Biography Books

Book SynopsisA beautiful, honest and ultimately uplifting memoir about family grief and ecological breakdown

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Book SynopsisI Am a Wolf Tonight by Thelma Ainsworth is an intimate and unflinching memoir of love, loss, and the raw reality of grief. When cancer takes someone you love, it leaves behind more than sorrow it reshapes the very core of who you are.

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Book SynopsisLosing a partner at a young age is a devastating experience. I know. I ve been there.' Janine shares the agonizing emotions, and the inner journey God took her on, after her biggest nightmare became reality literally overnight. She looks at the traps and pitfalls to which she was particularly prone, along with the overwhelming sense of loneliness she felt. And she shares the long and gruelling path towards recovering her sense of self and forging a new identity. 'God led me to set new priorities for myself,' she says, 'as I sought to move into the future with him, and enabled me to deal with the baggage of negative beliefs.' Finally, Janine places her grief in the context of a transition in order to understand her 'voyage of hope', ending with gratitude to God for all she has received from his hands.

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Book SynopsisUnder the Israeli occupation of the '70s and '80s, writers in Gaza had to go to considerable lengths to ever have a chance of seeing their work in print. Manuscripts were written out longhand, invariably under pseudonyms, and smuggled out of the Strip to Jerusalem, Cairo or Beirut, where they then had to be typed up. Consequently, fiction grew shorter, novels became novellas, and short stories flourished as the city's form of choice. Indeed, to Palestinians elsewhere, Gaza became known as 'the exporter of oranges and short stories'. This anthology brings together some of the pioneers of the Gazan short story from that era, as well as younger exponents of the form, with ten stories that offer glimpses of life in the Strip that go beyond the global media headlines; stories of anxiety, oppression, and violence, but also of resilience and hope, of what it means to be a Palestinian, and how that identity is continually being reforged; stories of ordinary characters struggling to live with dignity in what many have called 'the largest prison in the world'.Trade ReviewA welcome reminder of the universality of human relations' - The Guardian; 'Tales that reflect that depth and the variety and universality of the Gazan experience' - The Irish Times

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Book SynopsisIn mid to late March 1913, as the storm clouds of the Great War which was to claim his life gathered, Edward Thomas took a bicycle ride from Clapham to the Quantock Hills. The poet recorded his journey through his beloved South Country and his account was published as In Pursuit of Spring in 1914. Regarded as one of his most important prose works, it stands as an elegy for a world now lost. What is less well-known is that Thomas took with him a camera, and photographed much of what he saw, noting the locations on the back of the prints. These have been kept in archives for many years and will now be published for the very first time in the book. Thomas journeys through Guildford, Winchester, Salisbury, across the Plain, to the Bristol Channel, recording the poet's thoughts and feelings as winter ends.

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Book SynopsisOn the evening of 18th March 1925, a devastating fire ripped through the Marylebone premises of Madame Tussaud’s. By the time the fire was extinguished the following morning, little was left of the world-famous waxworks beyond a few grotesquely distorted models and a pile of scrap iron, which was the remnants of one of Napoléon’s carriages. Those who now visit the waxworks probably assume that what was lost in 1925 was no very different to the present displays. However, the catalogues pre-dating the fire tell a very different story, for there was so much more to Madame Tussaud & Sons’ Exhibition than wax representations of the famous and the notorious. The fact is that the French model maker, and the three generations of her family who managed the business after her, were avid collectors of works of art, memorabilia and trivia relating to their displays: Madame Tussaud’s was, in fact, more of a cabinet of historical curiosities than a wax works. This is evidenced by the lost collection, which ranged from the bloodstained shirt of King Henri IV, worn when he was assassinated in 1610, to the blade of the original guillotine, via a large collection of 18th and 19th century pictures and sculptures by many of the leading artists of their day, furniture, clothing, and a priceless collection of Napoléonica from the Emperor’s tooth to three of his own carriages. Using contemporary accounts, the pre-fire catalogues, insurance inventories, and with unique access to the Madame Tussauds archives, Christopher Joll’s and Penny Cobham’s new illustrated book describes in chronological order the extraordinary items that were lost in 1925, set in the context of Madame Tussaud’s own story and the historical events surrounding the items in the lost collection – and, along the way, uncovers many fakes and forgeries, as well as a wealth of irreplaceable and priceless historical treasures.Trade Review“Today Madame Tussaud’s is one of the most successful and well-known brands in the location-based entertainment industry with 23 attractions spanning four continents.… But in many ways this is something of a miracle – for Madame Tussaud’s is a great British survival story… Penny and Christopher have brought our lost collection back to life. In so doing, they have also filled in much of the missing historical background relating to the collection and have uncovered some uncomfortable truths about the authenticity of some of the items that were on display.” Sir Nick Varney, founder of Merlin Entertainments Group – owners of Madame Tussaud.Table of ContentsForeword by Nick Varney 9; Preface by James Tussaud 11; Acknowledgements 13; Authors’ Note 14; Introduction 19; Prologue 23; 1. The Great Illusionist 31; 2. From Pharaohs to the Renaissance 45; 3. Stuart Sovereigns and French Fakes 57; 4. King George I to the French Consulate 75; 5. Napoléon and the Imperial Family 95; 6. Napoléonica 115; 7. The Paintings by Jacques-Louis David 131; 8. Elba, Waterloo and Wellington 145; 9. St Helena 167; 10. The Bourbon Restoration & the Second French Empire 179; 11. King George IV to Queen Victoria 195; 12. A Cabinet of Curiosities 217; Epilogue 225; Index 228; About the Authors 239.

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Book SynopsisTom is an Asian puppy, destined to be dinner. Instead, an Irish couple rescue him from a street vendor and take him into their care. Together they embark on a whirlwind tour through Vietnam, Nepal and Cambodia, thwarting street dogs and customs officials along the way. But can the three of them truly become a family?

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

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Book SynopsisIn his signature larger-than-life style, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Total Recall is a revealing self-portrait of his illustrious, controversial and truly unique life. Born in a small Austrian town in 1947, a year of famine, he was the son of an austere police chief. He dreamed of moving to America to become a bodybuilding champion and a movie star. By the age of 21, he was living in Los Angeles and had been crowned Mr Universe. Within five years, he had learned English and become the greatest bodybuilder in the world. Within ten years, he had earned his college degree and was a millionaire from his business enterprises in real estate, landscaping and bodybuilding. He was also the winner of a Golden Globe Award for his debut as a dramatic actor in Stay Hungry. But that was only the beginning. The Terminator spawned numerous sequels and made him one of Hollywood's biggest stars, as he had a series of hit films including Predator, Total Recall, True Lies and Twins. He married Maria Shriver, becoming part of the Kennedy clan, while going on to become the Republican governor of California, where he led the state through a budget crisis, natural disasters and political turmoil. It is the greatest immigrant success story of our time. His story is unique, and uniquely entertaining, and he tells it brilliantly in these pages. Until now, he has never told the full story of his life, in his own voice. Here is Arnold, with total recall.Trade Review'As brick solid as its author' * Independent on Sunday *'His accounts of the heady times of Terminator and Total Recall are indispensable for fans' * Sunday Times *'Fascinating behind-the-scenes trivia' * Sunday Express *'A classic reworking of the American dream' * Daily Express *'A kind of Literary Uzi 9mm' * Sunday Telegraph *'Schwarzenegger's autobiography is a lesson in the importance of knowing what you want' * Irish Times *'Schwarzenegger is extremely engaging company…a highly entertaining story teller' * Empire *'The revelations in its pages certainly pack a punch' * Hello *

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Book SynopsisGenteel society ladies who compare notes on their husbands'' suicides. A hilariously foul-mouthed black drag queen. A voodoo priestess who works her roots in the graveyard at midnight. A morose inventor who owns a bottle of poison powerful enough to kill everyone in town. A prominent antiques dealer who hangs a Nazi flag from his window to disrupt the shooting of a movie. And a redneck gigolo whose conquests describe him as a ''walking streak of sex''.These are some of the real residents of Savannah, Georgia, a city whose eccentric mores are unerringly observed - and whose dirty linen is gleefully aired - in this utterly irresistible book. At once a true-crime murder story and a hugely entertaining and deliciously perverse travelogue, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is as bracing and intoxicating as half-a-dozen mint juleps.Trade ReviewElegant and wicked . . . Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime. * The New York Times Book Review *The best non-fiction novel since IN COLD BLOOD and a lot more entertaining * Edmund White *Enthralling * Robert Winder, Independent *Berendt - and the reader - are in travel-writer heaven . . . This is a book which leaves you amused, spooked and introduced to a new piece of America * Mark Lawson, Independent on Sunday *Perfect storytelling - wildly funny, occasionally alarming and utterly enthralling * Moira Shearer, Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisEdward Said experienced both British and American imperialism as the old Arab order crumbled in the late 1940s and early 1950s. This account of his early life reveals how it influenced his books Orientalism and Culture and Imperialism. Edward Said was born in Jerusalem and brought up in Cairo, spending every summer in the Lebanese mountain village of Dhour el Shweir, until he was 'banished' to America in 1951. This work is a mixture of emotional archaeology and memory, exploring an essentially irrecoverable past. As ill health sets him thinking about endings, Edward Said returns to his beginnings in this personal memoir of his ferociously demanding 'Victorian' father and his adored, inspiring, yet ambivalent mother.Trade ReviewEdward Said is among the truly important intellectuals of our century. His examined life, from the tragic and triumphant perspective of a mortal illness, is superbly worth living. I know I shall not read an autobiography to match this one for many years -- Nadine GordimerSaid is capable of writing like a gifted novelist, like a Palestinian Proust * Independent on Sunday *Out of Place recreates the sights and sounds, the smells and shouts, of a lost world, as Gunter Grass did for Danzig or Joyce for turn-of-the-century Dublin ... One of the greatest cities of our age has produced a work of art, one of the noblest autobiographies of our time * Irish Times *A fine elegy and a scrupulous reckoning with the past -- Marina Warner, Books of the Year * Daily Telegraph *This delicate and candid memoir by a very private man moved me enormously. Written in "counterpoint" to his illness (leukaemia) at times when he was recovering from chemotherapy, its importance may be measured by the ferocity of the public attempt which preceded and accompanied publication to discredit him as an authentic Palestinian voice -- Ahdaf SoueifOut of Place is an intensely moving act of reclamation and understanding, a portrait of a transcultural and often painful upbringing written with wonderful vividness and unsparing honesty. To read it is to come to know [Said's] family and his younger self as closely as we know characters in literature, to be shown, intimately and unforgettably, what it has meant in the last half-century to be a Palestinian -- Salman Rushdie

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Book SynopsisAgatha Christie's personal memoirs about her travels to Syria and Iraq in the 1930s with her archaeologist husband Max Mallowan, where she worked on the digs and wrote some of her most evocative novels.Think you know Agatha Christie? Think again!To the world she was Agatha Christie, legendary author of bestselling whodunits. But in the 1930s she wore a different hat, travelling with her husband, renowned archaeologist Max Mallowan, as he investigated the buried ruins and ancient wonders of Syria and Iraq. When friends asked what this strange other life' was like, she decided to answer their questions by writing down her adventures in this eye-opening book.Described by the author as a meandering chronicle of life on an archaeological dig', Come, Tell Me How You Live is Agatha Christie''s very personal memoir of her time spent in this breathtaking corner of the globe, living among the working men in tents in the desert where recorded human history began. Acclaimed as a pure pleasure to rTrade Review‘Perfectly delightful… colourful, lively and occasionally touching and thought-provoking’Charles Osborne, Books & Bookmen ‘Good and enjoyable… she has a delightfully light touch’Marghanita Laski, Country Life ‘Agatha Christie has provided entertainment, suspense, and temporary relief from the anxieties and traumas of life both in peace and war for millions throughout the world.’P. D. James ‘Christie’s witty account of her yearly expeditions in Syria in the 1930s … is at once a captivating depiction of quotidian life at archaeological digs and a romantic portrait of adventurers and scholars in the interwar Middle East. Her relaxed narrative of the organization and effort in archaeological investigation and of the landscape and people in the region is engrossing—but what makes this book bewitching is the nostalgic glamour that infuses it.” The Atlantic (US)

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Book SynopsisSuzi Ruffell is an award-winning stand up comedian, writer, radio presenter and podcast host. She appears regularly on TV favourites such as Live at the Apollo, The Jonathan Ross Show and Mock the Week, and sells out headline shows at leading venues around the country. Her video clips - on everything ranging from smear tests to having a geezer dad - have been viewed by tens of millions on TikTok, Youtube and Instagram.Suzi's hit podcasts include Like Minded Friends with Tom Allen, Big Kick Energy with Maisie Adam, and nine seasons of her solo offering, Out, on which she has interviewed LGBTQ+ luminaries including Dame Kelly Holmes, Self Esteem, Scott Mills, Hannah Gadsby, the Reverend Richard Coles, Mae Martin and Skin.

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Book SynopsisTHE DEFINITIVE BIOGRAPHY OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL DRIVER IN F1 HISTORYAfter equalling Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles, and overtaking him as having the most race wins, pole positions and podium finishes, Sir Lewis Hamilton became the most successful racing driver of all time - and the most dominant and successful Briton ever to drive in Formula 1.Hamilton's debut season in 2007 won him fans around the world, and his place in Formula 1 history was sealed the following year when he became the youngest ever world champion. In the years since, he has created headlines on and off the track with his rivalries with Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen, a shock move from Mercedes to Ferrari, along with relationships that have landed him on the front pages of the tabloids. However, despite the media glare, he has continued to prove his incredible talent and tenacity and remains utterly dominant in his sport.In this insightful biography, bestselling sports author Frank Worrall traces the slipstream of Hamilton's incredible career as the fastest driver on the planet. This is the story of the young man who has gone from being the rookie Sir Jackie Stewart said 'has rewritten the rule book' to a world champion many times over - and become Britain's greatest ever sportsman in the process.

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Book SynopsisAlaa Abd el-Fattah is arguably the most high-profile political prisoner in Egypt, if not the Arab world, rising to international prominence during the revolution of 2011. A fiercely independent thinker who fuses politics and technology in powerful prose, an activist whose ideas represent a global generation which has only known struggle against a failing system, a public intellectual with the rare courage to offer personal, painful honesty, Alaa’s written voice came to symbolize much of what was fresh, inspiring and revolutionary about the uprisings that have defined the last decade. Collected here for the first time in English are a selection of his essays, social media posts and interviews from 2011 until the present. He has spent the majority of those years in prison, where many of these pieces were written. Together, they present not only a unique account from the frontline of a decade of global upheaval, but a catalogue of ideas about other futures those upheavals could yet reveal. From theories on technology and history to profound reflections on the meaning of prison, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated is a book about the importance of ideas, whatever their cost. Trade Review‘Don’t read this book to be comforted. Read it to be challenged, terrified, enlightened, moved, and amazed.’ — Kamila Shamsie, author of Home Fire‘Alaa is the bravest, most critical, most engaged citizen of us all. At a time when Egypt has been turned into a large prison, Alaa has managed to cling to his humanity and be the freest Egyptian.’ — Khaled Fahmy, author of All The Pasha’s Men ‘Alaa is in prison not because he committed a crime, not because he said too much, but because his very existence poses a threat to the state. Those who are bold, those who do not relent, will always threaten the terrified and ultimately weak state which must, to survive, squash its opponents like flies. But Alaa will not allow himself to be crushed like that, I know.’ — Jillian C. York, director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation‘Alaa is a philosopher of everyday life and life-long struggle; he doesn’t merely find meaning in that which we go through, especially in dark political moments, but creates meaning and gives it form in writing. And he does so from a highly entrenched and implicated place in the present. His thoughts know no frontiers; they pierce through local contexts to inspire new modes of thinking about the chaotic substance of politics.’ — Lina Attalah, editor in chief of Mada Masr‘The text you are holding is living history.’ — Naomi Klein, author of This Changes Everything‘“Fix your own democracy,” Abd el-Fattah encourages us, from his cell; Egypt’s rulers attempt to isolate, fragment and conceal resistance because it needs a global ecosystem to flourish. What can any one person do with a legacy of pain, struggle and courage? There are no easy solutions here, but You Have Not Yet Been Defeated is a heartbreaking, hopeful answer.’ — Guardian

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Book Synopsis“The hallucinatory prose-poems of Arthur Rimbaud rank among the glories of 19th-century French literature.” — New York TimesOne of the world''s most influential poets, Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891) is remembered as much for his volatile personality and tumultuous life as he is for his writings, almost all of which he produced before the age of twenty. Paul Schmidt''s acclaimed collection brings together his complete poetry, prose, and letters, including The Drunken Boat, The Orphans'' New Year, After the Flood, and A Season in Hell. Complete Works is divided into eight seasons—Childhood, the Open Road, War, the Tormented Heart, the Visionary, the Damned Soul, a Few Belated Cowardices, and the Man with the Wind at His Heels—that reflect the facets of Rimbaud''s life. Insightful commentary by Schmidt reveals the courage, vision, and imagination of Rimbaud''s poetry and sheds light on one of the most enigmatic figures in letters.Trade Review“Rimbaud was pure dynamite . . . he restored literature to life.” — Henry Miller “The best edition in English” — Montreal Gazette “Visionary . . . Wicked . . . A Genius.” — The New Yorker “The hallucinatory prose-poems of Arthur Rimbaud rank among the glories of 19th-century French literature.” — New York Times “Paul Schmidt has wavered--no, has hovered--between solicitude and critique, and the result of such suspension is his beautiful, daring, careful work . . . serves us the Rimbaud that matters in its fine mesh.” — Richard Howard, Pulitzer Prize-winner poet and translator; professor, Columbia University “This collection is interesting for the light it casts on the background to the writing of ‘A Season in Hell’ and the poems later referred to (by Paul Verlaine) as ‘The Illuminations’. As well as the poems themselves, Schmidt includes transcriptions of letters (to Verlaine and others) and biographical details from the life of this most nihilistic genius.” — The Guardian “A mystic in the wild state.” — Paul Claudel

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.''Fifteen men on the dead man''s chest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!''Upon finding a map in his parents'' inn, young Jim Hawkins joins a crew on route to the Caribbean to find buried treasure. One of his crew, the charming, yet devious Long John Silver is determined to snag the booty for himself and Jim''s swashbuckling voyage becomes a mutinous and murderous adventure where his own bravery is put to the test and he discovers much about friendship, loyalty and betrayal.

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Book Synopsis‘I’m just a cosmic yob, I suppose.’‘I change every day. I’m not outrageous. I’m David Bowie.’‘I’m an instant star. Just add water and stir.’Genre-hopping, gender-bending: Bowie has never been afraid to pushthe boundaries. Whether masquerading as an alien, a spaceman or a goblin king, this rock ‘n’ roll hero was a true visionary. The death of the Man Who Fell to Earth shook fans around the world, but his influence lives on.Pocket Bowie Wisdom is full of insights into music, identity, fame, love and creativity from one of the most pioneering musicians of all time. This collection of quotes makes a perfect gift for the Bowie fan in your life.

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Book SynopsisAn international bestseller which has sold over a million copies in the UK, Dreams From My Father is a refreshing, revealing portrait of a young man asking big questions about identity and belonging. The son of a Black African father and a white American mother, Barack Obama recounts an emotional odyssey, retracing the migration of his mother's family from Kansas to Hawai'i, then to his childhood home in Indonesia. Finally he travels to Kenya, where he confronts the bitter truth of his father's life and at last reconciles his divided inheritance. Written nearly fifteen years before becoming president, Dreams from My Father is an unforgettable read. It illuminates not only Obama's journey, but also our universal desire to understand our history and what makes us who we are.Trade ReviewExtraordinary . . . It's unique. It's his. There are no other ones like that -- TONI MORRISONAn American classic, written with grace and precision * * Observer * *Thoughtful, moving and brilliantly written * * The Times * *A man with a phenomenal life story * * Spectator * *A bestseller because of its freshness and honesty -- CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS * * Sunday Times * *A well-written account of Obama's struggle to establish his own views on identity and race, and all the more entertaining for its honesty * * Financial Times * *The only politician's life I have read that made me cry . . . elegant and surprising prose as well as a solid personal statement -- IAN KELLY * * The Times * *With its honesty and cool language, and by virtue of having a story worth telling, the book impresses far more than the typical political memoir -- COLIN WATERS * * Sunday Herald * *Obama has written a memoir . . . that evokes the anguish of miscegenation yet culminates in a cry of faith in human community . . . Obama is a born narrator, with a mastery of colour, scene and personality, deftly stirring them into the melting pot of a shared American identity. Rarely has that identity found so vivid a portraitist -- SIMON JENKINS * * Sunday Times * *[Obama] writes with candour about racism, bigotry and hardship, but always there is a sense of wisdom - you feel you are in the presence of a very mature man . . . You will not fail to be moved by Obama's warmth and humility * * Good Book Guide * *

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Book SynopsisUncovering the fascinating and moving story of a famously unconventional family.

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.The flower bloomed and faded. The sun rose and sank. The lover loved and went. And what the poets said in rhyme, the young translated into practice.'Written for her lover Vita Sackville-West, Orlando' is Woolf's playfully subversive take on a biography, here tracing the fantastical life of Orlando. As the novel spans centuries and continents, gender and identity, we follow Orlando's adventures in love from being a lord in the Elizabethan court to a lady in 1920s London.First published in 1928, this tale of unrivalled imagination and wit quickly became the most famous work of women's fiction. Sexuality, destiny, independence and desire all come to the fore in this highly influential novel that heralded a new era in women's writing.Trade Review‘Undoubtedly one of the most singular novels of our era’Jorge Luis Borges

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Book SynopsisLouise Thompson was a star of Made in Chelsea for eight years. She is the owner of two fitness brands - Turtle Method and Pocket. Louise speaks openly online about her experiences of PTSD and working through mental health problems, in order to help others who have been through similar experiences. She lives in London with her fiancé Ryan Libbey and their son Leo.

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Book SynopsisKay Redfield Jamison is Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as well as Honorary Professor of English at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. She is the author of An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness, Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, Manic-Depressive Illness (with F. Goodwin) and Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide. She is the recipient of numerous national and international scientific awards, was distinguished lecturer at Harvard University in 2002 and the Litchfield lecturer at the University of Oxford in 2003. She is a John P. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellow.

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Book SynopsisA memoir by the iconic singer-songwriter chronicling her story from her beginnings in Brooklyn through her remarkable success as one of the world's most acclaimed musical talents, to her present day as a leading performer and activist. From her marriage to Gerry Goffin, with whom she wrote dozens of songs that hit the charts, to her own achievements, notably with 'Tapestry', which remained on the charts for more than six years, to her experiences as a mother, this memoir chronicles one of music's most successful and fascinating stars. The book includes dozens of photos from King's childhood, her own family, and behind-the-scenes images from her performances over the years.Trade Review'If you've ever wanted to walk alongside a world class musician ... this is your starting point ... well worth the read. Just be wary not to be found singing too loudly, too badly and in public -- Cerys Matthews The Times I read her memoir exclaiming, 'Oh, did she write that?' again and again Daily Mail King's story is a valuable addition to the story of American rock and pop Sunday Express What a memoir, intelligent, honest, self-effacing, well-written Independent

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Book SynopsisCharlotte Brontë's letters are our most direct source of information about the Brontës and the life of the novelist. Vivid and passionate, they describe her inmost feelings as well as the world around her in Haworth, Belgium, and London. They offer insights into her novels and the development of her literary style.Trade ReviewTo read these wonderful letters is to feel an almost spooky contact with their extraordinary author. * Val Hennesy, Dail Mail *A further dose of Bronte brilliance from Charlotte, whose lively letters are packed with astute observation. * Val Hennesy, Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisThis is James McBride's tribute to his remarkable, eccentric, determined mother, and an eloquent exploration of what family and the colour of your skin really meansTrade ReviewA triumph * New York Times Book Review *A startling, tender-hearted tribute to a woman for whom the expression tough love might have been invented * The Times *As lively as a novel, a well-written, thoughtful contribution to the literature on race * Washington Post *Inspiring * Glamour *Vibrant * Boston Globe *What is stunning here is the grace and compassion with which a young writer captures how shadows, once thrown, are cast across many generations, while celebrating at the same time a real melting-pot of cultures * Financial Times *A wonderfully evocative, moving book ... beautifully flowing prose, interlaced with compassion and humour * Literary Review *

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Book Synopsis''A major achievement.'' CLAUDIA RANKINE''Endlessly absorbing.'' SINÉAD GLEESON ''A probing tour of capitalism and class.'' MAGGIE NELSON''Exhilarating.'' JENNY OFFILLA personal reckoning with the intricacies of money, class and capitalism from the New York Times bestselling author. Having just purchased her first home, Eula Biss embarks on a roguish and risky self-audit of the value system she has bought into. The result is Having and Being Had: a radical interrogation of work, leisure and capitalism. Playfully ranging from IKEA to Beyoncé to Pokémon, across bars and laundromats and universities, she asks, of both herself and her class, In what have we invested? ''As a writer Eula Biss has two great gifts. The first is her ability to reveal to the reader what has, all along, been hidden in plain sight . . . Her other talent is for laying bare our submerged fears . . .

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay Named a Best Book of 2018 by TIME, Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Wired, Esquire, Buzzfeed, Paste, Bitch, Bustle, The Chicago Review of Books and iBooks As a novelist, Alexander Chee has been described as ‘masterful’ by Roxane Gay, ‘incendiary’ by the New York Times, and ‘brilliant’ by the Washington Post. With How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, his first collection of nonfiction, he secures his place as one of the finest essayists of his generation. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is the author’s exploration of the entangling of life, literature and politics, and how the lessons learned from a life spent reading and writing fiction have changed him. In these interconnected essays he constructs a self, growing from student to teacher, reader to writer, and reckoning with his identities as a son, a gay man, a Korean American, an artist, an activist, a lover and a friend. He examines some of the most formative experiences of his life and America’s history, including his father’s death, the AIDS crisis, 9/11, the jobs that supported his writing – Tarot-reading, bookselling, cater-waiting for William F. Buckley – the writing of his first novel, Edinburgh, and the election of Donald Trump. By turns commanding, heartbreaking and wry, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel asks questions about how we create ourselves in life and in art, and how to fight when our dearest truths are under attack.Trade ReviewAlexander Chee sifted through tales from his past to present golden insights into the way art can shape a life ... a singular and sincere writer of both fiction and nonfiction * TIME 10 Best Nonfiction Books of 2018 *Alexander Chee is one of the best living writers of today. If he’s not already a household name, he needs to be ... Powerful, powerful essays with powerful, powerful words * Buzzfeed's Isaac Fitzgerald, on NBC’s Today *Chee’s insights about writing, love and activism are hard-won, honest and incredibly wise * Curtis Sittenfeld, Guardian Summer Reads *Urgent and insightful * Viet Thanh Nguyen, Guardian Summer Reads *Pulses with urgency ... Chee has written a moving and personal tribute to impermanence, a wise and transgressive meditation on a life lived both because of and in spite of America, a place where, he writes, “you are allowed to speak the truth as long as nothing changes” * New York Times Book Review *These essays feel like a life’s wisdom – its hurts, joys and redemptions – salvaged from a great fire ... This book makes me feel possible * Ocean Vuong *Two-thirds of the way through Alexander Chee's How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, I abandoned my sharpened reviewer’s pencil in favour of luxuriating in the words. Chee’s writing has a mesmerizing quality; his sentences are rife with profound truths ... Chee is a very special artist; his writing is lyrical and accessible, whimsical and sad, often all at the same time * NPR *Heartfelt, writerly essays ... powerful -- Alex Preston * Spectator *As profound as they are beautiful, Chee's essays impart wisdom from a life fully lived, and speak to what it means to be a writer and reader in contemporary times * Buzzfeed *It’s so good that I could fill my word count just with quotations ... Every essay, no matter the subject, exhibits warmth, rigour, tact ... The mask conceals and it reveals; writing transfigures and it uncovers. That’s the gift that writing has given Chee, and it’s the gift that his wonderful new collection gives its readers * Boston Globe *A knowing and luminous self-portrait * O, the Oprah Magazine *There is indeed an art to the personal essay, and he is a master artist * Esquire *Unique and powerful, insistently itself * R.O. Kwon, Electric Literature *[A] trailblazing collection * Washington Post *Profound and resonant ... A nimble study in radical self-invention ... The revelations that follow crackle with the same glowing, essential truths * Wired *Rarely does a book of essays come along so affecting, so brave and bluntly honest, and so raw and poetic. I quit underlining my favourite aphoristic lines by the time I reached that third essay: it was useless to try to pick individual diamonds from a whole pile of them * Interview Magazine *I'm astonished by the wisdom of these essays, and how beautiful they are. A riveting account of activism and artistry, as well as a profound exploration of the intersections of identities and experiences that build up this novelist's composite eye. Alexander Chee is brilliant and brave in equal measure, and has written an essential book about how to survive as an artist in America today * Garth Greenwell, author of What Belongs to You *How to Write an Autobiographical Novel is a rare hybrid of a book: an act of poetry, a gift of entertainment, and a primer for life. Alexander Chee is one of our most important writers and we should listen to every damn thing he has to say * Jami Attenberg, author of All Grown Up *Alexander Chee asks one of the great coming of age questions here: Isn’t beauty strong? His welter of answers yields a really moving (and sometimes devastating) writing memoir of being young, of being someone and not entirely knowing it yet – all the while being so poetically receptive to the fragrant and devastating strains of beauty and beauty’s harsh wisdom that wind up moving and shaping a life. It's a strangely romantic and practical book. It holds a skull lightly * Eileen Myles, author of Chelsea Girls *An absolute gift of a book for writers everywhere. Every single essay is a pearl * Chicago Review of Books *

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Book SynopsisWith an introduction by Virginia Nicholson Saturday 2 February 1918. The first walk we've had for ever so long. Damp, mild vaporous day. Funeral bells tolling as we went out, & marriage as we came in. The streets lined with people waiting their meat. Aeroplanes droning invisible. Our usual evening, alone happily, knee deep in papers. This diary begins in January 1915. Virginia Woolf was about to publish her first novel, The Voyage Out. By the end of 1919 she had published many essays and reviews, as well as a second novel, Night and Day. Her diary was the counterpoint to that public writing: here she could record details of daily life, think about friends and reading, writing and her state of mind. This diary offers a unique insight into the life and mind of one of Britain's most influential writers, and the circle she was part of which came to be known as Bloomsbury. This new Granta edition includes Woolf's 'Asheham Diary' for the first time.

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 'I loved this book... An exhilarating romp through Orwell's life and times' Margaret Atwood 'Outside my work the thing I care most about is gardening' George Orwell In 1936 Orwell planted roses at his cottage in Hertfordshire. Over eighty years later Rebecca Solnit encounters them, and is inspired to explore a different side to the great writer and activist to the one we know so well. Following his journey from the coal mines of England to taking up arms in the Spanish Civil War, and his explosive critiques of Stalin and authoritarianism, here Solnit finds a more hopeful Orwell. And in her dialogue with the author and his fascination with nature, she makes unexpected connections with the colonial legacy of the flower garden, discovers photographer Tina Modotti's extraordinary roses, and reveals Stalin's strange obsession with growing lemons in impossibly cold conditions. A fresh reading of a towering figure of the twentieth century, Orwell's Roses finds solace and solutions for the political and environmental challenges we face today, and is a remarkable reflection on pleasure, beauty, and joy as acts of resistance. 'Luminous...It is efflorescent, a study that seeds and blooms, propagates thoughts, and tends to historical associations' New Statesman 'A genuinely extraordinary mind, whose curiosity, intelligence and willingness to learn seem unbounded' Irish TimesTrade ReviewI loved this book, and so will many... an exhilarating romp through Orwell's life and times and also through the life and times of roses -- Margaret AtwoodThis book is brilliant because it is true, and because it rescues Orwell from a kind of dourness and seriousness, and gives him back his humanity and yes, his Englishness. -- James Rebanks, author of English Pastoral and The Shepherd's LifeI so loved this book. It unfolds like the petals of a rose - the political rose, the personal rose - and enacts its subject in the ethics of its beauty and the grace of its resistance -- Jay Griffiths, author of Why RebelWe all know what Orwell hated but Solnit pays attention to what he loved. Orwell's Roses is an ingeniously fresh and unpredictable take on his life and times, and the values he held dear -- Dorian LynskeyThere is nothing more political than a garden, and Rebecca Solnit brings Orwell's life and writing vividly alive through his quiet determination to love the surface of the earth. Orwell's Roses shows how intimately aesthetics is intertwined with ethics, and in doing so, Solnit has given us a truly beautiful book -- Alex Christofi, author of Dostoevsky in LoveThis an enchanting book, as powerful in its arguments as it is enjoyable to read. From a surprising close-up of George Orwell planting three Woolworth roses, Solnit pans to a bracing new vista of the man and his fierce political aesthetic, taking in the injustices of the rose industry and lying Soviet science as she goes. Brilliant -- Lisa AppignanesiThis elegant rambling rose of a book muses on Orwell with all Rebecca Solnit's luminous intelligence and trademark optimism. If "Orwellian" has become synonymous with darkness and oppression, she opens up his life affirming love of gardening, of wild nature and life's physical pleasure, his antidote to the grim puritanism of ideologues -- Polly ToynbeeA tribute by one fine essayist of the political left to another of an earlier generation... the great pleasure of reading [Solnit] is spending time with her mind, its digressions and juxtapositions, its unexpected connections. Only a few contemporary writers have the ability to start almost anywhere and lead the reader on paths that, while apparently meandering, compel unfailingly and feel, by the end, cosmically connected . .. The book provides a captivating account of Orwell as gardener, lover, parent, and endlessly curious thinker -- Claire Messud * Harper's Magazine *The green-fingered and the politically committed alike will want to curl up with this book as the gardening year draws to a close and we reflect on a time during which nature has been more of a solace than usual. * Observer *Elegantly light-footed and freewheeling... a marvellously bracing ramble that passes through a variety of intellectual terrain and physical landscapes * Daily Telegraph *Expansive and thought-provoking... In the hands of a skilled novelist or essayist like Solnit, biography becomes something else entirely * Independent *Idiosyncratic, immensely original work * i paper *Luminous ... part biography, part memoir, a historical and cultural analysis and a work of literary criticism, Solnit's book is a love letter in prose to those roses, to Orwell and to the enduring relevance of his ethical sensibility. It is efflorescent, a study that seeds and blooms, propagates thoughts, and tends to historical associations * New Statesman *The book itself, like petals of a rose unfurling, conveys hope for a better future... a genuinely exceptional mind, whose curiosity, intelligence and willingness to learn seem unbounded * Irish Times *An absorbing read for those with interests in politics and gardening alike * Sunday Telegraph *An entertaining ramble through the author's life and Solnit's consciousness... this rhizomatic exercise yields great blooms * Big Issue *Solnit makes us rethink "Orwellian" to mean not just what he was against but what he was for - nature. Her brilliant essays give colour back to an author we often think of as grey * Daily Telegraph *This hybrid volume blossoms with... insights, non sequiturs and epiphanies -- Margaret Drabble * TLS *A pleasing meditation on the small pleasures and intricate beauties of nature, and a book to see you through to spring -- Books of the year * The Times and Sunday Times *Wonderful and moving... Fine and thoughtful * Spectator *

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Book SynopsisA Book of the Year in The Times, Guardian, Independent, New Statesman, Bookseller and at Waterstones 'He understands only the women he invents the others not at all'

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Book Synopsis''Barthes'' purpose is to tear away masks and demystify the signs, signals and symbols of the language of mass culture'' The TimesIn this magnificent and often surprising collection of essays Barthes explores the myths of mass culture. Taking subjects as diverse as wrestling, films, plastic and cars, Barthes elegantly deciphers the symbols and signs embedded deep in familiar aspects of modern life, unmasking the hidden ideologies and meanings which implicitly affect our thought and behaviour. This early classic of semiotics from one of France''s greatest thinkers may irrevocably change the way you view the world around you.Trade ReviewBarthes is an intellectual star, one of the very small group of maîtres à penser, such as Sartre, Levi-Strauss and Foucault... I readily proclaim that Mythologies is a kind of masterpiece, a fascinating book, the meaning of which sticks in the mind and can lend itself to all sorts of applications * Observer *Essays on the codings that command our daily life (from hair-styles in the film of Julius Caesar through glossy photos of gourmet cooking, to the cult of foam in detergents)...Mythologies has penetrating gusto -- Christopher Ricks * Sunday Times *Semiology is the study of the signs and signals, the symbols, gestures and messages through which western society sustains, sells, identifies and yet obscures itself by painting or powdering over its raddled, whore-like visage... Barthes' purpose is to tear away masks and demystify the signs, signals and symbols of the language of mass culture -- Dennis Potter * The Times *All about the most ordinary things. He knew how to connect Racine and beach holidays, Freud and the anticipation of a lover's phone call. Like so many modern artists, he saw the deeper themes running through supposedly banal things. -- Alain de Botton * Daily Express *

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Book Synopsis*The classic trilogy set in sun-soaked Corfu that inspired ITV''s acclaimed TV series The Durrells*Three classic tales of childhood on an island paradise - My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods by Gerald Durrell - are available in a single edition for the first time in The Corfu Trilogy.Just before the Second World War the Durrell family decamped to the glorious, sun-soaked island of Corfu where the youngest of the four children, ten-year-old Gerald, discovered his passion for animals: toads and tortoises, bats and butterflies, scorpions and octopuses. Through glorious silver-green olive groves and across brilliant-white beaches Gerry pursued his obsession . . . causing hilarity and mayhem in his ever-tolerant family.''A delightful book full of simple, well-known things: cicadas in the olive groves, lamp fishing at night, the complexities of fish and animals - but, above all, childhood moulded by these things'' New York Times

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Book Synopsis''Essential reading ... will not be bettered'' Ferdinand Mount, Wall Street Journal''Gandhi''s finest biographer'' David Kynaston, GuardianThe magnificent new biography of Gandhi by India''s leading historianA New York Times Notable Book of 2018Gandhi lived one of the great 20th-century lives. He inspired and enraged, challenged and galvanized many millions of men and women around the world. He lived almost entirely in the shadow of the British Raj, which for much of his life seemed a permanent fact, but which he did more than anyone else to destroy, using revolutionary tactics. In a world defined by violence on a scale never imagined before and by ferocious Fascist and Communist dictatorship, he was armed with nothing more than his arguments and example.This magnificent book tells the story of Gandhi''s life, from his departure from South Africa to his assassination in 1948. It is a book with a Tolstoyan sweep, both allowing us to see Gandhi as he was understood by his contemporaries and the vast, varied Indian societies and landscapes which he travelled through and changed beyond measure. Drawing on many new sources and animated by its author''s wonderful sense of drama and politics, Gandhi is a major reappraisal of the crucial years in this titanic figure''s story.Trade ReviewGandhi: The Years That Changed the World will not be bettered, and it is essential reading even for those who do not think of themselves as India buffs, because Gandhi is a maker of our whole modern world -- Ferdinand Mount * Wall Street Journal *Gandhi's finest biographer. -- David Kynaston * Guardian *Magisterial . . . balanced and brilliantly readable . . . This biography reads like the final word on its subject. . . . In fact, this masterly assessment should serve for several generations, and for non-Indians as well -- Bernard Porter * Literary Review *Ramachandra Guha is as dogged a researcher as Gandhi was an agitator. . . . [This book] is the most exhaustive account yet of Gandhi's temporal and spiritual crusades. A vivid and absorbing read. . . . Gandhi's character and mission demands rigorous exploration and Guha weaves together the narrative as deftly as Gandhi's homespun cloth. . . . A remarkable, pioneering leader who changed the world and still has much to teach us ... a monumental biography -- Tarquin Hall * Sunday Times *Unearths fascinating nuggets about India's complex hero ... Guha has scoured archives to search out fascinating nuggets and he marshals them with skill. -- Mihir Bose * Irish Times *A thoroughly researched and well-written account and a faithful chronicle * New Statesman *Deeply affecting * Financial Times *Ramachandra Guha's magisterial biography illuminates the public and private man * Economist *A portrait of a complex man whose remarkable tenacity remained constant, even when his beliefs changed. It is also extraordinarily intimate ... approaches Gandhi on his own terms while trying not to gloss over his flaws ... a fair, thorough and nuanced portrait of the man. Gandhi spoke for himself more than most people in history, but even the most controlling people cannot control how history sees them. Guha lets Gandhi appear on his own terms, and allows him to reveal himself in all his contradictions. -- Alex von Tunzelmann * The New York Times *Through Gandhi's life, a reminder that we have forgotten the value of religious pluralism and the virtues of non-violence he wants to narrate Gandhi's life for today's generation. It is a courageous and worthwhile endeavour, even if Guha admits in the epilogue that we have forgotten the lessons Gandhi taught us: the value of religious pluralism, and the virtues of non-violence and civil disobedience. Guha is the quintessential story teller. He displaces Gandhi from the pedestal generations have placed him on. He shows us a man who was known for taking political time by the forelock, for shaping history, and for his readiness to admit his own mistakes. -- Neera Chandhoke * The Hindu *

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Book Synopsis''Candid, insightful, moving . . . a memoir, a chronicle of and commentary on America''s abortive civil-rights movement'' -The New York TimesIn this deeply personal book, Baldwin reflects on the experiences that shaped him as a writer and activist: from his childhood in Harlem to the deaths Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. Exploring the visceral reality of life in the American South as well as Baldwin's impressions of London, Paris and Hamburg, No Name in the Street grapples with the failed promises of global liberation movements in fearless, candid prose. Timeless, tender and profound, Baldwin's searing narrative contains the multiplicities of what it means to be Black in America and, indeed, around the world.

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Book SynopsisJohn Betjeman (1906-1984) was not only one of the best-loved Englishmen of the twentieth century, he was also the people's favourite poet and champion of many causes linked to the preservation of Britain's heritage. This book presents his love of railways and rail travel. It describes a journey that he made or that he planned to make.

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Book SynopsisHugely entertaining and affectionate, Jonathan Hollins's tales are full of wonderful creatures and steeped in the unique local history, cultures and peoples of the South Atlantic islands, far removed from the hustle of continental life.

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Book SynopsisA collection of 100 stories of kindness, proving just how awesome people can be One person being awesome is all it takes to change the world. People Are Awesome brings you an array of inspiring stories of good deeds, from everyday acts of gentle compassion to heroic deeds of altruism that will restore your faith in humanity. In a world that can all too often feel entrenched in doom and gloom, these heart-warming stories will teach, inspire, restore hope, and, most importantly, serve as a simple reminder to be awesome to each other. In a time where people often experience high stress and anxiety levels, readers are craving good-news stories in order to lift their spirits. This is especially true during a time when news stories tend to focus on the bad over the good. With internet trolls, cancel culture and general nastiness on social media, there has been a call for the need to be kin

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