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The Diaries of Elizabeth Inchbald Vol 1

by Ben P Robertson

An energetic woman, Inchbald achieved fame as an actress, novelist, playwright and critic. This work includes her eleven surviving diaries, which record Inchbald's social contacts and professional activities, itemize her day-to-day expenditure, and chart the development of affairs such as the Napoleonic Wars and the trial of Queen Caroline.

Dickens the Novelist: The Novelist (Peregrine Bks.)

by F. R. Leavis

In The Great Tradition, published in 1948, F. R. Leavis seemed to rate the work of Charles Dickens - with the exception of Hard Times - as lacking the seriousness and formal control of the true masters of English fiction. By 1970, when Dickens the Novelist was published on the first centenary of the writer's death, Leavis and his lifelong collaborator Q. D. (Queenie) Leavis, had changed their minds. 'Our purpose', they wrote, 'is to enforce as unanswerably as possible the conviction that Dickens was one of the greatest of creative writers . . .'In seven typically robust and uncompromising chapters, the Leavises grapple with the evaluation of a writer who was then still open to dismissal as a mere entertainer, a caricaturist not worthy of discussion in the same breath as Henry James. Q. D. Leavis shows, for example, how deeply influential David Copperfield was on the work of Tolstoy, and explores the symbolic richness of the nightmare world of Bleak House. F. R. Leavis reprints his famous essay on Hard Times, with its moral critique of utilitarianism, and reveals the imaginative influence of Blake on Little Dorrit. Q. D. Leavis contributes a pathbreaking chapter on the importance of Dickens's illustrators to the effect of his work.

Dog Years: A Memoir

by Mark Doty

Why do dogs speak so profoundly to our inner lives? When Mark Doty decides to adopt a dog as a companion for his dying partner, he finds himself bringing home Beau, a large golden retriever, malnourished and in need of loving care, to join Arden, the black retriever. As Beau bounds back to life, the two dogs become Mark Doty's companions, his solace, and eventually the very life force that keeps him from abandoning all hope during the darkest days - their tenacity, loyalty and love inspiring him when all else fails.Dog Years is a remarkable work: a moving and intimate memoir interwoven with profound reflections on our feelings for animals and the lessons they teach us about life, love, and loss. Mark Doty writes about the heart-wrenching vulnerability of dogs, the positive energy and joy they bring, and the gift they bear us of unconditional love. A book unlike any other, Mark Doty's surprising meditation is radiantly unsentimental yet deeply affecting. Beautifully written, Dog Years is a classic in the making.

Dog Years: A Memoir

by Mark Doty

Why do dogs speak so profoundly to our inner lives? When Mark Doty decides to adopt a dog as a companion for his dying partner, he finds himself bringing home Beau, a large golden retriever, malnourished and in need of loving care, to join Arden, the black retriever. As Beau bounds back to life, the two dogs become Mark Doty's companions, his solace, and eventually the very life force that keeps him from abandoning all hope during the darkest days - their tenacity, loyalty and love inspiring him when all else fails.

Don't Rhyme For The Sake of Riddlin': The Authorised Story Of Public Enemy

by Russell Myrie

Public Enemy are one of the greatest hip-hop acts of all time. Exploding out of Long Island, New York in the early 1980s, their firebrand lyrical assault, the Bomb Squad’s innovative production techniques, and their unmistakeable live performances gave them a formidable reputation. They terrified the establishment, and have continued to blaze a trail over a twenty year period up until the present day. Today, they are more autonomous and as determined as ever, still touring and finding more ingenious ways of distributing their music. Russell Myrie has had unprecedented access to the group, conducting extensive interviews with Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Terminator X, Professor Griff, the Shocklee brothers, and many others who form part of their legacy. He tells the stories behind the making of seminal albums such as their debut Yo! Bum Rush the Show, the breakthrough It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back, and multi-million selling Fear of a Black Planet. He tackles Professor Griff's alleged anti-semitic remarks which caused massive controversy in the late eighties, the complexities of the group’s relationship with the Nation of Islam, their huge crossover appeal with the alternative audience in the early nineties, and the strange circumstances of Flavor Flav’s re-emergence as a Reality TV Star since the turn of the millennium.

Don't You Know Who I Am?: Insider Diaries of Fame, Power and Naked Ambition

by Piers Morgan

'They say you can always remember where you where when pivotal moments happen, such as losing your virginity or Elvis dying. Let me add another to the list: the moment I sang a duet to the the "Macarena" with Timmy Mallett, live to millions of people...'Sacked from his high-profile job as a national newspaper editor, Piers Morgan dived helplessly into the world of celebrity. But even twenty years of commenting on the lives of the rich and famous couldn't prepare him for the extraordinary world he uncovered...A riveting, scandelous and brutally honest account of one man's quest for celebrity, Don't You Know Who I Am? lifts the lid on the egos and outrageous behaviour of everyone from Paris Hilton to Cherie Blair, Kate Moss to the legend that is the Hoff.

Dostoevsky's Democracy

by Nancy Ruttenburg

Dostoevsky's Democracy offers a major reinterpretation of the life and work of the great Russian writer by closely reexamining the crucial transitional period between the early works of the 1840s and the important novels of the 1860s. Sentenced to death in 1849 for utopian socialist political activity, the 28-year-old Dostoevsky was subjected to a mock execution and then exiled to Siberia for a decade, including four years in a forced labor camp, where he experienced a crisis of belief. It has been influentially argued that the result of this crisis was a conversion to Russian Orthodoxy and reactionary politics. But Dostoevsky's Democracy challenges this view through a close investigation of Dostoevsky's Siberian decade and its most important work, the autobiographical novel Notes from the House of the Dead (1861). Nancy Ruttenburg argues that Dostoevsky's crisis was set off by his encounter with common Russians in the labor camp, an experience that led to an intense artistic meditation on what he would call Russian "democratism." By tracing the effects of this crisis, Dostoevsky's Democracy presents a new understanding of Dostoevsky's aesthetic and political development and his role in shaping Russian modernity itself, especially in relation to the preeminent political event of his time, peasant emancipation.

Dostoevsky's Democracy

by Nancy Ruttenburg

Dostoevsky's Democracy offers a major reinterpretation of the life and work of the great Russian writer by closely reexamining the crucial transitional period between the early works of the 1840s and the important novels of the 1860s. Sentenced to death in 1849 for utopian socialist political activity, the 28-year-old Dostoevsky was subjected to a mock execution and then exiled to Siberia for a decade, including four years in a forced labor camp, where he experienced a crisis of belief. It has been influentially argued that the result of this crisis was a conversion to Russian Orthodoxy and reactionary politics. But Dostoevsky's Democracy challenges this view through a close investigation of Dostoevsky's Siberian decade and its most important work, the autobiographical novel Notes from the House of the Dead (1861). Nancy Ruttenburg argues that Dostoevsky's crisis was set off by his encounter with common Russians in the labor camp, an experience that led to an intense artistic meditation on what he would call Russian "democratism." By tracing the effects of this crisis, Dostoevsky's Democracy presents a new understanding of Dostoevsky's aesthetic and political development and his role in shaping Russian modernity itself, especially in relation to the preeminent political event of his time, peasant emancipation.

Down in the Drink: Their Deadliest Enemy Was the Sea (True Stories Of Wwii Ser.)

by Ralph Barker

To crash or be shot down into the sea is a terrifying experience. And to escape to tell the tale is a rare and remarkable achievement. But that is precisely what each of the World War Two heroes described here has done; they have come 'down in the drink' and miraculously survived. In doing so, they have all qualified for the 'Goldfish Club'. Ralph Barker tells the hair-raising and inspiring stories of eight such air crews. There is the tale of the Beaufort that ditches in the North Sea, the Wellington crew stranded in the Bay of Biscay and the Mosquito fighter-bomber trapped in the sea off Burma, keeping afloaton the wreckage of his fuselage,concussed, his bones broken, withonly a flask of whisky to keep him going. In DOWN IN THE DRINK, the accounts of heroism and endurance match any from that historic time. They are stories of men from all corners of the British Commonwealth fighting for survival against unimaginable odds. No one could read of their experiences without being stirred by the proof they give that there is no limit to human courage.

The Dream: A Memoir

by Harry Bernstein

On a narrow cobbled street in a northern mill town young Harry Bernstein and his family face a daily struggle to make ends meet. This is the true story of those harsh years, overshadowed by the First World War.Amidst the hardship and suffering, Harry's devoted mother clings to a dream - that one day they might escape this grinding poverty for the paradise of America. But the regular pleas to relatives in Chicago yield nothing, until one day, when Harry is twelve years old, the family looks on astonished as he opens a letter which contains the longed-for steamship tickets.But the better life of which they'd dreamed proves elusive. Deprivation follows them to Chicago - and for Harry, life becomes more difficult still as he finds himself torn between his responsibilities to his mother, and his first love...

The Dream (Oberon Modern Plays)

by Leigh Lawson

A passionate, clear-sighted look at the day-to-day life of a working actor, The Dream follows Leigh Lawson as he performs with the Royal Shakespeare Company, taking in a brief excursion to America to appear in a Coward double-bill. Invited by the RSC to play both Oberon and Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he navigates his way through the separate difficulties posed by each role, survives the first night at London’s Barbican, and returns to Stratford upon Avon, the scene of many of his childhood escapades and the source of his love affair with the theatre. Leigh also recalls the hilariously unsettling circumstances of his first big break – a leading part in Franco Zeffirelli’s film Brother Sun, Sister Moon shortly after leaving drama school. Leigh proves himself a born writer, whether summoning up the backstage atmosphere of a first night with uncanny accuracy, evoking the beauties of the natural world, or creating thumbnail sketches of his colleagues and friends with a few well-chosen words. The book draws the reader inside the mind of an actor: his fears and reveries; his pragmatism and superstition; his shifting feelings about rehearsals and performances, and the oddities of audiences. Vivid, warm-hearted and perceptive, The Dream will delight everybody with an interest in the theatre.

Driven: Cooking In The Fast Lane - My Story

by James Martin

Whether skateboarding across the kitchen as a child,or taking part in the world's most prestigious vintage road race, TV chef James Martin has never been oneto sit still. In this entertaining narrative he revealshow his two passions – cooking and cars – have fuelled his hopes, dreams and successes and made him the household name he is today.

The Driver: True Life Adventures of an Underground Road Racer

by Alexander Roy

On his deathbed, Alex Roy's father dropped tantalizing hints about the notorious Cannonball Run of the 1970s, the utterly illegal high-speed non-stop races from New York to LA. Inspired by his father's dying words, and against the advice of his friends, Roy enters this mysterious world - trying both to find himself, and to locate 'The Driver' - the anonymous organizer of the world's ultimate car race. In this riveting memoir, Roy straps you into his highly modified BMW M5, takes you on a terrifying 120 mph lap of Manhattan, then tackles the Gumball 3000 and the Bullrun - the two most infamous road rallies in the world. His bogus Polizei Autobahn Interceptor sticks out among the Lamborghinis and Ferraris driven by millionaire playboys, software moguls, Arab princes, movie stars, leggy Czech supermodels, gearheads, and tech whizzes. Armed with myriad radar detectors, laser jammers and police scanners, and his trunk crammed with a variety of fake uniforms, the obsessively prepared Roy evades arrest at almost every turn, wreaking havoc on his fiercest rivals and gaining the admiration of police forces around the globe.Filled with insane driving and Roy's quixotic quest to win both for his late father and himself, The Driver is the tale of one man's insatiable drive beyond life in the fast lane.

The Duchess (Text Only)

by Amanda Foreman

A tale of decadence and excess, great houses and wild parties, love and sexual intrigue, this biography of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, casts an astonishing new light on the nobility of eighteenth-century England.

The Duel: Castlereagh, Canning and Deadly Cabinet Rivalry

by Giles Hunt

The fateful duel of 1809 between Lord Castlereagh and George Canning is one of the great puzzles of 19th-century British politics. What made these two titans of the political scene - close colleagues and highly effective members of the Cabinet - draw arms against each other? Canning was Foreign Secretary while Castlereagh was Secretary of State for War and the Colonies: what were they thinking on that ominous morning and what was important enough to provoke two Cabinet ministers to such extraordinary behaviour?This detailed history of the famous duel is the first to examine fully the careers of these two great men and the political conflicts that brought them to fire shots at each other on Putney Heath. Drawing on previously overlooked private papers, Giles Hunt traces what happened on that eventful day and the consequences for British politics. Castlereagh is traditionally depicted as an old-fashioned Tory reactionary, Canning as a brilliant but ambitious liberal. The trigger for Castlereagh's challenge came when Canning threatened to resign unless the Prime Minister made certain changes in the government - including removing Castlereagh from his ministerial position. Surely proof that Castlereagh was more than justified in challenging his villainous colleague. Yet Giles Hunt has uncovered evidence which casts a different light on Canning's character, revealing a man of honour and a politician of principle. Canning was also the only member of the Cabinet with no connection to a peerage and Hunt explores the part notions of class and snobbery have played in popular perceptions of both men. The Duel unpacks the complex characters of these influential men and examines the roots of the political and personal rivalry which led them to face each other with pistols early in the morning of 21st September 1809 for one of the strangest and most significant duels of history.

Eleven Houses: A Memoir of Childhood

by Christopher Fitz-Simon

Christopher Fitz-Simon was born into an extraordinary Irish family, with Daniel 'The Liberator' O’Connell on one side and Ulster Protestants on the other, and his childhood coincided with the Second World War – or, as it was known in the southern Irish state, the Emergency. Eleven Houses is a crystalline memoir of his family's odd progress through those odd years, an account by turns hilarious and heartbreaking.Christopher’s father was an officer in the British army, serving in the middle east when war broke out, and the family home in these years was in fact a series of homes in every part of Ireland. Christopher’s mother, a restless, unsettled woman, moved him and his brother constantly: they stayed in the homes of relatives (including Annaghmakerrig in Co. Monaghan) and friends (Maidenhall in Co. Kilkenny); they were paying guests in country houses; and they lived in military accommodation in Co. Down. For long periods they were not enrolled in school, and the commencement of formal education proved a shock after years of the freedom of houses, orchards, lanes and fields.Drawing on his extraordinarily vivid recall of the places and feelings of those years, Christopher Fitz-Simon tells a story of growing up that is also, in effect, a story of various hidden Irelands during the twilit years of the war. Funny, moving and sharp, it is a childhood memoir like no other.

Emilio Rabasa and the Survival of Porfirian Liberalism: The Man, His Career, and His Ideas, 1856-1930

by Charles A. Hale

This is an intellectual and career biography of Emilio Rabasa, the eminent Mexican jurist, politician, novelist, diplomat, journalist, and historian who opposed the Revolution of 1910-20, spent the years 1914 to 1920 in exile, but returned and was reintegrated into Mexican life until his death in 1930. Though he is still idolized by the juridical community of Mexico City, little is known about Rabasa beyond his principal publications. He was a reserved, enigmatic man who kept no personal archive and sought a low public profile. Hale reveals unknown aspects of his life, career, and personality from two extensive bodies of correspondence—with Jos Yves Limantour, finance minister from 1893 to 1911, and William F. Buckley, Sr., American lawyer and petroleum entrepreneur. He also analyzes Rabasa's political, juridical, and social ideas, arguing that they demonstrate continuity and even survival of late nineteenth-century liberalism through the revolutionary years and beyond. Rabasa's was a transformed liberalism, based on scientific politics drawn from European positivism and historical constitutionalism—an elitist rejection of abstract doctrines of natural rights and egalitarian democracy, emphasizing strong centralized yet constitutionally limited authority and empirically based economic development.

Enemies of Promise (Penguin Modern Classics Ser.)

by Cyril Connolly

“Whom the gods wish to destroy,” writes Cyril Connolly, “they first call promising.” First published in 1938 and long out of print, Enemies of Promise, an “inquiry into the problem of how to write a book that lasts ten years,” tests the boundaries of criticism, journalism, and autobiography with the blistering prose that became Connolly’s trademark. Connolly here confronts the evils of domesticity, politics, drink, and advertising as well as novelists such as Joyce, Proust, Hemingway, and Faulkner in essays that remain fresh and penetrating to this day. “A fine critic, compulsive traveler, and candid autobiographer. . . . [Connolly] lays down the law for all writers who wanted to count. . . . He had imagination and decisive images flashed with the speed of wit in his mind.”—V. S. Pritchett, New York Review of Books “Anyone who writes, or wants to write, will find something on just about every single page that either endorses a long-held prejudice or outrages, and that makes it a pretty compelling read. . . . You end up muttering back at just about every ornately constructed pensée that Connolly utters, but that’s one of the joys of this book.”—Nick Hornby, The Believer “A remarkable book.”—Anthony Powell

England Managers: The Toughest Job In Football

by Brian Glanville

The England national team has had 12 full-time managers and Brian Glanville has known them all. In this fascinating account of each man his strengths, weaknesses and impact on the game Brian Glanville provides an in-depth analysis of the team as well as the individuals under scrutiny. Funny, controversial, measured and thought-provoking, Glanvilles assessment of why England has underachieved is required reading for all football fans and for every member of the FA Committee if they are prepared to confront some unpalatable truths.On Revie: He was never cut out for the lonely exposed life of an international manager almost pathologically thin-skinned.On Robson: A mixture of good and bad luck characterised his years. He never seemed fully in control.On Venables: Highly competent but appointed a few years too late.On Hoddle: A curates egg of a regime.'

Enter the Dragon

by Theo Paphitis

Classic rags-to-riches story by entrepreneur and Dragons' Den star Theo PaphitisTheo Paphitis is the outspoken and charismatic star of Dragons' Den who has turned round a string of household names, from Ryman to La Senza, in a high-profile business career that has brought him millions. Now, in his revealing and controversial memoir, he not only takes the reader behind the scenes on Dragons' Den, he explains how he made his fortune. He also provides a masterclass in business methods that will enable anyone who reads this book to learn so much about how they too can improve their business.In the book, Theo recalls how his family moved to England from Cyprus and how as a poor immigrant, he took whatever jobs he could, starting as a tea boy for Lloyd's. There he began to take the first steps on a career that would net him a fortune. He reveals the methods that took him to the top, and also provides some fascinating insight into the national game from his spell as chairman of Millwall FC. But, above all, this is a book that will provide all readers with the opportunity to learn from one of the nation's most successful businessmen and put his ideas into practice.

Entirely Up to You, Darling

by Richard Attenborough Diana Hawkins

Richard Attenborough and Diana Hawkins have been friends and colleagues for nearly 50 years.They have now teamed up to write this frank and funny account of their unlikely partnership and his extraordinary life.Together, laughing and squabbling, they have travelled the world, meeting people and making films. Among the eclectic cast of characters who appear in this two-handed memoir are Steve McQueen, Mother Teresa, Charlie Chaplin, Robert Mugabe, Edward G Robinson, Ronald Reagan, David Lean, Margaret Thatcher, John Mills, Steven Spielberg, Noel Coward, Indira Gandhi, Gordon Brown and Nelson Mandela.Prompted by his adventures in the movie business, Attenborough reflects on the highs and lows of a long life, both in and out of the public gaze. He writes revealingly of his passion for football and politics, of his avuncular relationship with Princess Diana and finally about the tsunami tragedy which engulfed his family in December 2004.

Erika and Klaus Mann in New York: Escape from the Magic Mountain (Chicago Shorts)

by Andrea Weiss

This is the riveting tale of two brave nonconformists whose dramatic lives open up new perspectives on the history of the twentieth century. Thomas Mann’s two eldest children, Erika and Klaus, were unconventional, rebellious, and fiercely devoted to each other. Empowered by their close bond, they espoused vehemently anti-Nazi views in a Europe swept up in fascism and were openly, even defiantly, gay in an age of secrecy and repression. In 1936, they fled to the United States and chose New York as their new adopted home. From the start, the two were embroiled by the literary and intellectual life, political turmoil, and shifting sexual mores of their times. Andrea Weiss engages their struggles, their friendships (Maurice Wertheim and Annemarie Schwarzenbach, among them), and their liaisons, as the siblings try to adapt to their new lives, all while introducing their work to an American audience for the first time.

Escape

by Carolyn Jessop

In the closed world of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, Carolyn Jessop was forced to obey her controlling husband's every demand. She had no money, no power and existed as one of six wives battling for her husband's attention. For seventeen years Carolyn suffered for the sake of her children. She tried to protect them as the cult's new leader, Warren Jeffs, started marrying girls off younger and younger. But when Carolyn discovered that her twelve-year-old daughter had spent three days at Jeffs' home, she knew she had to do everything in her power to take her children and flee.At 35 Carolyn escaped. This is her harrowing - and ultimately triumphant - story

Escaping Daddy: A Heartbreaking True Story Of A Brave Little Girl's Escape From Violence

by Maria Landon

The sequel to Daddy’s Little Earner tells Maria’s story as she tries to rebuild her life.

Ever, Dirk: The Bogarde Letters

by John Coldstream

The hitherto unpublished Dirk Bogarde - the best of his marvellous lettersThe success of John Coldstream's bestselling biography of Dirk Bogarde demonstrates that the interest in one of Britain's leading actors, memoirists and novelists does not diminish, even though it is a decade since his death. Bogarde was a secretive man, who destroyed many of his own papers and diaries. Fortunately, the recipients of his letters treasured them, enabling John Coldstream to bring together this fascinating collection of hitherto unpublished material.Bogarde wrote to each correspondent according to the nature of the friendship, but invariably he was frank, gossipy, funny and often malicious. The joy of writing, particularly as he grew older and chose to live in France, was never far away. The letters display the qualities familiar to those who knew the private Bogarde: acute observation, laser-like intelligence, impatience with the foolish, compassion for the needy, a relish for the witty metaphor, and a catastrophic disdain for correct spelling and punctuation. Above all, to read his letters is to hear him talk, and no conversation with Dirk Bogarde was dull. Recipients included the film director Joseph Losey, Bogarde's first publisher Norah Smallwood, the film critic Dilys Powell, and the novelist Penelope Mortimer.

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