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Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember
by Lauren GrahamFrom the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and the New York Times bestselling author of Talking as Fast as I Can comes a candid, insightful, and wildly entertaining essay collection about her years in show business, featuring stories that range from the sublime to the ridiculous.Lauren Graham has graced countless television screens with her quick wit and larger-than-life personality, earning a reputation as a pop culture icon who always has something to say - and fast. Now Graham shares personal stories about her career in entertainment, from her early days navigating Los Angeles as a struggling actress in a red Volkswagen, to her first appearance on late-night TV, to the challenges of ageing gracefully in Hollywood. With her signature sense of humour and down-to-earth storytelling, she tells all and never spares a detail (as long as she hasn't forgotten it).In 'R.I.P. Barneys New York' she writes about an early job as a salesperson at the legendary department store (and the time she inadvertently shoplifted); in 'Ryan Gosling Cannot Confirm' she attempts to navigate the unspoken rules of Hollywood hierarchies; in 'Ne Oublie' she warns us about the perils of coming from an extremely forgetful family; and in 'Actor-y Factory' she recounts what a day in the life of an actor looks like (unless you're Brad Pitt). She also welcomes back her alter ego Old Lady Jackson to share some more homespun wisdom ('Buy wrapping paper in January when it goes on sale') and reveal the easiest recipe for orange marmalade you'll ever find (which isn't actually easy, because easy recipes for marmalade are a total time suck and just another internet lie).Filled with surprising anecdotes, sage advice, and laugh-out-loud observations, these all-new, original essays showcase the winning charm and wry humour that have delighted Graham's millions of fans.
Lost on Me
by Veronica RaimoThe 100,000 copy Italian bestseller for fans of Rachel Cusk and Deborah Levy'Deliciously enjoyable' Katherine Heiny'I adored it' Naoise Dolan'Hilarious' Roddy Doyle'Thrillingly original' Monica AliVero has grown up in Rome with her eccentric family: an omnipresent mother who is devoted to her own anxiety, a father ruled by hygienic and architectural obsessions, and a precocious genius brother at the centre of their attention. As she becomes an adult, Vero's need to strike out on her own leads her into bizarre and comical situations: she tries (and fails) to run away to Paris at the age of fifteen; she moves into an unwitting older boyfriend's house after they have been together for less than a week; and she sets up a fraudulent (and wildly successful) street clothing stall to raise funds to go to Mexico. Most of all, she falls in love - repeatedly, dramatically, and often with the most unlikely and inappropriate of candidates.As she continues to plot escapades and her mother's relentless tracking methods and guilt-tripping mastery thwart her at every turn, it is no wonder that Vero becomes a writer - and a liar - inventing stories in a bid for her own sanity.Narrated in a voice as wryly ironic as it is warm and affectionate, Lost on Me seductively explores the slippery relationship between deceitfulness and creativity (beginning with Vero's first artistic achievement: a painting she steals from a school classmate and successfully claims as her own). Deceptively simple, its tenderness offset by moments of cool brutality, Lost on Me is a masterwork of human observation.
It's Terrible the Things I Have to Do to Be Me: 'A brutal and brilliant study of female celebrity' Megan Nolan, Telegraph
by Philippa Snow'Turns female celebrity inside-out. One of the most enjoyable books of the year' Nicole Flattery, author of Show Them A Good Time'A brutal and brilliant study of female celebrity ... a joy to read, fizzing with intelligence' Megan Nolan, Telegraph---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How does an icon become an icon? How did Anna Nicole Smith model herself on Marilyn Monroe? What connects Lindsay Lohan with Elizabeth Taylor? How is self-made beauty Pamela Anderson like trans bond girl Caroline 'Tula' Cossey?In a series of interconnected essays about pairs of famous women, award-nominated essayist and art critic Philippa Snow explores the echoes and connections between a constellation of female stars and lays bare the artful and gruelling demands of femininity - from the golden age of Hollywood to the Instagram era. Full of the fascinating, entertaining and lurid details you might expect from the lives of mega-famous celebrities, dissected with icicle-sharp intelligence and rendered in stylish, flamboyant prose, Philippa Snow's first full-length non-fiction work is a radically insightful book about the complex meanings and layers of femininity in a male-dominated world.
It's Terrible the Things I Have to Do to Be Me: 'A brutal and brilliant study of female celebrity' Megan Nolan, Telegraph
by Philippa Snow'Turns female celebrity inside-out. One of the most enjoyable books of the year' Nicole Flattery, author of Show Them A Good Time'A brutal and brilliant study of female celebrity ... a joy to read, fizzing with intelligence' Megan Nolan, Telegraph---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------How does an icon become an icon? How did Anna Nicole Smith model herself on Marilyn Monroe? What connects Lindsay Lohan with Elizabeth Taylor? How is self-made beauty Pamela Anderson like trans bond girl Caroline 'Tula' Cossey?In a series of interconnected essays about pairs of famous women, award-nominated essayist and art critic Philippa Snow explores the echoes and connections between a constellation of female stars and lays bare the artful and gruelling demands of femininity - from the golden age of Hollywood to the Instagram era. Full of the fascinating, entertaining and lurid details you might expect from the lives of mega-famous celebrities, dissected with icicle-sharp intelligence and rendered in stylish, flamboyant prose, Philippa Snow's first full-length non-fiction work is a radically insightful book about the complex meanings and layers of femininity in a male-dominated world.
Big Girl
by Mecca Jamila SullivanMalaya Clondon hates when her mother drags her to Weight Watchers meetings in the church's stuffy basement community centre. A quietly inquisitive eight-year-old struggling to suppress her insatiable longing, she would much rather paint alone in her bedroom, or sneak out with her father for a sampling of Harlem's forbidden street foods.For Malaya, the pressures of going to an exclusive, predominantly white prep school are compounded by the high expectations passed down over generations from her sharp-tongued grandmother and her mother, Nyela, a professor struggling to earn tenure at a prestigious university. But their relentless prescriptions - fad diets, African dance classes, endless doctors' appointments - don't work on Malaya.As Malaya comes of age in a rapidly gentrifying 1990s Harlem, she strains to fit within society's suffocating confines that hold no room for her body. She finds solace in the lyrical riffs of Biggie Smalls and Aaliyah, and in the support of her sensitive father, Percy; still, tensions at home mount as rapidly as Malaya's weight. Nothing seems to help - until a family tragedy forces her to finally face the source of her hunger on her own terms.
Little Rabbit
by Alyssa SongsiridejA wholly new kind of coming-of-age story about lust, punishment, artistic drive and desires that defy the hard-won boundaries of the self'Deeply empathetic and horny' CARMEN MARIA MACHADO'Will quietly engulf you in flames' LING MA'So incredibly hot' RACHEL YODER'Hypnotic, sexy, smart' MELISSA FEBOSWhen she first meets the choreographer at an artists' residency, they don't hit it off. She finds him loud, conceited, domineering. He thinks her serious, guarded, too precious about her work. But when he invites her to watch his dance company perform, something shifts.Their interaction at the show sets off a summer of expanding sexual boundaries. Over weekends sequestered at his summer house in upstate New York, her body learns to obediently follow his, and his desires quickly become inextricable from her pleasure - and her pain. Back in Boston, her roommate's concern amplifies her own doubts about these heady weekend retreats. What does it mean for a young, queer woman to be with an older man? For a fledgling artist to attach herself to an established one? Is she following her own agency, or is she merely following him? And does falling in love have to mean eviscerating yourself?
Amphibian
by Tyler Wetherall'Haunting and visceral as a fairytale' Lilly Dancyger'Brims with sex and violence and threat, and moves to a crescendo of strange and magical beauty' Rebecca Stott'Gorgeously written ...resurrected for me the exquisite and ecstatic pains of girlhood' Hannah Lillith Assadi, author of Sonora and The Stars Are Not Yet Bells'Exhilirating' Allison BehringerSissy is used to being on the outside. The new girl in her West Country school, she recently arrived with her troubled mother, prone to letting Sissy fend for herself.But from the day Sissy fights a boy in front of Tegan, she's no longer alone. Bonded by violence, they grow so close they feel like one being: wrapped around each other in bed at sleepovers, sending photographs to men they meet online, and scaring each other with reports of the girls being snatched at night in their town.Over the course of the school year, they find themselves on the threshold of girlhood, with threats gathering thick and fast around them. And as their make-believe worlds bleed into their daily lives, Sissy feels herself transforming into something strange and terrifying.Amphibian is a tender, haunting coming-of-age debut about desire, precocity and the intensity of early friendships that have the power to upend our lives.
The Vulnerables: 'As funny as it is painfully honest' (Paula Hawkins)
by Sigrid Nunez'A sharp-eyed and tender novel about human connection' (PAULA HAWKINS) from the bestselling, National Book Award-winning author of The Friend'A must-read about unlikely friendships' SUNDAY TIMES STYLE'One of my favourite authors' NATALIE PORTMAN'A novel that truly, truly speaks to the soul' GLAMOUR'Makes you feel smarter and more alive' PEOPLEThree strangers are thrown together in one Manhattan apartment: a solitary writer; a Gen Z college drop-out; and a spirited parrot named Eureka. As the world outside descends into turmoil, the three of them must learn how to live with and care for one another - and discover what happens when strangers are willing to open their hearts to each other.'Compulsively readable' ELLE'A gorgeous, funny novel about connection' iPAPER'A breath of fresh air for a time when it still sometimes feels there isn't any' GOOD HOUSEKEEPING'Beautiful and profound' MEG MASON'Infused with moments of hilarity and wisdom. Beautiful' WOMAN'S WEEKLY'Filled with moments of the sublime' CAROLINE O'DONOGHUE'Once you discover Sigrid Nunez, you don't look back' ANNE ENRIGHT'Cracks open windows and offers a reassuring breeze, reminding us that it's OK - and perhaps even necessary - to need each other; it's only human' SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE'I am committed, until one of us dies, to Nunez's novels. They are short, wise, provocative, funny' NEW YORK TIMES
Ghostroots
by 'Pemi AgudaThe supernatural looms over the grime and sweat of everyday life in Lagos in this dazzling collection of stories from a prize-winning young Nigerian writer.'You'll find it hard to tear yourself away' Ore Agbaje-Williams, author of The Three of Us'Each story is a tiny wonder' Kirsty Logan, author of The Unfamiliar'Marvellously unsettling' Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love'An astonishing talent' Lauren Groff, author of The Vaster WildsThe Lagos of these twelve sinister and beguiling stories is multi-faceted, peopled by Pentecostal Christians and exasperated atheists; by tight-knit extended families and struggling single fathers. Here are characters cursed by guilt, bound by the ties of ancestors and community; or enchanted by the allure of mysticism and would-be prophets. There are gossips and party girls - and a schoolboy followed home by a group of tribal masquerades, cloaked in feathers and twinkling beads. Yes, his mother has warned him not to bring strangers home, but he is sure she will understand ... Exploring the dark borders between psychology and superstition, these feverishly imaginative stories of trauma, betrayal, terror and love lay bare the forces of myth, tradition, gender, sexuality and modernity in Nigerian society. Powered by a deep empathy, and glinting with humour and insight, they announce a major new literary talent.
Wise Women: Myths and stories for midlife and beyond
by Sharon Blackie Angharad WynneAn unforgettable collection of retold myths and folk tales celebrating the wisdom and power of women in midlife and beyond, from the award-winning author of Hagitude'An extraordinary selection of stories ... beautifully and vividly retold' TLS'Read it, absorb it, treasure it!' SHAHRUKH HUSAIN, author of The Virago Book of Witches'A fascinating collection of female myths and legends' SARA SHERIDAN, author of The Fair BotanistsFrom early childhood, we learn about the world and its possibilities through myths and fairy tales. The heroines, though, tend to be golden-haired princesses, and the evil-doers often older women. But women today are searching for positive versions of themselves from midlife onwards, and this dazzling array of not-to-be-messed-with characters - from ungainly giantesses and sequin-strewn fairy godmothers to misunderstood witches and craggy crones - provides them. They outwit monsters, test and mentor younger heroines, embody the cycles and seasons of the earth, weave the world into being - and almost always have the last laugh.These women manifest their wisdom in different ways, and so offer us inspiration for how we too can walk boldly and live authentically in the second half of life.'Wonderful, both comforting and inspiring' VICTORIA SMITH, author of Hags'The book I've been longing for' JILL DAWSON, author of The Bewitching'I adored Wise Women - this is the missing piece of the jigsaw puzzle when it comes to reframing the narrative in our culture about the role of older females' ELEANOR MILLS, author of Much More to Come: Lessons on the mayhem and magnificence of midlife 'Reading it quenched a thirst I didn't know I had. Oh for a world where stories of the power and joy of women's elder years are celebrated everywhere' DOREEN CUNNINGHAM, author of Soundings'Revisits our old stories, making them thrilling for us now' STELLA DUFFY OBE
A Green Equinox (Virago Modern Classics #820)
by Elizabeth Mavor'Funny and brave and moving and absolutely bonkers. I love this novel' CHARLOTTE MENDELSON'Elizabeth Mavor relishes spirited, unorthodox women, free with their tongues and ready to snap their fingers at convention' LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKSHero Kinoull is an antiquarian bookseller whose sedate life in the picturesque English town of Beaudesert is turned upside down between the spring and autumn equinoxes of a single year. First her quiet but forbidden liaison with Hugh Shafto, the curator of the country's finest collection of Rococo art, comes to an abrupt halt when she develops an adoration for his straight-talking, do-gooding wife Belle. But this relationship leads to other, even more unexpected feelings for Belle's widowed mother-in-law, the majestic Kate Shafto, who spends her days tending her garden and sailing her handmade boats in the waters of the miniature archipelago she's constructed in a disused gravel pit.
A Green Equinox: The witty, dazzling rediscovered classic of 2023 (Virago Modern Classics #820)
by Elizabeth MavorWhile I waited for sleep I retraced the road which brought me to you. Unbelievably it only took six months, equinox to equinox. This dazzling rediscovered classic, shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1973, is a heady, witty and seductive exploration of female sexuality - perfect for fans of Iris Murdoch and Brigid Brophy. ***'Funny and brave and moving and absolutely bonkers. I love this novel' CHARLOTTE MENDELSON'A transgressive classic . . . intrepid, eccentric, and not giving a damn' OBSERVER'Elizabeth Mavor relishes spirited, unorthodox women, free with their tongues and ready to snap their fingers at convention' LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKSHero Kinoull is an antiquarian bookseller whose sedate life in the picturesque English town of Beaudesert is turned upside down between the spring and autumn equinoxes of a single year. First her quiet but forbidden liaison with Hugh Shafto, the curator of the country's finest collection of Rococo art, comes to an abrupt halt when she develops an adoration for his straight-talking, do-gooding wife Belle. But this relationship leads to other, even more unexpected feelings for Belle's widowed mother-in-law, the majestic Kate Shafto, who spends her days tending her garden and sailing her handmade boats in the waters of the miniature archipelago she's constructed in a disused gravel pit.'A strange little nugget of a novel . . . I'd like any book that could be described as a mix between Beatrix Potter, JG Ballard and Sophocles' Irish Times
The Virago Book of Friendship
by Rachel CookeA fond, fascinated look at women's friendship through the fiction, diaries, and letters of friends Friendship, a timeless subject, has never been more debated, something that has to do both with the internet - the perils of WhatsApp groups, the agony of ghosting - as well as with a growing awareness that loneliness is increasing in our society. Friendship has become a matter of urgent inquiry to therapists, scientists and sociologists. We understand its importance more and more, not only as a comfort and a privilege, but as vital to our health. But it's hard to get inside friendship: its particular intensity and its miraculous ease; its tendency to wax and wane; its ability to inspire both delight and despair. This is the territory of novels and poems, diaries and letters, comics and graphic novels - and it is where the innovative and wide ranging Virago Book of Friendship steps in, bringing together work by more than 100 writers. From Jane Austen to Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf, from Dolly Alderton to Sarah Waters and Meg Wolitzer and, it celebrates and investigates friendship between women from first encounters to final goodbyes, from falling out to making up again.
Love Among the Ruins
by Angela Thirkell'You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own' New York TimesIt's the summer of 1947, and peacetime has brought new challenges to Barsetshire. Beliers Priory, once a military hospital during the War, has now become a flourishing preparatory school for boys run by Leslie and Philip Winter. When Charles Belton is hired as the new school master, six young people are thrown together in a web of flirtations and misunderstandings: Charles and his elder brother, Naval Captain Freddy Belton; Susan Dean, now Red Cross Depot Librarian, and her glamorous sister Jessica, an actress in thrall to the theatre; pragmatic Lucy Marling and her brother Oliver. And with the old social order in ruins, the scene is set for a delicious summer of comic - and romantic - possibilities. Love Among the Ruins is a delightful, clever and wryly poignant classic, and the 17th novel in Angela Thirkell's beloved Barsetshire series.
Love Among the Ruins
by Angela Thirkell'You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own' New York TimesIt's the summer of 1947, and peacetime has brought new challenges to Barsetshire. Beliers Priory, once a military hospital during the War, has now become a flourishing preparatory school for boys run by Leslie and Philip Winter. When Charles Belton is hired as the new school master, six young people are thrown together in a web of flirtations and misunderstandings: Charles and his elder brother, Naval Captain Freddy Belton; Susan Dean, now Red Cross Depot Librarian, and her glamorous sister Jessica, an actress in thrall to the theatre; pragmatic Lucy Marling and her brother Oliver. And with the old social order in ruins, the scene is set for a delicious summer of comic - and romantic - possibilities. Love Among the Ruins is a delightful, clever and wryly poignant classic, and the 17th novel in Angela Thirkell's beloved Barsetshire series.
County Chronicle
by Angela Thirkell'You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own' New York TimesThe county of Barsetshire is aflutter with preparations. With the wedding of Lucy Marling and Sam Adams fast approaching, and Lucy's brother Oliver brooding over his ill-fated tendre for glamorous Jessica Dean, Mrs Marling calls for reinforcements. Help arrives in the form of charming writer Isabel Dale, still mourning the loss of her fiancé on D-Day - who might just be the cure for a bruised heart. Meanwhile, social barriers are crumbling at Omnium Castle, where theatrical rehearsals are bringing together the newly married Brandons and the impoverished Duke's children, Lady Cora and Lord Silverbridge. The stage is set for a season of new alliances, old friends and second chances.A sparkling and deeply affectionate portrait of post-war England, County Chronicle follows The Old Bank House in Angela Thirkell's beloved Barsetshire series.
County Chronicle
by Angela Thirkell'You read her, laughing, and want to do your best to protect her characters from any reality but their own' New York TimesThe county of Barsetshire is aflutter with preparations. With the wedding of Lucy Marling and Sam Adams fast approaching, and Lucy's brother Oliver brooding over his ill-fated tendre for glamorous Jessica Dean, Mrs Marling calls for reinforcements. Help arrives in the form of charming writer Isabel Dale, still mourning the loss of her fiancé on D-Day - who might just be the cure for a bruised heart. Meanwhile, social barriers are crumbling at Omnium Castle, where theatrical rehearsals are bringing together the newly married Brandons and the impoverished Duke's children, Lady Cora and Lord Silverbridge. The stage is set for a season of new alliances, old friends and second chances.A sparkling and deeply affectionate portrait of post-war England, County Chronicle follows The Old Bank House in Angela Thirkell's beloved Barsetshire series.
The Old Bank House: A Virago Modern Classic
by Angela Thirkell'Charming, very funny indeed. Angela Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of any twentieth-century author, after Pym herself' - Alexander McCall SmithEdgewood Rectory may be set in an ancient landscape, but the Grantly family are very much of their time. Caught up in the uncertain world that has emerged since the outbreak of peace, the Rector and Mrs Grantly are bewildered by the challenges facing their eldest children: Eleanor, longing for more excitement than can be found in the Red Cross Library; and Tom, struggling to readjust to student life at Oxford after his military service. When their elderly neighbour Miss Sowerby sells her beloved Old Bank House to self-made MP Sam Adams, the one-time outsider finds himself at the heart of Barsetshire society. And while Sam may dismiss her advice that the house needs a mistress, even a contented widower can be surprised by love.
The Old Bank House: A Virago Modern Classic
by Angela Thirkell'Charming, very funny indeed. Angela Thirkell is perhaps the most Pym-like of any twentieth-century author, after Pym herself' - Alexander McCall SmithEdgewood Rectory may be set in an ancient landscape, but the Grantly family are very much of their time. Caught up in the uncertain world that has emerged since the outbreak of peace, the Rector and Mrs Grantly are bewildered by the challenges facing their eldest children: Eleanor, longing for more excitement than can be found in the Red Cross Library; and Tom, struggling to readjust to student life at Oxford after his military service. When their elderly neighbour Miss Sowerby sells her beloved Old Bank House to self-made MP Sam Adams, the one-time outsider finds himself at the heart of Barsetshire society. And while Sam may dismiss her advice that the house needs a mistress, even a contented widower can be surprised by love.
Jutland Cottage
by Angela Thirkell'Charming, very funny indeed' ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH Change is in the air in Barsetshire. The country may have a new queen, but Greshambury has a new rector, Canon Fewling, and a returned prodigal daughter: the beautiful, frivolous Rose Fairweather. But for lonely Margot Phelps, caring for her elderly parents in Jutland Cottage, the future holds little promise - until a group of benevolent neighbours, led by Rose, decide to take her under their wing. With a new tweed suit, a little kindness, and not one, but three, potential suitors, could happiness be around the corner at last? Jutland Cottage is a witty and heartwarming classic in Angela Thirkell's beloved Barsetshire series.
Jutland Cottage
by Angela Thirkell'Charming, very funny indeed' ALEXANDER McCALL SMITH Change is in the air in Barsetshire. The country may have a new queen, but Greshambury has a new rector, Canon Fewling, and a returned prodigal daughter: the beautiful, frivolous Rose Fairweather. But for lonely Margot Phelps, caring for her elderly parents in Jutland Cottage, the future holds little promise - until a group of benevolent neighbours, led by Rose, decide to take her under their wing. With a new tweed suit, a little kindness, and not one, but three, potential suitors, could happiness be around the corner at last? Jutland Cottage is a witty and heartwarming classic in Angela Thirkell's beloved Barsetshire series.
Reading Genesis
by Marilynne RobinsonA brilliant and dramatic close reading of the first book of the Bible focussing on the complex relationship with humankind'A work of exceptional wisdom and imagination' DR ROWAN WILLIAMS, DAILY TELEGRAPH'Rich and provoking... Robinson has masterfully traced a sense of wonder back to its ancient, remarkable source' JULIAN COMAN, OBSERVER'Reading Genesis is alive with questions of kindness, community and how to express what we so often struggle to put into words' NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINEFor generations, the Book of Genesis, included in its entirety here, has been treated by scholars as a collection of documents by various hands, expressing different factional interests, with borrowings from other ancient literatures that mark the text as derivative. In other words, academic interpretation of Genesis has centered on the question of its basic coherence, just as fundamentalist interpretation has centered on the question of the appropriateness of reading it as literally true.Marilynne Robinson's approach is different. Hers is one of an appreciation of Genesis for its greatness as literature, for its rich articulation and exploration of themes that resonate through the whole of Scripture. She illuminates the importance of the stories of, among others, Adam and Eve; Noah and his ark; the rivalry of Cain and Able; and the father and son drama of Abraham and Isaac, to consider the profound meanings and promise of God's enduring covenant with humankind. Her magisterial book radiates gratitude for the constancy and benevolence of God's abiding faith in Creation.
The Secret Diaries Of Miss Anne Lister: I Know My Own Heart (Virago Modern Classics #770)
by Anne ListerDiscover the extraordinary diaries of the real Anne Lister: the inspiration for Gentleman Jack and Emma Donoghue's new novel Learned By Heart'Engaging, revealing, at times simply astonishing' SARAH WATERS'[Anne Lister's] sense of self, and self-awareness, is what makes her modern to us . . . The diaries gave me courage' JEANETTE WINTERSON'The Lister diaries are the Dead Sea Scrolls of lesbian history' EMMA DONOGHUEWhen this volume of Anne Lister's diaries was first published in 1988, it was hailed as a vital piece of lost lesbian history. The editor, Helena Whitbread, had spent years painstakingly researching and transcribing Lister's extensive journals, much of which were written in an elaborate code - what Lister called her 'crypthand', which allowed her to record her life in intimate, and at times, explicit, detail. Until then, Anne Lister's lesbianism had been supressed or hinted at; this was the first time her story had been told. Anne Lister defied the role of nineteenth century womanhood: she was bold, fiercely independent, a landowner, industrialist, traveller and lesbian - a woman who lived her life on her own terms.These diaries include the years 1816-1824. The second volume, continuing Anne's story, THE SECRET DIARIES OF MISS ANNE LISTER: NO PRIEST BUT LOVE, is now available.
No Judgement: On Being Critical
by Lauren OylerA brilliant and addictive collection of brand-new essays on modern culture - from 'the pre-eminent and most widely read critic of her generation' The Times Included as a 2024 highlight in the Observer, Stylist, the Skinny, BBC Online and the Independent 'Funny, insightful and bang on the money' Stylist--------------------------------------------I heard this crazy story, and I want you to know.It is the age of internet gossip; of social networks, repackaged ideas and rating everything out of five stars. Mega-famous celebrities respond with fury to critics who publish less-than-rapturous reviews of their work (and then delete their tweets); CEOs talk about reclaiming 'the power of vulnerability'; and in the world of fiction, writers eschew actually making things up in favour of 'always just talking about themselves'.In this blistering, irreverent and very funny first book of non-fiction, Lauren Oyler - one of the most trenchant, influential, and revelatory critics of her generation - takes on the bizarre particularities of our present moment in a series of interconnected essays about literature, the attention economy, gossip, the role of criticism and her own relentless, teeth-grinding anxiety.Illuminating and thought-provoking, by turns drily scathing and disarmingly open, No Judgement excavates the layers of psychology and meaning in how we communicate, tell stories and make critical judgements - to offer dazzling insights into how we live and think today.'Brisk, honest and soaring with élan' Naoise Dolan, author of The Happy Couple'Smart and unafraid and (thank God) funny. This is exactly what I want to read' Monica Heisey, author of Really Good, Actually'Oyler is the kind of dangerous contemporary writer we need more of' Niamh Campbell, author of We Were Young
She Speaks!: What Shakespeare's Women Might Have Said
by Harriet WalterNew parts for thirty of Shakespeare's women, letting them speak their minds, written by famed stage and screen actress, Dame Harriet Walter DBE'Bold and original... a book that anyone who cares about Shakespeare will want to own, and share' JAMES SHAPIRO'With her gravitas, empathy, intellect and absolute belly laugh wit, the unheard voices soar. A real celebration of her life and art' PHYLLIDA LLOYD'Harriet Walter's years of inhabiting and imbibing so many of those great roles gives her a special licence to speak for them. But the wit of these delightful poems also belies frustration, exasperation, and like a true "Lover's Complaint", real affection' GREG DORANDame Harriet Walter, renowned for her wonderful portrayals in Succession and Killing Eve, among others, is one of Britain's most esteemed Shakespearean actors. Now, having played most of Shakespeare's female characters, audaciously, she lets them speak their minds.With new parts for thirty Shakespearean women, written in 'Shakespearean' verse and prose, Harriet Walter goes between the lines of the plays to let us hear what she imagines - sometimes playfully and sometimes searchingly - these women were really thinking.Here's what Gertrude longed to say; why Lady MacBeth felt she should be King; how Juliet's nurse bemoaned her loss; why Ariel is anxious about freedom and what Cleopatra's handmaidens really thought of her. Ophelia surprises us, Olivia surprises herself and Miranda glimpses the future; these pieces are alongside other brilliant insights, from the servants to the sovereigns.Harriet Walter says 'Shakespeare's mind and words have been the backbone of our culture and they have seeped into my bloodstream over the decades that I have been privileged to speak them. As Ben Jonson said, he is a man for all times, but he is also a man of his time and there's the rub. Though his empathy for his female creations is miraculous, his plays mirror the hierarchy and patriarchy of his day with the result that women are seldom centre stage, have far fewer lines, and their function in the plot is always and solely in relation to a man. But not in these pages...'