Search results for ""Author Thomas Harding""

In July 2012 Thomas Harding’s fourteen-year-old son Kadian was killed in a bicycle accident. Shortly afterwards Thomas began to write. This book is the result.Beginning on the day of Kadian’s death, and continuing to the one-year anniversary, and beyond, Kadian Journal is at once a record of grief, a moving tribute to a lost son, and a celebration of a life lived to its fullest.

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SHORTLISTED FOR THE COSTA BIOGRAPHY AWARD 2015LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2016A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK'A superb portrait of twentieth century Germany seen through the prism of a house which was lived in, and lost, by five different families. A remarkable book.' Tom Holland'Personal and panoramic, heart-wrenching yet uplifting, this is history at its most alive.' A.D. Miller'A passionate memoir.' Neil MacGregor_______________________________________In 2013, Thomas Harding returned to his grandmother's house on the outskirts of Berlin which she had been forced to leave when the Nazis swept to power. What was once her 'soul place' now stood empty and derelict. A concrete footpath cut through the garden, marking where the Berlin Wall had stood for nearly three decades.In a bid to save the house from demolition, Thomas began to unearth the history of the five families who had lived there: a nobleman farmer, a prosperous Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, a widow and her children and a Stasi informant. Discovering stories of domestic joy and contentment, of terrible grief and tragedy, and of a hatred handed down through the generations, a history of twentieth century Germany and the story of a nation emerged.

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***WINNER OF THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION***'Meticulous and gripping - a thriller that disturbs for revelations about a singular act of murder, and the national security state which we call home' Philippe Sands, author of East West StreetA groundbreaking examination of a terrifying murder and its aftermath by the bestselling author of Hanns and Rudolf and The House by the Lake.On 14 June 2006, police were called to 9 Downshire Hill in Hampstead. The owner, Allan Chappelow, was a writer and notorious recluse who had not been seen for several weeks. Inside the darkened house, officers found piles of rubbish, trees growing through the floor, and the body of Chappelow, battered to death, partially burned and buried under four feet of paper.The man eventually arrested on suspicion of his murder was a Chinese dissident named Wang Yam, who claimed to be the grandson of one of Mao’s closest aides. His trial was the first in modern British history to be held ‘in camera’: closed, carefully controlled, secret. Wang Yam was found guilty, but has always protested his innocence. Did Wang Yam do it? Or was he framed for a crime he didn't commit?When everything is hidden, how do we know what's really true?www.bloodonthepage.com_________________'An In Cold Blood for our time – a brilliant and unflinching anatomy of a murder that is both brutal true crime and heartbreaking human tragedy' Tony Parsons'A fine and fascinating read, bolstered by exemplary research and nuanced insights.' Observer‘A real-life procedural... which might have important implications for us all.’ Guardian'Reads like a thriller... a rigorous investigation... a revealing piece of social history.' Sunday Times'Detailed, painstaking and fascinating.' Evening Standard

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When Thomas Harding discovered that his family had profited from slavery, he set out to interrogate the choices of his ancestors and Britain's role in this terrible history. His investigation took him to Demerara (now Guyana), the site of an uprising by enslaved people in 1823, the largest in the British Empire and a key trigger in the abolition of slavery. Charting the dramatic build-up to this landmark event through the eyes of four people - an enslaved man, a missionary, a colonist, and a slaveholder - Harding lays bare the true impact of years of unimaginable cruelty and incredible courage and asks how those who benefitted from slavery can take responsibility for the White Debt.

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After arriving in London just before the Second World War as a penniless and friendless Austrian-Jewish refugee, George Weidenfeld went on to transform not only the world of publishing but the culture of ideas. The books that he published include momentous titles such as Lolita, Double Helix, The Group and The Hedgehog and the Fox, with authors he championed ranging from Joan Didion, Mary McCarthy and Edna O''Brien to Henry Miller, Harold Wilson, Saul Bellow and Henry Kissinger.In this first biography, Thomas Harding provides a full, unvarnished and at times difficult history of this complex and fascinating character and crafts a portrait of the publisher''s life that is inextricable from the efforts and intricacies of putting a book into the world. Structured around twenty books associated with George Weidenfeld, and intercut with explorations of contemporary concerns such as the right to publish, freedom of speech and separating the art from th

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A New York Times Critics' Pick for 2023 Born into a Jewish family in Vienna in 1919, George Weidenfeld fled to England in 1938 to escape the Nazi regime. There he began a career in publishing that would make him one of the most influential figures in the industry. Over the course of his long and illustrious career he championed some of the most important voices of the twentieth century, from Vladimir Nabokov, Mary McCarthy and Saul Bellow to Harold Wilson, Isaiah Berlin and Henry Kissinger.But what do we know about the man himself? Was he, as described by some, the 'greatest salesperson', 'the world's best networker', 'the publisher's publisher' and 'a great intellectual'? Was his lifelong effort to be the world's most famous host a cover for his desperate loneliness? Who, in fact, was the real George Weidenfeld and how did he rise so successfully within the ranks of London and New York society? Providing a full, unvarnished and at times difficult history of this complex man, this first biography of a titan of culture is also a story of resilience, determination and the power of ideas to shape history.

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"The incredible story of how a house was witness to German history" Telegraph"A touching picturebook which shows children that large events can have repercussions even in small and unheralded places" Wall Street JournalA beautiful picture-book adaptation of Thomas Harding's Costa-shortlisted biography for adults, exquisitely illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.On the outskirts of Berlin, a wooden cottage stands on the shore of a lake. Over the course of a century, this little house played host to a loving Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, wartime refugees and a Stasi informant; in that time, a world war came and went, and the Berlin Wall was built a stone's throw from the cottage's back door. Thomas Harding first shared this remarkable story in his Costa-shortlisted biography The House by the Lake – now he has rendered it into a deeply moving picture-book for young readers. With words that read like a haunting fairy-tale, and magnificent artwork by Britta Teckentrup, this is the astonishing true story of the house by the lake."An atmospheric and ultimately uplifting tale with delicate, ethereal images" The Financial TimesPRAISE FOR THE ORIGINAL BIOGRAPHY OF THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE: A Radio 4 Book of the WeekNamed a Best Book of the Year by: The Times >> New Statesman >> Daily Express >> Commonweal magazineShortlisted for the Costa Biography Award 2015Longlisted for the Orwell Prize 2016Over 50 five-star reviews on Amazon"A passionate memoir." – Neil MacGregor"A superb portrait of twentieth century Germany seen through the prism of a house which was lived in, and lost, by five different families. A remarkable book." – Tom Holland"A book that will stay with me for a very long time." – Rachel Joyce"A superb work of social history." – The Sunday Times "Diamond brilliant ... an extraordinary book." – Sunday Express"A deft history of a cabin containing many secrets." – Independent"A fascinating window on a tumultuous period" – Financial Times"Original, personal, moving and uplifting" – Literary Review"This is a history that is often poignant, sometimes heartening, and never other than intimate." – Spectator"An extraordinary book…. Harding has extracted the past from the dust that collects between floorboards and from layers of peeling wallpaper.” – Washington PostSEE ALSO THOMAS HARDING'S NEW BIOGRAPHY, LEGACY:"I was riveted: this is a fascinating social history." – Nigella Lawson"Written with love and imagination ... a masterclass in historical empathy." – TLS"Nobody quite stirs the soup of historical detail like Harding." – Express

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When Thomas Harding discovered that his mother''s family had made money from plantations worked by enslaved people, what began as an interrogation into the choices of his ancestors soon became a quest to learn more about Britain''s role in slavery. It was a history that he knew surprisingly little about - the myth that we are often taught in schools is that Britain''s role in slavery was as the abolisher, but the reality is much more sinister.In WHITE DEBT, Harding vividly brings to life the story of the uprising by enslaved people that took place in the British colony of Demerara (now Guyana) in the Caribbean in 1823. It started on a small sugar plantation called ''Success'' and grew to become a key trigger in the abolition of slavery across the empire. We see the uprising through the eyes of four people: the enslaved man Jack Gladstone, the missionary John Smith, the colonist John Cheveley, and the politician and slaveholder John Gladstone, father of a future prime ministe

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'I was riveted: this is a fascinating social history.' NIGELLA LAWSON'Five stars... history on a scale at once intimate and grand.' TELEGRAPHA panoramic new history of modern Britain, as told through the story of one extraordinary family, and one groundbreaking company.This is the story of how a family transformed themselves from penniless immigrants to build a company that revolutionised the way we eat, drink and are entertained. For over a century, Lyons was everywhere. Its restaurants and corner houses were on every high street, its coffee and tea in every cup, its products in every home. But it was a victory that was not easily won.Told through the lives of five generations, Legacy is at once intimate and sweeping, charting the tragedy and unimaginable success of one of Britain's most famous families. It is also an illuminating new exploration of Britain and its place in the world, from the bestselling author of Hanns and Rudolf and The House by the Lake.'A magnificent book... endlessly fascinating.' JEWISH CHRONICLE'How the Lyons company took on the world... a satisfying slab of dynastic history.' GUARDIAN, 'Book of the Day''Written with love and imagination... a masterclass in historical empathy.' TLS'An affectionate and colourful family history.' FINANCIAL TIMES'Rich... Fascinating... Harding is to be congratulated on this panoramic history.' EVENING STANDARD'Endlessly fascinating and hard to put down... this is a tour de force.' JULIA NEUBERGER

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A beautiful picture-book adaptation of Thomas Harding's Costa-shortlisted biography for adults, exquisitely illustrated by Britta Teckentrup.On the outskirts of Berlin, a wooden cottage stands on the shore of a lake. Over the course of a century, this little house played host to a loving Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, wartime refugees and a Stasi informant; in that time, a world war came and went, and the Berlin Wall was built a stone's throw from the cottage's back door. Thomas Harding first shared this remarkable story in his Costa-shortlisted biography The House by the Lake – now he has rendered it into a deeply moving picture-book for young readers. With words that read like a haunting fairy-tale, and magnificent artwork by Britta Teckentrup, this is the astonishing true story of the house by the lake.PRAISE FOR THE ORIGINAL BIOGRAPHY OF THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE: A Radio 4 Book of the WeekNamed a Best Book of the Year by: The Times >> New Statesman >> Daily Express >> Commonweal magazineShortlisted for the Costa Biography Award 2015Longlisted for the Orwell Prize 2016Over 50 five-star reviews on Amazon"A passionate memoir." – Neil MacGregor"A superb portrait of twentieth century Germany seen through the prism of a house which was lived in, and lost, by five different families. A remarkable book." – Tom Holland"A book that will stay with me for a very long time." – Rachel Joyce"A superb work of social history." – The Sunday Times "Diamond brilliant ... an extraordinary book." – Sunday Express"A deft history of a cabin containing many secrets." – Independent"A fascinating window on a tumultuous period" – Financial Times"Original, personal, moving and uplifting" – Literary Review"This is a history that is often poignant, sometimes heartening, and never other than intimate." – Spectator"An extraordinary book…. Harding has extracted the past from the dust that collects between floorboards and from layers of peeling wallpaper.” – Washington PostSEE ALSO THOMAS HARDING'S NEW BIOGRAPHY, LEGACY:"I was riveted: this is a fascinating social history." – Nigella Lawson"Written with love and imagination ... a masterclass in historical empathy." – TLS"Nobody quite stirs the soup of historical detail like Harding." – Express

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