Biographies
Format: Hardback
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781399074025
Pub Date: 30 Jun 2024
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 30 Jun 2024
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781399074025
Description:
It was the Hollywood romance that warmed hearts and thrilled audiences, but the path to true love was littered with alcoholism, abandonment and bitter disappointments.
Humphrey Bogart had crawled up the hard way, leaving behind a childhood without affection for a life as the idol of millions. Bogie’s road to stardom had been long and tough, forging a superstar who hated being in the spotlight as much as he loved being in the bar. With three marriages to his name and a reputation as one of the hardest drinkers in Hollywood, happiness was always fleeting.
Lauren Bacall grew up in New York as the apple of her hard-working mother’s eye, dreaming of a life in the limelight. Modelling by day and tearing tickets at night, when she was summoned to Hollywood to make a screentest, young Betty Bacall grabbed it with both hands. There she was reborn as the vampish Lauren Bacall, a teenage nobody who would make her debut in To Have and Have Not opposite the quintessential Hollywood tough guy, Humphrey Bogart.
Nobody expected what came next, but the love affair between Bogie and Bacall took the world by storm. The Real Bogie & Bacall tells the story of two people whose romance shouldn’t have worked… but did.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781399053396
Pub Date: 30 Apr 2024
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 30 Apr 2024
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781399053396
Description:
After Nirvana, everything changed. Kurt Cobain and his band ushered in a new era in music, bringing the authenticity of US underground punk to mainstream rock audiences. Award-winning biographer and music critic Marc Burrows dives into the world of Nirvana, providing an exhaustive day-by-day account of the lifespan of the band, from their early days touring the dive bars of the Pacific North-West through the release of ’Smells Like Teen Spirit' and Nevermind, the dark masterpiece of In Utero and Kurt Cobain’s tragic death in 1994. The timeline is augmented by hyper-detailed footnotes, diving deep into the songs and albums, the impact and the fascinating unexplored corners of one of the most exciting and impactful bands that have ever been.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 184
ISBN: 9781399040730
Pub Date: 04 Apr 2024
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 04 Apr 2024
Pages: 184
ISBN: 9781399040730
Description:
During his lifetime, US playwright Arthur Miller was affronted in numerous ways by what he experienced, either personally, or vicariously through the experiences of others. For example:
By the way his immigrant family had come to financial grief in the Great Depression (1929 to the late 1930s), through no fault of their own.
By the anti-Semitism that existed in the USA and elsewhere in the 1930s, culminating in the Nazi Holocaust in which so many people of his own ethnic group, the Jews, together with millions of other innocents, perished.
By the way he and others, including many connected with the arts, were persecuted for alleged communist sympathies in the McCarthy ‘witch-hunts’ of the late 1940s and 1950s in the USA.
By the way that atheism, to which he himself subscribed, was considered to be subversive and unpatriotic.
By the way that the ‘American Dream’ was generally portrayed as something to which everybody could aspire: and yet, by embracing the concept of the American Dream, most people were generally setting themselves up to fail.
Despite his disillusionment with life, Miller strove to illuminate a path to a better way and in doing so, offered hope to the inhabitants of the flawed and troubled world in which he found himself, not just in the USA but also elsewhere.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781399047265
Pub Date: 27 Feb 2024
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 27 Feb 2024
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781399047265
Description:
A number of fighters in boxing history have been considered great over the years. However, it must be said that in some cases their respected claims to greatness do not stand up when closely scrutinised. The same cannot be said of Muhammad Ali. Now this man was a true great, no argument. Ali would often state when in his pomp that he was the greatest of all time. Many experts even today agree with that statement. Ali changed the way the general public viewed the sport. He in fact changed boxing, shook it up in a way that it had never been shaken before.
Ali was different, he was special, he talked a good fight, making bold statements prior to his fights which he backed up with his outstanding talent. The man was a master in the ring a craftsman who often overcame the odds when in combat.
Ali fought the very best fighters available – he dodged no man, a true champion in every sense of the word, he gave every contender their chance. Ali became the first boxer to win the world heavyweight crown on three different occasions. Whenever heavyweight boxing is discussed, the name Muhammad Ali is mentioned – how can it not be when considering his magnificent record?
This book covers the many achievements of the fighter and those associated with him during his long career in an interesting way which fight fans will find informative.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9781399071079
Pub Date: 30 Aug 2023
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 30 Aug 2023
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9781399071079
Description:
Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula is an affectionate and revealing biography of the man who created the vampire novel that would define the genre and lead to a new age in Gothic horror literature.
Based on decades of painstaking research in libraries, museums, and university archives and privileged access to private collections on both sides of the Atlantic, the private letters of Bram and the reminiscences of those who knew him not only shed new light on Stoker's ancestry, his life, loves and friendships they also reveal more about the places and people who inspired him and how he researched and wrote his books. Bram wrote numerous articles, short stories and poetry for newspapers and magazines, he had a total of eleven novels and two collections of short stories published in his lifetime, but he would only become known for one of them – Dracula. Tragically, he did not live long enough to see it as a huge success.
In his heyday as Acting Manager for Sir Henry Irving at the Lyceum Theatre in the West End of London, Bram was a well-known figure in a golden age of British theatre. He was a big-framed, ebullient, genial, gentleman, with red hair and beard, who never lost his soft Irish brogue, was blessed with wit, and a host of entertaining stories fit for every occasion. Described as having the paw of Hercules and the smile of Machiavelli, above all he knew what it meant to be a loyal friend.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781399042055
Pub Date: 08 Aug 2023
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 08 Aug 2023
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781399042055
Description:
In the year 1900, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was at the height of his success as a qualified doctor, keen sportsman, writer of historical novels, champion of the oppressed and, most notably, the creator of that honourable, fearless, and eminently sensible master-detective Sherlock Holmes.
Every new Holmes story was greeted with great anticipation and confidence in the knowledge that, however complex the crime, the supremely intelligent and logical detective would solve it. But in 1916 Conan Doyle surprised his readers by declaring that he believed in spiritualism. And when, in 1922, Doyle published a book in which he professed to believe in fairies, his devotees were nonplussed. How could the creator of the inexorably logical Sherlock Holmes claim to believe in something as vague, esoteric, and unproven as the paranormal?
In this fascinating study of the life of the creator of one of the greatest detectives of all time, Dr Andrew Norman traces the origin of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s strange beliefs. Can it be that Doyle’s alcoholic father holds the key to the unanswered questions about his son? What was Doyle’s involvement in the notorious ‘Cottingley Fairies’ affair?
By delving into medical records and the writings of Doyle himself, Dr Norman unravels a mystery as exciting as any of the cases embarked upon by the great Sherlock Holmes!
Format: Hardback
Pages: 232
ISBN: 9781526780720
Pub Date: 20 Jul 2023
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 20 Jul 2023
Pages: 232
ISBN: 9781526780720
Description:
Charlie Chaplin’s career has been described, critiqued, and scrutinized. There are book-length studies on Chaplin’s music hall career, his career at Keystone Studios and the Mutual Studios. Somehow, his tenure with First National studios, however, has been largely neglected, even though it was during this several-year contractual time period that Chaplin built and occupied his own studio for the first time, that he attempted and succeeded in filming a comedy feature (The Kid) and that he helped to set up United Artists, an organization that protected the salaries and creative freedom of actors in Hollywood. This period in Chaplin’s story is especially interesting because such landmark moments are accompanied by Chaplin’s first marriage and divorce, the death of his first child, his friendship with French silent film comedian Max Linder, World War I and the role he would play in it, and the production and release of several unsuccessful films that marked Chaplin’s first creative blockage - one that threatened his future career. This book will discuss the transitional periods just before and after the First National contract, as well as the all-important period satisfying it. Archival evidence provides most of the support for the book’s assertions, from the Chaplin archive (property of Roy Export, digitised by Cineteca di Bologna, Italy), and the personal archives of other individuals or institutions discussed. Rare photos will illustrate the story.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9781526794666
Pub Date: 06 Mar 2023
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 06 Mar 2023
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9781526794666
Description:
This is the extraordinary story of Elisabeth Beresford, creator of The Wombles, the furry, fun-loving recyclers of rubbish which became a children’s publishing and television sensation in the 1970s. What drove this imaginative and prolific writer of children’s books to invent The Wombles? From her birth in Paris in 1926 to her death in the Channel Islands in 2010, Beresford’s working life was led to the full, driven by the fear of debt. Married to the TV and radio sports commentator, Max Robertson, and with two children, Elisabeth’s life was never dull but always uncertain. In addition to writing over 140 children’s books, she wrote romantic fiction for women’s magazines, became a regular contributor to the Today programme, Woman’s Hour (BBC) and Woman’s World (Central Office of Information). As a journalist she interviewed a fascinating range of people from politicians and film stars to children in the remote Australian Outback. With the publication of The Wombles, and subsequently the enchanting BBC films, Elisabeth found fame and for a very brief moment, fortune.
This is the first biography of ‘Mrs Womble’ as Elisabeth was known by millions of fans. Written by her daughter with insider knowledge and access to private family archives - diaries, letters, photographs and family memories - this book relates the remarkable and often hilarious life of one of the 20th century’s most successful children’s authors.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 200
ISBN: 9781399064187
Pub Date: 07 Oct 2022
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 07 Oct 2022
Pages: 200
ISBN: 9781399064187
Description:
Higher than Everest paints an uncompromising portrait of Tendi Sherpa, who has successfully climbed twenty-one mountains over 8,000m, including fourteen ascents of Everest. This young father, part of the elite group of Nepalese guides, embodies the new generation of Sherpas who are taking their destiny into their own hands. In the numerous conferences he holds throughout the world, he never hesitates to denounce the amateurism and obsession of certain people determined to climb Everest, as well as the over-crowding of the sacred Himalayan mountains.
As a child, the man who would go on to save many lives on the Roof of the World once dreamed of becoming a monk, and from his years at the monastery, he still retains a deep attachment to Buddhism and its many rituals. Resolutely looking towards the future, but also concerned about respecting the environment and traditions, Tendi regularly returns to the secluded valley of Khembalung, the land of his ancestors, never forgetting where it is he has come from.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 216
ISBN: 9781526748805
Pub Date: 17 Dec 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 17 Dec 2021
Pages: 216
ISBN: 9781526748805
Description:
He wrote one of the most quintessentially English books, yet Kenneth Grahame (1859 – 1932) was a Scot. He was four years old when his mother died and his father became an alcoholic, so Kenneth grew up with his grandmother who lived on the banks of the beloved River Thames. Forced to abandon his dreams of studying at Oxford, he was accepted as a clerk at the Bank of England where he became one of the youngest men to be made company secretary. He narrowly escaped death in 1903 when he was mistaken for the Bank’s governor and shot at several times. He wrote secretly in his spare time for magazines and became a contemporary of contributors including Rudyard Kipling, George Bernard Shaw and WB Yeats. Kenneth’s first book, Pagan Papers (1893) initiated his success, followed by The Golden Age (1895) and Dream Days (1898), which turned him into a celebrated author. Ironically, his most famous novel today was the least successful during his lifetime: The Wind in the Willows (1908) originated as letters to his disabled son, who was later found dead on a train line after a suspected suicide. Kenneth never recovered from the tragedy and died with a broken heart in earshot of the River Thames. His widow, Elspeth, dedicated the rest of her life to preserving her husband’s name and promoting his work.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 128
ISBN: 9781526768346
Pub Date: 10 Dec 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 10 Dec 2021
Pages: 128
ISBN: 9781526768346
Description:
Since 1978 Jim Davis’ sarcastic, orange tabby cat has entertained millions of people appearing in Newspapers, books, cartoons and even his own films. Why has a lazy, coffee drinking, lasagna loving feline become a worldwide sensation loved by millions of people? From his small-town beginnings in Muncie, Indiana, The Creation of Garfield explores our relationship with Garfield, Jon and Odie and how Davis’ characters have become such an integral part of American pop culture over the decades.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 168
ISBN: 9781526786838
Pub Date: 02 Dec 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 02 Dec 2021
Pages: 168
ISBN: 9781526786838
Description:
Throughout the world, people regard Peter Sellers purely as a comedic genius: surely, one of the greatest ever to have lived. But, the astute observer will notice that he always appeared to be acting, even when being interviewed. So, who was Peter Sellers?
Sellers once said, ‘I could never be myself you see. There is no “Me”. I do not exist. There used to be me, but I had it surgically removed’. Clearly, this was not intended to be taken literally. Instead, the inference is that somehow, he had lost his sense of identity.
To discover the real Peter Sellers is no easy task, and when we do, what we encounter is a totally different persona from the comedic characters that he portrayed on the screen.
Sellers had celebrity status: a succession of beautiful wives; immense wealth; magnificent motor cars; expensive yachts; a house in Mayfair, and various palatial residences. But far from being happy, he was plagued by self-doubt; ambitious, but never satisfied. And so, he resorted to superstition, clairvoyance, and drugs to get himself through the day.
For all Sellers’ worldwide fame as ‘Inspector Clouseau’, many regard the film Being There, in which he played the character ‘Chance’, a gardener, as his masterpiece. In fact, the film was a damning indictment of the false god of materialism.
Sellers’ obsession with the character of ‘Chance’, makes it seem likely that this was the kind of person he aspired to be, and wished that he had been.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 160
ISBN: 9781526772015
Pub Date: 26 Nov 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 26 Nov 2021
Pages: 160
ISBN: 9781526772015
Description:
Nile Wilson is known to many as a Great Britain Gymnast who won a Bronze Medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and who is England’s most successful ever gymnast at a Commonwealth Games following his 5 medals in 2018. Yet, Nile is so much more than just a gymnast. A YouTuber with over a million subscribers, a social media influencer, a successful businessman and entrepeneur, Nile is also an advocate for mental health awareness, and who has been very open about his own personal struggles.
Nile Wilson – My Story gives an unprecedented look into Nile’s true battle to be fit and ready for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics - throughout the Games and the aftermath. The public perception of Nile Wilson is his humour, openness and how down to earth he is, all of which is true. Due to this perception however, people presume they know everything about him. This book will shatter that perception, and reveal the struggles behind the smiles, from the brutal reality of performing at an elite sporting level, to the mental health battles Nile has had to fight – and continues to fight – every day.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 288
ISBN: 9781399016216
Pub Date: 03 Nov 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 03 Nov 2021
Pages: 288
ISBN: 9781399016216
Description:
In a career that’s spanned thirty-five years and generated fourteen albums, fifty-three singles (two of them UK number ones), four Brit Awards, two Ivor Novellas and inspired literally hundreds of university dissertations, quite a few PhD’s and the odd specialist subject on Mastermind, Manic Street Preachers have become, in the words of their 2011 singles collection, national treasures. The Welsh trio (who, to many, will always be a quartet) have a uniquely intense impact on their fans; educating them as much as they entertain and inspire. This book collects fourteen brand new essays, one for each Manics album, from fourteen different writers from diverse backgrounds, tracing the band’s impact on fans and culture and setting each of their works, from 1992’s Generation Terrorists to 2018’s Resistance Is Futile and beyond, into context. The essays are linked by a detailed month-by-month biography by music critic and Manics fan Marc Burrows (The Guardian, The Quietus, Drowned In Sound), who compiled and edited the book, tracing the band’s development from glamourpuss upstart intellectuals to the elder statesmen of British indie rock, via an era-defining run of hits, an historic trip to Cuba and one vanished genius. Manic Street Preachers: Album by Album includes a complete discography and is sourced from in-depth archival research, making it one of the most comprehensive and detailed works devoted to the band yet compiled.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 272
ISBN: 9781526780805
Pub Date: 01 Sep 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 01 Sep 2021
Pages: 272
ISBN: 9781526780805
Description:
Most biographies of Walt Disney portray him as a creative genius who revolutionized the entertainment industry during the first half of the twentieth century. While he did transform the medium of animation, quickly becoming a household name during his late thirties, many biographies tell the story of Walt Disney’s development in a historical vacuum, separate from the historical events happening around him. However, while Walt Disney was certainly a history-influencer, historical events happening in America and the world also shaped the entertainment pioneer he would become.
As the twentieth century began, a new form of entertainment, “motion pictures,” would emerge, capturing the imagination of a young boy from Missouri. Over the next several years, Walt Disney would begin to hone his art skills, overcoming a number of hurdles including numerous relocations, a brutal paper route, a deployment to Europe in the days after World War One, numerous bankruptcies, and even homelessness. It was these adversities, along with the historical events that surrounded him, that would influence the man he would become.
For the first time ever, The Early Life of Walt Disney tells some important stories that help to flesh out the Disney history. How instrumental was Elias Disney’s career as a carpenter in Chicago? Why did the Disneys really leave Chicago to move to Marceline, Missouri? What types of jobs did Walt perform in France in the days following World War One? How was Walt influenced by the budding industry of animation in America? In addition to answering these questions, The Early Life of Walt Disney also includes a tour of the newly restored Walt Disney Birthplace, a new museum located in the childhood home of Walt Disney in Chicago, Illinois!
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9781399000499
Pub Date: 18 Aug 2021
Format: Paperback
Pub Date: 18 Aug 2021
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9781399000499
Description:
The Magic Of Terry Pratchett is the first full biography of Sir Terry Pratchett ever written. Sir Terry was Britain’s best-selling living author*, and before his death in 2015 had sold more than 85 million copies of his books worldwide. Best known for the Discworld series, his work has been translated into 37 languages and performed as plays on every continent in the world, including Antarctica. Journalist, comedian and Pratchett fan Marc Burrows delves into the back story of one of UK’s most enduring and beloved authors; from his childhood in the Chiltern Hills, to his time as a journalist, and the journey that would take him – via more than sixty best-selling books – to an OBE, a knighthood and national treasure status. The Magic Of Terry Pratchett is the result of painstaking archival research alongside interviews with friends and contemporaries who knew the real man under the famous black hat, helping to piece together the full story of one of British literature’s most remarkable and beloved figures for the very first time.
*Now disqualified on both counts.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9781526782151
Pub Date: 02 Jul 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 02 Jul 2021
Pages: 208
ISBN: 9781526782151
Description:
The story of Swindon-born film star Diana Dors is one of fame, glamour and intrigue. From the moment she came into the world, her life was full of drama. Her acting career began in the shadow of the Second World War, entering the film world as a vulnerable young teenager and negotiating the difficult British studio system of the 1940s and 50s. Yet she battled against the odds to become one of the most iconic British actors of the 20th century.
This book follows her remarkable story, from childhood in suburban Swindon, to acting success as a teenager and finding fame as the ‘the English Marilyn Monroe’. Many remember her as an outspoken and sometimes controversial figure, grabbing headlines for her personal life as often as her film roles. For Diana, image seemed to be everything, but there was more to her than the ‘blonde bombshell’ reputation suggested. A talented actor, she worked on numerous film and television projects, building a fascinating career that spanned decades.
Set against the backdrop of the changing social landscape of twentieth century Britain, this book charts the ups and downs of her diverse acting career and her tumultuous private life, to build a fascinating picture of a truly unique British screen icon.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 176
ISBN: 9781526777614
Pub Date: 13 May 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 13 May 2021
Pages: 176
ISBN: 9781526777614
Description:
In the early days 20th century the emerging medium of comics was beginning to grab the attention of children and adults alike. Then, in the 1930s, superheroes revolutionised the entire industry and culture as we know it. Gotham’s caped crusader, The Batman, swung into this pantheon of demi-gods in 1939 and secured his place as one of the world’s most beloved characters.
But do know who created The Dark Knight? Do you know how artist Bob Kane, placed himself at the secret origins of Batman while his co-creator Bill Finger was forced into the shadows? Do you know how comic creators, journalists, and family members fought to have Finger credited for his work?
The first prose book to focus both on Finger and Kane, as well as cast of supporting characters from one of the most exciting times in comic book history, The Creators of Batman: Bob, Bill and The Dark Knight gathers everything we know about these two monumental figures and lays their stories side by side. Bringing together the story of these two creators against the exciting background of the American comic’s boom and Batman’s Golden Age. It looks at how Finger and Kane constructed the world of Gotham and its denizens, and grapples with the legacy the creators left behind.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 176
ISBN: 9781526765154
Pub Date: 12 Apr 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 12 Apr 2021
Pages: 176
ISBN: 9781526765154
Description:
The Real J.R.R. Tolkien: The Man Who Created Middle Earth is a comprehensive biography of the linguist and writer; taking the reader from his formative years of home-schooling, through the spires of Oxford, to his romance with his wife-to-be on the brink of war, and onwards into his phenomenal academic success and his creation of the seminal high fantasy world of Middle Earth. "The Real J.R.R. Tolkien" delves into his influences, places, friendships, triumphs and tragedies, with particular emphasis on how his remarkable life and loves forged the worlds of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Using contemporary sources and comprehensive research, "The Real J.R.R. Tolkien" offers a unique insight into the life and times of one of Britain's greatest authors, from cradle to grave to legacy.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781526771346
Pub Date: 08 Apr 2021
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 08 Apr 2021
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781526771346
Description:
Stan Lee is not just another biography. It is a journey through twentieth century American history, seen through the life of a man who personifies the American Dream.
This book shows how Stan’s life reflects the evolution of American entertainment, society and popular culture throughout the 1900s and beyond. Along the way, bold questions will be asked. Was Stan Lee himself a superhuman creation, just a mask to protect his true, more complicated secret identity? Just like the vibrant panels of the comics he wrote, Stan’s life, it seems, is never black and white.
Sourced from Stan’s own words, this book also includes brand new and exclusive interviews with Marvel comic book creators, for whom Stan’s work proved an invaluable inspiration. Upbeat, accessible and fun, this book is told with a glint in the eye and a flair for the theatrical that would make Stan proud.
This is a bold celebration of the power of storytelling and a fitting tribute to Stan Lee’s enduring legacy. Excelsior!
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781526736994
Pub Date: 18 Nov 2020
Format: Paperback
Pub Date: 18 Nov 2020
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781526736994
Description:
There is a lot of mystery that surrounds sports agents and their roles in the lives of their high profile clients. Many percieve the life to be glamorous, spending time with celebrities and earning a lot of money for doing easy or very little work. The Middleman reveals how very wrong this perception is.
Having been a high profile sports agent for nearly 10 years, with clients such as James Anderson, Sam Quek, Nile Wilson, James Taylor and Simon Mignolet, Luke Sutton has an incredible insight into the world of sports management across a number of areas. In his new book, The Middleman, Luke reveals stories and personal experiences about the sporting stars he has encountered, both the good and bad, and his very honest opinions about them.
This book also aims to give people a true look into how this mysterious industry works, and highlights the important lessons Luke has learnt during his career. The Middleman follows Luke’s 2019 autobiography, Back from the Edge.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 216
ISBN: 9781526763907
Pub Date: 17 Nov 2020
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 17 Nov 2020
Pages: 216
ISBN: 9781526763907
Description:
Hergé created only twenty-four Tintin books which have been translated into more than seventy languages and sold 230 million copies worldwide.
The Real Hergé: The Inspiration Behind Tintin takes an in-depth look at the man behind the cultural phenomenon and the history that helped shape these books.
As well as focussing on the controversies that engulfed Hergé, this biography will also look at his personal life, as well as the relationships and experiences that influenced him.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 184
ISBN: 9781526761019
Pub Date: 25 Jun 2020
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 25 Jun 2020
Pages: 184
ISBN: 9781526761019
Description:
Coco Chanel lived her own life as a romantic heroine.
Fuelled by 19th century literature, she built a life which was partly myth and, partly, factual.
She was the fashion designer everyone admired. The business woman whose fortune was impossible to track. She was also a performer, lover of many high profile intellectuals and, as believed by many, a nazi spy.
Her life was, extraordinarily, affected by history (the nazi movement and World War II), symbolism and literature.
This biography explores her life from her troubled and poor past to the opening of her first hat shop, passions and secrets; the biography also draws parallelisms between myths and facts and how, and if ever, they match at all.
The biography also features chapters on the Chanel Maison and the creation of her iconic trademark as well as her ‘little black dress’ and ‘Chanel No 5’.
Finally, the biography ends with a reflection on how the myth of Coco Chanel is represented today in pop culture.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 200
ISBN: 9781526768216
Pub Date: 18 May 2020
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 18 May 2020
Pages: 200
ISBN: 9781526768216
Description:
Ex-England batsman Rob Key is one of the wittiest pundits on TV. Whether it’s a drizzly day-nighter in Derby or a World Cup Final at Lord’s, Key’s wizardry with the mic more than matches that which he had with the bat.
In his new book, Key reflects on the past and present of an ever-unforgiving game, in so doing shining light into the darkest recesses of the dressing-room. What he finds there is as amusing as it is shocking, as farcical as it is fascinating.
Known as one of the sharpest cricket brains around, Key casts a knowledgeable and sometimes acerbic eye over such areas as fitness, captaincy, and sledging, while delivering a close-up view of some of the biggest names in the game.
More than anything, Key reveals just what it is to be a professional cricketer, the camaraderie, the comedy, and, of course, the calamity.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781526752758
Pub Date: 16 Apr 2020
Format: Paperback
Pub Date: 16 Apr 2020
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9781526752758
Description:
The Real Beatrix Potter is a fascinating and revealing biography of one of the world's most cherished children's authors.
Beatrix Potter's famous little white books have enchanted generations of young readers who adored the characters she created and of course her own distinctive illustrations.
Born into a typically repressed Victorian family it was assumed that Beatrix would achieve little more than finding herself a rich husband, and so there was no point in bothering to educate her.
But the Potters underestimated their daughter. Stifled by the lack of stimulation, she educated herself in art, science, and of course a great love of the natural world.
The success of Peter Rabbit proved her to be creative genius who could have become the toast of the London literary scene, but when her fiancé tragically died Beatrix retreated to the Lake District where she reinvented herself as a successful farmer, a canny businesswoman and an early environmental pioneer.
Passionately campaigning to save the area from development she helped establish the National Trust, and despite her great wealth Beatrix lived out her days in humble anonymity.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 202
ISBN: 9781526754509
Pub Date: 14 May 2019
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 14 May 2019
Pages: 202
ISBN: 9781526754509
Description:
It’s almost impossible to think of Monty Panesar without smiling.
A world-class spin bowler, but an economy-class fielder, Monty remains one of England’s most popular cricketers and an inspiration for British Asians.
Monty Mania swept the country after he became the first Sikh cricketer to play for England, with white men turning up at Test Matches in turbans and beards and fans naming their dogs after him.
For the first time he talks about the extreme racism faced by his parents’ generation, about growing up as a happy, cricket-obsessed child in Luton and his thoughts about Norman Tebbit’s infamous cricket test, which questioned the loyalities of Britain's Asian population.
Monty had a front-row seat as the greatest dramas of one of English cricket’s most successful eras unfolded: his shock when Marcus Trescothick’s illness was revealed, the unique pressure he faced as a Sikh after the Mumbai bombings in 2008, his role in the miracle of Cardiff in 2009 and his disbelief as England imploded during the 2013-14 Ashes series, which coincided with the onset of severe paranoia that threatened to ruin his career.
Told with brutal honesty, dry humour and above all great humanity, this is the hilarious, poignant and ultimately inspiring story of how he confronted and overcame his issues to regain his place as a national treasure. The Full Monty is set to become the feelgood classic of 2019.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781526732415
Pub Date: 05 Dec 2018
Format: Paperback
Pub Date: 05 Dec 2018
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781526732415
Description:
Nile Wilson first shot to fame in 2014, when he became the only British gymnast to win five gold medals at the European Junior Gymnastics Championships.
The same year, he won four medals as a senior in the Commonwealth Games and is the current Commonwealth Champion on the horizontal bar. In 2016, he won bronze at the Rio Olympics and is tipped to win gold at the next World Championships and Olympics. He has recently won three gold and two silver medals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Nile is also a YouTube sensation, with over 750,000 subscribers to his channel. His videos are not only educational, but also highly entertaining and to date have been viewed over 45 million times! Nile is very passionate about his sport and works tirelessly to encourage more people to get into gymnastics. His book will be a guide for anyone new to the sport and will show just how easy it is to get and stay fit using gymnastics.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781526733498
Pub Date: 16 Jul 2018
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 16 Jul 2018
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9781526733498
Description:
She rose to prominence as one of the Team GB women’s hockey team that made history by winning Olympic gold in Rio in 2016. But Sam Quek’s path to glory was far from easy.
Overcoming adversity from a young age, she dreamed of competing for her country in the Olympic arena – yet saw those dreams nearly crushed when she narrowly missed out on selection for Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.
Hitting rock bottom and contemplating quitting the sport she loved, she battled back to defy the odds and become part of a success story that captivated millions of TV viewers who were on the edge of their seats as Great Britain overcame arch rivals Netherlands in a thrilling final.
Since then Sam has faced her fears on I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here and has branched out from hockey, proving herself to be a popular and authoritative voice on a range of sports from men and women's football to NFL.
Outspoken, courageous and funny, Sam gives readers a unique insight into what it takes to become an elite sportsperson as she charts her remarkable journey from humble beginnings in Liverpool to Olympic gold.
Format: Hardback
Pages: 185
ISBN: 9781526732378
Pub Date: 01 Jun 2018
Format: Hardback
Pub Date: 01 Jun 2018
Pages: 185
ISBN: 9781526732378
Description:
James Taylor was born in Burrough on the Hill, Leicestershire, in 1990. A sporting phenomenon from an early age, he chose to forge a life in cricket, establishing himself as one of the country’s leading batsmen and an England regular.
And then tragedy struck.
In April 2016, a serious heart condition left Taylor fighting for his life in the changing room. Told he faced possible death if he played cricket, or exercised, ever again, James’s bright and brilliant career was over at the age of 26.
In Cut Short, Taylor reveals his route to the top. On the way, he describes how he encountered prejudice against his size and how his Test debut was overshadowed by the negative attentions of Kevin Pietersen. He takes us through the highs and lows of his international career, including a century against the Australians and a closeup view of the unsavoury nature of David Warner.
With the world at his feet, Taylor reveals just what it was like to have sporting ambition snatched away right at the point of international breakthrough. He relives in breathless detail the horrific events of the day he thought he was going to die and his desolation at watching a fine sporting career torn from his grasp.
The aftermath was a battle bigger than any he ever encountered on the pitch, a battle to rebuild his life and make sense of the personal bombshell with which he had been afflicted, and, unexpectedly, a battle for his future. At the same time, he was getting used to a body which, on several occasions, left him fearing for his existence.
That James has emerged from these dark days with courage, good humour, and renewed ambition is testament to a remarkable personality.
Cut Short is the story of a true never-say-die character.
