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Royal Inbreeding and Other Maladies: A History of Royal Intermarriage and its Consequences
When we think of kings and queens, we conjure up illusions of a magnificent kingdom where His and Her Majesties live in the lap of luxury and want for nothing. While this may be true, life wasn’t always as perfect. With the history of royal families comes a long and twisted history of genetics and family intermarriage that is often swept aside. In Ms Cummings’ latest book, she takes us through the complicated spider’s web of royal marriages. She tells us of the atrocities of the Ptolemy Dynasty as they continued to marry brothers and sisters to fend off political outsiders. She tells us about the centuries of intermarriage in European’s most prominent royal family, along with the devastating results that came with it. We will learn of the devastation of mental illness that befell reigning monarchs of The Hundred Years War and plagued George III of England, Juana of Castile and the Wittlebach Empire. She will also tell us of the desperation that fell upon the Russian Royal Family as their only heir to the throne grew ill with haemophilia. She will also go into depth about the notorious Hapsburgs, the decades of physical and mental ailments that tormented them, and how their empire ended with the most inbred royal in history, Charles II of Spain. After hearing the heartwrenching stories of these great monarchs, you’ll find that you can’t help but sympathize with them as you read about how genetics was the ultimate game-changer in most families.Read more
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Royal Family Operations Manual: The history, dominions, protocol, residences, households, pomp and circumstance of the British Royals
This book, written by royal expert and correspondent Robert Jobson offers a complete examination of the British Royal Family, looking behind the scenes at the current heirs of a kingdom that has been ruled nearly uninterruptedly by a monarch since 774AD. Chapters include explanations of the Windsor bloodline, the family tree and personalities, their royal residences, palaces and country retreats, military connections, charity work, and annual engagements. * Examines the royal finances, including personal incomes, state salaries and charitable activities * Details the births, marriages and deaths of the past 70 years, as well as state ceremonies, jubilees and other royal celebrations * Includes fascinating behind the scenes details on annual events, domestic rituals, personalities, pets and family gatherings * Illustrated throughout, and including Intimate, candid photographs of how the institution of the Royal Family functionsRead more
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Women of Means: The Fascinating Biographies of Royals, Heiresses, Eccentrics and Other Poor Little Rich Girls (Stories of the Rich & Famous, Famous Women) (Celebrating Women)
A Glimpse Behind the Façade of Rich and Famous Women
“…wild, witty, gossipy, and glamourous. A sheer delight.” ―Becca Anderson, author of Badass Women Give the Best Advice
#1 Best Seller in Women’s Studies and Biographies of the Rich & Famous and Royalty
An intimate portrait of women of privilege. As Becca Anderson recommends, read about “heiress Barbara Hutton’s outrageous lifestyle, Jackie O as a step-mom, Patty Hearst’s many adventures, Peggy Guggenheim’s collection of art (and men), and Almira Carnarvon, the real-life counterpart to Lady Cora of Downton Abbey.”
The grass isn’t greener on the other side. Heiresses have always been viewed with eyes of envy. They were the ones for whom the cornucopia had been upended, showering them with unimaginable wealth and opportunity. However, through intimate historical biographies, Women of Means shows us that oftentimes the weaving sisters saved their most heart-wrenching tapestries for the destinies of wealthy women.
Happily never after. From the author of Behind Every Great Man, we now have Women of Means, vignettes of the women who were slated from birth―or marriage―to great privilege, only to endure lives which were the stuff Russian tragic heroines are made of. They are the nonfictional Richard Corys―those not slated for happily ever after.
Women of Means is a non-fiction best seller, full of the best biographies of all time. Some of the women whose silver spoons rusted include:
- Liliane Bettencourt, whose chemist father created L’Oreal… and was a Nazi collaborator
- Nica Rothschild, who traded her gilded life to become the Baroness of Bebop
- Jocelyn Wildenstein, who became a cosmetology-enhanced cat-woman
- Ruth Madoff, the dethroned queen of Manhattan
- Patty Hearst, who trod the path from heiress… to terrorist
Fans of Women of Means will want to try other Marlene Wagman-Geller books including Fabulous Female Firsts, Great Second Acts, Still I Rise, Unabashed Women, and Women Who Launch.
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The Princess Royal: From Princess Mary to Princess Anne (The Royal House of Windsor)
An engrossing account of the life of Princess Anne and how her role was shaped by the six women who served as Princess Royal before her.Ideal for readers of Gyles Brandreth, Ingrid Seward and Hugo Vickers.
To understand what it is to be a Princess Royal, the ‘doyenne of royal biographers’ Helen Cathcart skilfully portrays the lives of the foremost royal daughters from the days when princesses were ‘ladyes’ and the King’s eldest son was styled Prince Royal, through to our present Princess Royal.
There have been seven Princess Royals throughout British history, the inaugural of whom was Princess Mary, the eldest daughter of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria, followed by Princess Anne (daughter of King George II), Princess Charlotte (daughter of King George III), Princess Victoria (daughter of Queen Victoria), Princess Louise (daughter of King Edward VII), and Princess Mary (daughter of King George V). The current holder of the title, Princess Anne, emerges from this background, clearly demonstrating how the role or Princess Royal has evolved over the generations into one of duty and personal achievement.
Drawing on royal letters, journals and associated material, the author’s fascinating pen captures the first four decades of Princess Anne’s life, from playful child and stylish teenager to champion rider and tireless campaigner for good causes. Along the way are royal engagements and regimental dinners, a love affair with a Dragoon and a terrifying kidnap attempt.
The Princess Royal is the definitive account of what it means to be the first and most royal of royal daughters and how Princess Anne is truly a Princess Royal for our times.
‘Wide acclaim as a royal biographer … objective, uninhibited and penetrating’ – Sunday Express
‘Helen Cathcart writes about royalty as if she were one of them’– The Daily Mail
‘The doyenne ofroyal biographers’ –The Daily Telegraph
‘A tireless chronicler of royalty’–The Guardian
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The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown
For seventy years, Queen Elizabeth ruled over an institution and a family. During her lifetime she was constant in her desire to provide a steady presence and to be a trustworthy steward of the British people and the Commonwealth. In the face of her uncle’s abdication, in the uncertainty of the Blitz, and in the tentative exposure of her family and private life to the public via the press, Elizabeth became synonymous with the crown.
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But times change. Recent years have brought grief and turmoil to the House of Windsor, and even as England celebrated the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, there were calls for a changing of the guard.In The New Royals, journalist Katie Nicholl provides a nuanced look at Elizabeth’s remarkable and unrivalled reign, with new stories from Palace courtiers and aides, documentarians, and family members. She examines King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla’s decades in waiting and beyond-where “The Firm” is headed as William and Kate present the modern faces of an ancient institution. In the wake of Harry and Meghan leaving the Royal Family and Prince Andrew’s spectacular fall from grace, the royal family must reckon with its history, the light and the dark, in order to chart a course for Britain beyond its Queen and to show that it is an institution capable of leadership in an ever-changing modern world.
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King Charles III: A special commemorative souvenir book for the 2023 royal coronation
A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
Stunning, photographic King Charles III memorabilia gift for royal fans
As the nation celebrates the coronation of a new monarch, The Sun looks back on 100 moments in the life of the man who would be king.
The longest heir apparent in British history, King Charles has lived a remarkable life during his 70-year wait to be king. From his childhood to his later years, each day of Charles’s life has led up to the moment he ascended to the throne. With exclusive articles from The Sun’s archives, rarely seen photographs and a foreword written by celebrated royal photographer Arthur Edwards MBE, this book paints a unique portrait of the man behind the monarch.
Featuring the ups and downs, highs and lows, and the key moments that have shaped the life of a son, father, grandfather and king, including:
- The birth of a prince, 1948
- From Balmoral to boarding school, 1958
- Investiture of the Prince of Wales, 1969
- Blazing a trail for the environment, 1970
- Charles meets Camilla, 1972
- Wedding of the century, 1981
- ‘I’m a dad’, 1982
- The end of a fairytale, 1992
- Cool Charles stares down gunman, 1994
- The death of Diana, 1997
- Official: he’s world’s best dressed man, 2009
- Proud Charles walks Meghan up the aisle, 2018
- Charles’s tearful farewell to Papa, 2021
- God save the Queen, 2022
- All hail the King, 2022
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Britain’s Royal Heritage: An A to Z of the Monarchy
This book is more than a biography of kings and queens; it is an encyclopaedic work on every aspect of monarchy in Britain from semi-legendary times to the present day. Arranged in an A-Z format, it includes mini biographies on each of the forty-two kings and queens who have ruled since the Norman Conquest, details of the royal lines in Scotland before the Act of Union, the background to the royal houses of Britain and the consorts – largely foreign – who have married into the monarchy. Royal scandals, wars, ceremonies, households, tombs and insignia make fascinating reading, and this book is the ideal reference work for all those who want to know more about individual monarchs and the impressive legacy of myths, traditions, beliefs and practices that have grown up around the institution of the monarchy.
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Joscelyne’s Beach: A Memoir of Leigh-on-Sea
In 1909 – when Arthur Joscelyne was six – his father emptied the family savings from the jug on the mantelpiece to buy 200 yards of beach on the north shore of the River Thames.Arthur helped run ‘Joscelyne’s Beach’ for 20 years. His boyhood reminiscences vividly bring to life a world long disappeared. The tide, the gulls, and the dinghies set the scene for a cast of characters that will never be forgotten.This lyrically beautiful memoir offers an exquisite snapshot of English coastal life before, during and after the First World War.See also Arthur Joscelyne’s companion book: Joscelyne’s Tales of Old Leigh and Chalkwell.REVIEWS OF Joscelyne’s Beach:“Beyond the bounds of this idyllic place, two world wars came and went, generations grew and faded, and Southend relentlessly enlarged . . . This small patch of private foreshore somehow seemed to enshrine so much of Southend’s – and the English seaside’s history, as well as a haunting sense of a vanished happy world . . . If this book is as widely read as predicted, this bewitched morsel of land will once again become Joscelyne’s Beach in theminds of people far beyond Essex.”The Evening Echo“Here are recollections at first hand from Edwardian childhood to the 1940s, with a broad variety of people and events, hopes and disappointments brought to life with insight . . . Francis Turnidge the sailmaker; the magnificently uniformed Gravesend coastguards; a champagne-quaffing countess and many others. Boats are an underlying thread: a ‘white elephant’ hire dinghy too posh to use; a rowboat from Gamages which proved invaluable; buying a Gravesend shrimper for £20 . . . An unusual and beguiling book, with its background of sun, sand and seaweed.”Classic Boat“This lyrical memoir offers a vivid insight into Leigh-on-Sea and its characters before, during and after the First World War.”Essex MagazineRead more
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Rough Seas: The Life Of A Deep-Sea Trawlerman
A trawlerman’s life was hard, often up against bad weather, rough seas and black frosts, although on calm days it was a pleasure to be at sea. In this eventful memoir, deep-sea trawlerman James Greene relates his life at sea, from his childhood when his father would take him out in some of the worst gales and hurricanes imaginable (and he loved every minute of it!), to his early careers as a deckhand learner, obtaining his skipper’s ticket, and the many experiences – both disastrous and otherwise – to occur throughout his time at sea. During his career he was involved in ship collisions and fires, arrested for poaching, fired upon by Icelandic gunboats, in countless storms and even swept overboard in icy conditions off the Russian coast. The British trawling industry is now a by-gone age and people are beginning to forget the adventures and hardships that characterised this profession. This book seeks to keep the memories of a once great industry alive.Read more
£11.70£14.20Rough Seas: The Life Of A Deep-Sea Trawlerman
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Shadowplay: The gripping international bestseller from the author of Star of the Sea
Discover the enthralling Richard & Judy Book Club pick from international bestseller Joseph O’Connor.
‘The best novel that I’ve read in the last twenty years… It’s fantastic’ RICHARD MADELEY
‘Breathtaking… A hugely entertaining book about the grand scope of friendship and love’ Sadie Jones, Guardian
__________London, 1878. Three extraordinary people begin their life together – and the idea for Dracula is born.
Fresh from life in Dublin, Bram Stoker – now manager of the Lyceum Theatre – is wrestling with dark demons in a new city, in a new marriage, and with his own literary aspirations. As he walks the streets at night, streets haunted by the Ripper and the gossip which swirls around his friend Oscar Wilde, he finds new inspiration. Soon, the eerie tale of Dracula begins to emerge.
But Henry Irving, volcanic leading man and impresario, is determined that nothing will get in the way of Bram’s dedication to the Lyceum. And both men are growing ever more enchanted by the beauty and boldness of Ellen Terry, the most celebrated actress of her generation.
__________Shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2019
Winner of the Irish Book Awards Novel of the Year‘A colourful tale of secret love and public performance…in a romantic, lost London’ The Times
‘Hugely entertaining and atmospheric’ DEBORAH MOGGACH
‘Extraordinary’ SEBASTIAN BARRY
‘A novel I’d recommend to anyone: a rollicking and moving story’ James Naughtie, Radio Times
‘Fabulous… A truly great book you simply cannot put down’ JUDY FINNIGAN
‘Rich, sad, funny, and a beautiful read. You’ll LOVE it’ RICHARD MADELEY
‘Ingenious…hugely impressive and utterly haunting’ Sunday Mirror
*JOSEPH O’CONNOR’S STUNNING NEW NOVEL, MY FATHER’S HOUSE, IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW*
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Surviving the Storms: Extraordinary Stories of Courage and Compassion at Sea
‘There’s water in the engine,’ he said. ‘The engine has stopped.’
This changed everything…Surviving the Storms brings together incredible first-hand accounts of rescues carried out by the remarkable RNLI lifesavers.
In this collection of heart-wrenching and life-affirming missions, we hear blow-by-blow descriptions of some of the most dramatic rescues from the last twenty years. We experience these through the eyes of the lifesavers as they must make life-or-death decisions, face fierce conditions and tackle difficult and dangerous situations. But we also see the optimism, passion and courage that is crucial to a successful rescue, and experience the genuine joy felt by the volunteer crews and lifeguards in being a part of something so important.
Each remarkable story is one of bravery, jeopardy and an unrelenting commitment to battling the forces of nature and saving every life. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the RNLI – men, women, husbands, wives, fathers and mothers, all forming one big crew determined to protect perfect strangers. They are ordinary people doing the truly extraordinary.
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Sea Room: An Island Life
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be given your own remote islands? Thirty years ago it happened to Adam Nicolson.
Aged 21, Nicolson inherited the Shiants, three lonely Hebridean islands set in a dangerous sea off the Isle of Lewis. With only a stone bothy for accommodation and half a million puffins for company, he found himself in charge of one of the most beautiful places on earth.
The story of the Shiants is a story of birds and boats, hermits and fishermen, witchcraft and catastrophe, and Nicolson expertly weaves these elements into his own tale of seclusion on the Shiants to create a stirring celebration of island life.
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£8.70£9.50Sea Room: An Island Life
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This is My Sea: The Number 1 Irish Bestseller
‘Prose written with the pen of a poet’ – Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape‘Full of wisdom and poetry and epic emotion, This is My Sea explores grief, memory and loss through vivid words and striking imagery. It echoes lost summers and the beauty of life, like a shell held to the ear’ – Ed O’Loughlin, author of The Last Good Funeral of the Year
Over the course of seven difficult years Miriam Mulcahy lost her mother, father and sister, each grief threatening to drown her. But instead of going under she discovered the lessons of the sea, letting the water teach her how to get through anything in life: one breath builds on another, another stroke, another kick and you will get home.
THIS IS MY SEA takes our greatest fear, death, and wraps it up in language so fine and beautiful that the reader is carried along and comforted by how completely lost Miriam was and how she found solace in all the things that sustained her: books, music, art, friends, love, swimming, and of course the sea.
For fans of The Salt Path by Raynor Winn and I Found my Tribe by Ruth Fitzmaurice.
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£12.20£14.20This is My Sea: The Number 1 Irish Bestseller
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Gift from the Sea
‘Quietly powerful and a great help. Glorious’ Emma Thompson
‘Women need solitude in order to find again the true essence of themselves.’
Holidaying by the sea, and taking inspiration from the shells she finds on the seashore, Anne Morrow Lindbergh meditates on youth and age, love and marriage, peace, solitude and contentment. First published in 1955 and an instant bestseller, Gift from the Sea’s insights – into aspects of the modern world that threaten to overwhelm us, the complications of technology, the ever multiplying commitments that take us from our families – are as relevant today as they ever were, perhaps even more so.
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£8.60£9.50Gift from the Sea
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A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible: A heartwarming tale of love amid war
A moving novel of love and war by the author of The Beekeeper of Aleppo and Songbirds.
It is July 1974 and on a bright, sunny morning, the Turkish army has invaded the town of Kyrenia in Cyprus. For many people, this means an end to life as they know it. But for some, it is a chance to begin living again.
Everyone has always talked about Koki. They never believed she was her father’s daughter and her mother died too soon to quiet their wagging tongues. And when she became pregnant and there was no sign of a husband, her fate was sealed.
So she lives outside the town and hides from her neighbours’ eyes. But, held captive with the very women who have made her life so lonely, Koki is finally able to tell them the truth. To talk of the Turkish shoe-maker who came to the town and took her heart away with him when he left. And how she has longed for him all these years.
Meanwhile, Adem Berker finds himself back in Kyrenia, his former home, now as a member of the invading force. Here he left everything he ever wanted and, by cover of darkness, risking his life, he is searching every house, every cafe, every old pathway, for just a glimpse of the only woman he has ever loved.
For readers of The Island, The Book Thief and The Kite Runner.
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£7.10£10.40 -
Marilyn Monroe: A Life From Beginning to End: 1 (Biographies of Actors)
Marilyn Monroe
She vigorously played the dumb-blonde stereotype in her movie roles, but there is nothing at all dumb about Marilyn Monroe. Born to a single mother who suffered from severe mental illness, the odds were stacked against the girl originally named Norma Jeane from the very beginning. She became a ward of the state and bounced around from foster home to foster home. The fact that she rose from such impoverished beginnings to become one of the top-billed acts in Hollywood speaks for itself.Inside you will read about…
– From Foster Child to Movie Star
– The Scene with the White Dress
– Marilyn the Jew
– Diagnosis of Paranoid Schizophrenia
– Marilyn’s First Overdose
– The Presidential Affair
– Locked in the Psych Ward
And much more!Discover the life and legend that is Marilyn Monroe.
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£9.80 -
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – Children’s Story Book: Incredible Biography of an American Actor and Retired Professional Wrestler. Animated with Illustrations to Inspire Kids….
Embark on a Thrilling Adventure with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the Hollywood Hero, in this Captivating Children’s Book Ideal for Ages 4 to 10.
- Featuring Stunning Illustrations that Burst with Color
- Printed on Premium, High-Quality Paper
- 100% Animated with Vibrant Artwork
This abridged edition of Dwayne Johnson’s remarkable life story explores his early days, challenges, accomplishments, and impact, crafting an engaging children’s book that captures the spirit of his incredible journey.
- Uncover the Childhood of Dwayne Johnson
- Exciting Insights into Dwayne Johnson’s Life
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Once A Saint: An Actor’s Memoir
‘A wickedly entertaining new memoir’ Daily Mail
According to the Daily Mail Ian Ogilvy was ‘the undisputed star of 1970s TV as the dashing Simon Templar in Return Of The Saint’. The show turned him into a household name, causing him to be touted as the next James Bond.
From a liberal upbringing in post-war Britain, boarding school escapades and life at RADA, Ogilvy enjoyed an acting career spanning more than fifty years, including TV show Upstairs, Downstairs and films Witchfinder General, No Sex Please: We’re British and Death Becomes Her. His story plays host to a spectacular all-star cast including Boris Karloff, Hayley Mills, Penelope Keith, Derek Nimmo, Timothy Dalton, Derek Jacobi and Meryl Streep, and Ogilvy gives a vivid account from behind the scenes of the Golden Age of television and film.
Once a Saint is an amusing and unvarnished story: a tremendously endearing tale from a working actor. His story is modest and endlessly charming, told in such a way that opens a reader’s heart to him.
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£6.60£10.40Once A Saint: An Actor’s Memoir
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Lives of the Original Actors in Shakespeare’s Plays
The ensuing volume is chiefly composed of minute particulars; but particulars, however minute, are not on that account trifling or uninteresting, since they obviously assume importance in proportion to the prominence or distinction of the parties to whom they relate. These fascinating details have reference to Shakespeare, to the great dramatists of his day, and to the principal actors engaged in the original performance of their plays, including such towering figures as Richard Burbage, John Heminge, William Kempe, Augustine Phillips and Henry Condell.Read more
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Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up – the instant New York Times bestseller from the acclaimed actor and disability rights campaigner
**THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER **
‘Funny and frank, a chance to spend time with a brave and big-hearted woman who’s grown up to be not so mean, after all’ JENNIFER LARUE, WASHINGTON POST
‘Grabs you by the collar and says listen to all that I have to say: about love, pain, motherhood, illness, celebrity and the tidal ferocity that pours through all our lives. Read it and be caught in the voice of one of our luminous stars’ ESMÉ WEIJUN WANG
The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean, mean baby. Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model, she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her, the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life. Over the course of this beautiful and, at times, shocking memoir, Selma lays bare her addiction to alcohol, her devotion to her brilliant and complicated mother, and the moments she flirted with death. There is violence, love, true friendship, the gift of motherhood and, finally, the simultaneous devastation and surprising salvation of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
‘A fascinating exploration about the power of prophecy, of labels, and of one woman’s determination to defy them all. Blair is a rebel, an artist, and it turns out: a writer’ GLENNON DOYLE
‘I laughed out loud more than I cried’ FRANCES RYAN, GUARDIAN
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Lon Chaney Speaks
A stunning graphic debut: the life of the legendary silent-film actor Lon Chaney (the original Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback of Notre Dame), as imagined by an artist whose work recalls the style and skill of early-era New Yorker cartoonists.From the artist: “‘No one will ever love me!’ I believe it was this near-universal fear that makes Lon Chaney’s characters continue to resonate with us today. On their surface, most of them are distinctly unlikeable: they are monsters, outcasts, criminals. But through his unique magic, Chaney makes them empathetic. He pioneered the craft of makeup artist long before that term ever existed, and he used his expertise to hide himself from public view–what if nobody loved him?”
PART OF THE PANTHEON GRAPHIC LIBRARY
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£21.50Lon Chaney Speaks
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The Real Stanley Baxter
Stanley Baxter delighted over 20 million viewers at a time with his television specials. His pantos became legendary. His divas and dames were so good they were beyond description.
Baxter was a most brilliant cowboy Coward, a smouldering Dietrich. He found immense laughs as Formby and Liberace. And his sex-starved Tarzan swung in a way Hollywood could never have imagined. But who is the real Stanley Baxter?
The comedy actor’s talents are matched only by his past reluctance to colour in the detail of his own character. Now, the man behind the mischievous grin, the twinkling eyes and the once- Brylcreemed coiffure is revealed.
In a tale of triumphs and tragedies, of giant laughs and great falls from grace, we discover that while the enigmatic entertainer could play host to hundreds of different voices, the role he found most difficult to play was that of Stanley Baxter.
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£4.80£9.50The Real Stanley Baxter
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Dancing in the Moonlight: Early Years on Stage
This is Ronnie Barker’s uproarious, racy and affectionate memoir of the vanished world of the repertory theatre. It is a candid autobiography from the moment as a 19-year-old he threw up his steady job in an Oxford bank for a heady affair with the stage.Read more
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Jason Statham Book: The Magnificent Man: The Legend of the Great: A Detailed Biography, Career and Recognitions, Family and Relationship, Interesting … a Lot (Incredible…
The compelling and thorough biography “Jason Statham Book: The Magnificent Man” explores the life and career of one of Hollywood’s most recognizable action performers, Jason Statham. This book takes readers on a thrilling trip through the difficulties, successes, and unwavering drive that have characterized Statham’s renowned career, starting with his early days as a street performer and competitive athlete and ending with his spectacular climb to become a worldwide cinematic phenomenon.The captivating and in-depth “Jason Statham Book: The Magnificent Man” tells the story of a remarkable life that was marked by tenacity, willpower, and unwavering bravery. Fans of action movies, aspiring performers, and anybody looking for motivation from the tale of a guy who took his goals and made them into an unstoppable reality should all read it.
Click the Buy Button to Order a Copy Today!
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MATTHEW PERRY’S BIOGRAPHY: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE BELOVED ACTOR, HIS RISE TO STARDOM, PERSONAL STRUGGLES, AND TRIUMPHANT RETURN
Matthew Perry: A Biography is a fascinating and intimate look at the life and career of one of the most beloved and iconic actors of our generation.
Matthew Perry is one of the most iconic actors of our time. He is known for his comedic talents, his heartwarming performances, and his inspiring resilience.
From his humble beginnings in Ottawa, Canada, to his meteoric rise to stardom on the hit sitcom Friends, Perry’s story is one of perseverance, resilience, and triumph.
Overcoming personal struggles with addiction and mental health, Perry has emerged as a role model and inspiration to millions around the world.
Key Points
This biography offers a comprehensive and revealing look at Perry’s life and career, from his early days as a child actor to his current status as a successful actor, producer, and philanthropist.
It explores his personal struggles with addiction and mental health, and how he has overcome these challenges to become a role model and inspiration to others.
The book also provides insights into Perry’s work ethic, professionalism, and influence on his co-stars.
It is a must-read for fans of Perry and Friends, as well as anyone interested in the stories of celebrities who have overcome adversity.
Personal Message
In this new biography, You will get to know Matthew Perry on a deeper level. You will learn about his early life, his struggles with addiction, and his journey to recovery. You will also discover his many talents and passions, both on and off the screen.
This book is a must-read for any fan of Matthew Perry or Friends. It is a story of triumph over adversity, and it is sure to inspire You to follow their dreams and never give up.
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The Smallest Giant: An Actor’s Life
I was happy enough in the circus appearing as the tallest midget in captivity, but when my employer decided that I should also appear as the smallest giant in captivity, I decided it was time to move on and seek my fortune in a different sphere Thus begins Michael Craig’s fascinating, wittily wicked memoir of his life in film, theatre and television. After spending more than fifty years in the hurly burly of show business, Michael Craig has become an essential part of Australian cultural life. In The Smallest Giant, he shares anecdotes about this life and the people he has loved and worked with, including Julie Andrews, Judi Dench, Harold Pinter and Peter O’Toole. Starting as a journeyman actor in English repertory theatre, Michael went on to have an extraordinary international career as a theatre and film actor and writer. He has appeared in more than fifty films and countless television productions, acted with the Royal Shakespeare Company, on Broadway in New York and on London’s West End in major productions like Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand. Coming to Australia in 1972, Michael met actress Sue Walker, the star of such shows as Gypsy, and settled down for good. He most famously starred as Dr William Sharp in the ABC’s long-running television drama GP and has worked with the cream of Australian theatre. With an easy charm, Michael proves himself an exceptional raconteur as he tells the story of a struggling young actor who became the star of film, theatre and television.Read more
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You Look Like That Girl: A Child Actor Stops Pretending and Finally Grows Up
At the age of twenty-two, Lisa Jakub had what she was supposed to want: she was a working actor in Los Angeles. She had more than forty movies and TV shows to her name, she had been in blockbusters like Mrs. Doubtfire and Independence Day , she walked the red carpet and lived in the house she bought when she was fifteen. But something was missing. Passion. Purpose. Happiness. Lisa had been working since the age of four, after a man approached her parents at a farmer’s market and asked her to audition for a commercial. That chance encounter dictated the next eighteen years of her unusual and frequently awkwardlife. She met Princess Diana… and almost fell on her while attempting to curtsy. She filmed in exciting locations… and her high school asked her not to come back. She went to fancy parties… and got kind of kidnapped that one time. Success was complicated. Making movies, traveling the world, and meeting intriguing people was fun for a while, but Lisa eventually realized she was living a life based on momentum and definitions of success that were not her own. She battled severe anxiety and panic attacks while feeling like she was living someone else’s dream. Not wanting to become a child actor stereotype, Lisa retired from acting and left L.A. in search of a path that felt more authentic to her. In this funny and insightful book, Lisa chronicles the adventures of growing up in the film industry and her difficult decision to leave behind the only life she had ever known, to examine her priorities, and write the script for her own life. She explores the universal question we all ask ourselves: what do I want to be when I grow up?Read more
£17.60£21.80 -
Stuart Broad: Broadly Speaking: THE MUST-READ SPORTS AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 2023
Stuart Broad is the ultimate competitor – someone addicted to the pressures of Test cricket, the big occasions and being thrust into the heat of battle.
For over seventeen years, he’s left it all on the field. A multiple Ashes winner and Wold Champion, Broad was integral to some of the greatest England teams of all time. His awards and achievements, however, don’t tell the whole story. He has always been a cricketer of more than mere numbers. Broad’s passionate and spontaneous behaviour has mad him a fan favourite. No other player feeds off the crowd quite like he does.
In his autobiography, Broad shares the moments from the game which have made him and those that almost broke him. What’s clear, however, is his unwavering belief in his own ability to become one of the best ever.
Candid, entertaining, and refreshingly honest, this book reveals the personal side of a true cricketing great.
__________The longevity of his career, and what he has achieved, should never be forgotten. Ben Stokes
He loves the big moments, the pressure situations. That’s a true sign of a champion, I think. He’s been incredible for England for a long, long time. Glen McGrath
Stuart Broad is the ultimate Ashes warrior. Ricky Ponting
One of England’s greatest players of all time. Joe Root
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£11.90£23.80 -
Kammy: The Funny and Moving Autobiography by the Broadcasting Legend
Foreword by Ben Shephard
‘Everyone loves Kammy . . . Full of humour and endless blunders’ – The Times
‘What a man, what a life, what a story, and what a great read’ – Paddy McGuinnessPresenter, commentator, (sometimes masked) singer, footballer, manager and campaigner, Kammy has done it all. His irrepressible enthusiasm – and a couple of legendary gaffes on Sky Sports – have seen him become broadcasting royalty.
Now Kammy reveals all in this funny and moving autobiography. What happens when you double cross José Mourinho? What it’s like to play with Vinnie Jones? Who comes off better: Kammy or a rampaging gorilla? How did Kammy end up releasing his own top-ten record? What’s the real story behind his infamous line, ‘I don’t know, Jeff!’?
But despite the crazy tales, it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Kammy had a tough upbringing, faced racism during his playing career and has, in recent years, dealt with a rare brain condition – apraxia – that has affected his speech and seen him say goodbye to Sky Sports. Relating his battle against the condition, Kammy shows how he’s met every challenge with courage, determination and his infectious smile.
Packed with hilarious stories and featuring a cast of famous names, from Elton John to Channing Tatum, this is a book about friendship, courage and why it’s always important to have a good laugh.
‘A talented (and daft) lad from the Boro who has entertained the nation for decades, on and off the pitch. So get the tissues ready – this book will make you laugh and cry in equal measure’ – Steph McGovern
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£9.50£20.90 -
Oh Miriam!: Stories from an Extraordinary Life
‘Oh Miriam! risks the curse of the sequel, and pulls it off . . . A force of nature, a tour de farce. Bold, brave and bright, but also revealing, shocking and touching. Miriam is an icon, a cocksucker – and the star of her show’ ROBERT McCRUM, Independent
‘Our naughtiest national treasure . . . famously filthy, funny and phlegmatic . . . Oh Miriam! is Margolyes’s manifesto for a fulfilled life . . . She loves to tell it straight. And the older she gets, the straighter she tells it’ SIMON HATTENSTONE, Guardian
‘Irrepressible . . . A life-enhancing rollercoaster of a ride . . . this book is like Margolyes herself – outspoken, ebullient and unexpectedly wise’ EMMA LEE-POTTER, Daily Express
‘Snortingly funny . . . deliciously unbridled . . . There is something heroic in her unruliness. Let Miriam take the lead and enjoy the show’ RHIK SAMADDER, Observer
‘Insanely interesting, full of profanity and profundity, Oh Miriam!’s title comes from all the people who have ever exclaimed her name in every tone from horror to hilarity; and her unfiltered personality leaps off the page – honesty, kindness, generosity, sanity, erudition, outspokenness’ SUZANNE HARRINGTON, Irish Examiner
‘Endearingly eccentric’ WOMEN’S WEEKLY
From declaring my love to Vanessa Redgrave to being fed cockroaches by Steve Buscemi, from turnip-based comedy with Blackadder to being farted on by Arnold Schwarzenegger, from Graham Norton’s sofa to Alan Cumming’s camper van, my life has been (and continues to be) an uproarious adventure.
Oh Miriam! has been such a constant refrain in my life, said in all kinds of tones – laughs, surprised gasps and orgasmic sighs (I’m hoping for all of those from you as you read on!) – that it had to be the title of this book. And with a cast list that stretches from Churchill to DiCaprio, Dahl to Dietrich, Princess Margaret to Maggie Smith, I’ve so much more to tell you and so much more to say.
My chapters range from ‘How to Stay Married’ to ‘Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down’. Discover how to break the thickest conversational ice; why swearing is actually good for you (though not on the Today programme); the unexpected things I learned at school and what my Spice Girl name would be. Not to mention my Tale of the Unexpected and my very own Vagina Monologue.
Buckle up and join me on another unforgettable adventure, but this time through my heart and head . . .
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£11.90£23.80Oh Miriam!: Stories from an Extraordinary Life
£11.90£23.80 -
Rambling Man: My Life on the Road
THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING HILARIOUS NEW BOOK FROM THE NATION’S FAVOURITE COMEDIAN, BILLY CONNOLLY
Being a Rambling Man was what I always wanted to be, to live the way I damn well pleased. I’ve met the weirdest and most wonderful people who walk the Earth, seen the most bizarre and the most fantastic sights – and I’ve rarely come across something I couldn’t get a laugh at. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad trip. Well, apart from in the 1970s, but that’s a whole other story . . .
When Billy set out from Glasgow as a young man he never looked back. He played his banjo on boats and trains, under trees, and on top of famous monuments. He danced naked in snow, wind and fire. He slept in bus stations, under bridges and on strangers’ floors. He travelled by foot, bike, ship, plane, sleigh – even piggy-backed – to get to his next destination.
Billy has wandered to every corner of the earth and believes that being a Rambling Man is about more than just travelling – it’s a state of mind. Rambling Men and Women are free spirits who live on their wits, are interested in people and endlessly curious about the world. They love to play music, make art or tell stories along the way but, above all, they have a longing in their heart for the open road.
In his joyful new book, Billy explores this philosophy and how it has shaped him, and he shares hilarious new stories from his lifetime on the road. From riding his trike down America’s famous Route 66, building an igloo on an iceberg in the Arctic, playing elephant polo (badly) in Nepal and crashing his motorbike (more than once), to eating witchetty grubs in Australia, being serenaded by a penguin in New Zealand, and swapping secrets in a traditional Sweat Lodge ritual in Canada, Rambling Man is a truly global adventure with the greatest possible travel companion.
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£11.40£23.80Rambling Man: My Life on the Road
£11.40£23.80 -
The Woman in Me: Britney Spears
The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.
Written with remarkable candour and humour, Spears’s ground-breaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.
____________________________________‘The sharpness of her perspective is a miracle… May her truth pose a legitimate threat to the system that exploited her’ – Guardian
‘Britney Spears holds nothing back in her short, bittersweet and extremely powerful memoir… That it hasn’t turned into a complete tragedy is a testament to Spears’s essential fortitude of spirit – something that burns off these pages’ – Telegraph
‘Spears’s prose contains more compassion and perspective than bitterness or self-pity’ – The Times
‘It’s nearly impossible to come out of it without empathy for and real outrage on behalf of Spears, whose admitted bitterness over the dire circumstances of the last decade-plus of her life is tempered by an enduring, insistent optimism’ – New York Times
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£11.40£23.80The Woman in Me: Britney Spears
£11.40£23.80 -
Unruly: The Number One Bestseller ‘Horrible Histories for grownups’ The Times
Discover who we are and how we got here this holiday season in comedian David Mitchell’s UNRULY: A History of England’s Kings and Queens – a thoughtful, funny exploration of the entitled and enthroned.
‘JUST FANTASTIC. DELIGHTFULLY CONTRARY AND HILARIOUSLY CANTANKEROUS. VERY, VERY FUNNY’ JESSE ARMSTRONG, CREATOR OF SUCCESSION AND PEEP SHOW
‘CLEVER, AMUSING, GLORIOUSLY BIZARRE AND RAZOR SHARP. MITCHELL – A FUNNY MAN AND A SKILLED HISTORIAN – TELLS STORIES THAT ARE INTERESTING AND FUN. HERE IS HORRIBLE HISTORIES FOR GROWNUPS’ GERARD DEGROOT, THE TIMES
‘CLEVER, FUNNY, MAKES YOU THINK QUITE DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HISTORY’ DAN SNOW, HISTORIAN AND BROADCASTER
——–
Think you know your kings and queens? Think again.
In UNRULY, David Mitchell explores how England’s monarchs, while acting as feared rulers firmly guiding their subjects’ destinies, were in reality a bunch of lucky sods who were mostly as silly and weird in real life as they appear today in their portraits.
Taking us right back to King Arthur (spoiler: he didn’t exist), David tells the founding story of post-Roman England right up to the reign of Elizabeth I (spoiler: she dies). It’s a tale of narcissists, inadequate self-control, excessive beheadings, middle-management insurrection, uncivil wars, and at least one total Cnut, as the population evolved from having their crops nicked by the thug with the largest armed gang to bowing and paying taxes to a divinely anointed king.
How this happened, who it happened to and why it matters in modern Britain are all questions David answers with brilliance, wit and the full erudition of a man who once studied history – and won’t let it off the hook for the mess it’s made.
A funny book about a serious subject, UNRULY is for anyone who has ever wondered how we got here – and who is to blame.
——–
‘Mitchell clearly knows his history, with a book that owes as much to Monty Python as it does to Simon Schama’ ANDREW MARR, BROADCASTER
‘I don’t think anyone other than David Mitchell could have written this book. It’s clever, funny and makes you think quite differently about history we thought we knew’ DAN SNOW, HISTORIAN AND BROADCASTER
‘Who knew a history of England’s rulers could be this hilarious? A brilliantly entertaining romp through monarchs’ i
‘By turns fascinating and funny – there is a jewel of an insight or a refreshing blast of clarifying wit on every page. David brings a delightfully contrary and hilariously cantankerous eye to the history of the English Monarchy. Informative, illuminating and very very funny’ JESSE ARMSTRONG, CREATOR OF SUCCESSION AND PEEP SHOW
‘I can’t recommend this book enough. Very funny and interesting, it is above all a proper work of history’ CHARLIE HIGSON
*The Times Number One Bestseller October 2023*
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£11.90£23.80 -
Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing: ‘Funny, fascinating and compelling’ The Times
‘There’s never been a more honest or raw memoir … and it may just save lives’ Daily Mail
‘Funny, fascinating, compelling … also a wonderful read for fans of Friends’ The Times
The beloved star of Friends takes us behind the scenes of the hit sitcom and his struggles with addiction in this candid, funny, and revelatory memoir that delivers a powerful message of hope and persistence.
Here is the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, who takes us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who travelled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.
In an extraordinary story that only he could tell – and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it – Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humour, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fuelled it despite seemingly having it all.
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening – as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the book fans have been waiting for.
‘An unflinching and often harrowing must-read for 90s pop culture fans’ Guardian
‘Written with Chandler’s trademark sarcasm and self-deprecation’ Telegraph
‘A hopeful read … I started to think of [it] not as a celebrity memoir about addiction, but as an addiction memoir written by a man who understands his own history through the prism of showbiz’ Independent
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£11.80 -
Politics On the Edge: The instant #1 Sunday Times bestseller from the host of hit podcast The Rest Is Politics
A searing insider’s account of ten extraordinary years in Parliament from Rory Stewart, former Cabinet minister and co-presenter of breakout hit podcast The Rest Is Politics
‘The most exceptional political memoir I’ve ever read’ ALAN JOHNSON
‘An instant classic’ MARINA HYDE
‘At last a politician who can write’ SEBASTIAN FAULKSThe Times pick for *The Biggest Books of the Autumn*
Over the course of a decade from 2010, Rory Stewart went from being a political outsider to standing for prime minister – before being sacked from a Conservative Party that he had come to barely recognise.
Tackling ministerial briefs on flood response and prison violence, engaging with conflict and poverty abroad as a foreign minister, and Brexit as a Cabinet minister, Stewart learned first-hand how profoundly hollow our democracy and government had become.
Cronyism, ignorance and sheer incompetence ran rampant. Around him, individual politicians laid the foundations for the political and economic chaos of today. Stewart emerged battered but with a profound affection for his constituency of Penrith and the Border, and a deep direct insight into the era of populism and global conflict.
Uncompromising, candid and darkly humorous, Politics On the Edge is his story of the challenges, absurdities and realities of political life and a remarkable portrait of our age.
The perfect Christmas gift for anyone who wants to understand our current political climate.
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£14.30£20.90 -
The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe V. Wade
The astonishing untold history of the million and a half women who surrendered children for adoption due to enormous family and social pressure in the decades before Roe v. Wade.“It would take a heart of stone not to be moved by the oral histories of these women and by the courage and candor with which they express themselves.” –The Washington Post
“A remarkably well-researched and accomplished book.” –The New York Times Book Review
“A wrenching, riveting book.” –Chicago Tribune
In this deeply moving and myth-shattering work, Ann Fessler brings out into the open for the first time the hidden social history of adoption before Roe v. Wade – and its lasting legacy. An adoptee who was herself surrendered during those years and recently made contact with her mother, Ann Fessler brilliantly brings to life the voices of more than a hundred women, as well as the spirit of those times, allowing the women to tell their stories in gripping and intimate detail.
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£8.30 -
Before and After: The incredible and heartbreaking true stories of victims of a notorious adoption scandal
‘Captivating and emotional’ 5* reader review
‘A riveting and heart wrenching read’ 5* reader review
From the 1920s to 1950, Georgia Tann ran a corrupt baby business at the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis. She offered up more than 5,000 orphans tailored to the wish lists of eager parents – hiding the fact that many weren’t orphans at all, but stolen sons and daughters of poor families, desperate single mothers, and women told in maternity wards that their babies had died.
In Before and After, many survivors set out to trace their roots and find their birth families. Before and AFter includes moving and shocking accounts of the ways in which adoptees were separated from their first families. Often raised as only children, many have joyfully reunited with siblings in the final decades of their lives. There are stories of first meetings that are all the sweeter and more intense for time missed, and of families from very different social backgrounds reaching out to embrace brothers, sisters, and cousins.
*Inspired by the No.1 bestselling novel Before We Were Yours*
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BEFORE AND AFTER
‘What a truly amazing book’ 5* reader review
‘Riveting’ 5* reader review
‘A real tear-jerker’ 5* reader review
‘Powerful’ 5* reader review
‘Beautifully written and so absorbing’ 5* reader review
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£4.70 -
Eden’s Story (Thrown Away Children)
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERAshley is a young single mum raising her daughter, Eden, and working hard to do the very best job she can – until one night she can’t find a babysitter and makes the decision to leave Eden home alone for a couple of hours, asleep inside a wardrobe. It is an action that begins a terrible downward spiral for both of them.
When Eden arrives at experienced foster carer Louise Allen’s home, she has entered the care system because her mother is in prison. Eden is five years old and will not speak to any human. She begins exhibiting some other disturbing behaviours alongside the mutism, too, including torturing the family pets she loves. This eventually leads Louise to discover the pain and tragic reality behind Eden’s Story.
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£6.20 -
You Should Be Grateful: Stories of Race, Identity, and Transracial Adoption
An adoption expert and transracial adoptee herself examines the unique perspectives and challenges these adoptees have as they navigate multiple cultures“Your parents are so amazing for adopting you! You should be grateful that you were adopted.”
Angela Tucker is a Black woman, adopted from foster care by white parents. She has heard this microaggression her entire life, usually from well-intentioned strangers who view her adoptive parents as noble saviors. She is grateful for many aspects of her life, but being transracially adopted involves layers of rejection, loss, and complexity that cannot be summed up so easily.
In “You Should Be Grateful,” Tucker centers the experiences of adoptees to share deeply personal stories, well-researched history, and engrossing anecdotes from mentorship sessions with adopted youth. These perspectives challenge the fairy-tale narrative of adoption, giving way to a fuller story that explores the impacts of racism, classism, family, love, and belonging.
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£18.10£22.80 -
Are You Really OK?: Understanding Britain’s Mental Health Emergency
We are not OK…
I’ve been fortunate enough to meet many remarkable people over the last decade of making documentaries – sometimes in incredibly hostile environments, where they’ve been really up against it – and I’ve seen the devastating effect that poverty, trauma, violence, abuse, stigma, stress, prejudice and discrimination can have on people’s mental health. It has always been the common thread.
Every week, 1 in 10 young people in the UK experiences symptoms of a common mental health problem, such as anxiety or depression, and 1 in 5 have considered taking their own life at some point. In this book, Stacey Dooley opens up the conversation about mental health in young people, to challenge the stigma and stereotypes around it.
Working in collaboration with mental health experts and charities, Stacey talks to young people across the UK directly affected by mental health issues, and helps tell their stories responsibly, in order to shine a light on life on the mental health frontline and give a voice to young people throughout the UK who are living with mental health conditions across the spectrum.
As well as hearing about their experiences directly, Stacey speaks to medical experts, counsellors, campaigners and health practitioners who can give detailed insights into the conditions profiled and explore the environmental factors that play a part – including poverty, addiction, identity, pressures of social media and the impact of Covid-19.
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£9.40£10.40
