First published in 1857, The Life of Charlotte Bronte presents an intimate portrait of the celebrated author through the eyes of Elizabeth Gaskell, a personal friend of Bronte’s and fellow trailblazer of Victorian-era literature. Drawing from hundreds of Bronte’s letters, Gaskell illuminates what she described as a "wild, sad life and the beautiful character that grew out of it." Beginning with Bronte’s lonely childhood as a student at the...

In Jane's Fame, Claire Harman gives us the complete biography--of both the author and her lasting cultural influence--making this essential reading for anyone interested in Austen's life, works, and remarkably potent fame.

When Bloch, a popular London novelist, begins writing a fictionalized story featuring his unremarkable friend Oscar the invented details from the story start to come true. Gradually, Oscar embarks on a surreal odyssey into fame, while Bloch descends into the dark places of his soul. Oscar falls in love with Najette, a bewitching painter, but their relationship hangs in the balance as his myth balloons out of all proportion. At the centre of the hype...

Presents excerpts from the diary of Beatrix Potter, which she kept from the age of sixteen until her marriage in 1913, with drawings, photos, and a narrative about how she came to write "The Tales of Peter Rabbit."

Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was "just" an ordinary housewife, when clearly she wasn't? Her life is fascinating for its mysteries and its passions and, as Lucy Worsley says, "She was thrillingly, scintillatingly modern." She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness. So why--despite all the evidence to the...

"In 1942, London, Nancy Mitford is worried about more than air raids and German spies. Still recovering from a devastating loss, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing is estranged from her husband, her allowance has been cut, and she's given up her writing career. On top of this, her five beautiful but infamous sisters continue making headlines with their controversial politics. Eager for distraction and desperate for income, Nancy jumps at the chance...

Traces the life and achievements of classic novelist Daphne du Maurier, sharing creative insights into the master writer's life at different ages and her enduring influence in literature. "Though Daphne du Maurier's most famous work, Rebecca, is beloved across the world, she remains one of the most enigmatic British novelists, her heart's secrets as shrouded in darkness as the tales she told. Tatiana de Rosnay, fascinated by du Maurier since childhood,...

First published in 1928, Aldous Huxley's "Point Counter Point" draws its name from the back and forth exchange that occurs during a debate. In a similar way Huxley presents a series of interconnected storylines centered on the various characters of the novel. There is Walter Bidlake, a young journalist who is caught between two love interests. Walter's father, John, is a famous painter whose skill and health is in decline. John's daughter, Elinor,...

This dynamic new study of Charles Dickens will make readers re-examine his life and work in a completely different light. First, partly due to the massive digitalization of papers and letters in recent years, Helena Kelly has unearthed new material about Dickens that simply wasn't available to his earlier biographers. Second, in an astonishing piece of archival detective work, she has traced and then joined the dots on revelatory new details about...

"A vivid, deeply researched account of the tumultuous life of one of the twentieth century's greatest novelists, the author of The End of the Affair. Graham Greene lived a life as strange and compelling as those in his brilliant novels. A journalist and MI6 officer, Greene sought out the inner narratives of war and politics across the world; he witnessed the Second World War, the Vietnam War, the Mau Mau Rebellion, the rise of Fidel Castro, and the...