Mary Costello (Mary Costello – Canongate Books) was a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. Her collection of short stories, The China Factory, published in 2012, was nominated for the Guardian First Book Award. Her second book and first novel, Academy Street, was shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, the Costa First Novel Prize and the EU Prize for Literature in […]
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Are you looking for a novel which is heartbreaking and heartwarming? A novel which is funny, sad and deeply moving? Reach for Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, a debut by Gail Honeyman from 2017. The summary is as follows: Eleanor Oliphant leads a simple life. She wears the same clothes to work every day, eats
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John Adams (Professor John Adams | UCL Faculty of Social & Historical Sciences) offers a critical analysis of the many ways in which risk judgements find expression in people’s behaviour at work, in their everyday lives and in social and industrial policies. It is honest, painstaking and forthright. Often, it is surprising and even shocking.
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Benjamin Myers (Writer | Benjamin Myers) is a writer and journalist who grew up in County Durham. He formed the punk rock band Sour Face whilst at school. Rare Singles (2024) is his ninth publication. The novel takes place over a single weekend in Scarborough. Earlon ‘Bucky’ Bronco is a forgotten singer from Chicago who,
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Robert K. Massie’s Peter the Great: His Life and World (1980) is an acclaimed, Pulitzer-winning biography that reads like a vivid novel, yet still contains exhaustive research. It provides a comprehensive, balanced portrait of the complex Tzar, covering his reforms, personal life, and his efforts to modernize Russia. Massie begins with Peter’s early life, starting with his
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Michael Connelly is an American author of detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring LAPD Detective Hieronymous “Harry” Bosch and criminal defence attorney Mickey Haller. Connelly (Author Michael Connelly’s Biography) is the bestselling author of 38 novels and one work of non-fiction, with over 74 million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into 40 languages. In
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Biographers, like historians, rely on sources to build a picture of their subject. Take Margaret Thatcher as an example. A biographer setting out on the task would have an excellent range of rich sources – television interviews, House of Commons speeches, memories of Thatcher’s family, friends and acquaintances, Parliamentary papers, Civil Service documents, newspaper and
Set in post-war Barcelona (1945), The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Carlos Ruiz Zafon – About | Carlos Ruiz Zafón Author – Official UK site) is a gothic mystery that follows Daniel Sempere, the son of an antiquarian bookseller. After losing his mother, Daniel is initiated into the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a secret labyrinthine library where he ‘adopts’ a
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John Donne (1571-1631) (John Donne | The Poetry Foundation) was born into a Catholic family at a time of persecution; family members were imprisoned and tortured. He moved between success and penury, with a stint in law, an unsuccessful foray as an adventurer in Spain, and a period at court that ended when he secretly
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