News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

It’s mostly men this month – biographies included are about the great and famous Napoleon, the most renowned scientist of our time,Stephen Hawking, the beloved creator of the Jeeves novels, P.G. Wodehouse and the refreshingly different mayor of London, Boris Johnson. David Hockney needs no introduction – this new study of his life an work has been widely praised. Brian Sewell the noted British art critic and media personality, is less well-known here, but has an interesting tale to tell.

Stephen Hawking : his life and work : the story and science of one of the most extraordinary, celebrated, and courageous figures of our time / Kitty Ferguson.‘”This is the story of one of the most remarkable figures of our time – Professor Stephen Hawking, the Cambridge genius who has earned an international reputation as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein. This is not quite a biography; it is more the story of one man’s quest to find the ‘Theory of Everything’. Stephen Hawking’s life and work have produced a multitude of amazing paradoxes: beginnings may be endings, two great scientific theories taken together may seem to give us nonsense, empty space isn’t empty, and black holes aren’t black. Cruel circumstances can lead to happiness, and fame and success may not. A man whose appearance inspires shock and pity takes us to where the boundaries of space and time ought to be – but are not.”(Abridged summary from globalbooksinprint.com).

Hockney : the biography. Volume 1, 1937-1975 / “Christopher Simon Sykes.
“In this astounding first volume of his authorised biography Christopher Sykes explores the fascinating world of the most popular living artist in the world today. David Hockney’s career has spanned and epitomised the art movements of the last five decades; His story is one of precocious achievement at Bradford Art College, the Swinging 60s in London where he befriended many of the iconic cultural figures of the generation, to California and the cool of the swimming pool series of paintings, through the acclaimed set designs for countless operas around the world and major retrospective exhibitions.”(Wellington City Libraries catalogue note).

Catherine the Great : portrait of a woman / Robert K. Massie.
“Massie returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography–the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to Russia at 14 and rose to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history. History offers few stories richer in drama than that of Catherine the Great. In this book, this eternally fascinating woman is returned to life.” (Syndetics summary)

Just Boris : the irresistible rise of a political celebrity / Sonia Purnell.“A major and controversial new biography of one of the most compelling and contradictory figures in modern British life.Born Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, to most of us he is just ‘Boris’ – the only politician of the age to be regarded in such familiar, even affectionate terms. Uniquely, he combines comedy with erudition, gimlet-eyed focus with jokey self-deprecation, and is a loving family man with a roving eye. He is also a hugely ambitious figure with seemingly no huge ambitions to pursue – other than, perhaps, power itself. In this revealing biography, written from the vantage point of a once close colleague, Sonia Purnell examines how a shy, young boy from a broken home became our only box-office politician – and most unlikely sex god.”(Abridged summary from globalbooksinprint.com)

Napoleon / Alan Forrest.“On a cold December day in 1840 Parisians turned out in force to watch as the body of Napoleon was solemnly carried on a riverboat from Courbevoie on its final journey to the Invalides. The return of their long-dead Emperor’s corpse from the Island of St Helena was a moment that Paris had eagerly awaited, though many feared that the memories stirred would serve to further destabilize a country that had struggled for order and direction since he had been sent into exile. In this book, Alan Forrest, tells the remarkable story of how the son of a Corsican attorney became the most powerful man in Europe, a man whose charisma and legacy endured after his lonely death many thousands of miles from the country whose fate had become so entwined with his own.”(Abridged summary from globalbooksinprint.com).

Outsider : almost always, never quite : an autobiography / Brian Sewell.‘Outsider’ is the life of a child, adolescent, student and young man in London between the Great Depression of the 30s and the sudden prosperity and social changes of the 60s, affected by the moral attitudes of the day, by the Blitz, by post-war austerity and the new freedoms of the later 50s.(Summary from globabooksinprint.com).

The secret life of Barack Hussein Obama / Mondo Frazier.“Mondo Frazier divulges the little-known details of Obama’s past that the public is dying to know in The Secret Life of Barack Hussein Obama.“(Summary from globalbooksimprint.com).

A life in letters / P.G. Wodehouse ; edited by Sophie Ratcliffe.
“This is the definitive edition of PG Wodehouse’s letters, edited with a commentary by Oxford academic Sophie Ratcliffe. The funniest and most-adored writer of the 20th century, PG Wodehouse always shied away from the idea of a biography – a retiring sort of chap, it was through the written word that he expressed himself. Includes previously unpublished correspondence, such as that relating to the infamous pro-Nazi propaganda”(Wellington City libraries catalogue note).

The perfect Nazi : uncovering my grandfather’s secret past / Martin Davidson.
“Using the skills he honed as a documentary producer for the BBC, Davidson explores the truth behind his family’s dark secret–his grandfather was a Nazi SS officer.” (Syndetics summary)

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Scotland’s national poet Robert Burns was born on the 25th of January 1759, and the 25th of January every year is now celebrated as Robert Burns Day. Traditionally marked with a Burns supper, enthusiastic Burns Clubs all over the world will be celebrating tonight with a good measure of whisky.

The son of a tenant farmer in Ayrshire and a pre-Romantic poet, Robert Burns is a cultural icon in Scotland and the Scottish Diaspora around the world for his poetry and songs in both English and the Scots language (not Gaelic). An interesting New Zealand connection, is that his nephew – Thomas Burns – immigrated to New Zealand and was a prominent religious leader in the early settlement of Otago. There are many memorials to Robert Burns all over the world, and if you’ve visited Dunedin you will have seen the statue of Robert Burns in the Octagon that commemorates him there.

In lieu of celebrating with the more traditional haggis and whisky, we thought we’d collect together some books and web links to commemorate the Ploughman Poet. Enjoy!

Robert Burns / selected by Donald A. Low.
“Let other poets raise a fracas ‘Bout vines, an’ wines, an’ drucken Bacchus, An’ crabbit names an’ stories wrack us, An’ grate our lug: In glass or jug.–from “Scotch Drink”. Robert Burns, the son of a tenant farmer in Ayshire, Scotland, endured great hardship before emerging as a poet and songwriter in his native dialect, as well as in English. This “Bard of Scotland” caught the spirit of his country, as these 23 verses and songs so vividly show. Though his works frequently focused on two of his greatest pleasures–women and Scotch–he also found inspiration in local subjects. His “Tam O’Shanter” is one of the finest examples of narrative verse ever written: it vividly evokes the Scottish landscape and weather, the native inns and native folk, all while telling a compelling, almost supernatural story of the drunken Tam. From “The Twa Dogs” to “Death and Doctor Hornbook,” this colorful collection is a pure delight.” (Syndetics summary)

The bard : Robert Burns, a biography / Robert Crawford.
“Biographies of Burns are as plentiful as hangovers after Burns Suppers, and some of them are equally unrewarding. But this one is genuinely useful. Evenhanded and earnest, it isn’t the raciest version of Burns’s high-octane career: Those who want a simplified story can look elsewhere. But The Bard, while approachable and concise, sets a new standard for scholarly readings of Burns’s life. This biography is enlightening and entertaining, a good read in a gray month.” (Amazon.co.uk)

Dirt & deity : a life of Robert Burns / Ian McIntyre.
“July 21, 1996, is the 200th anniversary of the death of Scotland’s great national poet, Robert Burns, which is reason enough to bring McIntyre’s exhaustively documented–indeed, for all practical purposes, documentary–biography, first published in England last year, to America. But besides marking the occasion, the book has strong virtues to commend it, too. McIntyre strives mightily to tell the facts about Burns; to that end, he constructs a fabric made up of excerpts from letters, recollections of those who knew Burns, occasional public records, and the testimony of Burns’ poems. He stitches these materials together with clear, precise prose, concisely sketching Burns’ historical and cultural milieu as he proceeds; and he refrains from speculating about cloudy details in Burns’ life or interpreting Burns’ works. He doesn’t coddle old legends or foster new ones but reinforces the familiar image of Burns as a sparkling conversationalist, something of a rake (as were several friends), and, unfortunately for his longevity (he died at 37), rather a boozer–and, supremely, what Jews call a mensch, for a’ that.” (Booklist)

Rhymer Rab : an anthology of poems and prose / Robert Burns ; edited by Alan Bold.
“The poems and songs of Robert Burns are known throughout the world, yet many people are unaware of the wealth of writing of all kinds which he left at his death in 1796. This is a collection of verse and prose which gives insights into Burns’s complex and contradictory character. It includes some of his most revealing letters, ranging from formal appeals to potential patrons, to bawdy accounts of sexual conquests; from the elevated passion of the “Clarinda” letters to the touching domesticity of notes to his wife and family; and from fiery political satire to poignant pleas sent in the final days of his life. Here also are extracts from commonplace books, passages from travel journals and other significant pieces, including the complete text of the Autobiographical Letter, Burns’s only extended account of his meteoric rise to fame.” (Amazon.co.uk)

From our databases:

• Burns, Robert (1759-1796). Accessed via Gale Biography In Context.

Website Links:

• Index of Robert Burns’ Poems with English translations (Via the World Burns Club)
• BBC audio archive of 716 works by Robert Burns (created to mark the 250th anniversary of his birth in 2009)

Most people have a curiosity about the lives of others - we like to twitch the lace curtains and peek into the worlds of those who are those who are famous, in the public eye or just have an interesting story to tell. This is why (sometimes despite protestations to the contrary!) we’re all happy to pick up a New Zealand Woman’s Weekly or other, similar, magazine when we’re at the doctor’s or the dentist’s surgery, and catch up on all our celebrity news!! So, to round out the year, and to satisfy that itch, we have some really fascinating stories for you here – lives ancient and modern and some in between. Have a browse!

Cleopatra : a life / Stacy Schiff.
“Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Stacy Schiff brings to life the most intriguing woman in the history of the world: Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt. Though her life spanned fewer than 40 years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world.” (Syndetics summary).

The horror of love / Lisa Hilton.
“‘I’ve given up everything – my friends, my family, my country, & he simply roared with laughter, and then of course so did I’ — Nancy Mitford. ‘The Horror of Love’ is a story about two middle-aged, not particularly attractive people who conducted a less than ideal love affair in post-war France. [Nancy Mitford and Free French commander Gaston Palewski.] She was febrile, needy and given to ’shrieking’, he was pompous, acne-scarred and an incorrigible philanderer. Both their lives had been blighted by war in a manner which is now almost inaccessible to the contemporary imagination. He inspired and encouraged her to write one of the funniest, most painfully poignant and best-loved novels of the late twentieth century, she supported him through a tumultuous political career. Their mutual life was spent amongst some of the most exciting, powerful and controversial figures of their times in the reawakening centre of European civilization.” (Abridged summary from Global Books)

Titanic love stories : the true stories of 13 honeymoon couples who sailed on the Titanic / Gill Paul ; [introduction by Bruce Beveridge].
“On 10th April 1912, the new RMS Titanic set sail on her fateful voyage from Southampton to New York. Among those on board were 13 newly-wed couples, with dreams of starting a new life together. Titanic Love Stories features haunting portraits of these honeymooners – true stories of love, tragedy, heroism and hope more remarkable than any work of romantic fiction” (Abridged summary Global Books)

Eva Braun : life with Hitler / Heike B. Görtemaker ; translated from the German by Damion Searls.
“The first comprehensive biography of Eva Braun: an authoritative reassessment of her role in Hitler’s life, which gives us, as well, an astonishingly revealing portrait of Hitler and his inner circle. In this groundbreaking book, German historian Heike B. Gortemaker reveals the real woman behind the myth of the vapid blonde with whom Hitler spent the last eighteen years of his life. Eva Braun’s relationship with the Fuhrer flew in the face of his proclamations that Germany was his only bride. In fact, he and Braun lived a bourgeois existence out of the public eye, and her identity was kept secret by the Third Reich until the final days of the war. Uncompromising and fiercely loyal to Hitler, she committed suicide with him two days after their marriage” (Abridged summary from Global Books)

Columbus : the four voyages / Laurence Bergreen.
“Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a trading route to China, and his unexpected landfall in the Americas, is a watershed event in world history. Yet Columbus made three more voyages within the span of only a decade, each designed to demonstrate that he could sail to China within a matter of weeks and convert those he found there to Christianity. These later voyages were even more adventurous, violent, and ambiguous, but they revealed Columbus’s uncanny sense of the sea, his mingled brilliance and delusion, and his superb navigational skills. In all these exploits he almost never lost a sailor. By their conclusion, however, Columbus was broken in body and spirit.” (Library Catalogue)

Blue nights / by Joan Didion.
“From one of America’s most powerful writers, a work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter. Richly textured with bits of her own childhood and married life with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and daughter, Quintana Roo, this new book by Joan Didion examines her thoughts, fears, and doubts regarding having children, illness, and growing old. Blue Nights opens on July 26, 2010, as Didion thinks back to Quintana’s wedding in New York seven years before. Today would be her wedding anniversary.”(Abridged summary from Global Books)

George Eliot : the last Victorian / Kathryn Hughes.
“This intensely engaging biography examines the extraordinary life of George Eliot from her childhood, through her scandalous liaison and social exile, to her hard-won status as one of Victorian England’s literary elite.” (Syndetics summary).

Here comes trouble : stories from my life / Michael Moore.
“In this smart, funny, insightful and counterintuitive book, Michael Moore will take on the major issues of our society, one by one, showing with great clarity and persuasiveness, that the two sides are really not as far apart as everyone assumes on what we conventionally view as the most divisive issues of our times. To name a few: Unions, Minimum Wage, Big Business, Immigration, Daycare, Social Security, Crime & Punishment, Taxes, The Military. The book will make us think differently about the term ‘common ground’. It will surprise people. It will make them laugh. And, most importantly, it will get them talking.” (Syndetics summary).

Jack Kennedy : elusive hero / Chris Matthews.
“Based on interviews with some of his closest associates, a portrait of the thirty-fifth president discusses his privileged childhood, military service, struggles with a life-threatening disease, and career in politics”. (Library Catalogue)

Pippa Blake : journey / Pippa Blake in collaboration with Trish Clarke.
“On 5 December 2001 New Zealand sporting and adventure hero Sir Peter Blake was killed by bandits at the mouth of the Amazon River. In this intimate account, Pippa Blake offers a private view of Sir Peter the husband and family man. Unpublished photographs from her personal albums, behind the scenes stories of Sir Peter’s sailing adventures and Pippa’s own journal entries and artworks provide a moving insight into a life shared with one of this country’s greatest sporting legends.” (Library Catalogue)

Summer has arrived, or at the very least is peeking through the clouds on occasion. With this burst of fine weather comes the promise of the holiday season and some relaxed reading. Take some inspiration from the best of November’s People & Places picks.

Lives told through novels, houses and adventures. This month’s new biographies offer insight into a wide array of remarkable people.

All in one basket : nest eggs / Deborah Devonshire.
“Entertaining, instructive, thought-provoking and hilarious, the unmistakeable voice of Deborah Devonshire rings out of this volume which combines her two collections of ‘occasional’ writings – Home to Roost and Counting My Chickens. The pieces are broad and eclectic in their subjects, ranging from treasures unearthed while the kitchen was being redecorated, musings about the reason for the reworded town sign, tourism at Chatsworth, a ringside view of both John F. Kennedy’s inauguration and funeral, and the value of deportment. No matter what she’s writing about she is always affectionate, shrewd and uproariously funny.” – (adapted from Amazon.co.uk description)

Bligh : master mariner / Rob Mundle.
“It is the eighteenth century, the era when brave mariners took their ships beyond the horizon in search of an unknown world. Those chosen to lead these expeditions were exceptional navigators, men who had shown brilliance as they ascended the ranks in the Royal Navy. They were also bloody good sailors. There’s a lot more to the story of the infamous Captain Bligh than mutiny, rum and convicts – it is also the untold story of one of our greatest sailors.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Virginia Woolf / Alexandra Harris.
“Alexandra Harris’s hugely acclaimed book Romantic Moderns (winner of the 2010 Guardian First Book Award) overturned our picture of modernist culture during the interwar years. In this, her second book, she brings her attention to one of the towering figures of literary modernism. It is an intensely pleasurable read that weaves together the life and work of Virginia Woolf, and serves as an ideal introduction to both. Following the chronology of Woolfs life, it considers each of the novels in context, gives due prominence to her dazzlingly inventive essays, traces the contentious course of her afterlife and shows why, seventy years after her death,Virginia Woolf continues to haunt and inspire us.” – (adapted from Amazon.co.uk description)

Blue nights / by Joan Didion.“From one of our most powerful writers, a work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter. Richly textured with bits of her own childhood and married life with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and daughter, Quintana Roo, this new book by Joan Didion examines her thoughts, fears, and doubts regarding having children, illness, and growing old. Blue Nights opens on July 26, 2010, as Didion thinks back to Quintana’s wedding in New York seven years before. Today would be her wedding anniversary. This fact triggers vivid snapshots of Quintana’s childhood — in Malibu, in Brentwood, at school in Holmby Hills. Reflecting on her daughter but also on her role as a parent, Didion asks the candid questions any parent might about how she feels she failed either because cues were not taken or perhaps displaced. ‘How could I have missed what was clearly there to be seen?’ Finally, perhaps we all remain unknown to each other. Blue Nights — the long, light evening hours that signal the summer solstice, ‘the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but also its warning’ — like The Year of Magical Thinking before it, is an iconic book of incisive and electric honesty.” – (adapted from Amazon.co.uk desription)

Lemon sherbet and dolly blue : the story of an accidental family / Lynn Knight.
“150 Station Road, Wheeldon Mill – a short stride across the Chesterfield Canal in the heart of Derbyshire – was home to the Nash family and their corner shop, which served a small mining community with everything from Brasso and Dolly Blue, to cheap dress rings and bright sugary sweets. But just as this was no ordinary home, theirs was no ordinary family. Lynn Knight tells the remarkable story of the three adoptions within it: of her great-grandfather, a fairground boy, given away when his parents left for America in 1865; of her great-aunt, rescued from an Industrial School in 1909, and of her mother, adopted as a baby in 1930, and brought to Chesterfield from London. Full of light, life and colour, spanning three generations and two world wars, this memoir weaves a rich portrait of a community and of family love and loyalty regardless of blood ties.” – (adapted from Amazon.uk description)

Diamond Queen : Elizabeth II and her people / Andrew Marr.
“With the flair for narrative and the meticulous research that readers have come to expect, Andrew Marr turns his attention to the monarch – and to the monarchy, chronicling the Queen’s pivotal role at the centre of the state, which is largely hidden from the public gaze, and making a strong case for the institution itself. Arranged thematically, rather than chronologically, Marr dissects the Queen’s political relationships, crucially those with her Prime Ministers; he examines her role as Head of the Commonwealth, and her deep commitment to that Commonwealth of nations; he looks at the drastic changes in the media since her accession in 1952 and how the monarchy – and the monarch – have had to change and adapt as a result. Indeed he argues that under her watchful eye, the monarchy has been thoroughly modernized and made as fit for purpose in the twenty-first century as it was when she came to the throne and a ‘new Elizabethan age’ was ushered in.” – (adapted from Amazon.co.uk description)

The address book : a memoir about my homes (all 32 of them) / Jane Clifton.
“Where do you call home?Performer Jane Clifton had a classic army brat upbringing, constantly on the move as the family followed the postings of her English officer father from Gibraltar to England, Germany to Malaysia and eventually to Australia. Always the new kid in town, Jane became adept at fitting in anywhere. As an adult, living in the fast-moving worlds of anti-war demos, women’s lib, experimental theatre, rock ‘n’ roll, and TV, she kept up the family tradition of changing addresses without so much as a backward glance. But her stiff-upper-lipped father and glamorous, restless mother both died tragically young, and Jane was left with many unanswered questions. Where exactly is home? is it your family? Your memories? Or simply bricks and mortar? One day, Jane decided to go back and visit every house she’d lived in all 32 of them to see if she could piece together the jigsaw of her life. A funny, moving and unexpected story about one woman’s search for home, And The universal desire to find the place you truly belong.” – (adapted from Publisher’s description)

This month in People & Places we feature the best in biography, travel, history and NZ fiction. Highlights include: double-Duchess delights with the lives of Wallis Simpson and Sarah Ferguson; Last Train to Paradise relives the glory days of NZ rail; and Wellington author Craig Cliff explores a number of novel themes – pregnancy tests, the poetry of Sappho and the artistic potential of photocopiers among others – in his short story collection, A Man Melting.

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