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Stranger than Fiction
by Denise RobinsThe autobiography of Denise Robins, the 100-million-copy bestselling Queen of Romance, first published in 1965, and available now for the first time in eBook.Apart from writing over two hundred novels which have sold over one hundred million copies worldwide, Denise Robins led a remarkable life. Love and romance were always dominant influences and were reflected not only in her work but in her attitude to life. All the warmth, compassion and deep understanding of the frailty if the human heart that shine through her novels, can be seen here in her autobiography. It is a story that will captivate her huge audience of readers.
The Mountains of California: An enthusiastic nature diary from the founder of national parks (John Muir: The Eight Wilderness-Discovery Books)
by John Muir‘How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! To behold this alone is worth the pains of any excursion a thousand times over.’John Muir is known internationally for his dedication to protecting the environment and for founding The Sierra Club in 1892. His first book, as Muir authority Terry Gifford writes in the foreword, ‘became the bible of the fledgling Sierra Club, which is now a major national environmental activists’ organisation with branches in every corner of America’.The Mountains of California not only details Muir’s visits to the magnificent mountains along the Sierra Nevada Range, which he affectionately calls ‘The Range of Light’, but also the stunning glaciers, forests and landscapes that he encounters: ‘Climbing higher, I saw for the first time the gradual dwarfing of the pines in compliance with climate … patches of the dwarf vaccinium with its round flowers sprinkled in the grass like purple hail; while in every direction the landscape stretched sublimely away in fresh wildness: a manuscript written by the hand of nature alone.’Throughout the book, Muir’s philosophy of nature’s ability to soothe and amaze is evident. He heart-warmingly discusses at length how his encounters with animals, such as the Douglas squirrel, cheered him so. This is a truly beautiful read; Muir’s writing, embedded with emotion, wit, and at times, humour, will never fail to speak to his reader.The enthusiasm contained within these pages is infectious, and as well as making a powerful read, Muir will inspire you, too, to ‘come and see’ the innumerable delights that nature can offer:‘The best words only hint at [California’s] charms. Come to the mountains and see.’
Over the Bridge: An Essay In Autobiography
by Richard ChurchOver the Bridge, the first volume of Richard Church's personal essays, originally published in 1955, takes the reader through the poet's Edwardian childhood adventures. With his detailed descriptions and insightful observations Church paints an idyllic image of his early years passed in the safety of the close-knit lower middle-class home where his loving, hard working parents did all they could to protect their sons from the harsh reality of Britain at the end of the Victorian era. He ponders with humour the disappointments of his first school endeavours; his academic failure made him feel an outcast until it was discovered that not a poor intellectual capacity but rather the child's poor eyesight was to blame for his lack of concentration and understanding of his school subjects. And finally Church takes us through his teenage years, which began happily with a promise of undisturbed literary and artistic pursuits at Camberwell Art School but were soon tainted with worry over the diminishing health of their beloved mother – the pillar of the Church family.Over the Bridge is not only a touching portrait of Church's childhood self but also an intriguing and detailed picture of the social and economic realities of the Edwardian era. In 1955 Over the Bridge was awarded the Sunday Times Prize for Literature.
The Voyage Home
by Richard ChurchWith uncompromising frankness and the disciplined simplicity of a poet, Richard Church records his own striving – his own voyage home – towards maturity of understanding and fulfilment. Startling in its depth and insight, yet never without an infectious humour, this book ranges far beyond the daily events of the author's life.For twenty-four years Richard Church led the double life of hard-working Civil Servant and an artist with a growing compulsion to give literary form to his glimpses of the truth. Eventually, the shattering climax of nervous strain, induced by the incompatibility of office work, forced Church to retire from the Civil Service and become a full-time author.First published in 1964, The Voyage Home is an inspiring personal story of a true artist, and a lively and entertaining appraisal of the author's many celebrated friends and contemporaries. Not only the fascination of journey and the beauty of the writing make this a remarkable work; but also Richard Church's manifold insistence on the importance of individual genius is a warm reassurance in the present time.
Humanly Possible: Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Enquiry and Hope
by Sarah Bakewell***AS READ ON RADIO 4***The bestselling, prizewinning author of How to Live and At the Existentialist Café explores 700 years of writers, thinkers, scientists and artists, all trying to understand what it means to be truly human.'I can't imagine a better history' PHILIP PULLMAN * 'Fascinating, moving, funny' OLIVER BURKEMANIf you are reading this, it's likely you already have some affinity with humanism, even if you don't think of yourself in those terms. You may be drawn to literature and the humanities. You may prefer to base your moral choices on fellow-feeling and responsibility to others rather than on religious commandments. Or you may simply believe that individual lives are more important than grand political visions or dogmas.If any of these apply, you are part of a long tradition of humanist thought, and you share that tradition with many extraordinary individuals through history who have put rational enquiry, cultural richness, freedom of thought and a sense of hope at the heart of their lives.Humanly Possible introduces us to some of these people, as it asks what humanism is and why it has flourished for so long, despite opposition from fanatics, mystics and tyrants. It is a book brimming with ideas, personalities and experiments in living - from Erasmus to Esperanto, from anatomists to agnostics, from Christine de Pizan to Bertrand Russell to Zora Neale Hurston. It joyfully celebrates open-mindedness, optimism, freedom and the power of the here and now - humanist values which have helped steer us through dark times in the past, and which are just as urgently needed in our world today.PRAISE FOR SARAH BAKEWELL'S BOOKS'Quirky, funny, clear and passionate . . . Few writers are as good as Bakewell at explaining complicated ideas' Mail on Sunday'A wonderfully readable combination of biography, philosophy, history, cultural analysis and personal reflection' Independent'Splendidly conceived and exquisitely written' Sunday Times'A rare achievement' Evening Standard
The Maverick: George Weidenfeld and the Golden Age of Publishing
by Thomas HardingBorn 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.
Smile Please: An Unfinished Autobiography (Penguin Modern Classics)
by Jean RhysJean Rhys wrote this autobiography in her old age, now the celebrated author of Wide Sargasso Sea but still haunted by memories of her troubled past: her precarious jobs on chorus lines and relationships with unsuitable men, her enduring sense of isolation and her decision at last to become a writer. From the early days on Dominica to the bleak time in England, living in bedsits on gin and little else, to Paris with her first husband, this is a lasting memorial to a unique artist.
Moments of Knowing
by Ann BridgeAnn Bridge, besides being a famous author, was also, in her own words, “a person who frequently has, when awake, inexplicable 'knowings' of events taking place at a distance: and, in dreams, am informed, sometimes uncomfortably, of facts of which I can have no knowledge by normal means”. In this remarkable book, part memoir, part a personal statement, she wrote of a number of such moments taken from a varied and distinguished career, and ranging from a startling premonition of a cypher-breaking job in the Admiralty during World War I to a somewhat macabre later episode concerned with the Duchess of Windsor. Moments of Knowing can be read for its appealing autobiographical qualities or for the steady and careful light its author throws on areas of experience of which few people may have first-hand knowledge.
Louis Botha: A Man Apart
by Richard SteynIn A Man Apart Richard Steyn once again brings to life a South African icon. Louis Botha was the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, a union he did much to create in the decade after the devastation of the Anglo-Boer War. During the war Botha was a brilliant young Boer general who through his battlefield strategy won significant victories over the British in the early stages of the war. When the weight of British arms overwhelmed the Boers, Botha along with Smuts did much to encourage peace between English and Afrikaner and led the country to Union in 1910 and dominion status.Botha was a big-hearted and generous man who showed magnanimity in his dealings with all, including former enemies. He led the South African troops to victory and the capture of German South West Africa – prior to this he had to put down a revolt of pro-German Afrikaners. At the Peace of Versailles, representing South Africa, he pleaded unsuccessfully for magnanimity towards the Germans. Botha was a globally respected figure – he and Smuts effectively operated as a double act in South Africa and on the international stage before Botha’s untimely death in August 1919 at only 57. In A Man Apart this tragically short life is illuminated in full.
Se-Quo-Yah
by George Everett FosterPublished in 1885, this is the biography of famed Cherokee Indian, Se-Quo-Yah, the inventor of the Cherokee alphabet.
Amber Jane Butchart's Fashion Miscellany: An Elegant Collection of Stories, Quotations, Tips & Trivia from the World of Style
by Amber ButchartStyles come and and go, but fashion has an enduring appeal, a rich history, and an everyday practical relevance for millions.Launched to coincide with London Fashion Week 2014, this book offers a host of new perspectives on a classic subject. Professional fashion expert Amber Jane Butchart casts a quizzical eye over fashion's oddities, revealing the histories of such garments as the Adelaide boot, the origins of many technical terms and a host of entertaining quotes and aphorisms from the field's most colourful names.Specially-commissioned line illustrations from Penelope Beech complete the book, making it a feast for the eyes as well as treat for the stylish soul.
Milkshakes and Morphine: A Memoir of Love and Loss
by Genevieve Fox'Extraordinary' Rachel Cusk'Exquisite and tender' Sarah Perry'Unexpectedly joyous' Julie MyersonThis is a singular memoir: an excavation of mother love, a candid account of the agonies, and absurdities, of the cancer experience, and a doggedly optimistic paean to life.When Genevieve Fox finds a lump in her throat, she turns up for the hospital diagnosis in a party frock and fancy hair. I can’t have cancer, she thinks. I’ve done my hair. But there is another reason she can’t countenance cancer. Genevieve was orphaned to it at the age of nine.Genevieve’s story weaves together past and present as she recalls her rackety, unconventional childhood, while also facing the spectre of being lost to her young boys. Yet, she confronts her treatment with the same sassy survival instinct that characterised her childhood misadventures. Through an extraordinary alchemy, Genevieve takes life’s precariousness and turns it on its head.
Mark Twain's Letters -- Volume 4 (1886-1900)
by Mark TwainAt the beginning of 1870, fresh from the success of The Innocents Abroad, Clemens is on "the long agony" of a lecture tour and planning to settle in Buffalo as editor of the Express. By the end of 1871, he has moved to Hartford and is again on tour, anticipating the publication of Roughing It and the birth of his second child. The intervening letters show Clemens bursting with literary ideas, business schemes, and inventions, and they show him erupting with frustration, anger, and grief, but more often with dazzling humor and surprising self-revelation. In addition to Roughing It, Clemens wrote some enduringly popular short pieces during this period, but he saved some of his best writing for private letters, many of which are published here for the first time.
The Life of Prince Henry of Portugal: Surnamed the Nabigator and its Results (Routledge Revivals)
by Richard Henry MajorOriginally published in 1868, this book follows the life of Prince Henry, including chapters on the Siege of Tangier, the capture of Ceuta and the death of Prince Henry.
The Life of Prince Henry of Portugal: Surnamed the Nabigator and its Results (Routledge Revivals)
by Richard Henry MajorOriginally published in 1868, this book follows the life of Prince Henry, including chapters on the Siege of Tangier, the capture of Ceuta and the death of Prince Henry.
Are You There, God? It's Me, Ellen
by Ellen Coyne’This isn’t a Catholic country anymore,’ someone proudly declared in a pub where Ellen Coyne was sitting.Ellen had left the Church long ago, like many her age. But she had never stopped talking to God. Now, about to turn 30, she realised she wasn’t quite ready for this declaration to be true.Abandoning the Church had been an act of protest. However, Ellen began to wonder: who had really lost the most? Why should those who damaged the Church get to keep all its good bits, like the rituals, the community, a guide for living a better life and the comfort of believing it’s not the end when somebody dies?But how could she ally herself to an institution she doesn’t entirely agree with? In her first book, a stunningly thoughtful and intelligent debut, Ellen Coyne tries to figure out how much she really wants to go back to the Church, and if it is even the right thing to do.‘Get ready – this is going to inspire a thousand conversations across Ireland about the role of the Church in our society and our future’ Louise O’Neill‘I flew through this on a “will she, won’t she?” knife-edge, all the while questioning my own attitude to faith and spirituality’ Emer McLysaght‘Sings with sincerity … this is the book the church doesn't know it needs for its own survival’ Justine McCarthy
Rory's Story: My Unexpected Journey to Self-Belief
by Rory O'Connor Dermot CroweNobody thought Rory O’Connor would make it – written off as ‘thick’ at school, he struggled to find a career he felt he could succeed in. When a hot tip led to a win on the horses it was the beginning of a dangerous spiral into a gambling addiction that gnawed away at his self-esteem even further.How did the man who thought he had nothing to live for go on to become a stand-up comedian selling out venues around Ireland and reaching 800,000 people through his social media platforms?This is Rory’s Story.Told with his trademark humour, this straight-talking memoir is a book for anyone who wants to be inspired by an ordinary man’s mental health journey.
Diary of Samuel Pepys -- Volume 01: Preface and Life
by Samuel PepysRichard Le Gallienne’s elegant abridgment of the Diary captures the essential writings of Samuel Pepys (1633–1703), a remarkable man who witnessed the coronation of Charles II, the Great Plague of 1665, and the Great Fire of 1666. Originally scribbled in a cryptic shorthand, Pepys’s quotidian journal of life in Restoration London provides an astonishingly frank and diverting account of political intrigues; naval, church, and cultural affairs; and the sexual escapades and domestic strife of a man with a voracious, childlike appetite for living. “As a human document the Diary is literally unique,” notes Le Gallienne. “It will have a still greater value for its historical importance.”
Constable: A Portrait
by James HamiltonONE OF THE TIMES AND SUNDAY TIMES' BEST BOOKS FOR 2022'Eye-opening and full of surprises . . . A treasure' Sunday Times'A biography as rich with colourful characters as any novel' TelegraphJohn Constable, the revolutionary nineteenth-century painter of the landscapes and skies of southern England, is Britain's best-loved but perhaps least understood artist.His paintings reflect visions of landscape that shocked and perplexed his contemporaries: attentive to detail, spontaneous in gesture, brave in their use of colour. What we learn from his landscapes is that Constable had sharp local knowledge of Suffolk, a clarity of expression of the skyscapes above Hampstead, an understanding of the human tides in London and Brighton, and a rare ability in his late paintings of Salisbury Cathedral to transform silent suppressed passion into paint.Yet Constable was also an active and energetic correspondent. His letters and diaries - there are over one thousand letters from and to him - reveal a man of passion, opinion and discord, while his character and personality is concealed behind the high shimmering colour of his paintings. They reveal too the lives and circumstances of his brothers and his sisters, his cousins and his aunts, who serve to define the social and economic landscape against which he can be most clearly seen. These multifaceted reflections draw a sharp picture of the person, as well as the painter.James Hamilton's biography reveals a complex, troubled man, and explodes previous mythologies about this timeless artist, and establishes him in his proper context as a giant of European art.
Stop What You’re Doing and Read…Books That Changed the World: The Origin of Species & The Communist Manifesto
by Charles Darwin Karl Marx Friedrich EngelsTo mark the publication of Stop What You're Doing and Read This!, a collection of essays celebrating reading, Vintage Classics are releasing 12 limited edition themed ebook 'bundles', to tempt readers to discover and rediscover great books. THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES & THE VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE INTRODUCED BY DARWIN'S GREAT GREAT GRANDDAUGHTER RUTH PADELWhen the eminent naturalist Charles Darwin returned from South America on board the H.M.S Beagle in 1836, he brought with him the notes and evidence which would form the basis of his landmark theory of evolution of species by a process of natural selection. This theory, published as The Origin of Species in 1859, is the basis of modern biology and the concept of biodiversity. It also sparked a fierce scientific, religious and philosophical debate which still continues today.THE COMMUNISTY MANIFESTOINTRODUCED BY DAVID AARONOVITCHThe Communist Manifesto was first published in London, by two young men in their late twenties, in 1848. Its impact reverberated across the globe and throughout the next century, and it has come to be recognised as one of the most important political texts ever written. Maintaining that the history of all societies is a history of class struggle, the manifesto proclaims that communism is the only route to equality, and is a call to action aimed at the proletariat. It is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand our modern political landscape.
Charles Dickens as an Agent of Change
Sixteen scholars from across the globe come together in Charles Dickens as an Agent of Change to show how Dickens was (and still is) the consummate change agent. His works, bursting with restless energy in the Inimitable's protean style, registered and commented on the ongoing changes in the Victorian world while the Victorians' fictional and factional worlds kept (and keep) changing. The essays from notable Dickens scholars—Malcolm Andrews, Matthias Bauer, Joel J. Brattin, Doris Feldmann, Herbert Foltinek, Robert Heaman, Michael Hollington, Bert Hornback, Norbert Lennartz, Chris Louttit, Jerome Meckier, Nancy Aycock Metz, David Paroissien, Christopher Pittard, and Robert Tracy—suggest the many ways in which the notion of change has found entry into and is negotiated in Dickens' works through four aspects: social change, political and ideological change, literary change, and cultural change. An afterword by the late Edgar Rosenberg adds a personal account of how Dickens changed the life of one eminent Dickensian.
Mrs Robinson’s Disgrace, The Private Diary of A Victorian Lady ENHANCED EDITION: Including author videos and podcasts
by Kate SummerscaleEnhanced Edition of the bestselling Mrs Robinson's Disgrace, including author videos and podcastsOn a mild winter's evening in 1850, Isabella Robinson set out for a party. Her carriage bumped across the wide cobbled streets of Edinburgh's Georgian New Town and drew up at 8 Royal Circus, a grand sandstone house lit by gas lamps. This was the home of the rich widow Lady Drysdale, a vivacious hostess whose soirees were the centre of an energetic intellectual scene.Lady Drysdale's guests were gathered in the high, airy drawing rooms on the first floor, the ladies in dresses of glinting silk and satin, bodices pulled tight over boned corsets; the gentlemen in tailcoats, waistcoats, neckties and pleated shirt fronts, dark narrow trousers and shining shoes. When Mrs Robinson joined the throng she was introduced to Lady Drysdale's daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Edward Lane. She was at once enchanted by the handsome Mr Lane, a medical student ten years her junior. He was 'fascinating', she told her diary, before chastising herself for being so susceptible to a man's charms. But a wish had taken hold of her, which she was to find hard to shake...A compelling story of romance and fidelity, insanity, fantasy, and the boundaries of privacy in a society clinging to rigid ideas about marriage and female sexuality, Mrs Robinson's Disgrace brings vividly to life a complex, frustrated Victorian wife, longing for passion and learning, companionship and love.
The Wide Wide Sea: The thrilling account of Captain Cook's final journey, for fans of The Wager by David Grann
by Hampton SidesFrom New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides, the epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, culminating in Captain James Cook's death‘An enthralling account of Captain Cook’s final, fatal voyage… An excellent new book’ The Economist 'Vivid and propulsive. The Wide Wide Sea fits neatly into a growing genre that includes David Grann’s The Wager and Candice Millard’s River of the Gods' New York Times---On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach in Hawaii, Cook was killed – beaten and stabbed in a conflict with the indigenous population. What brought Cook to these final moments, so at odds with his reputation? Renowned for his humane leadership, dedication to science and the curiosity and respect, not judgement, with which he greeted societies that were new to him, Cook had already mapped huge swathes of the Pacific and initiated first European contact with numerous native peoples. The stated mission for his third voyage was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London high society, to his home islands. But Cook carried secret orders to venture north, to discover the fabled Northwest Passage and chart and claim lands before Britain’s imperial rivals. And Cook himself was different on his final, fatal voyage. Deeply researched and vividly told, The Wide Wide Sea is at once a ferociously-paced, epic adventure and a searching examination of the consequences of the Age of Exploration from a master storyteller.---- PRAISE FOR HAMPTON SIDES 'Enthralling … as gripping as any well-paced thriller but a lot more interesting because it is also true' THE TIMES ‘Stunningly vivid’ MARK BOWDEN, AUTHOR OF BLACK HAWK DOWN 'Splendid in every way… a marvellous nonfiction thriller' WALL STREET JOURNAL ‘Extraordinary … meticulous research shores up a fast-paced narrative’ FINANCIAL TIMES 'Viscerally dramatic … spellbinding... bold, dynamic, unusually vivid’ NEW YORK TIMES 'Unforgettable…a pulse-racing epic … a masterful work of history and storytelling' LOS ANGELES TIMES ‘Reads like a first-class epic thriller' TIME
Presidents Fact Book Revised and Updated!: The Achievements, Campaigns, Events, Triumphs, and Legacies of Every President from George Washington to Barack Obama
by Roger MatuzIn time for the 2015 presidential election cycle, this revised paperback edition is the most comprehensive, up-to-date guide on the presidents and includes the milestones of Barack Obama's first and second terms.The Presidents Fact Book is a complete compendium of all things presidential and a sweeping survey of American history through the biographical lens of every president from George Washington to Barack Obama. Organized chronologically by president, each entry covers the major accomplishments and events of the presidential term; cabinet members, election results, groundbreaking legislation, and Supreme Court appointments; personality and personal habits; career before the presidency; a behind-the-scenes look at the wives, families, friends, and foes; and much more, including hobbies, odd behaviors, and outlandish penchants. Major primary documents from each administration—from the Bill of Rights to Barack Obama's speech on race in America—provide a glimpse into the crucial moments of America's storied past in the words of those who were at the helm. Perfect for students, history buffs, and political junkies, The President's Fact Book is at once an expansive collage of our nation's 44 individual presidents and a comprehensive view of American history.
Presidents Fact Book Revised and Updated!: The Achievements, Campaigns, Events, Triumphs, and Legacies of Every President from George Washington to the Current One
by Roger MatuzThe Presidents Fact Book is a compendium of all things presidential and a sweeping survey of American history through the biography of every president from George Washington to Donald Trump. Organized chronologically by president, each entry covers the major accomplishments and events of the presidential term; cabinet members, election results, groundbreaking legislation, and Supreme Court appointments; personality and personal habits; career before the presidency; a behind-the-scenes look at the wives, families, friends, and foes; and much more, including hobbies, odd behaviors, and outlandish penchants. Major primary documents from each administration -- from the Bill of Rights to Barack Obama's speech on race in America -- provide a glimpse into the crucial moments of America's storied past in the words of those who led the nation. Perfect for students, history buffs, and political junkies, The President's Fact Book is at once an expansive collage of our nation's 45 individual presidents and a comprehensive view of American history.