Biography Recent Picks

July 2010

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Wild romance : the true story of a Victorian scandal, Chloe Schama.
"In 1852, on a steamer from France to England, nineteen-year-old Theresa Longworth met William Charles Yelverton, a soldier destined to become the Viscount of Avonmore. The flirtation that began on board soon blossomed into a clandestine, epistolary affair, and five years after their first meeting they married secretly in Edinburgh. Then, that same summer, at Theresa's urging, they married again in Dublin - or did they? Separated by circumstance soon after they were wed, Theresa and Charles would never live together as man and wife. And when Yelverton then married another woman, an abandoned Theresa found herself forced to prove the validity of her marriage. Multiple trials ensued - in Ireland, England and Scotland - and for months their scandal captivated society: every detail of the proceedings was reported in the press, songwriters dedicated ballads to Theresa, and novelists, Wilkie Collins among them, borrowed the courtroom melodrama for their plots. Over the course of a very public ordeal, Theresa lost all hope of the private married life she so prized. Thrust into the spotlight, she travelled the globe and made a name for herself as a writer, blazing a trail for independent women and their rights - and the changes in attitude the twentieth century would later bring. In this brilliant debut, Chloe Schama unearths both a forgotten tabloid spectacle full of steamy intrigue and the chronicle of how one woman made a life for herself as an unmarried woman in a society that made no allowance for her. "Wild Romance" is the inspiring tale of a woman who never gave up, and who held on to her ideals of independence, self-reliance and - despite everything - love." (Amazon.co.uk)

The man who left too soon : the biography of Stieg Larsson, Barry Foshaw.
"His best-selling books are violent, terrifying, brilliantly written and have sold millions of copies around the world, but Stieg Larsson was not there to witness any of their international success. That he died in 2004 and his fame as an author is entirely posthumous demonstrates the dizzying speed with which his star has risen. But when one looks a little deeper at the man behind these phenomenal novels, it is clear that his life would be remembered as truly extraordinary, even if his Millennium trilogy had never been published. Larsson was a workaholic: a keen political activist, photographer, graphic designer, a respected journalist and editor of numerous science fiction magazines...and at night, to relax after work, he wrote crime novels. As the world now knows, by the time of his death at just 50 years of age he had completed The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the third book featuring his hypnotic character, Lisbeth Salander. But his relentless personality and political convictions did not make his life easy. He famously reported about some dangerous neo-Nazi organisations in Sweden, which led to numerous death threats. In fact, since his death, officially caused by a massive heart attack, there had been much speculation that his enemies had a hand in his premature demise. This difficult man, brilliant and multifaceted, here receives a penetrating biography - and celebration of his remarkable life and books - from top crime fiction journalist Barry Forshaw." (Amazon.co.uk)

So much to tell, Valerie Grove.
"Kaye Webb, a journalist with no publishing experience, burst into the world of children's books in 1961 and changed the face of children's publishing forever. Her child-like enthusiasm and shrewd business mind led her to become Puffin's most successful editor and the genius behind the Puffin Club, which opened up the exciting world of authors and books to children across Britain. But whilst Kaye's professional life had worked out beautifully, her private life had been the reverse. Kaye had two husbands before her marriage to the artist Ronald Searle, and the torment of his sudden and shocking departure never left her. Yet to the outside world Kaye Webb remained passionate and unstoppable. This is the unknown story of the woman who brought the joy of books to children everywhere whilst battling the emotional pain that plagued her private life." (Amazon.co.uk)

Gok Wan : the biography, Emily Herbert.
"He is a man who has persuaded hundreds of ordinary women to do the unthinkable - strip naked on national TV - and has changed the face of makeover shows forever. Already a British icon, Gok is here to stay. From the moment he hit our screens, it was clear that Gok Wan was different. His irresistible combination of enthusiasm, empathy and overwhelming positivity has transformed the nation's fashion sense. With his hit show, How to Look Good Naked, his infectious passion for fashion has given women everywhere the confidence to love themselves for just who they are. Gok was raised on a tough council estate in Leicester and was targeted by bullies for being gay and overweight. More trying times lay ahead, when he went to drama school in London, but found that he just didn't fit in. After quitting drama he trained as a make-up artist and stylist and, before too long, was making his unique mark on the fashion world. After working for some of the hottest celebrities, came his hit TV shows and the rest is history." (Amazon.co.uk)

Kate : princess in waiting, Claudia Joseph.
"With her glossy dark hair, classic looks, natural appearance and cut-glass accent, Kate Middleton displays all the poise and breeding expected from the wife-to-be of the heir to the throne. Sophisticated beyond her years, as well as academically gifted, Kate has charmed William's louche circle of friends as well as the House of Windsor.Yet behind her polished veneer lies the extraordinary tale of an impoverished working-class family that overcame deprivation and adversity to rise to the upper echelons of society. Claudia Joseph has spoken to members of Kate's family and friends, who have provided an intriguing insight into the extraordinary journey her family has made from the mining villages of Durham to an apartment in the royal residence of Clarence House. Drawing on exclusive interviews and containing previously unpublished photographs, this is an authoritative account of Kate Middleton's life so far." (Amazon.co.uk)

Martin Clunes : the biography, Stafford Hildred and Tim Ewbank.
"Martin Clunes has been a familiar face on British television for almost two decades. During that period he has starred in some of the best-loved shows of modern times, including Doc Martin, William and Mary, and of course the phenomenally successful Men Behaving Badly. He was introduced to acting at a young age. His father, a successful actor and theatre manager who gave Peter Ustinov his first break, tragically died of cancer in 1970, leaving his wife Daphne, their daughter Amanda, and 8-year-old Martin. Years later, it was Daphne's cousin, Jeremy Brett - the actor famous for playing Sherlock Holmes - who encouraged Martin to take up acting professionally. Martin worked regularly through the 1980s, but when he was spotted by comedian Harry Enfield and subsequently made regular appearances in his popular sketch shows, he was catapulted into the big time. After landing the role of Gary in Men Behaving Badly, he has gone from strength to strength. Never one to be pigeonholed, Martin has played a broad range of roles, including a serial killer in A is for Acid and Burbage in the Oscar winning film Shakespeare in Love. More recently, he has also presented two of the mos popular documentaries on television: Islands of Britain and Martin Clunes: A Man and His Dogs." (Amazon.co.uk)

Empress of Rome : the life of Livia, Matthew Dennison.
"Empress of Rome is a brand-new biography of one of the most fascinating, perplexing and powerful figures of the ancient world: the empress Livia. Second wife of the emperor Augustus and the mother of his successor Tiberius, Livia has been vilified by posterity (most notably by Tacitus and Robert Graves) as the quintessence of the scheming Roman matriarch, poisoning her relatives one by one to smooth her son's path to the imperial throne. In this elegant and rigorously researched biography, Matthew Dennison rescues the historical Livia from this crudely drawn caricature of the popular imagination. He depicts a complex, courageous and richly gifted woman whose true crime was not murder but the exercise of power, and who, in a male-dominated society, had the energy to create for herself both a prominent public profile and a significant sphere of political influence." (Amazon.co.uk).

Miss Savidge moves her house : the extraordinary story of May Savidge and her house of a lifetime, Christine Adams with Michael McMahon.
"This story will appeal to those who still believe that an Englishman's home is his castle, and to those who have a soft spot for indomitable old women' Daily Telegraph The hardback edition of this book, published in 2009 under the title A Lifetime in the Building, saw its extraordinary story featured not only in the Daily Mail but also Hello magazine - and quickly sold out two printings. Now it is re-launched in paperback under a new title to highlight its appeal as the tale of an extraordinary, maverick woman and her even more remarkable achievement. May Savidge lived in a half-timbered house in Hertfordshire. When the council served her with a compulsory purchase notice to make way for a roundabout, May decided she had to move - but so did the house. So she had the whole thing dismantled and shipped to the North Norfolk coast...and then spent the rest of her life rebuilding it, single-handed. Her fame spread around the world. Antiques Roadshow broadcast, unprecedentedly, two features about her house. Now her niece, Christine Adams, who inherited May's house and completed it - at the cost of her own marriage - tells her aunt's life story from the voluminous diaries and letters she left behind." (Amazon.co.uk).

Small dogs can save your life : a story of survival, Bel Mooney.
"A story of survival, transformation and love. In a beautiful and powerful memoir which mixes honest, personal revelation with literature, history, and inspirational self-help, Bel Mooney tells the story of her rescue dog, Bonnie, who in turn rescued Bel when her world fell apart with the all-too public break-up of her 35-year marriage. 'Small dogs can save your life' really is a story of survival, and also one of love. This is an account of six years in Bel's life, from when she first acquired Bonnie from a rescue home, through Bel's years of personal heartbreak and disappointment, and on to the happiness which she has now found in a new marriage and a new life, with the Maltese at her side all the way. This is a book about transformation and change, about picking yourself up and attacking life in the way that a small dog will go for the postman's trousers - and about celebrating life, much as your canine companion will always celebrate your return, even from the shortest trip. Beautifully engaging, entertaining, full of personal anecdotes and deeply moving, 'Small dogs can save your life' will take the reader on an inspirational walk with one very small but very remarkable dog - a dog who became a symbol for all that is best about dogs, and about we humans too. Bel Mooney is a journalist with almost forty years' experience. Well-loved by millions for her advice columns, first for the Times and now in the Daily Mail, as well as countless programmes for radio and television, Bel takes the reader on a journey of discovery, in which she finds herself transformed into a dog-lover by one small and lively bundle of white fur, as well as telling her own gripping story." (Amazon.co.uk)

South-west of Eden : a memoir 1932-1956, C.K. Stead.
"'I said many times I would not write autobiography - partly because it might signal, either to my inner self, or to others, a "signing off" as a writer; and partly because I did not want to mark off areas that were fact in my life from those that might yet be invented. Fiction likes to move, disguised and without a passport, back and forth across that border, and prefers it should be unmarked and without check-points.' - C K Stead. Happily for the many readers of his novels, poems, criticism and essays, C K Stead has changed his mind. In South-West of Eden, a coming-of-age memoir by New Zealand's leading poet, novelist and critic writes of a life 'lived by history' -running wild in Cornwall Park, joining the Labour Party aged seven, discovering poetry in a third-form English class and enjoying a newly married annus mirabilis in a flat on Takapuna Beach down the road from Frank Sargeson and Janet Frame. An Aucklander to the core - 'Most things of real significance in my life and the life of my family had happened somewhere in sight from the summit of Mt Eden' - Stead here turns his home town into a land of myth and symbol: Tamaki of many lovers, portage for ancient waka, wasp-waist of the fish of Maui, site of a Pakeha-planned and never built coast-to-coast canal and of the harbour-to-harbour ghost-tram, no longer running except in the head of an elderly writer, late in the night, remembering at his laptop. In a virtuoso performance, C K Stead wonderfully illuminates 23 years of his time and his place." (Amazon.co.uk)

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