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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Literary

The Importance of Being Poirot (Paperback): Jeremy Black The Importance of Being Poirot (Paperback)
Jeremy Black
R501 Discovery Miles 5 010 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Written by the renowned British historian who has been described as both utterly thorough and humanely delicate, Jeremy Black offers a guided tour through the mind of Agatha Christie and life during the Great World Wars. His incomparable treatment of literary craft developing alongside global military engagement nearly overshadows the natural draw of the crime drama that is the subject of his book. Indeed, the "prurience and sensationalism" of crime is not as exciting as Black's aptitude for drawing the reality from the fiction (and periphery sources), giving Christie a much louder voice than she might ever have dreamed. If Christie is also moralist and mirror to her times, Black here plays his part as the detective and reveals layers of previously unmined truths in her stories. Hercule Poirot as a character is masterfully imagined, but Black shows us how he is inseparable from Christie's turbulent and changing world. He also illuminates significant social commentary in Christie's fiction, and in so doing Black often uses his authority to vindicate Christie's work from hastily, at times stupidly, applied labels and interpretations. He is especially magnificent in his chapters, "Xenophobia" and "The Sixties." Black nevertheless gives due recognition to Christie's critics when they have something relevant and reasonable to say, and hence the reader finds yet another service in Black's comprehensive review of the reviewers over the expanse of Christie's writing career. For all this, Black proves himself to be a worthy history-teller because he can aptly 'detect' the meaning of stories that seeks to answer the past and guide the present. His erudition runs much deeper than his ability to navigate the stores of resources available on the subject, and the reader gets a glimpse of this early on when in the introduction he proffers his own defense for writing about the importance of a Hercule Poirot. Black writes, "the notion of crime had a moral component from the outset, and notably so in terms of the struggle between Good and Evil, and in the detection of the latter. Indeed, it is this detection that is the basis of the most powerful strand of detection story, because Evil disguises its purposes. It has to do so in a world and humanity made fundamentally benign and moral by God." The Golden Age of detective novels represents much more than a triumph of a literary genre. It is in its own right a story of how the challenge to address the problem of evil was accepted. Its convergence with the plot-rich narrative of the twentieth century in the modern age renders Black's account a thrilling masterpiece, seducing historians to read fiction and crime junkies to read more history.

The Life of Dante (Hardcover): Giovanni Boccaccio The Life of Dante (Hardcover)
Giovanni Boccaccio
R2,737 Discovery Miles 27 370 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Published in 1990: This book tells the life story of Dante, the poet and his work.

Where I Was From (Paperback, New ed): Joan Didion Where I Was From (Paperback, New ed)
Joan Didion
R273 R224 Discovery Miles 2 240 Save R49 (18%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A memoir of land, family and perseverance from one of the most influential writers in America. In this moving and surprising book, Joan Didion reassesses parts of her life, her work, her history - and America's. Where I Was From, in Didion's words, "represents an exploration into my own confusions about the place and the way in which I grew up, misapprehensions and misunderstandings so much a part of who I became that I can still to this day confront them only obliquely." The book is a haunting narrative of how her own family moved west with the frontier from the birth of her great-great-great-great-great-grandmother in Virginia in 1766 to the death of her mother on the edge of the Pacific in 2001; of how the wagon-train stories of hardship and abandonment and endurance created a culture in which survival would seem the sole virtue. Didion examines how the folly and recklessness in the very grain of the California settlement led to the California we know today - a state mortgaged first to the railroad, then to the aerospace industry, and overwhelmingly to the federal government. Joan Didion's unerring sense of America and its spirit, her acute interpretation of its institutions and literature, and her incisive questioning of the stories it tells itself make this fiercely intelligent book a provocative and important tour de force from one of America's greatest writers.

Somewhere Becoming Rain - Collected Writings on Philip Larkin (Paperback): Clive James Somewhere Becoming Rain - Collected Writings on Philip Larkin (Paperback)
Clive James
R280 R219 Discovery Miles 2 190 Save R61 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

'This is the finest critic of his generation on the best poet of his lifetime' - The Times Clive James was a life-long admirer of the work of Philip Larkin. Somewhere Becoming Rain gathers all of James's writing on this towering literary figure of the twentieth century, together with extra material now published for the first time. The greatness of Larkin's poetry continues to be obscured by the opprobrium attaching to his personal life and his private opinions. James writes about Larkin's poems, his novels, his jazz and literary criticism; he also considers the two major biographies, Larkin's letters and even his portrayal on stage in order to chart the extreme and, he argues, largely misguided equivocations about Larkin's reputation in the years since his death. Through this joyous and perceptive book, Larkin's genius is delineated and celebrated. James argues that Larkin's poems, adored by discriminating readers for over half a century, could only have been the product of his reticent, diffident, flawed, and all-too-human personality. Erudite and entertaining in equal measure, Somewhere Becoming Rain is a love letter from one of the world's most critically acclaimed writers to one of its most cherished poets.

William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n' Roll (Paperback): Casey Rae William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n' Roll (Paperback)
Casey Rae
R570 R481 Discovery Miles 4 810 Save R89 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

William S. Burroughs's fiction and essays are legendary, but his influence on music's counterculture has been less well documented-until now. Examining how one of America's most controversial literary figures altered the destinies of many notable and varied musicians, William S. Burroughs and the Cult of Rock 'n' Roll reveals the transformations in music history that can be traced to Burroughs. A heroin addict and a gay man, Burroughs rose to notoriety outside the conventional literary world; his masterpiece, Naked Lunch, was banned on the grounds of obscenity, but its nonlinear structure was just as daring as its content. Casey Rae brings to life Burroughs's parallel rise to fame among daring musicians of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s, when it became a rite of passage to hang out with the author or to experiment with his cut-up techniques for producing revolutionary lyrics (as the Beatles and Radiohead did). Whether they tell of him exploring the occult with David Bowie, providing Lou Reed with gritty depictions of street life, or counseling Patti Smith about coping with fame, the stories of Burroughs's backstage impact will transform the way you see America's cultural revolution-and the way you hear its music.

Burning Man - The Ascent of DH Lawrence (Paperback): Frances Wilson Burning Man - The Ascent of DH Lawrence (Paperback)
Frances Wilson
R442 R373 Discovery Miles 3 730 Save R69 (16%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

**LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2021** **SHORTLISTED FOR THE DUFF COOPER PRIZE 2021** **SHORTLISTED FOR THE JAMES TAIT BLACK PRIZE** **FINALIST FOR THE 2022 PLUTARCH AWARD** D. H. Lawrence is no longer censored, but he is still on trial - and we are still unsure what the verdict should be. Delving into the memoirs of those who both loved and hated him most, Burning Man follows Lawrence from the peninsular underworld of Cornwall in 1915 to post-war Italy to the mountains of New Mexico, and traces the author's footsteps through the pages of his lesser known work. Wilson presents a complex, courageous and often comic fugitive, careering around a world in the grip of apocalypse, in search of utopia; and, in bringing the true Lawrence into sharp focus, shows how he speaks to us now more than ever. 'A work of art in its own right' OBSERVER 'Utterly enthralling' GEOFF DYER 'Brilliantly unconventional' RICHARD HOLMES 'A red-hot, propulsive book' THE TIMES

Tim O'Brien - The Things He Carries and the Stories He Tells (Paperback): Tobey C. Herzog Tim O'Brien - The Things He Carries and the Stories He Tells (Paperback)
Tobey C. Herzog
R1,260 Discovery Miles 12 600 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

This collection of seven essays, like the carefully linked collection of vignettes within Tim O'Brien's most popular book The Things They Carried, contains multiple critical and biographical angles with recurring threads of life events, themes, characters, creative techniques, and references to all of O'Brien's books. Grounded in through research, Herzog's work illustrates how O'Brien merges his life experiences with his creative production; he rarely misses an opportunity to introduce these critical life events into his writing.

De Profundis (Paperback): Oscar Wilde De Profundis (Paperback)
Oscar Wilde
R213 R165 Discovery Miles 1 650 Save R48 (23%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Oscar Wilde is one of the world's most beloved writers.

She Said It Best: Dolly Parton - Wit & Wisdom to Color & Display (Paperback): Kimma Parish She Said It Best: Dolly Parton - Wit & Wisdom to Color & Display (Paperback)
Kimma Parish
R442 R372 Discovery Miles 3 720 Save R70 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Dolly Parton is a country music legend, but also one of America's most beloved celebrities. Her warmth, spirit, and no-nonsense advice is embraced by millions of people who love her positive personality and encouraging attitude. In this colouring book, Dolly's inspiring words will be paired with equally inspiring designs to colour. Sample quotations include: "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." "If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one." "You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!" This clever and lovely colouring book series combines quotations from beloved wise women with beautiful black- and-white illustrations. In an attractive paperback format with foil embellishments, these books stand on their own as lovely art objects and impressive gifts.

The Denver Beat Scene: The Mile-High Legacy of Kerouac, Cassady & Ginsberg (Paperback): Zack Kopp The Denver Beat Scene: The Mile-High Legacy of Kerouac, Cassady & Ginsberg (Paperback)
Zack Kopp
R568 R469 Discovery Miles 4 690 Save R99 (17%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
Late Work - A Literary Autobiography of Love, Loss, and What I Was Reading (Paperback): Joan Frank Late Work - A Literary Autobiography of Love, Loss, and What I Was Reading (Paperback)
Joan Frank
R501 R410 Discovery Miles 4 100 Save R91 (18%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Curious, ruminative, and wry, this literary autobiography tours what Rachel Kushner called "the strange remove that is the life of the writer." Frank's essays cover a vast spectrum--from handling dismissive advice, facing the dilemma of thwarted ambition, and copying the generosity that inspires us, to the miraculous catharsis of letter-writing and some of the books that pull us through. Useful for writers at any stage of development, Late Work offers a seasoned artist's thinking through the exploration of issues, paradoxes, and crises of faith. Like a lively conversation with a close, outspoken friend, each piece tells its experience from the trenches.

The Wife's Tale - A Personal History (Paperback): Aida Edemariam The Wife's Tale - A Personal History (Paperback)
Aida Edemariam 1
R356 R250 Discovery Miles 2 500 Save R106 (30%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

WINNER OF THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2019 AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR A CBC BOOK OF THE YEAR The extraordinary story of an indomitable 95-year-old woman - and of the most extraordinary century in Ethiopia's history. A new Wild Swans A hundred years ago, a girl was born in the northern Ethiopian city of Gondar. Before she was ten years old, Yetemegnu was married to a man two decades her senior, an ambitious poet-priest. Over the next century her world changed beyond recognition. She witnessed Fascist invasion and occupation, Allied bombardment and exile from her city, the ascent and fall of Emperor Haile Selassie, revolution and civil war. She endured all these things alongside parenthood, widowhood and the death of children. The Wife's Tale is an intimate memoir, both of a life and of a country. In prose steeped in Yetemegnu's distinctive voice and point of view, Aida Edemariam retells her grandmother's stories of a childhood surrounded by proud priests and soldiers, of her husband's imprisonment, of her fight for justice - all of it played out against an ancient cycle of festivals and the rhythms of the seasons. She introduces us to a rich cast of characters - emperors and empresses, scholars and nuns, Marxist revolutionaries and wartime double agents. And through these encounters she takes us deep into the landscape and culture of this many-layered, often mis-characterised country - and the heart of one indomitable woman.

The Beauty of Living - E. E. Cummings in the Great War (Paperback): J. Alison Rosenblitt The Beauty of Living - E. E. Cummings in the Great War (Paperback)
J. Alison Rosenblitt
R523 Discovery Miles 5 230 Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Intimate and richly detailed, The Beauty of Living begins with Cummings's Cambridge, Massachusetts upbringing and his relationship with his socially progressive but domestically domineering father. It follows Cummings through his undergraduate experience at Harvard, where he fell into a circle of aspiring writers including John Dos Passos, who became a lifelong friend. Steeped in classical paganism and literary decadence, Cummings and his friends rode the explosion of Cubism, Futurism, Imagism and other "modern" movements in the arts. As the United States prepared to enter the First World War, Cummings volunteered as an ambulance driver, was shipped out to Paris and met his first love, Marie Louise Lallemand, who was working in Paris as a prostitute. Soon after reaching the front, however, he was unjustly imprisoned in a brutal French detention centre at La Ferte-Mace. Through this confrontation with arbitrary and sadistic authority, he found the courage to listen to his own voice. Probing an underexamined yet formative time in the poet's life, this deeply researched account illuminates his ideas about love, justice, humanity and brutality. J. Alison Rosenblitt weaves together letters, journal entries and sketches with astute analyses of poems that span Cummings' career, revealing the origins of one of the twentieth century's most famous poets.

The Fire Is upon Us - James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America (Hardcover): Nicholas Buccola The Fire Is upon Us - James Baldwin, William F. Buckley Jr., and the Debate over Race in America (Hardcover)
Nicholas Buccola
R794 R691 Discovery Miles 6 910 Save R103 (13%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

"A great read."-Whoopi Goldberg, The View How the clash between the civil rights firebrand and the father of modern conservatism continues to illuminate America's racial divide On February 18, 1965, an overflowing crowd packed the Cambridge Union in Cambridge, England, to witness a historic televised debate between James Baldwin, the leading literary voice of the civil rights movement, and William F. Buckley Jr., a fierce critic of the movement and America's most influential conservative intellectual. The topic was "the American dream is at the expense of the American Negro," and no one who has seen the debate can soon forget it. Nicholas Buccola's The Fire Is upon Us is the first book to tell the full story of the event, the radically different paths that led Baldwin and Buckley to it, the controversies that followed, and how the debate and the decades-long clash between the men continues to illuminate America's racial divide today. Born in New York City only fifteen months apart, the Harlem-raised Baldwin and the privileged Buckley could not have been more different, but they both rose to the height of American intellectual life during the civil rights movement. By the time they met in Cambridge, Buckley was determined to sound the alarm about a man he considered an "eloquent menace." For his part, Baldwin viewed Buckley as a deluded reactionary whose popularity revealed the sickness of the American soul. The stage was set for an epic confrontation that pitted Baldwin's call for a moral revolution in race relations against Buckley's unabashed elitism and implicit commitment to white supremacy. A remarkable story of race and the American dream, The Fire Is upon Us reveals the deep roots and lasting legacy of a conflict that continues to haunt our politics.

Not Just a Piece of Cake Being an Author (Paperback): Hazel Edwards Not Just a Piece of Cake Being an Author (Paperback)
Hazel Edwards
R268 Discovery Miles 2 680 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

A memoir is only a slice of a life. This 'questory' (quest + history) covers more than the beloved cake-eating hippo. 'Not Just a Piece of Cake' is a candid memoir of the realistic process of the process of creativity, via anecdotes. 'Anecdultery' is a Hazel original term for story. Hazel Edwards takes the reader behind the books. She shares the humour of a diverse work style and family life behind the beloved characters like the cake-eating hippo. Hippocampus is where memories are kept. Collaborating with illustrators, performers, co-authors and even family, Hazel sharesthe process of the process of writing and why storytelling matters culturally, and personally. Of interest to: * Nostalgic fans across three generations * Aspiring writers and creators * Those interested in the process of creativity * Family/worklife time -energy balance 'Not Just a Piece of Cake' takes the reader behind the books. Collaborating with illustrators, performers, co-authors and even family. Heart tugging fan mail. Literary speed dating with characters. Dealing with the Plateau of Boredom and the Map of Serendipity. But also sharing 'the process of the process of writing' and why storytelling matters culturally, and personally. And why a 6 year old knew she wanted to be an author. A memoir is only a slice of a life. This QUESTORY ( Quest + History) which others call a memoir, covers more than the beloved cake-eating hippo.

Let Me Tell You What I Mean (Hardcover): Joan Didion Let Me Tell You What I Mean (Hardcover)
Joan Didion
R585 R480 Discovery Miles 4 800 Save R105 (18%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days
John le Carre - The Biography (Paperback): Adam Sisman John le Carre - The Biography (Paperback)
Adam Sisman 1
R529 R434 Discovery Miles 4 340 Save R95 (18%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

The definitive biography of the undisputed giant of English literature, a man whose own true history has long been hidden behind the fictional world of his books 'Compendious and compelling ... it is impossible to imagine this Life being bettered' WILLIAM BOYD, NEW STATESMAN 'Smiley himself could not have done a better job' SUNDAY TIMES Long after The Spy Who came in from the Cold made John le Carre a worldwide, bestselling sensation, David Cornwell, the man behind the pseudonym, remained an enigma. In this definitive biography, written with unprecedented access to the man himself, Adam Sisman offers an illuminating portrait of a fascinating and enigmatic writer. In Cornwell's lonely childhood, Adam Sisman uncovers the origins of the themes of love and abandonment which dominated le Carre's fiction: the departure of his mother when he was five, followed by 'sixteen hugless years' in the dubious care of his father, a man of energy and charm, a serial seducer and conman who hid the Bentleys in the trees when the bailiffs came calling - a 'totally incomprehensible father' who could 'put a hand on your shoulder and the other in your pocket, both gestures equally sincere'. And in Cornwell's adult life - from recruitment by both MI5 and MI6, through marriage and family life, to his emergence as the master of the spy novel - Sisman explores the idea of espionage and its significance in human terms; the extent to which betrayal is acceptable in exchange for love; and the endless need for forgiveness, especially from oneself. Written with exclusive access to David Cornwell, to his private archive and to the most important people in his life - family, friends, enemies, intelligence ex-colleagues and ex-lovers - and featuring a wealth of previously unseen photographic material, Adam Sisman's extraordinarily insightful and constantly revealing biography brings in from the cold a man whose own life was as complex and confounding and filled with treachery as any of his novels. 'I'm a liar,' Cornwell once wrote. 'Born to lying, bred to it, trained to it by an industry that lies for a living, practised in it as a novelist.' This is the definitive biography of a major writer, described by Richard Osman as 'just the finest, wisest storyteller we had.'

Cypress Walk. Letters from Alun Lewis to Freda Aykroyd (Paperback, New): Alun Lewis Cypress Walk. Letters from Alun Lewis to Freda Aykroyd (Paperback, New)
Alun Lewis
R599 Discovery Miles 5 990 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

In July 1943, the young Welsh poet and soldier Alun Lewis, already recognised as one of the outstanding writers of his generation, arrived on sick leave at the house near Madras of Freda Aykroyd, a devotee of literature and the wife of a British scientist. Lewis and Aykroyd fell in love instantly, recognising in each other similar temperaments and artistic interests. Their affair, which lasted until Lewis' mysterious death on the Arakan Front in March 1944, inspired some of the finest of his wartime poems as well as an extraordinary cache of letters published here for the first time. The letters throw fresh light on Lewis' passionate and troubled nature and the background to his literary output at a time when he was at the height of his creative powers. In her preface, Freda Aykroyd charts the haunting story of their relationship and its tragic outcome.

A Horse at Night - On Writing (Paperback): Amina Cain A Horse at Night - On Writing (Paperback)
Amina Cain
R302 R245 Discovery Miles 2 450 Save R57 (19%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days
The Gospel Of The Eels - A Father, A Son And The World's Most Enigmatic Fish (Paperback): Patrik Svensson The Gospel Of The Eels - A Father, A Son And The World's Most Enigmatic Fish (Paperback)
Patrik Svensson; Translated by Agnes Broome
R280 R219 Discovery Miles 2 190 Save R61 (22%) Ships in 5 - 10 working days

’I can’t recall us ever talking about anything other than eels and how to best catch them, down there by the stream. Actually, I can’t remember us speaking at all. Maybe because we never did.’

The European eel, Anguilla anguilla, is one of the strangest creatures nature ever created. Remarkably little is known about the eel, even today. What we do know is that it’s born as a tiny willow-leaf shaped larva in the Sargasso Sea, travels on the ocean currents toward the coasts of Europe – a journey of about four thousand miles that takes at least two years. Upon arrival, it transforms itself into a glass eel and then into a yellow eel before it wanders up into fresh water. It lives a solitary life, hiding from both light and science, for ten, twenty, fifty years, before migrating back to the sea in the autumn, morphing into a silver eel and swimming all the way back to the Sargasso Sea, where it breeds and dies.

And yet . . . There is still so much we don’t know about eels. No human has ever seen eels reproduce; no one can give a complete account of the eel’s metamorphoses or say why they are born and die in the Sargasso Sea; no human has even seen a mature eel in the Sargasso Sea. Ever. And now the eel is disappearing, and we don’t know exactly why.

What we do know is that eels and their mysterious lives captivate us.

This is the basis for The Gospel of the Eels, Patrik Svensson’s quite unique natural science memoir; his ongoing fascination with this secretive fish, but also the equally perplexing and often murky relationship he shared with his father, whose only passion in life was fishing for this obscure creature.

Through the exploration of eels in literature (Günter Grass and Graham Swift feature, amongst others) and the history of science (we learn about Aristotle’s and Sigmund Freud’s complicated relationships with eels) as well as modern marine biology (Rachel Carson and others) we get to know this peculiar animal. In this exploration, we also learn about the human condition, life and death, through natural science and nature writing at its very best.

As Patrik Svensson concludes: 'by writing about eels, I have in some ways found my way home again.'

The Book of Separation - A Memoir (Paperback): Tova Mirvis The Book of Separation - A Memoir (Paperback)
Tova Mirvis
R402 R337 Discovery Miles 3 370 Save R65 (16%) Ships in 10 - 15 working days

The memoir of a woman who leaves her faith and her marriage and sets out to navigate the terrifying, liberating terrain of a newly mapless world Born and raised in a tight-knit Orthodox Jewish family, Tova Mirvis committed herself to observing the rules and rituals prescribed by this way of life. After all, to observe was to be accepted and to be accepted was to be loved. She married a man from within the fold and quickly began a family. But over the years, her doubts became noisier than her faith, and at age forty she could no longer breathe in what had become a suffocating existence. Even though it would mean the loss of her friends, her community, and possibly even her family, Tova decides to leave her husband and her faith. After years of trying to silence the voice inside her that said she did not agree, did not fit in, did not believe, she strikes out on her own to discover what she does believe and who she really is. This will mean forging a new way of life not just for herself, but for her children, who are struggling with what the divorce and her new status as "not Orthodox" mean for them. This is a memoir about what it means to decide to heed your inner compass at long last. To free the part of yourself that has been suppressed, even if it means walking away from the only life you've ever known. Honest and courageous, Tova takes us through her first year outside her marriage and community as she learns to silence her fears and seek adventure on her own path to happiness.

The Life and Times of Chinua Achebe (Hardcover): Kalu Ogbaa The Life and Times of Chinua Achebe (Hardcover)
Kalu Ogbaa
R2,883 Discovery Miles 28 830 Ships in 12 - 17 working days

-The only biography of Achebe, author of the most widely read book in African literature, which covers his full life up to his death in 2013 -Contains a treasure trove of interviews with Achebe, and his family, colleagues and friends -Commissioned directly by Achebe's son, in recognition of the author's considerable expertise and familiarity with Achebe and his family

Charles Dickens: His Life and Times - A Pictorial Biography of the World's Greatest Storyteller (Paperback): Phil Carradice Charles Dickens: His Life and Times - A Pictorial Biography of the World's Greatest Storyteller (Paperback)
Phil Carradice
R455 R372 Discovery Miles 3 720 Save R83 (18%) Ships in 12 - 17 working days

Charles Dickens was a phenomenon: a demonicly hardworking journalist, the father of ten children, a tireless walker and traveller, a supporter of liberal social causes, but most of all a great novelist - the creator of characters who live immortally in the English imagination: the Artful Dodger, Mr Pickwick, Pip, David Copperfield, Little Nell, Lady Dedlock and many more. At the age of twelve he was sent to work in a blacking factory by his affectionate but feckless parents. From these unpromising beginnings, he rose to scale all the social and literary heights, entirely through his own efforts. When he died, the world mourned, and he was buried - against his wishes - in Westminster Abbey. Yet the brilliance concealed a divided character: a republican, he disliked America; sentimental about the family in his writings, he took up passionately with a young actress; usually generous, he cut off his impecunious children. This pictorial history will shed a new and alternative light on this literary giant.

Pravda Ha Ha - Truth, Lies and the End of Europe (Paperback): Rory MacLean Pravda Ha Ha - Truth, Lies and the End of Europe (Paperback)
Rory MacLean 1
R308 R230 Discovery Miles 2 300 Save R78 (25%) Ships in 9 - 15 working days

Shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year Award 'A gem of a book, informative, companionable, sometimes funny, and wholly original. MacLean must surely be the outstanding, and most indefatigable, traveller-writer of our time' John le Carre In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell. In that euphoric year Rory MacLean travelled from Berlin to Moscow, exploring lands that were - for most Brits and Americans - part of the forgotten half of Europe. Thirty years on, MacLean traces his original journey backwards, across countries confronting old ghosts and new fears: from revanchist Russia, through Ukraine's bloodlands, into illiberal Hungary, and then Poland, Germany and the UK. Along the way he shoulders an AK-47 to go hunting with Moscow's chicken Tsar, plays video games in St Petersburg with a cyber-hacker who cracked the US election, drops by the Che Guevara High School of Political Leadership in a non-existent nowhereland and meets the Warsaw doctor who tried to stop a march of 70,000 nationalists. Finally, on the shores of Lake Geneva, he waits patiently to chat with Mikhail Gorbachev. As Europe sleepwalks into a perilous new age, MacLean explores how opportunists - both within and outside of Russia, from Putin to Home Counties populists - have made a joke of truth, exploiting refugees and the dispossessed, and examines the veracity of historical narrative from reportage to fiction and fake news. He asks what happened to the optimism of 1989 and, in the shadow of Brexit, chronicles the collapse of the European dream.

Friedrich Hoelderlin's Life, Poetry and Madness (Paperback): Wilhelm Waiblinger Friedrich Hoelderlin's Life, Poetry and Madness (Paperback)
Wilhelm Waiblinger; Translated by Will Stone
R189 Discovery Miles 1 890 Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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