Classical Memoirs

In 1969, a twenty-something screenwriter with one movie credit to his name is approached by Jimi Hendrix's management after the legendary guitarist saw the obscure indie film in London and wanted to collaborate on a project of his own. Jonathan Stathakis had no idea how thrilling the next eighteen months would be, as he and Hendrix formed not just a working partnership but a unique friendship.

Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (January 6, 1946 to July 7, 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist and co-founder of Pink Floyd. He was the band's frontman and primary songwriter for their debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967), and portions of their second album, A Saucerful of Secrets (1968). In April 1968, Barrett was ousted from Pink Floyd amid speculation of mental illness and his use of psychedelic drugs. In 1972, Barrett retired from public life and guarded his privacy until his death of pancreatic cancer in 2006. The following is from an August 1967 interview.

Screenwriter Jeb Rosebrook presents a captivating behind-the-scenes memoir of the making of Junior Bonner, a 1972 Western classic starring Steve McQueen and directed by Sam Peckinpah.

The superb classic memoir from a dazzlingly eccentric and endlessly fascinating author - a woman very much ahead of her time - including her time spent on the glorious island of Skiathos. Nancy Spain was one of the most celebrated - and notorious - writers and broadcasters of the '40s, '50s and '60s. Hilarious, controversial and brilliant, she lived openly as a lesbian (sharing a household with her two lovers and their various children) and was frequently litigated against for her newspaper columns - Evelyn Waugh successfully sued her for libel...twice.

The Blues Brothers hit theatres on June 20, 1980. Their scripted mission was to save a local Chicago orphanage; but Aykroyd, who conceived and wrote much of the film, had a greater mission: to honour the then-seemingly forgotten tradition of rhythm and blues, some of whose greatest artists.

Have you ever read the story of Creation told in the first person and in a diary form? If not "The Diaries of Adam and Eve" would be the best choice for you. You will find out what the Garden of Eden looked like, see how Adam and Eve lived, and what their perceptions of each other was. You will witness how Eve named the animals and the plants, and what Adam thought of it. This is Mark Twain’s most amusing masterpiece. B. J. Harrison started his Classic Tales Podcast back in 2007, wanting to breathe new life into classic stories.

John W. Bubbles was the ultimate song-and-dance man. A groundbreaking tap dancer, he provided inspiration to Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, and the Nicholas Brothers. His vaudeville team Buck and Bubbles captivated theater audiences for more than thirty years. Most memorably, in the role of Sportin' Life he stole the show in the original production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, in the process crafting a devilish alter ego that would follow him through life.

Jack the Ripper. Jeffrey Dahmer. John Wayne Gacy. Locusta of Gaul. If that last name doesn’t seem to fit with the others, it’s likely because our modern society largely believes that serial killers are a recent phenomenon. Not so, argues Debbie Feltonin fact, there’s ample evidence to show that serial killers stalked the ancient world just as they do the modern one.

Twelve Years a Slave is the autobiographical account of Solomon Northup, an African American who was born free in New York in the early 1800s. In 1841, Solomon Northup was captured and forced into slavery for a period of twelve years. Northup's account is detailed in its account of life on a cotton and sugar plantation and the daily routine of slave life during the first part of the 19th century.

From her discovery by some of the top artists and photographers of the time in London, when she was the new bride of Edward Langtry, to her emergence as one of the most popular stage personalities of her era, Lillie's story could fill a hundred novels. She tells it all with discretion and humor in her autobiography, The Days I Knew.

It is something of a cliché to say that an actor’s life was like a movie he or she might have starred in, but in the case of Myrna Loy, the cliché is true. It is easy to picture her as a little girl, riding the range with her rancher father, sitting around the table and participating charmingly in family discussions of current events.

Much like The Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs Of Christmas, The Stories Behind The Great Traditions of Christmas and More Stories Behind The Best Loved Songs of Christmas this new Collins Christmas book will fill a void in the book world.

In 1934, a friend brought fledgling actress Vivien Leigh to see Theatre Royal, where she would first lay eyes on Laurence Olivier in his brilliant performance as Anthony Cavendish. That night, she confided to a friend, he was the man she was going to marry. There was just one problem: she was already married—and so was he. Truly, Madly is the biography of a marriage, a love affair that still captivates millions, even decades after both actors' deaths.

Following the death of her parents, a young and innocent Fanny Hill travels to London to find work. She has barely arrived, however, when she is lured into a brothel and has a sexual experience with another woman. A costumer gets her out of there and becomes her lover, but a whole new world has opened to Fanny, who sets out to explore all the pleasures her body has in store for her. Considered the first prose pornography ‘Fanny Hill - Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure’ (1748) is one of the most prosecuted and banned books of all time.

تباع سايوري وهي في التاسعة من عمرها، وصاحبة جمال آخاذ، إلى منزل "غايشا" شهير لتعيش فيه نوعاً من العبودية ولتتحول فيما بعد إلى أسطورة في عالم فتيات الغايشا. بعدما أدهشت زرقة عينيها القائمين على هذا المنزل، وفي السنوات اللاحقة، وفيما هي تعمل لسداد "ثمنها" واسترجاع حريتها، تتعلم سايوري فنون الغايشا الصارمة، من موسيقى ورقص وتتدرب لتصبح "غايشا" حقيقية، ترتدي الكيمون، وتتجمل وتسرح شعرها وتتبرج بحسب التقاليد، وتصب شراب الساكي بأنوثة شديدة.

During her more than 30 years of performing in the United States, Lillie Langtry came into contact with numerous men and women who are now legends. She was the mistress of Edward Albert, Prince of Wales and future King of England, then turned her talents to acting, her ultimate triumph. At first people came to see her out of curiosity, but she quickly won them over with her beauty, charm and personality if not her acting talent.

Considering herself unsuitable for any other contribution to the war effort, Monica Dickens opts for nursing, imagining herself gliding through the wards, serene in a pure white halo cap. On enrolment, however, she is promptly stripped of all illusions. Intelligent and headstrong, Monica struggles to submit to the iron rule of the Matron and toils over the mountains of menial work that are a trainee's lot. But there are friends among the staff and patients, night-time escapades to dances with dashing army men and her secret writing project to keep her going.

"Lettres à un jeune poète" regroupe les correspondances qu'échangèrent Rainer Maria Rilke et son élève Kappu entre 1903 et 1908. Rilke a alors 27 ans, mais sa démarche est tellement détachée des velléités d'un "jeune poète", qu'on le croirait déjà revenu d'une longue habitude. Aux envies d'honneur, il répond par la nécessité de créer. Il préconise la solitude et l'introspection et pose au jeune Kappu cette question essentielle : "devriez-vous mourir s'il vous était interdit d'écrire ?"

Monk Ambrosius arrives at a rural monastery and the last thing he expects to happen is to be drawn into sympathy with a young girl. Her name is Benedicta, the local hangman’s daughter. Ambrosius is not allowed to spend time with Benedicta but he opposes his superiors and stands by her side until a young impetuous man confronts him. The battle between mind and heart is fierce. Find out what will prevail in Ambrose Bierce’s story "The Monk and the Hangman's Daughter".

Wide-ranging yet intimate, The Lives of Isaac Stern is a portrait of an artist and statesman who began as an American dreamer and left a lasting inheritance to his art, profession, and the world.