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A Love Letter to Europe - An outpouring of sadness and hope - Mary Beard, Shami Chakrabati, Sebastian Faulks, Neil Gaiman, Ruth Jones, J.K. Rowling, Sandi Toksvig and others (Hardcover)
Frank Cottrell Boyce, William Dalrymple, Margaret Drabble, Simon Callow, Tony Robinson, …
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R730
R607
Discovery Miles 6 070
Save R123 (17%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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Great writers, artists, musicians and thinkers in British life say
what Europe means to them: an outpouring of love and sadness. With
pieces from Frank Cottrell Boyce, Melvyn Bragg, Margaret Drabble,
Alan Hollinghurst, Will Hutton, Holly Johnson, Penelope Lively,
Jonathan Meades, Deborah Moggach, Alan Moore, Jackie Morris, Cathy
Rentzenbrink, Chris Riddle, Tony Robinson, Pete Townshend, Kate
Williams, Michael Wood and many more... As Britain pulls away from
Europe great British writers come together to give voice to their
innermost feelings. Contributing essays that contain some of their
finest writings and perspectives very different to the ones given
in news outlets. The creative community here has its say on Brexit.
Novelists, artists, comedians, historians, biographers, nature
writers, film writers, travel writers, people young and old and
from an extraordinary range of backgrounds. Most are famous perhaps
because they have won the Booker or other literary prizes, written
bestsellers, changed the face of popular culture or sold millions
of records. Others are not yet household names but write with depth
of insight and feeling. There is some extraordinary writing in this
book. Some of these pieces are expressions of love of particular
places in Europe. Some are true stories, some nostalgic, many
hopeful. There are hilarious pieces. There are cries of pain and
regret. Some pieces are quietly devastating. All are passionate.
They show how Europe has helped us to expand our emotional,
intellectual and artistic bandwidth, and hopefully will continue to
do just that. Contributors include: Mary Beard, Jeffrey Boakye,
Melvyn Bragg, Simon Callow, B. Catling, Shami Chakrabarti, Chris
Cleave, Frank Cottrell Boyce, William Dalrymple, Lindsey Davis,
Margaret Drabble, Tracey Emin, Michel Faber, Sebastian Faulks, Neil
Gaiman, Evelyn Glennie, Alan Hollinghurst, Will Hutton, Holly
Johnson, Ruth Jones, A.L. Kennedy, Hermione Lee, Prue Leith, Roger
Lewis, Penelope Lively, Richard Mabey, Jonathan Meades, Andrew
Miller, Deborah Moggach, Alan Moore, Paul Morley, Jackie Morris,
Charles Nicholl, Irenosen Okojie, Onjali Q. Rauf, Chris Riddell,
Tony Robinson, J.K. Rowling, Rhik Samadder, Isy Suttie, Sandi
Toksvig, Pete Townshend, Kate Williams and Michael Wood.
Virginia Astley has been a much admired songwriter and musician
since the 1980s, known for her engaging lyrics as well as for her
melodious style. Now her other two passions take centre stage in
this book: poetry and the River Thames. She grew up by the river's
upper reaches, knew the old lock-keepers and was familiar with all
aspects of the Thames and its hinterland: both the natural world
and the people whose lives are intimately connected with the river.
In recent years, she has returned to the Thames, working for a
summer as an assistant lock-keeper, and walking its length to
record and respond to its landscapes, river life and river folk as
a poet and photographer. Her pamphlet The Curative Harp won
Ireland's Fool for Poetry chapbook competition in 2015 and was
published by Southword. The English River is her first book-length
poetry collection, showing many new sides to this multi-talented
artist: as poet, nature writer, storyteller and photographer. The
foreword is by Peter Townshend. `Virginia's story is about the
river and the people who work on it, especially those who man the
locks. She captures a view of the upper reaches of the River Thames
that is entirely fresh. There are glimpsed moments of the
claustrophobic beauty of the wooded parts that contrast with the
open expanses of uplifting countryside where the river meanders
through woodland and farmland. Focussing on the professionals who
work on the river, and who manage the locks and the flood plains
around them, Virginia suggests - as she works as a lock-keeper's
assistant - that they become almost addicted to the peace and
beauty of their place of work. She herself becomes enchanted, that
is certain. She makes herself vulnerable in the most romantic way,
working and writing and evoking everything she sees and feels as
both a storyteller and poet, and as photographer.' - Pete
Townshend, musician
He is one of the greatest musical talents Britain has ever
produced. But even as the principle songwriter and lead guitarist
for The Who, it would be unjust to define Pete Townshend's life
simply through his achievements with bandmates Daltrey, Moon and
Entwistle. Noting that he has sold over 100 million records over a
fifty-year period goes some way to quantifying his accomplishments,
but numbers only scratch the surface of his contribution to popular
culture. An avid student of his profession, during his career he
has been credited with the creation of the concept album, worked as
a literary editor, developed scripts for television and the stage,
and written songs that have defined a generation. The thinking
man's rock star with a dedication to his craft unlike any other in
the business, he continues to inspire new generations of performers
and writers with a continuing commitment to his art. Now, in one of
the most eagerly awaited autobiographies of recent times, this icon
tells about his incredible life and elaborates on the turbulences
of time spent as one of the world's most respected musicians -
being in one of rock's greatest ever bands, and wanting to give it
all up. Incredibly, as a man who has achieved so much, this truly
unique story of ambition, relentless perfectionism and rock and
roll excess will be regarded as one of his greatest achievements.
The Age of Anxiety is a great rock novel, but that is one of the
less important things about it. The narrator is a brilliant
creation - cultured, witty and unreliable. The novel captures the
craziness of the music business and displays Pete Townshend's sly
sense of humour and sharp ear for dialogue. First conceived as an
opera, The Age of Anxiety deals with mythic and operatic themes
including a maze, divine madness and long-lost children.
Hallucinations and soundscapes haunt this novel, which on one level
is an extended meditation on manic genius and the dark art of
creativity.
A major figure in American blues and folk music, Big Bill Broonzy
(1903-58) left his Arkansas Delta home after World War I, headed
north, and became the leading Chicago bluesman of the 1930s. His
success came as he fused traditional rural blues with the
electrified sound that was beginning to emerge in Chicago. This,
however, was just one step in his remarkable journey: Big Bill was
constantly reinventing himself, both in reality and in his
retellings of it. Bob Riesman's groundbreaking biography tells the
compelling life story of a lost figure from the annals of music
history. "I Feel So Good" traces Big Bill's career from his rise as
a nationally prominent blues star, including his historic 1938
appearance at Carnegie Hall, to his influential role in the
post-World War II folk revival, when he sang about racial injustice
alongside Pete Seeger and Studs Terkel. Riesman's account brings
the reader into the jazz clubs and concert halls of Europe, as Big
Bill's overseas tours in the 1950s ignited the British blues-rock
explosion of the 1960s. Interviews with Eric Clapton, Pete
Townshend, and Ray Davies reveal Broonzy's profound impact on the
British rockers who would follow him and change the course of
popular music. Along the way, Riesman details Big Bill's
complicated and poignant personal saga: he was married three times
and became a father at the very end of his life to a child half a
world away. He also brings to light Big Bill's final years, when he
lost first his voice, then his life, to cancer, just as his
international reputation was reaching its peak. Featuring many
rarely seen photos, as well as a foreword by the celebrated music
writer and historian Peter Guralnick, "I Feel So Good" will be the
definitive account of Big Bill Broonzy's life and music.
Featuring personal, never-before-published photographs, fan
memorabilia and anecdotes, captions from Pete, newly discovered
gems from The Who archive, an introduction by legendary Who manager
Bill Curbishley and further contributions from friends, colleagues
and family, this landmark illustrated book celebrates 50 years of
anthemic, era-defining music and an extraordinary career.
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A Love Letter To Europe (Paperback)
Frank Cottrell Boyce, William Dalrymple, Margaret Drabble, Simon Callow, Tony Robinson, …
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R348
R285
Discovery Miles 2 850
Save R63 (18%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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How are great turning points in history experienced by individuals?
As Britain pulls away from Europe great British writers come together to give voice to their innermost feelings. These writers include novelists, writers of books for children, of comic books, humourists, historians, biographers, nature writers, film writers, travel writers, writers young and old and from an extraordinary range of backgrounds. Most are famous perhaps because they have won the Booker or other literary prizes, written bestsellers, changed the face of popular culture or sold millions of records. Others are not yet household names but write with depth of insight and feeling.
There is some extraordinary writing in this book. Some of these pieces are expressions of love of particular places in Europe. Some are true stories, some nostalgic, some hopeful. Some are cries of pain. There are hilarious pieces. There are cries of pain and regret. Some pieces are quietly devastating. All are passionate.
Conceived as a love letter to Europe, this book may also help reawaken love for Britain. It shows the unique richness and diversity of British cultures, a multitude of voices in harmony.
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