far below the surface of both le Carré and his new book. But then, nothing, absolutely nothing, is what it seems * Daily Mail *A deeply personal and touching account of le Carré's life ... it has undeniable power * Prospect *Explosive * Daily Mail *le Carré's The Pigeon Tunnel is exquisite -- Hugh LaurieI savoured the gravelly, quietly insistent voice of a master storyteller examining his own life -- Michela Wrong * The Spectator *the entertaining recollections of a raconteur -- Neil McCormick * Telegraph *Elusive and frank and witty by turns, the spy master gives away just as much of himself as he wants to in The Pigeon Tunnel, tracing the story of his life through his walk-on parts in the history and mythology of the cold war, and the shape-shifting discipline of his imagination -- Tim Adams * Guardian Biographies of the Year *

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Book SynopsisDescribes author's boyhood in the Philippines, his voyage to America, and his years of hardship and despair as an itinerant laborer following the harvest trail in the rural West.Trade Review"America came to him in a public ward in the Los Angeles County Hospital while around him men died gasping for their last bit of air, and he learned that while America could be cruel it could also be immeasurably kind. . . . For Carlos Bulosan no lifetime could be long enough in which to explain to America that no man could destroy his faith in it again. He wanted to contribute something toward the final fulfillment of America. So he wrote this book that holds the bitterness of his own blood." -- Carlos P. Romulo * New York Times *"Bulosan’s gripping memoir-novel of a young Filipino immigrant long ago secured its place in Asian American literature. . . . An outstanding introductory essay extends the historical discussion (and in some ways brings it full circle) in this third edition. . . . [Bulosan’s] call to action resonates with the same urgency today as it did seven decades ago." -- Greg Lewis * Pacific Northwest Quarterly *"To resist the call to heartlessness, let’s heed the call to idealism expressed by Bulosan in America Is in the Heart." -- Tyron Beason * Seattle Times *

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Book SynopsisAn accessible introduction to a writer whose work is of timeless significance and whose unconventional life is a continuous source of fascination. In 1907, when she was twenty-five and not yet a published novelist, Virginia Stephen had everything still to prove. She felt herself to be at a crossroads: I shall be miserable, or happy; a wordy sentimental creature, or a writer of such English as shall one day burn the pages.' Today her prose is still blazing; perhaps it burns brighter than ever. This is the story of how a determined young woman with a notebook became one of the greatest writers of all time. It is a story that sparkles with wit and friendship, language and love, wicked jokes and passionate appreciation of ordinary things. Hers was a life lived with intensity from moment to moment, courageous and defiant of convention, and shaped into the lasting patterns of art. Considering each of Woolf's novels in context, this gripping account shows why, eighty years after her dTrade Review'Harris's [book] is a pencil sketch in clear brisk lines. As an introduction to Woolf, Harris's study will do very well: she writes beautifully, with an eye for lucid detail ' - Sunday Times'The critical evaluations of Woolf's novels are elegant and searching; the analysis of Orlando is especially acute ... an ideal introduction ' - Financial Times'Harris tells the story crisply and with personality' - Guardian'Harris presents a Woolf for the early 21st century' - The Spectator

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Book SynopsisFirst published to celebrate Faber's 90th anniversary, this is the story of one of the world's greatest publishing houses a delight for all readers who are curious about the business of writing.''A striking drama.''SUNDAY TIMES''Never less than fascinating.''DAILY TELEGRAPH''This book will fascinate anyone with an interest in twentieth-century literature . . . a treasure trove.''SCOTSMAN''The details here do consistently shine.''NEW YORK TIMES''Ingeniously compiled . . . charming and quirky''EVENING STANDARDTold in its own words, this is the story of one of the world's greatest publishers, capturing the excitement, hopes and fears of the people who published and wrote the books that line our shelves today. Including archive material from T. S. Eliot, Samuel Beckett, Seamus Heaney, P. D. James, Kazuo Ishiguro and Philip Larkin, this is both

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Book SynopsisAs the nephew of Virginia Woolf, Quentin Bell enjoyed an initimacy with his subject granted to few biographers. Compelling, moving and entertaining, Quentin Bell's biography was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize.Trade ReviewA model of the biographer's art, combining as it does diligent research, abundant quotations and a judicious and self-effacing narrative written in attractive and readable prose... One of the really great biographies of recent times -- Ray Monk * Sunday Telegraph *A work of art, evoking by his frankness and outstanding skill the vivid personality that cast a spell upon almost everyone lucky enough to know her -- Raymond MortimerProfessor Bell is absolute master of his material. He brings his subject to life with such honesty that one almost forgets that she wrote some of the great important novels of the period -- Anthony CurtisOutstanding..romantic, enthralling, even hilarious -- Margaret LaneWill rank among the great lives -- Arthur Calder-Marshall

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Book SynopsisJourney into the history of English and discover how words have entered our language to make it what it is today.Trade ReviewHitchings offers us a highly entertaining guided tour...anyone interested in dictionaries, Dr Johnson or the English language will surely spend many happy hours with this book * The Independent *Ingenious and fascinating * The Sunday Times *Excellent. * Daily Express *Immensely enjoyable, easily erudite * Scotland On Sunday *I can warmly recommend Henry Hitching's book...affectionate in its portrayal of Johnson, the book itself is immensely likeable, written with serious intent and gentle good humour. * Spectator *Lively and entertaining * Observer *A pleasant stroll, with a genial guide, through Johnson's life * The Independent on Sunday *Clever, wittily-written and amusingly-arranged * The Guardian *A rich, lively and attractive book. * The Times Literary Supplement *Hitchings writes with Johnsonian clarity and verve ... This is a charming book * Evening Standard *'A clever, sympathetic and witty sketch of both man and book.' * Waterstones Books Quarterly *'A goldmine of pleasures...Hitchings has an infectious relish for words' - Phil Baker * Sunday Times *'Full of elegance and nail-on-the-head wit' * Sunday Telegraph *'Hitchings has produced an absorbing account of Johnson's Dictionary that is as likeable as it is learned' * Independent *'Full of serendipitous felicities' * Times Higher Education Supplement *'Hitchings excellent book is both a great potted guide to the dictionary and its creation, and a marvellous biography of Johnson...A must-have for devotees of the English Language' * Observer *'Excellent... Hitching's book is full of serendipitous felicities' * David Nokes, Times Higher Educational Supplement *'In [Johnson's] description of "dull" he writes: "Not exhilarating; not delightful; as, to make dictionaries is dull work." Nobody could describe Hitching's book as dull' * Colin Waters, Sunday Herald *'This story is a pleasurable stroll through Johnson's life, and combines elements of biography with social history and an examination of Johnson's concerns, illustrated by examples from the great work itself.' * Irish Times *'Memorable passages on a range of fascinating subjects.' * The Good Book Guide *'An engaging profile of one of London's great characters' * Time Out, Tom Howard *'Henry Hitchings (a fine 18th-century name that) is a remarkable young scholar of the age of Johnson, and his DR JOHNSON'S DICTIONARY, arranged alphabetically like the eponymous original whose 250th anniversary it celebrates, offers an entertaining window on this most fascinating character and his times' * BBC History Magazine *'Entertaining study...The great strength of Hitching's book is the compliment he pays to Johnson by so lavishly quoting from the Dictionary' * Sunday Telegraph *'Hitchings has written a lively and appetite-whetting biography of the great book itself...one of the most fascinating and influential literary endeavours in the history of English literature' * Herald *'Henry Hitchings' book on Samuel Johnson's mighty Dictionary is so good, so apposite, so chewy and edible, that I felt as if I were rereading it on my first pass' * Will Self, New Statesman *'Hugely entertaining, it's a real treat for word lovers' * Sainsburys Magazine *'The author is to be congratulated on narrating the drudgery of the dictionary's compilation so engagingly' * Evening Standard *'The author has followed ably in the footsteps of his subject, producing a witty and learned book on a man whose work shaped, and continues to shape, the way we speak and think' * The Good Book Guide *'An extraordinary read' * Venue *'This is a delightful book about an extraordinary man. I suspect Dr Johnson himself would have approved... and there's no greater praise than that' * John Humphrys *'A lively and appetite-whetting biography of the great book' * Herald *'Henry Hitchings's book is lively, erudite and enriched with colourful anecdotes - a masterful account of one of the greatest literary triumphs of the eighteenth century' * Giles Milton *'Engaging' * Literary Review *'This is a delightful book about an extraordinary man. I suspect Dr Johnson himself would have approved . . . and there's no greater praise than that' * John Humphreys *

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Book Synopsis''A delight . . . a glorious, witty and life-affirming ragbag of autobiography, cultural commentary and hard-won wisdom.'' ANDREW TAYLOR, author of The Shadows of London''Perceptive, wise and illuminating . . . an unmissable farewell.'' Barry Forshaw, FINANCIAL TIMES''The most hilarious, life-affirming book you'll read this year.'' SAGA magazine''Wit and wisdom that make every page turn . . . what a fine talent the world has lost.'' STARBURSTThis is the memoir Christopher Fowler always wanted to write about ''writing''.It''s the story of how a young bookworm growing up in a house where there was nothing to read but knitting pamphlets and motorcycle manuals became a writer - a ''word monkey'' - and pursued a sort of career in popular fiction. And it''s a book full of brilliant insights into the pleasures and pitfalls of his profession, dos and don''ts for would-be writTrade ReviewClever, wise, heartbreaking and yet also life-affirmingly funny: his literary comic lightness of touch is on a par with Wodehouse. -- JOANNE HARRIS, bestselling author of Broken Light and ChocolatA delight to read - a glorious, witty and life-affirming ragbag of autobiography, cultural commentary and hard-won wisdom about the strange and miraculous craft of writing. It's the sort of book that makes you want to underline every other sentence. Beautifully written, of course - one would expect no less from Chris - and characterised by its complete lack of self-pity. I hope it sells by the truckload. -- ANDREW TAYLOR, bestselling author of The Shadows of LondonA delight: perceptive, wise and illuminating on the act of reading (no genre held terrors for him) and, equally, the act of writing. All of this in a book full of disarmingly sardonic gallows humour about his own impending death. An unmissable farewell from the much missed author. -- Barry Forshaw * FINANCIAL TIMES *A remarkable book by a remarkable writer: amazingly entertaining and informative and also, for obvious reasons, one of the most moving. -- SIMON MASON, author of the DI Wilkins MysteriesNot a hint of Pollyanna here, just the most hilarious, life-affirming book you’ll read this year. * SAGA magazine *

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