Biography Books
Luath Press Ltd Singing in the Streets: A Glasgow Memoir
Book SynopsisRemembering our roots is the answer to revival. In Singing in the Streets Maria Fyfe tells her story from her upbringing in the Gorbals on the south bank of the River Clyde to her election as a Member of Parliament for Glasgow Maryhill. Fyfe takes the reader through the realities of living and growing up in the aftermath of ww2 to the pivotal days of her early life in the Labour Party. She offers a beautifully written personal, nostalgic and sometimes comic view of late-20th century Scotland. She considers class, sexism and politics and the progress that has been made – or has yet to be achieved. From council house to the House of Commons, Fyfe shows the reader that change is possible. We cannot wallow in misery. We have to fight.Trade ReviewOne woman’s chronicle of her battles on behalf of her class, and in particular, women of her class – an insight to what to expect if you follow the same path. Victories, defeats, compromises... It’s also proof, in the beautifully lyrical early chapters about her childhood, that within the warrior beats the heart of a poet. Highly recommended! Dave Anderson, Actor and Playwright
£13.49
Porter Press International NORMAN CONQUEST: A remarkable, high-flying life
Book Synopsis
£40.50
Sandstone Press Ltd Higher Ground: A Mountain Guide's Life
Book SynopsisMartin Moran was a man of the mountains, inspiring both as pioneer and leader. His is a story of life-changing adventures and dramatic, often near-death experiences, told with humour and verve.
£10.79
Tre Cappelli Editions Dead Reckoning
Book SynopsisBased upon a series of true episodes & real characters, Dead Reckoning weaves the UK's forgotten WWII policy of internment of civilian enemy aliens, the destiny of the SS Arandora Star, and the top secret Operation Colossus into an astonishing tale of camaraderie, choices and consequences.
£8.99
MOIST ABECEDAIRE
Book Synopsis"I wrote five days a week for a year, no more than a page, writing only for the length of the analytic hour, fifty minutes, following Freud's model of train travel for his theory of free association, acting 'as though, for instance, [you were] a traveller sitting next to the window of a railway carriage and describing to someone inside the carriage the changing views [...] outside'. Many of my women character's names begin with A: their first names; there are few surnames, save those of the secondary male characters. . Some of these women exist or existed, others are from fiction, or write fiction. Some are friends or acquaintances. None are credited but a keen reader could recognise many of them. I invented nothing. I am the aleph."Trade Review"Sharon Kivland is a phenomenal writer, thinker and artist." Ali Smith
£12.00
Unicorn Publishing Group Bluebottle Goes To War: Peter Sellers & the RAF
Book SynopsisPeter Sellers was one of the biggest stars of the 1960s and 70s. His career began with characters such as Bluebottle on BBC radio’s The Goon Show and he achieved global fame as Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series. What is less well known is that he served in the Royal Air Force Entertainment Units (known as Gang Shows) for over three years. Now, for the first time, this story can be told, a tale of the formation and education of his remarkable talents, as well as a small corner of Second World War history that seems uniquely British (groups of servicemen and women sent around the world with hampers full of theatrical props and costumes, to rally the troops in distant outposts of Empire). This book reveals previously unknown film footage, photos, performances, broadcasts and recordings, from the very beginning of Sellers’ career.Trade Review"This new book reveals previously unknown film footage, recordings and radio broadcasts, as well as records of more than 100 performances across two continents. It charts [Sellers's] progress from raw recruit to gang show veteran, a journey full of colour and inspiration." -- Chortle (UK)
£14.39
Unicorn Publishing Group Angela Thirkell: A Writer's Life
Book SynopsisBorn in London in 1890, Angela Thirkell was Sir Edward Burne-Jones’s granddaughter, J.M. Barrie’s goddaughter and a cousin of Rudyard Kipling and Stanley Baldwin. John Collier painted her portrait and she was drawn by John Singer Sargent and Thea Proctor. Between 1931 and her death in 1961, Angela published more than thirty books in a variety of genres. She began with the acclaimed family memoir Three Houses and later settled on her amusing Barsetshire series, inspired by Anthony Trollope but set in the present day. Angela Thirkell: A Writer’s Life tells the author’s story from her Kensington childhood to her two marriages and the birth of three sons, Graham McInnes, Colin MacInnes and Lance Thirkell, all of whom also entered the literary world. The book traces her decade in Australia where she wrote for magazines and newspapers and made radio broadcasts, followed by her return to London and her fortuitous meeting with a young publisher called Jamie Hamilton, which lead to her bestselling Barsetshire novels.Trade Review"[A] careful and sympathetic biography." * Times Literary Supplement *“[A] concise yet lavishly illustrated biography.” * New Criterion *"This is the book all Angela Thirkell enthusiasts have been wishing for. It illustrates so many instances of how she translated her own life into the fictional world of Barsetshire, and for those who haven't yet discovered her it will make them want to make that journey for themselves." -- Penny Alred, former chair of the Angela Thirkell Society"Hall's new biography of Angela Thirkell is detailed, highly readable, and revealing. Her wide-ranging research and a gallery of illustrations not seen before thoroughly revise our understanding of the formative influences on Thirkell's writing and life." -- Kate Macdonald, author of Novelists Against Social Change: Conservative Popular Fiction, 1920-1960
£21.25
Gemini Books Group Ltd William at 40
Book SynopsisPublished to coincide with Prince William's 40th birthday
£17.00
Lawrence & Wishart Ltd Claudia Jones: A Life in Exile
Book SynopsisA new edition of the groundbreaking biography of activist, newspaper editor and community organiser, Claudia Jones. Featuring a preface by Black feminist writer, Lola Olufemi, and an appendix compiled by Marika Sherwood. This is the first book in Lawrence Wishart's new Radical Black Women Series.
£18.06
Salamander Street Limited Brickwork: A Biography of The Arches
Book SynopsisNightclub, theatre, creative hub, party place, and one of the most important venues in Scotland, Britain and Europe: for almost 25 years, The Arches was the beating heart of Glasgow. In 1991, former punk-turned-theatre director Andy Arnold walked into the disused red brick Victorian railway arches underneath Glasgow's Central Station and immediately saw the potential of the space. Not even he could have imagined its future, as simultaneously one of the biggest and most famous nightclubs in the world and a major player on the European theatre scene. Until its closure following a drug-related death in 2015, The Arches carved its own, indefinable path, playing a vital role in the lives of many Scottish artists along the way. Some of those stars of the future began their careers taking tickets, hanging coats and serving drinks there. For the first time, the people who made the venue get to tell their story. Piecing together accounts from directors, DJs, performers, clubbers, artists, bar tenders, actors, audiences and staff, Brickwork writes the biography of a space that was always more than its bricks and mortar.Trade Review"A brilliant blow-by-blow account that really shows what made Glasgow's much-missed clubbing establishment click, tick and boom." Ralph Moore, Mixmag'Everyone’s heard of The Arches in Glasgow, even a Londoner like me, but what I didn’t know was what an important venue it really was – not simply as a club, but as an artistic space, theatre, and cultural hub – and how much love, passion and integrity went into its success and longevity. This story, told by its impassioned staff, punters, and supporters is not just an absorbing read, but an inspiring tale of artistic, financial, and creative endeavour that comes from giving a space like this to the right people.' Chris Liberator Table of ContentsAuthors' note Glasgow's Glasgow's Glasgow CHAPTER 1: 1990-1991 'Fuck it, let's just keep going.' CHAPTER 2: 1991-1993 'And then on Friday night we went through to The Arches...' CHAPTER 3: 1993-1999 'Here we fucking GO!' CHAPTER 4: 2000-2008 Drop the Pressure CHAPTER 5: 2008-2013 It's All Allowed CHAPTER 6: 2013-2015 'How can you have a day without a night?' Bits and Pieces: Some Favourite Memories from the people who made the Arches Dramatis Personae Appendix
£12.34
Parthian Books Fury of Past Time: A Life of Gwyn Thomas
Book SynopsisGwyn Thomas was born, the last of twelve children, into a Rhondda mining family in 1913. After a childhood marked by the strikes of the 1920s, he went off to study Spanish at Oxford University and in Madrid, where he met the poet Federico Garcia Lorca and witnessed the turmoil which would lead to the Spanish Civil War. On his return, amidst the economic mire of the 1930s and his own burgeoning teaching career in Barry in the 1940s, he picked up his pen and began to write. For more than forty years, until his death in 1981, as novelist, screenwriter, master of the short story, and prizewinning playwright, Gwyn Thomas delivered compelling and comedic portraits of his world of South Wales. His creative genius earned enduring fame on both sides of the Atlantic and on both sides of the European Cold War divide. As a provocative and insightful broadcaster, he embraced the possibilities of radio and television, whilst leaving his hosts and guests alike in fits of knowing laughter. This landmark biography, enriched with unrivalled access to private papers and international archives, tells the remarkable story of one of modern Wales's greatest literary voices.Trade Review'This punchy portrait of a real Welsh literary heavyweight hits home with the brutal realism of Thomas' jabbing prose and mordant wit.' - Jon Gower, Nation.Cymru; 'Leeworthy knows his subject intimately, sympathises with him entirely, and locates him globally in such a way as to leave the reader with no doubt as to his importance as a writer' - Bethan Jenkins, Wales Arts Review
£14.39
HarperCollins Publishers The Bromley Boys: The True Story of Supporting
Book SynopsisThe book that inspired the major motion picture 'I loved it ... extremely funny. A must-read for anyone who loves football.' Peter Crouch In the late 1960s, in the warm glow of England winning the World Cup, Dave Roberts, like most teenage boys his age, was football mad. There was just one difference: rather than supporting the likes of Arsenal or Manchester United, Dave’s team of choice was the ever so slightly less glamorous Bromley Football Club – one of the last genuinely amateur football teams left, fighting for survival in the lowest non-league division. This book is the story of Bromley’s worst ever season. It is a funny and heart-warming tale of football at the very bottom: Dave turns up to each match with his football boots in his bag, just in case the team are a player short; the crowd is always announced as 400 as no-one can be bothered to count; the team ship so many goals that in one match, the taunting opposition fans actually lose count of the score. It’s easy being a football fan when your team are always winning. The Bromley Boys is the touching true story about supporting a club through thin and even thinner: proof that the more your team may lose on the pitch, the more there is to gain on the terraces.Trade Review'Will strike a chord with football fans everywhere' Adrian Chiles
£9.49
Little Toller Books Ridge and Furrow: Voices from the Winter Fields
Book SynopsisIn his haunting debut, Water and Sky, published in 2014, Neil Sentance explored the history of his family and the landscape which shaped them. Ridge and Furrow continues the project to chart in prose the voices of a seldom recorded people and place. From the long shadows of war and want, to facing the great changes to rural life in the twentieth century, to first forays into a world beyond the flatlands of Lincolnshire, the book delicately portrays the dreams of lone, and often lonely, figures in one family's history. Ridge and Furrow melds memoir and fiction, place and nature writing, told with characteristic lyricism and muddy realism.
£10.80
DB Publishing The Day I Met Brian Clough...and Other Tributes:
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£9.49
Bonnier Books Ltd My Fight to the Top
Book SynopsisMichelle Mone is one of the most successful businesswomen of her generation and inspiration for entrepreneurs the world over. In My Fight to the Top, Michelle tells the story of how she overcame near-poverty on the rough streets of north-west Scotland, before rising to the top of the business world. This is the tell-all account of the UK's most fearless fashion brand and the truth behind the woman that created it.
£8.99
Grub Street Publishing Flying through the Ranks
Book SynopsisInspired by the I Learnt About Flying from That' articles that first appeared in the RAF Flight Safety magazine Air Clues in the 1940s and continues to feature to this day. Men and women of every rank pilots, navigators, engineers, an RAF Regiment officer and airmen too reveal similar intriguing experiences in both war and peace.
£21.25
Monsoon Books Escape: The true story of the only Westerner ever
Book SynopsisKlong Prem prison, Thailand. The Bangkok Hilton, where 600 foreigners among the 12,000 inmates of this walled prison city also wait and rot. Among the tragic, ruthless and forgotten, one man resolves to do what no other has done: escape. This is the true story of drug smuggler David McMillan's perilous break-out from Asia's most notorious prison.
£9.49
Great Northern Books Ltd Tony Christie: DER SAENGER
Book SynopsisTony Christie hat mit "Is This The Way To Amarillo", "I Did What I Did For Maria", "Avenues & Alleyways" die Charts in Landern auf der ganzen Welt angefuhrt und fur seine jungeren Arbeiten mit Richard Hawley und Jarvis Cocker auch von anerkannten Kritikern hoechste Anerkennung erhalten. Tonys Alben haben mehrere Gold- und Platin-Auszeichnungen erreicht, und er war der einzige Sanger im Jahr 2005, der in England gleichzeitig eine Single und ein Album auf Platz 1 der Charts hatte. Tony ist einer der beliebtesten Sanger Deutschlands und Mitteleuropas. Sein Album "Welcome To My Music", das erste einer ganzen Reihe von Alben mit dem legendaren deutschen Produzenten Jack White, verkaufte sich uber 450.000 Mal fur den Mann, der als "Gentleman of Pop Music" bezeichnet wird. Er ist immer noch regelmassig in Carmen Nebels TV-Shows zu sehen, und spielt auf seinen Tourneen vor ausverkauften Hausern. Songs wie "Sweet September", "I Did What I Did For Maria" und naturlich "Amarillo" sind bei seinen deutschen und mitteleuropaischen Zuschauern, fur die er zu einem der Lieblingskunstler des Schlagers aller Zeiten wurde, so beliebt wie eh und je. Jetzt erzahlt Tony zum ersten Mal von seiner illustren, farbenfrohen Karriere, die in der kleinen Stadt Conisbrough in South Yorkshire begann, und ihn zu einem heute noch als Sangerlegende mit Fans auf der ganzen Welt gefeierten Kunstler werden liess. Es ist eine Geschichte voller emotionaler und finanzieller Hoehen und Tiefen, fantastischer Charaktere und Tonys tief verwurzelter Liebe zur Familie. Wenn Sie dachten, dass Sie Tony Christie kennen, werden Sie es jetzt tun, wenn er uber seine Lieben, seine Sorgen und sein erstaunliches Leben spricht! TONY CHRISTIE: Der Sanger ist die offizielle Autobiografie einer Ikone in der Popmusik, deren Stimme heute so gut klingt, wie als er 1971 zum ersten Mal in die Charts kam.
£16.19
Mirror Books Breaking Dad: How my mild-mannered father became
Book SynopsisAs seen on the BBC Victoria Derbyshire ShowAs heard on The Jeremy Vine ShowThink you've got a dysfunctional family?Meet mine.For 18 years, my family lived a normal life in a respectable suburb…Until one day, my dad gave up his successful career, and unexpectedly became Britain's most wanted crystal meth dealer.This is our story. At times shocking, often unbelievable, and all 100% true.
£8.54
Instant Apostle Living with Alzheimer's: A love story
Book Synopsis
£8.54
Colenso Books The Durrell Log: A chronology of the life and
Book SynopsisA series of chronological entries documenting Lawrence Durrell's life (1912-1990) and writing career, preceded by "Antecedents" (1851-1910), and followed by "Aftermath" (1991-2019), listing the main events connected with his reputation since his death. There is a 16-page "Index of Persons".
£14.72
Parthian Books Late Return, A: Table Tennis à la carte
Book SynopsisBill Rees has been living in the south of France for ten years working as an itinerant bookseller in Montpellier. The one thing he misses about England is table tennis. Then he sees an advert to join a club for “experienced players only” and veterans. He starts training immediately, he’s forty and not as fit as he used to be but Bill Rees is returning to the game à la carte. Covering one Sunday tournament in the depths of Languedoc when his team bids to make the National Finals, Bill Rees produces a deeply felt and deeply funny homage to the beautiful game of ping-pong. Rees shows the sport for what it is: painful, exhilarating, tactical, fast (especially when his club mate Alain is at the table), consuming. All of which is revealed from the perspective of a Brit playing in French amateur leagues. Conveyed is the pain of competition, the agony of losing and the joys of victory. The reader is also regaled with a Zen-like insight into the sport. For all those athletes who dream of glory being around the corner and never too late. Contains illustrations by the Monpellier based artist Beachy.
£7.59
Paul Holberton Publishing Ltd Hardy'S Wessex: The Landscapes That Inspired a
Book SynopsisThis fascinating book tells the story of Thomas Hardy's Wessex. Accompanying a multi-venue exhibition, it explores Hardy's life and work.Internationally-acclaimed writer Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) is best known for his evocative depictions of the West Country landscape and its people, a region that he called 'Wessex'. What is less well-known is that this landscape also inspired him in many other aspects of his life, from campaigning for animal welfare to questioning the way society viewed women. This publication accompanies a blockbuster, multi-venue exhibition of the largest collection of Thomas Hardy memorabilia ever to be displayed at once. Hardy was born in the West Country, a few years after Queen Victoria came to the throne, and spent most of the rest of his life among its landscapes and people. When he turned writer, these landscapes and people re-emerged as his 'partly-real, partlydream country' of Wessex, in novels like Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Far from the Madding Crowd and Jude the Obscure.Hardy's Wessex now conjures up a range of mental images: from raging seas on the coast to haunting ancient monuments, Victorian towns packed with life to peaceful hillsides grazed by sheep. However, through Hardy's 87-year life span, the West Country changed dramatically. Ideas of the role of women, humans' responsibility to animals, the realities of war, love and courtship, superstition, social structure, religion and how people related to the world around them altered fundamentally. Through his stories and campaigning, Hardy was keen to show not only the rural idyll, but also the tensions and difficulties that lay beneath these views.These dramatic landscapes were the lens through which Hardy presented his worldview to his readership. From the tragedy of a woman saying farewell to her sailorlover on the end of Portland Bill, to a shepherd losing his flock and facing ultimate ruin on the chalky hills. The landscapes shape his characters, whose stories in turn convey his messages of social change to his readers.This publication will explore the impact that Wessex had on Hardy's works, and how living there shaped his views on the often divisive social issues of the period. Uniting beautiful landscape imagery with a selection of personal items from Hardy's life, this book will show you the man behind the literature.
£15.00
Paul Holberton Publishing Ltd A Tale of Two Monkeys: Adventures in the Art
Book SynopsisAnthony Speelman is the doyen of English art dealers specializing in Dutch Golden Age art. Vividly written and handsomely illustrated, his memoirs offer fascinating insight into the sometimes secretive world of Old Masters. This book will appeal not only to dealers, collectors and others in the fine art world, but also to would-be collectors eager for a glimpse behind the curtain.These memoirs cover a lifetime of dealing in Old Masters at the very highest level. Speelman’s career started under the guidance of his father Edward, whose own biography has much to tell. Over the years, Speelman has sold paintings to many of the world’s greatest collectors, including Norton Simon, Paul Mellon, Baron Thyssen, Harold Samuel, Charles Clore and the Wrightsmans in New York, along with world renowned museums such as the Getty, the Louvre and the National Gallery, London, among many others. He writes about his encounters with these eminent bodies in a light-hearted style, sometimes amusing, always extremely interesting – including an anecdote about a recent meeting with a Chinese billionaire with a penchant for fine wine.The two monkeys in the title refer to two paintings of a monkey holding a peach by George Stubbs, the outstanding English animal painter. Anthony describes how he discovered one of these masterpieces as a ‘sleeper’ in a Sotheby’s sale. Early in his career Anthony’s rooms in Piccadilly were broken into and a number of paintings stolen, including a George Stubbs painting of a spaniel. An intriguing tale follows, ending with the paintings recovered some eighteen months later after a failed blackmail attempt on the part of the thieves.Amongst his accomplishments, Speelman was for many years chairman of the vetting committee at the annual Maastricht art fair. He describes the working of the committees which ensure that all works exhibited are correctly described. Still active in the art world, he is currently chairman of the vetting committee of the prestigious annual Masterpiece art fair in London.Other chapters detail Speelman’s travels to California, New York and Paris, his interest in gastronomy and his thrilling adventures in the world of horseracing. The book is beautifully illustrated with examples of works that have passed through the author’s hands. The wide range of illustrations is not limited to Dutch art and includes works by Canaletto, Stubbs, Raphael, Tiepolo, Melendez and other Old Masters.Trade ReviewThe joy Speelman expresses in connecting collector with work is unmistakable. Handsomely produced, this title deserves a place in every art library. * The New Criterion *Decades of dealing in paintings from the Dutch Golden Age has left Speelman with a fund of anecdotes about the Old Masters trade, as well as a wealth of insights about the world's greatest private collectors and its most important public museums. * Apollo, Off the Shelf 15/12/2022 *
£28.50
University of Chester Press Bloomsbury Belsen Oxford
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£19.99
Instant Apostle Filthy Rich: How the Property Crash Saved my Life
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£9.49
Merlin Unwin Books Testament of a Trout Fisher
Book SynopsisLaurence Catlow is considered one of the finest classical flyfishing writers of our times and here he explores the themes close to an angler's heart: early and late season fishing; mayflies; lost fish; fishing in Wales; in Scotland; on home waters; what fishing really means to an angler.
£17.00
Wrecking Ball Press Cycling Proficiency
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£14.40
Marcia M Publishing Healing Letters
Book SynopsisThis book is about forgiveness and healing the child that lives within every adult. It is the author's journey to EMOTIONAL FREEDOM and the LIBERATION of her SOUL. Aurea, after living through many TRIALS, TRIBULATIONS and TURBULENCE needed to RELEASE the DEMONS, the GHOSTS and TRAUMA to MOVE FORWARD. Aurea chose to do that through HEALING LETTERS. "Aurea's writing is honest and raw, as she describes her relationships with her family and others, along with the love she feels for her son, readers will relate with her experiences and at the end of the book feel enriched by herstory." Samantha Griffiths
£14.24
Milo Books Gang War: The Inside Story of the Manchester
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£7.99
Milo Books Young Guns: Inside the Violent World of Britain's
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£7.59
Wordwell The Kennedy's of Mount Kennedy No Mere Irish
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£23.75
Milo Books Gangs Of London
Book SynopsisThe hidden history of London gangs from their earliest days up to 1960.
£8.54
John Donald Publishers Ltd James II
Book SynopsisIn this study of the reign of James II of Scotland, the king is viewed in the context of the Stewart monarchy, from his struggles to overcome his early adversity and the legacy of his father's style of kingship, to the serious political crises of his reign. The relations between the king and his subjects, and the complex balance of power in medieval Scotland are examined, particularly the significant crisis precipitated by James II's attack on the Black Douglases, the greatest of all late medieval magnate families. The changing nature of political involvement among the nobility and the role of Parliament in influencing events are explored, as are the efforts of the king to recover and promote royal authority in the final years of his reign. The role of James II in the wider European context is also studied with a view to shedding light on contemporary perceptions of the Stewart monarchy both at home and abroad. The study is based on contemporary chronicle and official sources, and consideration is also given to later, highly coloured views of James II, which have influenced popular views of the king to the present day.
£22.50
Orion Publishing Co David Hockney
Book SynopsisThe latest addition to the 'Lives of the Artists' series: highly readable short biographies of the world's greatest artistsDavid Hockney is the most famous living British artist. And he is arguably one of the more famous American artists as well. Emerging from the north of England in the 1960s, he made quite a splash in Swinging London as a portaitist, and went on to make a even bigger splash in Los Angeles when he moved there in the 1970s. His figurative paintings of the 1970s and 1980s captured the zeitgeist of West Coast living, while he also explored new avenues by constructing mosaics out of polaroids. By the beginning of the millennium, he returned to his Yorkshire roots, embarking on a new period of painting. This came to an end with the death by misadventure in his home of a young studio assistant in 2013. He went 'home' to LA and has in the intervening years begun a new period of contemplative portraiture.
£11.69
Haus Publishing Churchill
Book SynopsisBiography of the most famous Prime Minister of the 20th Century
£10.44
NMSE - Publishing Ltd Robert Louis Stevenson: The Travelling Mind
Book Synopsis'For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door And Leerie stops to light it, as he lights so many more...' The picture of a small boy peering from a window at dusk to watch the lamplighter in the street is one of the enduring images of 19th-century Edinburgh, and the child probably the most famous ever brought up there. Robert Louis Stevenson loved to conjure up a dashing, romantic lineage for himself, dreaming that he was descended from the colourful outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor. The reality was less flamboyant but no less remarkable and he would learn that the street lamps of Edinburgh owed their brilliance to the scientific work of his own great-grandfather. This welcome addition to the Robert Louis Stevenson canon gives a concise account of his life - his family background, childhood and adolescence in a Calvinist, hard-working household in Scotland, his travels in three continents and his final years in the South Seas.It examines his relationships with his parents and his nurse, with English and American friends, particularly the family into which he married, and with the Samoan islanders among whom he died at the age of 44. Stevenson's childhood experiences and Scottish identity fed his fertile imagination wherever he found himself. His legacy includes travel writing, essays and poetry, and novels such as "Treasure Island", "Kidnapped", "The Master of Ballantrae", "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", "St Ives" and "Weir of Hermiston", still read and enjoyed more than one hundred years after his death. "Robert Louis Stevenson: The Travelling Mind" is an insightful introduction to the life and work of one of the world's best-loved writers.Trade Review' ... it seems we still have to remind ourselves how wonderful a writer Stevenson was. Dunlop's new biography does the honours with appealing brevity and elegance.' The Scotsman A concise, well-written chronological narrative of Stevenson's life, which, though it makes no new contribution to our knowledge, tells the story well and offers convincing interpretations of key moments (quarrels with father and Henley, family relations on Samoa.' ... Professor Richard Drury, RLS website ' ... a stimulating text, particularly useful for young scholars and those interested in learning more about Stevenson. Dunlop's enthusiasm about her subject will certainly encourage readers to revisit Stevenson's writings and to investigate further into his life.' Journal of Stevenson StudiesTable of ContentsThe Engineer's ChildThe Cummy YearsThe Education of a WriterWork ExperienceIn Two WorldsNorth and SouthThe Pains of LoveR.L. Stevenson, AdvocateBeside the StoveThe Travelling MindFamiliesSkerryvoreBreaking CirclesIn the South SeasA Laird in SamoaThe Myth of Robert Louis StevensonPostscriptSelect BibliographyIndex
£6.78
Orion Publishing Co Prince
Book SynopsisHis name was Prince, and he was funky. He was also inspiring, infuriating, visionary and otherworldly. Channelling contradictions in search of his own unique truth, he eventually changed his name to an unpronounceable glyph that merged the male and female symbols in an outward expression of his inner dualities. Gifted with the ability to play almost every instrument on his records, and shifting between musical styles as much as he switched-up his looks, he refused to acknowledge boundaries. Instead, he brought opposing forces together in a life-long quest to reconcile a dirty mind with a love for God. In doing so, the mini Minneapolis genius became a world-conquering icon whose towering legacy continues to shape pop culture.
£11.69
NMSE - Publishing Ltd Matthew Forster Heddle
Book SynopsisProfessor Matthew Heddle (1828-97) was a larger-than-life character, a renowned academic and one of Scotland's most famous mineralogists. His rich legacy includes: Encyclopaedia Britannica 9th edition (section on Mineralogy) A fossil fish Heddleichthys A mineral named after him (Mattheddleite) A summary of the Mineralogy of Scotland (published posthumously) 55 scientific papers 5,700 specimens from his collection now housed in the National Museum of Scotland and the National Museums Collection Centre. 10 children This book, by Heddle's great-great-grandson, is not an account of his scientific work but is about Heddle the man; it provides a much fuller picture of him than anything that has appeared before.Trade Review' ... the book is a tribute to a mineralogist who will not soon be forgotten, written almost lovingly with great attention to detail by one with a family interest so deep that the resulting book can well serve as a model for others. It is highly recommended.' (Rocks and Minerals) ' ... The book gives a fascinating and detailed insight to Heddle the man, presenting his character and his contemporaries in a way which nicely augments his many technical publications and his fabulous collection of minerals, now in the National Museum [of Scotland]' (Journal of the Russell Society) ' ... it's pleasing to see this volume which reviews the lifetime contribution to science of this remarkable man. ... This superbly written volume will delight and enthrall you.' (Down to Earth) 'I can strongly recommend this book. It tells the story of a most interesting character who in the course of his epic collecting got to know the Scottish hills better than anyone else of his day.' (Scottish Mountaineering Club journal); 'I enjoyed reading it and found it a mass of information about Heddle, and the mineralogists, geologists, geological society, journals and museums of the day.' (Geological Curator);Table of ContentsChapter: 1 - Heddle's parentage 2 - Childhood and schooling 3 - The Edinburgh doctor 4 - Early mineralogical activities 5 - University of St Andrews 6 - Heddle's collecting and scientific papers 7 - Heddle the mountaineer 8 - The retired professor: a new beginning 9 - Heddle's last years and legacy
£14.24
Gibson Square Books Ltd Pursuit of Laughter: Essays, Reviews and Diary
Book SynopsisLike her five literary sisters, Diana Mitford has written widely not only on her own fascinating, controversial life, but has recorded her intimately-placed observations of friends who also happened to have been leading political and social figures of the day. The majority of these scintillating articles circulated privately to a small group of people are published for the very first time in this volume.Trade Review"'Roar with laughter.' Laura Thompson"
£11.39
Gwasg y Bwthyn Cyf Darn Bach o'r Haul
Book SynopsisA sensitive and thoughtful book which gives the opportunity to those who have experienced the loss of a baby to share their story. The hope is that it will help others who have also suffered the same unimaginable loss.
£11.13
John Donald Publishers Ltd James I
Book SynopsisConditioned by a childhood surrounded by the rivalries of the Stewart family, and by eighteen years of enforced exile in England, James I was to prove a king very different from his elderly and conservative forerunners. This major study draws on a wide range of sources, assessing James I’s impact on his kingdom. Michael Brown examines James’s creation of a new, prestigious monarchy based on a series of bloody victories over his rivals and symbolised by lavish spending at court. He concludes that, despite the apparent power and glamour, James I’s ‘golden age’ had shallow roots; after a life of drastically swinging fortunes, James I was to meet his end in a violent coup, a victim of his own methods. But whether as lawgiver, tyrant or martyr, James I has cast a long shadow over the history of Scotland.Trade Review'This is an important book, and not only because it is the first full-length biography of James I for nearly sixty years. It is a clearly written and innovative political study, drawn from a deep knowledge of the contemporary documents and chronicles. It gives a challenging, not to say unattractive, picture of a royal thug' - Books in Scotland
£22.50
Association for Scottish Literary Studies nothing but a set of eyes for stars: New Writing
Book SynopsisNew Writing Scotland is the principal forum for poetry and short fiction in Scotland today. Every year we publish the very best from emerging and established writers, and list many of the leading literary lights of Scotland among our contributors.
£9.45
Helion & Company The Fire of Venture Was in His Veins: Major Allan
Book Synopsis
£21.25
Association for Scottish Literary Studies Haste Ye Back
Book SynopsisFirst published in 1973, Haste Ye Back is a lively and intimate portrayal of Aberlour Orphanage in Banffshire, where Dorothy K. Haynes (19181987) spent four formative years in her childhood. Best known as a writer of gothic and supernatural fiction, here Haynes's vivid imagination brings to life the residents, caretakers and stories of the institution that irrevocably shaped her.In this new edition, the complete text of Haste Ye Back is reprinted alongside additional material by Haynes: three previously unpublished reminiscences on Aberlour Orphanage, and The Head', the winner of the 1947 Tom-Gallon Trust Award and a fine example of the author's haunting short fiction. Opening with a fresh and considered look at Haynes's life and work, this volume re-introduces a long-neglected writer of striking originality.
£14.20
Temple Lodge Publishing Kaspar Hauser: The Struggle for the Spirit
Book Synopsis'Here lies Kaspar Hauser, riddle of his time. His birth was unknown, his death mysterious.' (Inscription on Kaspar Hauser's tombstone.) In 1828 a teenage boy was discovered on the streets of Nuremberg. Barely able to walk, he clutched a letter in his hand. This youth, Kaspar Hauser, who couldn't properly speak or write, was soon to become an international phenomenon known as 'the Child of Europe'. The story of Kaspar Hauser presents many mysteries. According to his account, the young boy spent most of his life confined in a darkened space. Unable to stand up, and with no knowledge of his captors, he was fed a diet of bread and water. Eventually released from this macabre prison, he survived an assassination attempt only to be stabbed to death in 1833. Why was a child kept in such squalid circumstances? Who were his parents? Who was responsible for such a cruel attack on childhood? Who murdered him? In this seminal work Peter Tradowsky addresses these questions through the insights of anthroposophy. His analysis reveals some of the secrets of Kaspar Hauser's short life, and the occult significance of his incarnation, spiritual nature and individuality.
£16.14
Bookmarks Publications John Maclean: Red Clydesider
Book Synopsis
£6.00
Temple Lodge Publishing W. J. Stein: A Biography
Book SynopsisBased on personal knowledge and intimate interviews with his subject, as well as access to W.J. Stein's archive of letters and documents, Tautz's biography is a thoroughly-researched and lovingly-detailed study of an exceptional life. Walter Johannes Stein (1891-1957) was one of the original pioneers of anthroposophy. A student of the Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, Stein met his spiritual teacher whilst studying at Vienna University. After serving in the First World War, Stein was invited by Rudolf Steiner to teach History and Literature at the fledgling Waldorf school in Stuttgart, despite the fact that Stein's doctorate was in Philosophy and his training in Mathematics and Physics. Through his efforts to master the new disciplines, and with the aid of unconventional methods of research, Stein developed groundbreaking new insights into the story of Parzival and the mystery of the Holy Grail, which led to his seminal book The Ninth Century and the Holy Grail. Tautz describes Stein's close friendship with Eugen Kolisko, his struggles to help establish the threefold social order, his work as a Goetheanum lecturer, and his eventual estrangement from the Anthroposophical Society following Rudolf Steiner's death. After journeys of discovery across Europe, Stein landed in London in 1933 - a refugee from the Nazi aggression in Central Europe - where he met his mentor D.N. Dunlop. Dunlop employed him to help establish the first World Power Conference. Based in England for the last 24 years of his life, Stein became a prolific and popular lecturer and the editor of the important anthroposophical journal The Present Age. Long out-of-print, the new edition of this important work is a welcome addition to the growing number of biographies on the founders of anthroposophy.
£18.00
