Search results for ""author helen batten""
Allison & Busby The Improbable Adventures of Miss Emily Soldene: Actress, Writer, and Rebel Victorian
From humble beginnings as the daughter of a Clerkenwell milliner, Emily Soldene rose to become a leading lady of the London stage and a formidable impresario with her own opera company. The darling of London's theatreland, she later reinvented herself as a journalist and writer who scandalised the capital with her backstage revelations. Weaving through the spurious glamour of Victorian music halls and theatres, taking encounters with the Pre-Raphaelites and legal disputes involving Charles Dickens in her stride, Emily became the toast of New York and ventured far off the beaten track to tour in Australia and New Zealand. In The Improbable Adventures of Miss Emily Soldene, a life filled with performance, travel and incident returns to centre stage.
£16.99
Ebury Publishing The Scarlet Sisters: My nanna’s story of secrets and heartache on the banks of the River Thames
‘Oh my goodness – another girl Mrs Swain!’ Clara’s normal iron composure broke and she screamed, ‘No! That’s not the bloody deal!’And that is how my nanna, Bertha Swain, entered the world.When Helen Batten’s marriage breaks down, she starts on a journey of discovery into her family’s past and the mysteries surrounding her enigmatic nanna’s early life. What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It’s a story full of surprises and scandal – a death in a workhouse, a son kept in a box, a shameful war record, a clandestine marriage and children taken far too soon. It’s as if there is a family curse. But Helen also finds love, resilience and hope – crazy wagers, late night Charlestons and stolen kisses. As she unravels the story of Nanna and her scarlet sisters, Helen starts to break the spell of the past, and sees a way she might herself find love again.
£12.99
Allison & Busby The Improbable Adventures of Miss Emily Soldene: Actress, Writer, and Rebel Victorian
From humble beginnings with the threat of the workhouse looming, Emily Soldene rose to become a star of the London stage and a formidable impresario with her own opera company. The darling of theatreland, she later reinvented herself as a journalist and writer who scandalised the country with her outrageous memoir. Weaving through the grit and glamour of Victorian music halls and theatres, taking encounters with the Pre-Raphaelites and Charles Dickens in her stride, Emily became the toast of New York and ventured far off the beaten track to tour Australia and New Zealand. Batten paints a vibrant portrait of an almost forgotten star who trod the boards, travelled the globe and tore up the Victorian rule book.
£9.99
