Secondhand Biographies

Who'd have thought a missing bacon rasher and a teaspoon would play a part in advancing someone's career? It's the late '60s and Jane Yeadon has always wanted to be...

Alan Titchmarsh has had a passion for gardening for as long as he can remember. Aged 8, he announced to friends that he was going to be the next Percy...

The true story of the childhood and therapy of an incest survivor. Jacqueline Spring was born into a Glaswegian family that appeared conventionally at ease both emotionally and materially. But...

Peter O'Toole's account of his early life - a childhood framed by "Captain" Patrick O'Toole, itinerant racetrack bookmaker and Constance Jane Eliot Ferguson who had "wavy black hair, quick eyes...

Born in Ramsgate during the 1940s, Brenda Bottle was the youngest of nine in a poor but close family. She left school to work as a secretary for British Rail,...

I don't know how old I was when I watched my mother's murder, nor do I know how old I am today.' So opens this beautiful, sad and uplifting memoir....

Tells the story of an incredible leader and legend, John F. Kennedy. In this groundbreaking new series, DK brings together fresh voices and DK design values to give readers the...

How do the French manage to raise well-behaved children and have a life! Who hasn't noticed how well-behaved French children are - compared to our own? - How come French...

Illuminating the life of Simon Cowell and delving into backstage scandal, tabloid rumour and the cut-throat worlds of music and television, Tom Bower leaves no stone unturned in this must-read...

A red paperclip is currently sitting on my desk next to my computer. I want to trade this paperclip with you for something bigger or better, maybe a pen, a...

John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they bought...

Simon Weston's life as a young Welsh guardsman was blown apart when Argentinian planes bombed the British supply ship the "Sir Galahad" during the Falklands conflict of 1982. Many of...

In 1993 Sarah Smith was a happy and successful student. At her local pub, she met barman Robert Freegard. Peace was shattered when an IRA bomb went off close to...

WINNER OF THE RSL ONDAATJE PRIZE 2019 AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR A CBC BOOK OF THE YEAR The extraordinary story of an indomitable 95-year-old woman - and of...

Jung-ling's family considers her bad luck because her mother died giving birth to her. They discriminate against her and make her feel unwanted yet she yearns and continuously strives for...

Life and death in a modern hospital, from Seamus O'Mahony, the award-winning author of The Way We Die Now and Can Medicine Be Cured?Seamus O'Mahony charts the realities of work...

Chasing a dream is never easy, but if you go far enough, it will set you free.Captain Liz Clark spent her youth dreaming of traveling the world by sailboat and...

From the author of Number One bestseller Damaged comes the poignant and shocking memoir of Cathy's recent relationship with Tayo, a young boy she fosters whose good behaviour and polite...

In the first years of the new millennium Russell Watson was at the peak of his success as a much loved classical singer. He had gone from humble beginnings, working...

As a child, Dave Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his mother. The world knew nothing of his living nightmare and he had nothing and no one to turn...

An intimate portrait of an everyday genius. Alexander Masters tripped over his first subject on a Cambridge pavement, and the result was the multi-award-winning bestseller Stuart: A Life Backwards. The...

When social distancing is over, can people still keep their distance?I only do the things I like now, rather than the things I should - is that alright?And these days,...

'Part confession, part call to arms and wholly entertaining' OBSERVER'Her writing style is as kooky and digestible as Bill Bryson's . . . A fun-filled, fact-packed, memorable ride' SUNDAY TIMES...

The rediscovered classic: an unforgettable memoir by a trailblazing black woman in post-war London, introduced by Bernardine Evaristo ('I dare anyone to read it and not come away shocked, moved...

My Family and Other Animals is the bewitching account of a rare and magical childhood on the island of Corfu by treasured British conservationist Gerald Durrell. Escaping the ills of...

On 17 April 1986 a British television journalist was kidnapped in Beirut. His name was John McCarthy and he was to remain a hostage for the next five years. During...

When I had a Little Sister by Catherine Simpson is a searingly honest and heartbreaking account of growing up in a farming family, and of Catherine's search for understanding into...

Marcus Butler is everyone's best friend. His videos on his YouTube channels gain over 22 million views a month, and his funny, natural style has won him legions of loyal...

Maggie is John Sergeant's mordant analysis of Margaret Thatcher's career and, more importantly, the legacy she has left to the Conservative party, which he would argue has been little short...