A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK'Nuanced, human and engaging' Nikesh Shukla, Observer'Full of life, characters, gossip and all the richness of the local community' Sir David Jason'A delightful story of growing up "e;above the shop"e;' Nigel Slater, Observer'Cleverly links her own memories of shop-bound life with the last 50 years of British history' Spectator'I come from a hidden world: I am the daughter of shopkeepers.
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2019 ORWELL PRIZE FOR POLITICAL WRITING'Davies's absorbing study serves up just enough sensationalism - and eccentricity - along with its serious inquiry' SUNDAY TIMES'[A] revealing account of the jail's 164-year history' DAILY TELEGRAPH, 5* review'Insightful and thought-provoking and makes for a ripping good read' JEREMY CORBYN'A much-needed and balanced history' OBSERVER'Davies explores how society has dealt with disobedient women - from suffragettes to refugees to women seeking abortions - for decades, and how they've failed to silence those who won't go down without a fight' STYLISTSociety has never known what to do with its rebellious women.
'If you're interested in Dublin, or if you're interested in the novelist John Banville, or if you're interested in radiantly superb sentences about whatever - I'm all three - then Time Pieces: A Dublin Memoir is a book you'll not be able to put down' The Guardian'A trove of arresting imagery, from the lushly poetic to the luridly absurd .
'ENORMOUS FUN' GUARDIAN'SO ENTERTAINING' THE TIMES'GOSSIPY, LIGHT AND FUN' TLSQueen Bees looks at the lives of six remarkable women who made careers out of being society hostesses, including Lady Astor, who went on to become the first female MP, and Mrs Greville, who cultivated relationships with Edward VII, as well as Lady Londonderry, Lady Cunard, Laura Corrigan and Lady Colefax.
Children of the Rising is the first ever account of the young lives violently lost during the week of the 1916 Rising: long-forgotten and never commemorated, until now.
This breakthrough scientific masterwork - and INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER - reveals the underlying forces that have shaped human history and will secure our future.
***WINNER OF THE NEW ANGLE PRIZE FOR LITERATURE******WINNER OF THE HWA NON-FICTION AWARD***A beautifully written exploration of the world of Edwardian folk music, and its influence on the composer Ralph Vaughan WilliamsIn January 1905 the young Vaughan Williams, not yet one of England's most famous composers, visited Norfolk to find folk songs 'from the mouths of the singers'.
A landmark reference guide to the LGBTQIA+ community's contributions to the English language-an intersectional, inclusive illustrated glossary featuring more than 800 terms created by and for queer culture.
'Searing and timely' Tarana Burke, founder of the MeToo movement, and author of You Are Your Best Thing'Carefree Black Girls is the testimony I've been waiting to witness.
Part of the SECOND WORLD WAR VOICES series in partnership with the podcast We Have Ways of Making You Talk, presented by comedian Al Murray and bestselling historian James Holland.
'THOUGHT-PROVOKING' Bernardine Evaristo | 'IMPORTANT' Melissa Hemsley | 'RAZOR-SHARP' Nels Abbey | 'ESSENTIAL' Jaspreet Kaur | 'INSPIRATIONAL' Sophie Williams | 'REVEALING' Tineka Smith | 'NECESSARY' Natalie Alexis LeeWhat does it mean to be mixed race in today's society?
*THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER*Four Hundred Souls is an epoch-defining history of African America, the first to appear in a generation, told by ninety leading Black voices -- co-curated by Ibram X.
'Bold Ventures resembles a pop version of Iain Sinclair's psychogeography or Out of Sheer Rage, Geoff Dyer's anti-biography of DH Lawrence' Olivia Laing, GUARDIAN'A marvel: a monument to human beings continuing to reach for the skies, even after their plans dissolve in dust' NEW YORK TIMESIn thirteen chapters, Belgian poet Charlotte Van den Broeck goes in search of buildings that were fatal for their architects - architects who either killed themselves or are rumoured to have done so.
WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE, 2014Haunted by the fate of Dora Bruder a fifteen-year-old girl listed as missing in an old December 1941 issue of Paris Soir Nobel Prize-winning author Patrick Modiano sets out to find all he can about her.
A ground-breaking new study brings us a very different picture of the Second World War, asking fundamental questions about ethical commitmentsAccounts of the Second World War usually involve tales of bravery in battle, or stoicism on the home front, as the British public stood together against Fascism.
'The kind of history deserving of a cinematic blockbuster' Julia Lovell, Literary Review'[A] gripping and meticulously researched account of an epic effort to transport delicate scrolls, paintings and carvings thousands of miles under the threat of bombing and invasion' Rana Mitter, Times Literary Supplement'Brilliant and thrilling.
'Mak is the history teacher everyone should have had' Financial TimesFrom the author of the internationally acclaimed In Europe, a stunning history of our present, examining the first two decades of this most fragile and fraught new millennium.
A spellbinding new book by the much-acclaimed writer, a journey to South Africa in search of the lost people called the /Xam - a haunting book about the brutality of colonial frontiers and the fate of those they dispossess.
A captivating new book from Wade Davis - winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize for Into the Silence - that brings vividly to life the story of the great R o Magdalena, illuminating Colombia's complex past, present, and future.
THE PERFECT READ FOR TROUBLED TIMESFrom the bestselling author of The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places comes this inspiring and beautifully written meditation on the wisdom inherited from our ancestors.
From the bestselling author of The Long Weekend: a wild, sad and sometimes hilarious tour of the English country house after the Second World War, when Swinging London collided with aristocratic values.
** THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER **'This book is a must' Peter HennessyOn Boxing Day 1962, when Juliet Nicolson was eight years old, the snow began to fall.
*As read on BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week*'A genius for a certain kind of social history that, in shining a light on one small place, illuminates a huge amount' Sunday TelegraphA toy train.
A fresh perspective on British history from award-winning broadcaster Fatima ManjiWhy was there a Turkish mosque adorning Britain's most famous botanic garden in the eighteenth century?
