Selvbiografier

The first autobiography by much-loved landscape painter Kyffin Williams, widely regarded as the defining Welsh artist of the 20th century. Originally published in 1974, the book paints a humorous picture of Williams' childhood and early years as a painter. Includes illustrations by the artist himself. In paperback for the first time.

The first English translation of an important and evocative interview-turned-book project in Marguerite Duras' illustrious oeuvre"I could talk for hours about this house, this garden. I know it all, I know where every old door is, everything, the walls of the pond, all the plants, the location of every plant, even the wild plants I know the place of, everything." So begins Marguerite Duras' rhapsody on the spaces she has inhabited throughout her life. The Places of Marguerite Duras was filmed and aired as a two-part television documentary in 1976. Her reminiscences are structured around her memories of specific locations: her house in Neauphle-le-Château; her childhood home in French Indochina, which inspired her acclaimed novel The Sea Wall; the Hôtel des Roches Noires in Trouville, where she wrote The Ravishing of Lol Stein; and the vast seascapes of Indochina, Bengal and Normandy, whose powerful tides compelled her art and life.The transcript of the documentary was published in French two years after the documentary aired, and is now published in English for the first time, just shy of 50 years since the film's creation. True to the original French edition, Duras' reflections are accompanied by photographs and film stills. The complete English translation by Alison Strayer includes a new essay by writer and director Durga Chew-Bose.Marguerite Duras (1914-96) was a filmmaker and author, and a leading figure in French postwar cinema. Her novel L'Amant won the Prix Goncourt in 1984. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film Hiroshima mon amour (1959).

Based primarily on original sources and contemporary accounts, this book is an account of the life and times of Benjamin Clough. Set in the golden age of whaling, the book follows him from the time he first went to sea in 1835 as a teenager to his retirement from whaling in 1867 as a veteran whaling captain and his life thereafter. It crosses the world’s oceans, providing the reader with an understanding of whaling from a first-hand perspective over a thirty-year period from the South Atlantic to the northern Pacific and then on into the Arctic Ocean. It is a gritty portrayal of the hardships, dangers, and harsh working conditions endured by whalers during this period. Clough’s life ashore during the intervals between voyages and after retiring from the sea featured its own unique experiences, offering a window into nineteenth-century life in Martha’s Vineyard.

A biography of the legendary American rapper Tupac Shakur, his personal politics and position as a symbol for revolution

'A very special book that I enjoyed enormously' Cees NooteboomSoon after Henk Pröpper moves from Amsterdam to Paris, both the world and his heart almost come to a full stop. He undergoes major surgery and awakes in an empty city during lockdown. Paris is transformed into an abandoned stage and to quicken his recovery, Pröpper begins walking. He combs his immediate surroundings, he hunts for the past, discovering countless commemorative plaques and monuments that honour well- and lesser-known Parisians and keep their histories alive. He reflects on his life and the literature that has shaped him, walking in the footsteps of literary heroes such as Victor Hugo, of Balzac and of Camus.27 Beats Per Minute is a moving ode to life, literature and Paris, a city that even in emptiness is always magnificent.'One of the most moving and most invigorating autobiographies ever written. This is a finely polished gem worthy of admiration' Knack'Philosophical, reflective, and with the pleasantly slow heartbeat of a writer who carries the reader through the city, European literature and history' het Parool

A Byron biography like no other - published to mark the bicentennial of his death - it tells the remarkable life story of the celebrated Romantic poet through ten of his best, most resonant letters. Using Byron's correspondence, Stauffer relates a vivid and engaging story of creativity, fame, sexual transgression and scandal.

Pierre Boulez's career as composer, conductor, recording artist, writer, teacher and systems builder was both influential and controversial. This book explores his early life, education, engagements with his modernist predecessors and contemporaries, and the importance for him of literature, visual art, mathematics, philosophy and technology.

This is the story of Churchill's relationships with the American Generals including Dwight Eisenhower and GeorgeMarshall. The story of an erratic impossible English genius pitted against thesuperb skills of his Generals in a battle which influenced the destiny of mankind.

Go journeying and travelling with Collins Oppong-Kyekyeku in this smashing autobiography. Brought up in Ghana, Collins travelled far and wide and used all his resources to fully equip himself. Turning into a highly educated man who literally came from a very poor background, education meant the world to him. He is among the very few in the whole Gyinyase-Aduana clan to have had college/university education. His education and his will to fight and continue, despite what life was like for him, took him to places that others would only be able to dream of going. So where did Collins go? What drove him to strive so hard and fight to the top of his educational career and professional career as well? What made him try this hard when he had every reason to give up? Well, that, my reader, is for you to find out!

Catherine of Braganza has regularly been referred to as 'the forgotten queen' and there is much truth in this statement. Following her death in 1705, a fully detailed biography in English remained unwritten until 1915. The last major bio published about her was in Portuguese in 1941 and it has never been translated into English. Despite her sheltered and religious upbringing, she made a spectacular marriage that was plagued by the infidelities of her husbands. Readers can readily find published biographies of Charles II's many glamourous mistresses, but curiously, little on his wife. This new work presents more comprehensive information on Catherine's life in Portugal than previous biographies and integrates new scholarship regarding Catherine's practice of queenship and patronage of Catholic Baroque culture in an effort to carve out a prominent role at the Stuart court and to compete with her rivals. Readers familiar with Catherine's story may learn some delightful new details about her life. Catherine has never been forgotten in Portugal. She considered herself Portuguese at heart and during her reign as Queen of England, she persistently looked out for Portuguese interests. In her own words, she considered her marriage a personal sacrifice to what was best for her home country. She is one of the few dowager queens in history to return to her homeland where she acted as regent for her brother. This biography places Catherine within the context of the history of Portugal and their seaborne empire, and the strong political and commercial ties between England and Portugal dating to the mid-fourteenth century which played a key role in the culmination of the Marriage Treaty of 1661. Her legacy lives on in her dowry, specifically the port of Bombay which allowed England to become a global empire, introducing many everyday items into European culture.

A Glass of Albarino and A Pillowcase of Bones: sixty-eight interlocking pieces about the puzzle of life. True stories or vignettes of a nomadic life. Born in Birmingham, a working class boy who started work with British Gas at only sixteen years old. A punk, and then a New Romantic he worked at the legendary Rumrunner nightclub. He moved to London and worked from The Marquee to The Wigmore Hall to Drury Lane Theatre, meeting the stars. He left for Luxembourg and a year later moved to Berlin, still with the wall. The night the wall collapsed and the crazy following years, whilst working for the British Military he started his own one man cabaret shows which he later took to seven countries. In 2004 he moved to Madrid. He became an English Teacher. In 2012 he toured as MC with Abba the show, in six countries. Next? Valencia.