Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers

An engaging, wickedly funny and splendidly anecdotal memoir of a career spent among writers, agents, publishers and bookmen and women of every stripe.

In this beautiful reissue, the author of 'Footsteps' collects the biographical curiosities he discovered while researching the romantic poets, creating a captivating mixture of biography and memoir.

A fascinating collection of letters from the great English novelist - and prolific correspondent - Penelope FitzgeraldAcclaimed for her exquisitely elegant novels - including the Booker Prize-winning 'Offshore' - and superb biographies, Penelope Fitzgerald was one of the most admired authors in Britain during the last century.

This acclaimed biography charts the progress of the brilliant, prolific writer, C.

Elizabeth Smart's passionate fictional account of her intense love-affair with the poet George Barker, described by Angela Carter as 'Like MADAME BOVARY blasted by lightning .

A working father whose life no longer feels like his own discovers the transforming powers of great (and downright terrible) literature in this laugh-out-loud memoir.

The new novel from the bestselling author of THE SIXTH WIFE.

Penelope Fitzgerald, the Booker Prize-winning author of 'Offshore' and 'The Blue Flower', turns her attention to the story of her remarkable family.

A tremendously vivid, page-turning and plausible novel that depicts the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn, the most spirited, independent and courageous of Henry's queens, as viewed from both the bedrooms and the kitchens of the Tudor court.

A haunting and emotionally satisfying novel from a much-loved and critically acclaimed author, which weaves fairy tale and gritty realism together to dazzlingly effect.

'Justine' was the Marquis de Sade's first novella, written in 1787, whilst imprisoned for two weeks in the Bastille.

First published in 1870, the author of 'Venus in Furs' defined - and unwittingly gave his own name to - that sexual proclivity we know as masochism in this understated, charged erotic classic.

'Fanny Hill' scandalised thousands of Victorians with its vivid descriptions of sexual pleasure, and landed its author in court a year after publication on charges of 'corrupting the King's subjects'.

Brilliant and original, 'A Thousand Years of Good Prayers' introduces a remarkable first collection of stories about China from an author set to become a major literary talent.

This revised and updated examination of how J.

One woman's passion for books and search for romance lie at the heart of this touching and funny novel about literature and longing in Los Angeles.

Discover a novelist that Neil Gaiman describes as 'an astonishingly smart writer'.

Michael Chabon, author of WONDER BOYS and the Pulitzer Prize-wining THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY, has written an autobiographical narrative as inventive, beautiful and powerful as his novels.

One of the great hidden gems of the past decade.

A masterpiece of black humour from the renown comic and acclaimed author of 'At Swim-Two-Birds' - Flann O'Brien.

Carefree, revelatory and intimate, this selection of unpublished letters between the six legendary Mitford sisters, compiled by Diana Mitford's daughter-in-law, is alive with wit, passion and heartbreak.

The first English translation of an Argentinean classic.

LIVES THAT NEVER GROW OLDThis unique series - edited by Richard Holmes - recovers the great classical tradition of English biography.

Acclaimed author of 'Wartime', Juliet Gardiner, brings to life the long neglected decade of the twentieth century - the 1930s.

101 chance meetings, juxtaposing the famous and the infamous, the artistic and the philistine, the pompous and the comical, the snobbish and the vulgar, each 1,001 words long, and with a time span stretching from the 19th century to the 21st.

From the author of the Orange New Writers shortlisted 'The Book of Fires', an extraordinary tale of love and science.

From the author of The Lace Reader comes an emotionally resonant novel of tragedy, secrets, identity, and love.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY HERMIONE LEEThe previously uncollected occasional prose of a great English writer - full of wit, feeling and illumination.

A taut and beautifully written debut novel by an exciting and accomplished new author.

An impressive debut from a major new voice in American fiction.

A Telegraph Book to Read for Autumn 2022A Times Best Non-fiction Book for Autumn 2022A Daily Mail Book of the Year 2022A Waterstones Best Book of 2022: BiographyThe astonishing new portrait of the master of spy fiction, by the woman he kept secret for almost half his lifeJohn le Carre led a life entirely constructed of secrets.

Zu seinen Lebzeiten zählte Erich Maria Remarque zu den wirkmächtigsten deutschsprachigen Autoren.

The second of a two-book set that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien's epic tale of war, The Silmarillion.

Before The Silmarillion, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the earliest myths and legends of Middle-earth and Valinor were laid down in The Book of Lost Tales, written by J.

The third volume that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien's epic tale of war, The Silmarillion.

The fourth volume that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien's epic tale of war, The Silmarillion.

The fifth volume of the History of Middle-earth, containing the early myths and legends which led to the writing of Tolkien's epic tale of war, The Silmarillion.

The first part of The History of The Lord of the Rings, an enthralling account of the writing of the Book of the Century which contains many additional scenes and includes the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety.

The second part of The History of The Lord of the Rings, an enthralling account of the writing of the Book of the Century which contains many additional scenes and includes the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety.

The third part of The History of The Lord of the Rings, an enthralling account of the writing of the Book of the Century which contains many additional scenes and includes the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety.

The final part of The History of The Lord of the Rings, an enthralling account of the writing of the Book of the Century which contains many additional scenes and includes the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety.

The second of two companion volumes which documents the later writing of The Silmarillion, Tolkien's epic tale of war.

The concluding volume of The History of Middle-earth series, which examines the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings.

An 'imaginative and elegant trek through the landscape of the Brontes' GraziaSee through the eyes of the Brontes as you immerse yourself in their lives and landscapes, wandering the very same paths they each would have walked in search of the inspiration behind their novels and poetry.

Celebrated novelist Daphne Du Maurier and her sisters, eclipsed by her fame, are revealed in all their surprising complexity in this riveting new biography.

One of the world's best loved presenters meets one of the world's greatest authors in this beautiful selection of timeless, haunting stories.

A stunning historical novel, 'The Book of Fires' is the unforgettable story of Agnes Trussel - and love, fireworks and redemption.

The 'bible' for dice living - for everyone who has been inspired by the cult classic THE DICE MAN.

The literary debut from the author of 'Little Children', 'Election' and 'The Abstinence Teacher'.

The final classic installment in the excellent Martin Beck detective series from the 1960s - the novels that have inspired all Scandinavian crime fiction.