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Biography
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The Angels of Englemere Wood
Life in Britain between the two world wars was arduous and daunting. Working people laboured to stave off the spectres of disease, hunger and homelessness, and against this troubled backdrop, children inevitably came off worst. This is the true story of a group of poor London girls who, to escape the merciless bombing of the Luftwaffe, were dispatched to a children's home in Ascot. Where once they heard the throb of railways and tasted the smoke of locomotives, now there was birdsong and a whole new set of escapades to enjoy. And under the care of the formidable but kindly Matron Doris Bailey, and their high society host Dorothy Peyton, the lives of the girls were utterly transformed.
£16.99
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Train Lord
Oliver Mol was a successful, clever, healthy 25-year old. Then one day the migraine started. For 10 months, the pain was constant, exacerbated by writing, reading, using computers, looking at phones or anything with a screen. Slowly he became a writer who no longer wrote, and a person who could no longer could communicate with the modern world. In literature, and life, Oliver began to disappear. This is Oliver's story of his frightening descent into living with perpetual pain. His doctors can't figure out how to fix him. He suffers a breakdown. One evening, high on pain killers, Oliver Googles the only thing he can think of: 'full-time job, no experience, Sydney'. An ad for a train guard appears. For two years Oliver will watch others live their lives, observing the minutia and intimacy of strangers brought together briefly and connected by the steady march of time.
£16.99
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One, Place De L'eglise
A thousand years ago, around the time King Harold inconveniently got shot with an arrow and a group of ladies made a tapestry, in the south of France a man and his friends decided to build a house next to a church. Over the centuries many things happened in that house, none of which found its way into history books. With the coming of the first decade of the twenty-first century, 1 Place de l'Eglise had become rather derelict. The roof leaked, the mortar in the ancient walls was crumbling, a fertilizer bag stuffed a broken window. There was no electricity to speak of, the plumbing was a lead pipe in one room, the cellar doors had rotted. And there it stood. Shutters and doors firmly locked, the villagers of Causses-et-Veyran passing by to the church next door. Then, an impoverished - in his mind at any rate - Londoner and his wife went a little crazy and bought it. It was love at first sight.
£14.99
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The Right Sort of Girl
Empowering and energetic, 'The Right Sort of Girl' is a coming-of-age story of identity. Trying to navigate her Indian world at home and the British world outside her front door, Anita Rani was a girl who didn't fit in anywhere. She shares with us the lessons she wishes her 16-year-old self could have known then: you do not need to bleach your skin; be your own superhero; you are Indian enough; you don't need to compromise on your own happiness; and that there is no such thing as the right sort of girl.
£9.99
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Crying in H Mart
From the indie rockstar Japanese Breakfast and author of the viral 2018 New Yorker piece, a deeply moving memoir on identity and belonging, grief and joy.
£10.99
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Down and Out in Paris and London
This text is the outcome of years spent in Paris and months spent tramping south-east England. It depicts what life was like for a striving author who was struggling to write, painting a vivid picture of the life he led in the lower depths.
£9.99
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This Is Not About Me
'My mother thought I was the menopause' - one of Britain's greatest contemporary novelists turns her focus, in luminous, powerful prose, to her eccentric childhood in the 1950s and '60s.
£9.99
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The Motorcycle Diaries
Che Guevara, revolutionary guerilla, became an international icon for generations of radicals. Three years before his fateful meeting with Fidel Castro, he set out on his motorcycle on an eight month voyage of discovery around Latin America.
£10.99
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Homage to Catalonia
Following his experiences as a militiaman in the Spanish Civil War, the author brings to bear all the force of his humanity, passion and clarity, describing with bitter intensity the bright hopes and cynical betrayals of that chaotic episode: the revolutionary euphoria of Barcelona, the courage of ordinary Spanish men and more.
£9.99
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Fever Pitch
This is Hornby's account of what being a football fan really means. An extraordinary combination of football, obsession and autobiography, 'Fever Pitch' has become a contemporary classic.
£10.99
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The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Written shortly before his assassination in 1965, this autobiography of Malcolm X traces his life from its violent beginnings in the Harlem Ghetto to his becoming one of the most important political figures of his time, and an icon in ours.
£12.99
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Why Did You Stay?
Actor, writer and hopeless romantic Rebecca Humphries had often been called crazy by her boyfriend. But when paparazzi caught him kissing his 'Strictly Come Dancing' partner, she realised the only crazy thing was believing she didn't deserve more. Forced into victimhood by the story, Rebecca chose to reclaim her power, posting her thoughts on social media, including advice for other women who might be experiencing what she realised she'd managed to escape: a toxic, oppressive relationship. A flood of support poured in, but amongst the well-wishes was a simple question with an infinitely complex answer: 'If he was so bad, why did you stay?' Empowering, unflinching and full of humour, this book takes that question and owns it. Using her relationship history, coming of age stories and experiences since the Strictly scandal, Rebecca explores why good girls are drawn to darkness.
£18.99
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Diplomatic Baggage
When she married the love of her life in the late 1960s, Brigid Keenan was not prepared for the rollercoaster life she would experience, travelling round the world as the wife of a diplomat. In this book she recalls some of her most memorable experiences, including dealing with diplomats, witchdoctors and difficult teenagers.
£10.99
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Brother. Do. You. Love. Me
Reuben was living in a home providing care for adults with learning disabilities. For over a year he had been non-verbal, unable to express his thoughts and feelings except on paper with felt-tip pens. 'Brother do you love me' is a dazzling story of hope, resilience and repair for our troubled times. It explores how far we're capable of going for those we love, and asks how, individually and collectively, we can all take better care of each other.
£22.00
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Where Memories Go
Sally Magnusson cared with her two sisters for her mother, Mamie, during her long struggle with dementia, until her death in 2012. This moving and honest account of losing a loved one day by day to an insidious disease is both deeply personal and a challenging call to arms.
£13.99
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Being Elvis
'Being Elvis' takes a clear-eyed look at the most-loved entertainer ever, and finds an unusual boy with a dazzling talent who grew up to change popular culture; a man who sold a billion records and had more hits than any other singer, but who became trapped by his own frailties in the loneliness of fame.
£14.99
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Cry of the Kalahari
Carrying little more than a change of clothes and a pair of binoculars, two young Americans, Mark and Delia Owens, caught a plane to Africa, bought a thirdhand Land Rover, and drove deep into the Kalahari Desert. They lived for seven years, in an unexplored area with no roads, no people and no source of water for thousands of square miles. In this vast wilderness the Owenses began their zoology research, working along animals that had never before been exposed to humans. 'Cry of the Kalahari' is the story of the Owenses's life with lions, brown hyenas, jackals, giraffes and the many other creatures they came to know.
£14.99
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The Tick of Two Clocks
When Joan Bakewell - Labour Peer, author and famous champion of the older people's right to a good and fruitful life - decided that she could no longer remain in her old home, she had to confront what she calls 'the next segment of life.' Disposing of things accumulated during a long life, saying goodbye to her home and the memories of more than fifty years, thinking about what is needed for downsizing - all suddenly became urgent and emotional tasks. In using the tale of her own life, Joan tells us a story of our times and how she is learning to live to the sound and tune of the tick of two clocks: the old and the new.
£10.99
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Black Teacher
Working in an office amidst the East End's bombsites. Serving as a lady's maid to an Empire-loving aristocrat. Being repeatedly denied jobs due to the colour bar. Marrying an English man and raising two mixed-race children in suburbia. Becoming one of the first black headteachers in Britain. Beryl Gilroy's new life wasn't what she had expected. In 1952, she moved from Guyana to London to pursue her dream of teaching, only to experience Britain's racist post-war society. After finally securing a teaching post, she faced fear and curiosity from her pupils, bigoted abuse from parents, and semi-segregation among staff. But over the course of her trailblazing career, Gilroy only grew braver, learning the value of education in combating prejudice and rising to become a pioneering headmistress. This title tells Gilroy's story in her own words.
£10.99
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Allegorizings
Soldier, journalist, historian, author of 40 books, Jan Morris led an extraordinary life, witnessing such seminal moments as the first ascent of Everest, the Suez Canal Crisis, the Eichmann Trial, The Cuban Revolution and so much more. Now, in 'Allegorizings', published posthumously as was her wish, Morris looks back over some of the key moments of her life, and sees a multitude of meanings. From her final travels to the USA and across Europe to late journeys on her beloved trains and ships, from the deaths of her old friends Hilary and Tenzig to the enduring relationships in her own life, from reflections on identity and nations to the importance of good marmalade, it bears testimony to her uniquely kind and inquisitive take on the world.
£9.99
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Dog Years
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.
£16.99
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The Madness of Grief
Whether it is pastoral care for the bereaved, discussions about the afterlife, or being called out to perform the last rites, death is part of the Reverend Richard Coles's life and work. But when his partner the Reverend David Coles died, shortly before Christmas in 2019, much about death took Coles by surprise. For one thing, David's death at the early age of forty-three was unexpected. The man that so often assists others to examine life's moral questions now found himself in need of help. He began to look to others for guidance to steer him through his grief. The flock was leading the shepherd. Much about grief surprised him: the volume of 'sadmin' you have to do when someone dies, how much harder it is travelling for work alone, even the pain of typing a text message to your partner - then realising you are alone.
£9.99
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All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days
Born and raised in America, Mildred Harnack was twenty-six and living in Germany when she witnessed the meteoric rise of the Nazi party. She began holding secret meetings in her apartment, forming a small band of political activists set on helping Jews escape, denouncing Hitler and calling for revolution. When the Second World War began, she became a spy, couriering top-secret intelligence to the Allies. In this astonishing work of non-fiction, Harnack's great-great-niece Rebecca Donner draws on extensive archival research, fusing elements of biography, political thriller and scholarly detective story to tell a powerful, epic tale of an enigmatic woman nearly erased by history.
£12.99
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Without Warning and Only Sometimes
Kit de Waal grew up in a household of opposites and extremes. Her haphazard mother rarely cooked, forbade Christmas and birthdays, worked as a cleaner, nurse and childminder sometimes all at once and believed the world would end in 1975. Meanwhile, her father stuffed barrels full of goodies for his relatives in the Caribbean, cooked elaborate meals on a whim and splurged money they didn't have on cars, suits and shoes fit for a prince. Both of her parents were waiting for paradise. It never came. Caught between three worlds, Irish, Caribbean and British in 1960s Birmingham, Kit and her brothers and sisters knew all the words to the best songs, caught sticklebacks in jam jars and braved hunger and hellfire until they could all escape.
£16.99
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