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In this rigorously researched biography Jürgen Malitz invites readers to reconsider the reputation of the Roman Emperor Nero. Focuses on the growing tension between Nero’s artistic tendencies and his role as emperor. Steers readers through the diverse interpretations of Nero that have arisen through the ages. Allows readers to form a balanced judgment of this divisive and controversial Emperor.

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THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERTYRANTS AREN''T BORN. THEY''RE RAISED.Travel to the heart of a Roman dynasty drenched in danger and intrigue in master storyteller Conn Iggulden''s bold and brilliant return to Rome as he tells the story of NERO last of the the Julio-Claudian emperors . . .''Deft and robust storytelling, that whips through the history with plenty of blood, guts and plot-twists'' The Times''Epic and in a class of his own'' Daily Mirror ----ANCIENT ROME, AD 37It begins with a man's hand curled around another's throat.Emperor Tiberius first dispatches a traitor.Then his whole family.Next all his friends. It is as if he never existed.THIS IS ROMAN JUSTICE.Into this fevered forum, a child is born.His mother is Agrippina, granddaughter of Emperor Augustus. But their imperial blood is no pro

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THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLERTYRANTS AREN''T BORN. THEY''RE RAISED.Travel to the heart of a Roman dynasty drenched in danger and intrigue in master storyteller Conn Iggulden''s bold and brilliant return to Rome as he tells the story of NERO last of the the Julio-Claudian emperors . . .''Deft and robust storytelling, that whips through the history with plenty of blood, guts and plot-twists'' The Times''Epic and in a class of his own'' Daily Mirror ----ANCIENT ROME, AD 37It begins with a man's hand curled around another's throat.Emperor Tiberius first dispatches a traitor.Then his whole family.Next all his friends. It is as if he never existed.THIS IS ROMAN JUSTICE.Into this fevered forum, a child is born.His mother is Agrippina, granddaughter of Emperor Augustus. But their imperial blood is no pro

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Nero wanted to be a singer. But his mother wanted him to be emperor of the most powerful empire in the world. Through lies, scheming and murder she achieved her goal with terrible consequences At first he did his very best to be a good ruler, working hard to make his people happy and prosperous. But, surrounded by wicked advisers, Neros love of peace soon became a terrifying lust for bloodshed. This is the story of the mad and murderous emperor who burnt Christians for fun, laughed as soldiers were ripped apart by wild animals, and lived in unbelievable luxury while his people languished in miserable poverty

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'Davis's prose is a lively joy, and Flavia's Rome is sinister and gloriously real' The Times on SaturdayFlavia Albia's day-old marriage is in trouble - her new husband may be permanently disabled and they have no funds. So when Palace officials ask her to expose a traitor in their midst she is ready for the task.Ever since the Emperor Nero committed suicide in AD 68, Rome has been haunted by reports that he is actually alive and ready to reclaim his throne. Two Nero pretenders have emerged from the East and met grisly fates.But now a new pretender has been smuggled into Rome by the traitor. Flavia must negotiate with spies, dodge assassins and reveal this third Nero before he can make his move. Will she act in time or will Rome once more be plunged into civil war?

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In this large-format black-and-white book, the great masters of Italian and international reportage are contrasted with the most important fashion photographers, who have interpreted Dolce & Gabbana Black from behind their lenses since the 1980s. These include Helmut Newton, Inez & Vinoodh, Giuseppe Leone, Enzo Brai, Salvo Alibrio, Sergio Larrain, Bruno Barbey, Ellen von Unwerth, Gian Paolo Barbieri, Fabrizio Ferri, and Juergen Teller. In these photographic masterpieces, which range from advertising campaigns to the most iconic editorials, the stars of cinema, entertainment, and fashion featuring Monica Bellucci and Isabella Rossellini among others will alternate with suggestive portraits of ordinary people, some never before seen by the general public and published here for the first time, in a constant dialog that puts Dolce & Gabbana Black at the center.

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In the Roman Empire no one is safe from the sting of betrayal: man, woman - or child.As a boy, Nero's royal heritage becomes a threat to his very life, first when the mad emperor Caligula tries to drown him, then when his great aunt attempts to secure her own son's inheritance. Faced with shocking acts of treachery, young Nero is dealt a harsh lesson: it is better to be cruel than dead.While Nero idealizes the artistic and athletic principles of Greece, his very survival rests on his ability to navigate the sea of vipers that is Rome. Most lethal of all is his own mother, Agrippina, whose only goal is to control the empire. But as her machinations earn her son a title he is both tempted and terrified to assume, Nero's determination to escape her thrall will shape him into the man he was fated to become - an Emperor who became legendary.With impeccable research and captivating prose, The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George is the story of a boy's ruthless ascension to the throne. From innocent youth to infamous ruler, his is an epic tale of the lengths to which man will go in the ultimate quest for power and survival.

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When do painterly gestures become objects or spaces? When the colours and lines in a picture become the subject, do they then flirt with or repel one another? Fascinated by the gaudy banality of day-to-day life, Anna Nero (*1988) scratches on the surface of things with the help of quotes from advertising, fashion, and comics as well as samples of abstract and concrete painting. The question of the 'thingness' of a picture as a painterly image or real ceramic object, the question of its material characteristics, its use, its “essence” is central to her work and also the focus of her first monograph. Text in English and German.

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One of the best known figures from Roman history, Nero (r. AD 54–68) is most often characterised as a tyrannical and ineffectual ruler, who fiddled while Rome burnt. Such a reputation has, however, been shaped by ancient literary sources written by his adversaries and enemies and, in light of new research, can be considered crudely reductive. This publication, and the exhibition it accompanies, redresses the balance and provides a more nuanced interpretation of Nero’s reign and Roman society of the time, reflecting on the traditional perceptions of his rule and revealing the challenges with which the young heir to Claudius’ empire had to contend. The period during which Nero ruled over Roman society was one of profound change. The extent of the empire at the time was vast, having grown significantly during the previous century through conquest and annexation, and peace and prosperity followed years of bloody war. The role of Nero’s mother Agrippina in his accession to the throne is well-documented, but her expectations of great influence once Nero was in post were not met and the role of women, and family more widely, is considered in detail in this book. In addition to familial conflict, Nero also had to confront the threat of rival powers and the assimilation of newly conquered territories, which provided him with the opportunity to prove himself as a strong military leader. Alongside military campaigns, he adopted ‘populist’ policies, was preoccupied with the beautification of the heart of his empire, which was subsequently devastated by fire, and enthusiastically engaged in theatre and entertainment. Nero’s rule was curtailed by military rebellion in AD 68 and the embattled emperor ultimately committed suicide. His death brought to an end the reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and the subsequent vilification of his memory and the removal and desecration of his image are an enduring, but misleading, legacy.

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One of the best known figures from Roman history, Nero (r. AD 54–68) is most often characterised as a tyrannical and ineffectual ruler, who fiddled while Rome burnt. Such a reputation has, however, been shaped by ancient literary sources written by his adversaries and enemies and, in light of new research, can be considered crudely reductive. This publication, and the exhibition it accompanies, redresses the balance and provides a more nuanced interpretation of Nero’s reign and Roman society of the time, reflecting on the traditional perceptions of his rule and revealing the challenges with which the young heir to Claudius’ empire had to contend. The period during which Nero ruled over Roman society was one of profound change. The extent of the empire at the time was vast, having grown significantly during the previous century through conquest and annexation, and peace and prosperity followed years of bloody war. The role of Nero’s mother Agrippina in his accession to the throne is well-documented, but her expectations of great influence once Nero was in post were not met and the role of women, and family more widely, is considered in detail in this book. In addition to familial conflict, Nero also had to confront the threat of rival powers and the assimilation of newly conquered territories, which provided him with the opportunity to prove himself as a strong military leader. Alongside military campaigns, he adopted ‘populist’ policies, was preoccupied with the beautification of the heart of his empire, which was subsequently devastated by fire, and enthusiastically engaged in theatre and entertainment. Nero’s rule was curtailed by military rebellion in AD 68 and the embattled emperor ultimately committed suicide. His death brought to an end the reign of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, and the subsequent vilification of his memory and the removal and desecration of his image are an enduring, but misleading, legacy.

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Using pagan fiction produced in Greek and Latin during the early Christian era, G. W. Bowersock investigates the complex relationship between "historical" and "fictional" truths. This relationship preoccupied writers of the second century, a time when apparent fictions about both past and present were proliferating at an astonishing rate and history was being invented all over again. With force and eloquence, Bowersock illuminates social attitudes of this period and persuasively argues that its fiction was influenced by the emerging Christian Gospel narratives. Enthralling in its breadth and enhanced by two erudite appendices, this is a book that will be warmly welcomed by historians and interpreters of literature.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994.

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NERO BOOK AWARDS WINNER 2023WINNER, NON FICTION BOOK 2023, BOOKS ARE MY BAG AWARDSSHORTLIST, BOOKSHOP.ORG INDIE CHAMPIONS SHORTLIST, AMAZON NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST, GOODREADS CHOICE BOOK OF THE YEARAudible Books of the Year 2023The Times Books of the Year 2023Apple Best Audiobooks of 2023BOOKSHOP.ORG Book of the Month January 2024THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'I tore through this hilarious, smart, sad, revealing book' - Bob Odenkirk 'Funny, sharp and has incredible clarity' - Jon Ronson'An absolute riot. I'm literally going to read it again once I've finished, and I'm a miserable bastard...it's a belter' - FRANKIE BOYLE'Strong Female Character is a testament to the importance of self-knowledge.' - Rachael Healy, The GuardianA summary of my book:1. I'm diagnosed with autism 20 years after telling a doctor I had it.2. My terrible Catholic childhood: I hate my parents etc.3. My friendship with an elderly man who runs the corner shop and is definitely not trying to groom me. I get groomed.4. Homelessness.5. Stripping.6. More stripping but with more nervous breakdowns.7. I hate everyone at uni and live with a psycho etc.8. REDACTED as too spicy.9. After everyone tells me I don't look autistic, I try to cure my autism and get addicted to Xanax.10. REDACTED as too embarrassing.'Fern's book, like everything she does, is awesome. Incredibly funny, and so unapologetically frank that I feel genuinely sorry for her lawyers.' - PHIL WANG'Of course it's funny - it's Fern Brady - but this book is also deeply moving and eye-opening'- ADAM KAY'It made me laugh out loud and broke my heart and made me weep...I hope absolutely everyone reads this, and it makes them kinder and more curious about the way we all live' - DAISY BUCHANAN'Glorious. Frank but nuanced, a memoir that doesn't sacrifice voice or self-awareness. And it has brilliant things to say about being autistic and being funny' - ELLE MCNICOLL'A set text for all of us in 2023' - DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE'Fern is a brilliant, beautiful writer with a unique voice and even more unique story. Astute, honest and very, very funny.' - LOU SANDERS'So funny and brilliant' - HOLLY SMALE'Witty, dry, and gimlet-eyed, Strong Female Character is a necessary corrective. Brady offers a compelling, messy, highly resonant portrait of what masked Autism feels like.' - Devon Price, author of Unmasking Autism

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NERO BOOK AWARDS WINNER 2023WINNER, NON FICTION BOOK 2023, BOOKS ARE MY BAG AWARDSSHORTLIST, BOOKSHOP.ORG INDIE CHAMPIONSSHORTLIST, AMAZON NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEARSHORTLIST, GOODREADS CHOICE BOOK OF THE YEARAudible Books of the Year 2023The Times Books of the Year 2023Apple Best Audiobooks of 2023BOOKSHOP.ORG Book of the Month January 2024THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'I tore through this hilarious, smart, sad, revealing book' - Bob Odenkirk'Funny, sharp and has incredible clarity' - Jon Ronson'An absolute riot. I'm literally going to read it again once I've finished, and I'm a miserable bastard...it's a belter' - FRANKIE BOYLE'Strong Female Character is a testament to the importance of self-knowledge.' - Rachael Healy, The GuardianA summary of my book:1. I'm diagnosed with autism 20 years after telling a doctor I had it.2. My terrible Catholic childhood: I hate my parents etc.3. My friendship with an elderly man who runs the corner shop and is definitely not trying to groom me. I get groomed.4. Homelessness.5. Stripping.6. More stripping but with more nervous breakdowns.7. I hate everyone at uni and live with a psycho etc.8. REDACTED as too spicy.9. After everyone tells me I don't look autistic, I try to cure my autism and get addicted to Xanax.10. REDACTED as too embarrassing.'Fern's book, like everything she does, is awesome. Incredibly funny, and so unapologetically frank that I feel genuinely sorry for her lawyers.' - PHIL WANG'Of course it's funny - it's Fern Brady - but this book is also deeply moving and eye-opening'- ADAM KAY'It made me laugh out loud and broke my heart and made me weep...I hope absolutely everyone reads this, and it makes them kinder and more curious about the way we all live' - DAISY BUCHANAN'Glorious. Frank but nuanced, a memoir that doesn't sacrifice voice or self-awareness. And it has brilliant things to say about being autistic and being funny' - ELLE MCNICOLL'A set text for all of us in 2023' - DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE'Fern is a brilliant, beautiful writer with a unique voice and even more unique story. Astute, honest and very, very funny.' - LOU SANDERS'So funny and brilliant' - HOLLY SMALE'Witty, dry, and gimlet-eyed, Strong Female Character is a necessary corrective. Brady offers a compelling, messy, highly resonant portrait of what masked Autism feels like.' - Devon Price, author of Unmasking Autism

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE NERO PRIZE 2023'A book that could not be more necessary' Observer'Eloquent, clever and devastating' The Times'Deftly illustrates how ageist misogyny remains an acceptable prejudice' GuardianWhat is about women in middle-age and beyond that seems to enrage - almost everyone?In the last few years, as identity politics has taken hold, middle-aged women have found themselves talked and written about as morally inferior beings, the face of bigotry, entitlement and selfishness, to be ignored, pitied or abused.Hags asks the question why these women are treated with such active disdain. Each chapter takes a different theme - care work, beauty, violence, political organization, sex - and explores it in relation to middle-aged women's beliefs, bodies and choices. Victoria Smith traces the attitudes she describes back to the same anxieties about older women that drove Early Modern witch hunts, and explores the very specific reasons why this type of misogyny is so powerful today. The demonisation of hags has never felt more now.Victoria Smith has decided in this book that she will be the Karen so nobody else has to be, and she ends on a positive note, exploring potential solutions which can benefit all women, hags and hags-in-waiting.

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Praise for the series'Carefully researched, vivid, and passionately told, this is the story of a fascinating new Nero' - Madeline Miller'Gripping' - Barbara Taylor Bradford'A refreshing and original interpretation of Rome's infamous ruler' - Sunday ExpressFrom New York Times bestselling author Margaret George, Emperor Nero: The Splendour Before The Dark is the stunning conclusion to Nero’s story.With the beautiful and cunning Poppaea at his side, Nero Augustus commands the Roman Empire, ushering in an unprecedented era of artistic and cultural splendour. Although he has yet to produce an heir, his power is absolute. But in the tenth year of his reign, a terrifying prophecy comes to pass and a fire engulfs Rome, reducing entire swaths of the city to rubble. Rumours of Nero's complicity in the blaze start to sow unrest among the populace

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Nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Writing Shortlisted for the Nero Book Award A darkly seductive sapphic Gothic romance inspired by classic fairytales like Beauty and the Beast. ‘Kat Dunn has spun a love story both intimate and epic’ SAMANTHA SHANNON, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree 'A deliciously dark fairy tale full of the agony and ecstasy of longing and desire' KATHERINE WEBBER, author of Twin Crowns Blumwald is a town overshadowed by an ancient curse: in a sinister castle in the depths of the wild wood lives a monstrous Witch. Once a generation, she comes to claim a companion to return with her – never to be seen again. Now that time is drawing near once more... Mina, daughter of the duke, is grieving and lonely. She has lost all hope of any future for herself in Blumwald. So when the Witch demands her next companion, Mina offers herself up – though she has no idea what fate awaits her. Stranded with her darkly alluring captor, the mystery of what happened to the previous companions draws Mina into the heart of a terrifying secret that could save her life, or end it.

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At fifteen Blanche Nero watches the electrocution of her Italian immigrant father, punishment for the inexplicable brutal murder of his recently acquired friend Old Man Flaherty. She resolves to do something with her life that values humanity over justice, mercy over sacrifice. But she is forever haunted by the mystery of her father. She is also drawn irresistibly to the bigger human mysteries of violence and death. After a gruelling but successful academic career at some of the nation's finest university hospitals, Blanche is almost sixty. Her long career as a trauma surgeon at Charity Hospital in New Orleans has been abruptly ended by Hurricane Katrina. She takes a year sabbatical from the medical school and leases a small flat in Venice, seeking an understanding of her father in the place where he lived his formative years--and of herself by reliving and recording her own remarkable life. On a cold morning in Piazza San Marco, Blanche meets Count Lorenzo Ludovici (Ludo), an aging, elegant, and charming Venetian who is dying of AIDS. Blanche is drawn to him and is uncharacteristically self-revealing. As he introduces her to his beautiful city as their relationship develops and is health deteriorates Blanche becomes ever more fond of the count. As she relives her past by writing down what she remembers, she sees the girl she was and the woman she became with new eyes; the mystery of her father's death; her distant mother; her sometimes misguided adolescent efforts to grow up. And then discovering the thrill of medicine, especially the sensual trill of trauma surgery and losing herself in in that career, immersed in violence. She recalls her attempts at relationships, especially with Jesse Pinto, the one man whom she has ever loved, and how she ended that. She remembers her love affair with the Big Easy and Charity Hospital (the Big Free) that came suddenly to a violent end. Through a series of painful and revealing conversations, Blanche and Ludo discover that each of them has private knowledge of interlocking pieces of their history. Blanche feels sadness of a depth that she has not felt before, but also a strange sense of freedom. Perhaps, at last, she is ready to begin her life.

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At fifteen Blanche Nero watches the electrocution of her Italian immigrant father, punishment for the inexplicable brutal murder of his recently acquired friend Old Man Flaherty. She resolves to do something with her life that values humanity over justice, mercy over sacrifice. But she is forever haunted by the mystery of her father. She is also drawn irresistibly to the bigger human mysteries of violence and death. After a gruelling but successful academic career at some of the nation's finest university hospitals, Blanche is almost sixty. Her long career as a trauma surgeon at Charity Hospital in New Orleans has been abruptly ended by Hurricane Katrina. She takes a year sabbatical from the medical school and leases a small flat in Venice, seeking an understanding of her father in the place where he lived his formative years--and of herself by reliving and recording her own remarkable life. On a cold morning in Piazza San Marco, Blanche meets Count Lorenzo Ludovici (Ludo), an aging, elegant, and charming Venetian who is dying of AIDS. Blanche is drawn to him and is uncharacteristically self-revealing. As he introduces her to his beautiful city as their relationship develops and is health deteriorates Blanche becomes ever more fond of the count. As she relives her past by writing down what she remembers, she sees the girl she was and the woman she became with new eyes; the mystery of her father's death; her distant mother; her sometimes misguided adolescent efforts to grow up. And then discovering the thrill of medicine, especially the sensual trill of trauma surgery and losing herself in in that career, immersed in violence. She recalls her attempts at relationships, especially with Jesse Pinto, the one man whom she has ever loved, and how she ended that. She remembers her love affair with the Big Easy and Charity Hospital (the Big Free) that came suddenly to a violent end. Through a series of painful and revealing conversations, Blanche and Ludo discover that each of them has private knowledge of interlocking pieces of their history. Blanche feels sadness of a depth that she has not felt before, but also a strange sense of freedom. Perhaps, at last, she is ready to begin her life.

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This compelling account of Henry VIII is by no means yet another history of the ‘old monster’ and his reign. The ‘monster’ displayed here is, at the very least, a newer type, more beset by anxieties and insecurities, and more tightly surrounded by those who equated loyalty with fear, self-interest and blind obedience. This ground-breaking book also demonstrates that Henry VIII’s priorities were always primarily martial rather than marital, and accepts neither the necessity of his all-consuming quest for a male heir nor his need ultimately to sever ties with Rome. As the story unfolds, Henry’s predicaments prove largely of his own making, the paths he chooses neither the only nor the best available. For Henry VIII was not only a bad man, but also a bad ruler who failed to achieve his aims and blighted the reigns of his two immediate successors. Five hundred years after he ascended the throne, the reputation of England’s best known king is being rehabilitated and subtly sanitized. Yet Tudor historian John Matusiak paints a colourful and absorbingly intimate portrait of a man wholly unfit for power.

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It's time to face the final trial . . .The battle for Camp Jupiter is over. New Rome is safe. Tarquin and his army of the undead have been defeated. Somehow Apollo has made it out alive, with a little bit of help from the Hunters of Artemis.But though the battle may have been won, the war is far from over.Now Apollo and Meg must get ready for the final - and, let's face it, probably fatal - adventure. They must face the last emperor, the terrifying Nero, and destroy him once and for all.Can Apollo find his godly form again? Will Meg be able to face up to her troubled past? Destiny awaits . . .

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'Rich, complex and witty' ROSE GEORGE, SPECTATOR'Devastating and clever' BEL MOONEY, DAILY MAIL'Could not be more necessary' RACHEL COOKE, OBSERVERWhat is about women in their forties and beyond that seems to enrage - almost everyone? In the last few years, as identity politics have taken hold, middle-aged women have found themselves talked and written about as morally inferior beings: the face of bigotry, entitlement and selfishness, to be ignored, pitied or abused. In Hags, Victoria Smith asks why these women are treated with such active disdain. Each chapter takes a different theme - care work, beauty, violence, political organization, sex - and explores it in relation to middle-aged women's beliefs, bodies, histories and choices. Smith traces the attitudes she describes through history, and explores the very specific reasons why this type of misogyny is so very now. The result is a book that is absorbing, insightful, witty and bang on time.

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'At times roaring and visceral, in turn gentle and embracing, always driven by hope and determination' RAYNOR WINN 'Haunting and powerful' KATE MOSSE To grow up in rural poverty is to fight for life before you can walk.Natasha Carthew was born into a world that sat alongside picture-postcard Cornwall, one where second homes took the sea view of council properties, summer months shifted the course of people's lives, and wealth converged with poverty on sandy beaches.In the rockpools and hedgerows of the natural world, Natasha found solace in the beauty of the landscape, and in the mobile library she found her means of escape. In Undercurrent she returns to the cliff paths of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature.This is a journey through place, and a vivid story of hope, beauty and fierce resilience.'Marvellous, moving and mesmerising' ANITA SETHI 'A story of queer resistance, of community and of finding your own voice' DAMIAN BARR

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