Biography
The great English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) worked with his second wife, Florence, on this account of his life. It was published under her name, in two separate volumes, after his death. Its origins are as fascinating as the man himself: written in the third person, it was compiled from Hardy's selections from his diaries, notebooks and letters, typed up by Florence and furth...
This exciting compilation includes more than 30 contemporary accounts, articles, and interviews (from Maureen Cleave’s “Beatles Bigger than Christ” feature, to their debunking in News of the World just before the Sgt. Pepper release), plus latter-day memoirs and re-assessments, on the most wildly popular band in the world.
Ireland's greatest poet, William Butler Yeats, was also perhaps the most outstanding poet to have written in English since Wordsworth. Many of his early poems--wistful, mysterious, and suffused with Pre-Raphaelite imagery--are of haunting beauty. But in the early 1900s Yeats became disillusioned with this twilight, imaginary world and turned his thoughts increasingly to reality. Directing his...
Here, in their own official book, Harry, Niall, Zayn, Liam and Louis each tell the story of their amazing journeys in full - from teen hopefuls auditioning for 'X Factor' to pop superstars in the making, and now to living out their dreams.
The great visions of Gryphius, Lessing, Holderlin, and Novalis, visions of peace, freedom, and humanity, have not been refuted. They were simply not realized in the modem era and they point to a different future...the lofty intellectuality and morality of Pascal the Catholic as well as the radical Christianness of Kierkegaard the Protestant have to be taken in here just as much as the mystical dep...
In this delightful memoir, Jean Renoir, the director of such masterpieces of the cinema as Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game, tells the life story of his father, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, the great Impressionist painter. Recounting Pierre-Auguste's extraordinary career, beginning as a painter of fans and porcelain, recording the rules of thumb by which he worked, and capturing his unprete...
Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) worked with his second wife, Florence, on this account of his life, which was published soon after he died. It offers fascinating insights into his complex, enigmatic character. This, the first volume, appeared in 1928 and includes the publication of Far from the Madding Crowd (1874)
In Boswell?s ?The Life of Samuel Johnson?, one of the most gigantic figures of English literature is exposed with unparalleled immediacy and originality. This biography also details Johnson\'s prolific years in London where he gained popularity as a writer.
History seemed to pursue Vladimir Nabokov. In the Russian Revolution and the Second World War he lost his homeland, social position and family, and was even forced to abandon working in his native language. Despite the shadow of exile, Nabokov's work exudes a tremendous vivacity and joy. Even at its darkest it has an inventiveness and a richness of perception that has rarely been surpassed....
Amid all that has been published about William Faulkner, one subject—the nature of his thought—remains largely unexplored. But, as Daniel Singal's new intellectual biography reveals, we can learn much about Faulkner's art by relating it to the cultural and intellectual discourse of his era, and much about that era by coming to terms with his art. Through detailed analyses of individual texts, from...
On December 12th1948, Iris Murdoch wrote in her journal: One of my more fundamental assumptions is that I have the power to seduce anyone . Iris Murdoch is best known for her novels of good and evil, sexual relationships, morality and the power of the unconscious. This book explores Iris Murdoch s developing views on the world, the flesh, the spirit, the mind and the heart. The powerful personal v...
Pourquoi a-t-on si souvent brodé, exagéré ou affabulé à propos de Piaf ? Peut-être parce qu’elle-même a constamment eu recours à l’invention pour se raconter et brouiller les pistes. Sans s’écarter des faits vérifiables, il y a pourtant déjà tant à dire sur cette môme du pavé devenue une star internationale par la seule grâce de sa voix. Le chant inouï de cette pauvresse sacrée idole avant l’heure...
1930. A study of the life of the poet. Her poetic themes were influenced by her broad humanitarian interests, a deep if unorthodox religious and her strong feelings for her adopted country, Italy. Her greatest work, Sonnets from the Portugese, is a sequence of love sonnets addressed to her husband, the poet Robert Browning.
A full and revealing biography of one of the century’s greatest English writers and an icon to a generation. Dame Iris Murdoch has played a major role in English life and letter for nearly half a century. As A.S.Byatt notes, she is ‘absolutely central to our culture’. As a novelist, as a thinker, and as a private individual, her life has significance for our age. There is a recognisable Murdoch...
So much has how been said and written about the life and career of Michael Jackson that it has become almost impossible to disentangle the man from the myth. Recent revelations are only the latest instalments of a saga that began decades ago. This book is the fruit of over 30 years of research and hundreds of exclusive interviews with a remarkable level of access to the very closest circles of the...
Misunderstood looks behind the eyeliner to reveal the true story of one of the most notorious rock icons of the 21st century. Follow the reckless wild child turned devoted father as he replaces drug binges and erotic exploits with Buddhist meditation and kids' birthday parties. He's battled bipolar disorder, clinical depression, drug and alcohol addiction, loneliness and self-loathing to...
Park Honan uses a wealth of fresh information to dramatically alter our perceptions of Shakespeare the actor, poet, and playwright. The young poet's relationships, his early courtship of Anne Hathaway, their marriage, his attitudes to women such as Jennet Davenant, Marie Mountjoy, and his own daughters, are seen in a new light, illuminating Shakespeare's needs, habits, passions and conce...
