Secondhand Biographies

"A truly remarkable book . . . fiercely compelling" EDMUND DE WAAL"I've read no memoir that moved me more" MIRANDA SEYMOUR"The writing is always scrupulous . . . [a] compelling...

The Sunday Times top ten bestseller'Lost Dog is already one of my books of the year. Spicer writes like a dream...You will love it.' India Knight, Sunday Times 'Sharply observed...

A mother. A daughter. A family torn apart.For the first few years of her life, Sarah Harris was a normal, happy, popular little girl. But from the age of six...

To the uninitiated, tango is just a dance, albeit a dance with an exotic and sensuous allure. To the true tanguero, it is something akin to a religion, attracting the...

'Not just a brilliant introduction to one of the most exacting areas of modern medicine, it's a humbling glimpse of humans at their best.' Sunday Times'Inspires wonder at all that...

TRAWLERMAN is the memoir of Jimmy Buchan - skipper of the Amity II, a fishing vessel based in Peterhead, Europe's largest fishing port. Jimmy's story is one of incredible highs...

'I think the world should read it' LISA TADDEO, AUTHOR OF THREE WOMEN'Brutally candid. The most compelling book I've read in years' THE TIMES'It's impossible not to draw comparisons with...

Kate, as the whole world knows her, is living the dream of every little girl by winning the heart of a prince and becoming a Princess. But what is the...

'A must-read for anyone who cares about women's equality' Sheryl Sandberg'A flame-thrower for the rights of women who live under the thumb of repression and injustice' Tina BrownBBC RADIO 4...

'As a child, I'm to be my mother's "sister" because she wants one so. My part is to be there if she's ill. At four years old, it's a privilege...

From nationally bestselling author, YouTube star, and Facebook Video sensation Laura Clery comes a collection of comedic essays that paint "an honest, complicated portrait of how your life can change"...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEKSHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE'A fitting legacy left by a blazing talent' Observer'A masterpiece' Andrew O'Hagan, Guardian'Completely amazing' Lucy...

'Bower's book is a devastating indictment' Sunday Times 'Explosive ... Bower reveals a remarkable and sinister picture of the man who likes to appear as the ever-smiling hero' Daily Mail...

Mike Curtis, a former coal miner and likely Welsh international, served with 2 Para in the Falklands before going on to join the SAS. In this book Curtis, describes his...

As a young boy, Alexander Sinclair was the target of his mother's irrational hatred. She stopped at no lengths in her campaign to tear him to pieces both mentally and...

From the Number One Bestsellign author of UGLY Despite her mother's constant physical and psychological abuse, Constance Briscoe has gained a place at Newcastle University to study law - a...

Beautiful and charismatic, the daughter of one of Pakistan's most popular leaders -- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, hanged by General Zia in 1979 -- Benazir Bhutto is not only the first...

You may not know it, but you've met Augusten Burroughs: You've seen him on the street, in bars, on the train, at restaurants: a twenty-something guy, nice suit, works in...

This story begins and ends with a photograph taken when I was two years old. Finding it was like discovering that I really did exist after all . It was...

Born in 1786, by the time she was 15 years old, Harriette Wilson was well on her way to becoming Regency London's most sought-after courtesan. She counted amongst her conquests...

While Felicia Pearson is a brilliant actor in a truly chilling role, what's most remarkable about 'Snoop' is what she has overcome in real life. Born a three-pound, cross-eyed crack...

While wide awake in the middle of the night (welcome to menopause!), Amy Ferris began chronicling every one of her funny, sad, hysterical, down and dirty, and raw to the...

In Eccentric Wealth, Alastair Scott traces the life of Lancashire industrialist Sir George Bullough in this absorbing biography which explores his family's connection with the Hebridean island of Rum, particularly...

Aiden Aslin joined the Ukrainian marines in 2018, compelled to defend his adopted homeland from the growing threat of Russian invasion. In February 2022, as Russia mounted a full-scale offensive,...

"A Man Named Dave" is the conclusion to Dave Pelzer's trilogy of memoirs, the first two volumes of which were "A Child Called 'It'" and "The Lost Boy". From childhood,...

Like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi is an iconic figure, and the best-known prisoner of conscience alive today. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize...

An award-winning poet and former infantry team leader in Iraq, Brian Turner combines his devastating recollections as "Sergeant Turner" with his visions of the experiences of generations of warriors in...

'NEXT, I APPLIED TO WORK IN THE ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT, a sealed room where women operated clattering machines like enormous typewriters. After I had catastrophically and erroneously applied all the wrong...

Mrs Langtry - born a provincial in 1853, died rich and lonely in 1929 - was surrounded by scandal, luxary and gossip; but this new book goes beyond these outward...

This biography of Cary Grant covers his reaction to his father's death and the subsequent stress caused by this and the conflict of hiding his true nature from the world,...

Born in 1979, Roxy Freeman grew up travelling around Ireland and England in a traditional horse-drawn wagon with her mother and father and six siblings. Life was harsh but it...

On December 21, 1989, David Dornstein died in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland. He left behind a younger brother, Ken, desperate to understand his...

The world needs new ideas, new products, new kinds of associations and institutions, new initiatives, new art and new designs. But these new things seldom come from established organisations. They...