Biography: writers

The acclaimed author of The Lazarus Project revisits his youth in Sarajevo and recounts his adjustment to life in North America in this emotional memoir.

The untold story of Blanche Knopf, the singular woman who helped define American literatureLeft off her company's fifth anniversary tribute but described by Thomas Mann as "e;the soul of the firm,"e; Blanche Knopf began her career when she founded Alfred A.

A wry, moving collection of letters from the late J.

From the author of To the Finland Station comes a deeply personal and incisive memoir, A Piece of My Mind.

Who was William Shakespeare?

'It's for everyone.

Cosmopolitan, richly intelligent, beautiful, questing - Shirley Hazzard's writing reflects her life.

The letters between Vera Brittain, author of Testament of Youth, and Winifred Holtby, author of South Riding, tell the story of an extraordinary friendship'Touching and inspiring' RACHEL COOKE, Observer'Lively, perceptive' MIRANDA SEYMOUR, Literary Review'A beautiful collection' DAISY DUNN, Sunday Times'A moving unvarnished chronicle' Sarah Watling, TelegraphFrom the time when they met at Somerville College, Oxford, until Winifred's early death at the age of thirty-seven, they wrote constantly, encouraging and advising each other, even through periods as literary rivals as they negotiated envy and self-doubt.

The revealing of the hidden muse - Emily Hale - the Hyacinth Girl of the famous The Waste Land poem - who influenced the life and art of TS Eliot.

A masterly biography of one of America's most important twentieth century writers, written by acclaimed biographer Hermione Lee.

'Her imagination was one of the most dazzling this century' MARINA WARNER, INDEPENDENT 'With the rise of feminist theory, reclamation of folktale and world domination of magical realism, Carter became a canon in her own right' GUARDIAN 'Her writing occupies a unique place in twentieth century fiction' FAYE GODWIN, BRITISH LIBRARY 'In the pursuit of magnificence, nothing is sacred,' says Angela Carter, and magnificence is indeed her own achievement.

'The water slips over me like cool silk.

For the past four years Jane Miller, author of Crazy Age: Thoughts on Being Old, has been writing a column for an American magazine called In These Times.

Molly Keane (1904 - 96) was an Irish novelist and playwright (born in County Kildare) most famous for Good Behaviour which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

Outsiders tells the stories of five novelists - Mary Shelley, Emily Bront , George Eliot, Olive Schreiner, Virginia Woolf - and their famous novels.

In this stunning new biography of the eighteenth-century writer Mary Wollstonecraft, Lyndall Gordon explores the life of a woman often criticised by biographers, historians and feminists alike.

A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week'This is such a great idea for a book, and Michelle Dean carries it off, showing us the complexities of her fascinating, extraordinary subjects, in print and out in the world.

First published in 1936, this is the story of Elizabeth von Arnim's extraordinary life - and her equally extraordinary dogs.

In this eclectic selection of biographical sketches Bill Deedes remembers some of the key figures of the twentieth century.

When Alexandra "e;Bo"e; Fuller was in Zambia a few years ago visiting her parents, she asked her father about a nearby banana farmer who was known for being a "e;tough bugger"e;.

Two of the most successful British novelists of the last fifty years, Kingsley and Martin Amis are both known for their savage wit and their indifference to causing controversy.

Always Unreliable is the collected first three volumes of Clive James's eloquently witty autobiographies, Unreliable Memoirs, Falling Towards England and May Week Was in June.

The first book in V.

'Much excellent gossip, some of it wildly indiscreet .

In Lunar Park, Bret Easton Ellis, author of American Psycho, rips into his most frightening subject yet: himself.

The second book in V.

In the 1980s, Clive James found his way into full-time television.

How do you decide what is a 'story' and what isn't?

The second instalment of his famed unreliable memoirs, Falling Towards England sees Clive James set sail for London - a long way from the acclaimed author, poet and broadcaster he would one day become .

'Fiennes has exceptional gifts, and he has written a small masterpiece, a tribute to the power of place, family and memory' Sunday Telegraph William Fiennes' childhood was one of imagination and curiosity, bounded only by the horizon he saw from the roof-tiles of his ancient family home.

By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Closing Time recounts Joe Queenan's Irish Catholic upbringing in a family dominated by his erratic father, a violent yet oddly charming emotional terrorist whose alcoholism fuels a limitless torrent of self-pity, railing, destruction, and late-night chats with the Lord Himself.

Peter Godwin, an award-winning writer, is on assignment in Zululand when he is summoned by his mother to Zimbabwe, his birthplace.

This is the first major biography of V.

In this richly illustrated portrait, a prize-winning biographer surveys the entire sweep of William Blake’s creative work while telling the story of his life William Blake, overlooked in his time, remains an enigmatic figure to contemporary readers despite his near canonical status.

From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a moving inquiry into the dramatic life, epic success, and ultimate tragedy of the great Hebrew poet By the time he was twenty-eight, Hayim Nahman Bialik was already considered the National Hebrew Poet.

Now known worldwide for his horror creations in best-selling books and popular film adaptations, Stephen King spent years in obscurity trying to find his voice and his audience.

The extraordinary life of one of the world's greatest music and literary icons, in the words of those who knew him best.

Irish women writers have a large following, and their works are attracting large amounts of scholarly and critical attention.

';It's shocking to learn that this is McBride's first book.

Jonathan Lethem is the first full-length study dedicated to the work of an exciting, genre-busting contemporary writer with an increasingly high profile in American literature.

NEW STATESMAN, TELEGRAPH, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT AND GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2015When his widowed father - once a high court judge and always a formidable figure - drifted into vagueness if not dementia, the writer Adam Mars-Jones took responsibility for his care.

'Like nothing else you will read' Hilary MantelTop 25 History Books of the Year, The Times - the perfect gift for book lovers this Christmas!

'To say this series is "e;empowering"e; doesn't do it justice.

A.