Literary Biography

As a child, Clive Staples Lewis imagined many things...heroic animals and knights in armor and a faraway land called Boxen. He even thought of a new name for himself - at four years old, he decided he was more of a Jack. As he grew up, though, Jack found that the real world was not as just as the one in his imagination. No magic could heal the sick or stop a war, and a bully’s words could pierce as sharply as a sword. So Jack withdrew into books and eventually became a well-known author for adults.

Karl August Böttiger war Zeitgenosse der großen Dichter und Denker von Weimar – und hielt alles fest, was ihm in die Quere kam: Stimmen und Bilder, Klatsch und Tratsch. Heute würde man Böttiger Züge eines Paparazzos zuschreiben, wenn er etwa über Goethes Häuslichkeit schreibt: "Abends sitzt er in einer wohlgeheizten Stube, eine weiße Fuhrmannsmütze auf dem Kopf, ein Moltumjäckchen und lange Flauschpantalons an." Böttiger machte sich mit seinen Schriften in Weimar so unbeliebt, dass er 1804 die Stadt verlassen musste.

How to Be a Writer is peppered with nuggets of practical advice for every person who is aspiring to write and be published, all told in Ruskin Bond's characteristic understated, tongue-in-cheek, humorous style. So, what is it that a person requires the most to become a writer? A love of books, of language, of life, an observant eye and a good memory, along with enthusiasm, optimism, and persistence. This book is an exclusive glimpse into the writing credo of Ruskin Bond, an author who has had an incredibly successful writing career spanning over 70 years.

Bigger Thomas, the central figure in Richard Wright’s novel Native Son (1940), eludes easy categorization. A violent and troubled character who rejects the rules of society, Bigger is both victim and perpetrator, damaged by racism and segregation on the South Side of Chicago, seemingly raping and killing without regrets. His story has electrified readers for more than eight decades, and it continues to galvanize debates around representation, respectability, social justice, and racism in American life.

Best known for his best-selling novel, Babe, which was made into a major motion picture, Dick King-Smith draws on his over 14 years of experience on Woodlands Farm to create this thoughtful and humorous memoir. His time on the farm inspired countless stories as well as the numerous lovable characters found in them. In Chewing the Cud, he candidly talks about what moved him to become a children’s author.

This inspiring biography tells the story of New York City's first Puerto Rican librarian, a woman who championed bilingual literature. When she came to America in 1921, Pura Belpré carried the cuentos folklóricos of her Puerto Rican homeland. Finding a new home at the New York Public Library as a bilingual assistant, she turned her popular retellings into libros and spread story seeds across the land. Today, these seeds have grown into a lush landscape as generations of children and storytellers continue to share her tales and celebrate Pura’s legacy.

Un volume che raccoglie per la prima volta tutti gli scritti che, a partire dagli anni Trenta fino alla morte, Dino Buzzati ha dedicato al Natale. Si tratta di articoli giornalistici, racconti, poesie, fiabe disegnate, resoconti autobiografici che, pubblicati su quotidiani e periodici, sono rimasti da allora per lo più inediti.

Tourists have sought out the landmarks, streets, and alleys of Charles Dickens's London ever since the death of the world-renowned author. Late Victorians and Edwardians were obsessed with tracking down the locations—dubbed "Dickensland"—that famously featured in his novels. But his fans were faced with a city that was undergoing rapid redevelopment, where literary shrines were far from sacred. Over the following century, sites connected with Dickens were demolished, relocated, and reimagined.

Sarah Brenner was always one of a kind, even with four sisters who dressed just like her. Growing up in an immigrant family on New York City’s impoverished Lower East Side, Sarah’s life was full of things that weren’t fair. It wasn’t fair that her parents had to leave Europe because of their religion. It wasn’t fair they worked hard all day and the family barely had enough to eat. It wasn’t fair how girls were treated in her school. When she grew up, Sarah gave herself a modern name, Sydney, just right for a woman who was going to forge her own path and continue to fight for a fairer world.

حكاياتٌ عن أعظم شعراء العربية، وقصص يسردها الأديب الكبير طه حسين كأنه يجلس أمامك. مناقشة الجانب الفني لشعراء الجاهلية، مع شرح وتحليل قصائدهم. ويختتم كتابه بمراسلات جرت بينه وبين عدد من أدباء عصره حول قضايا أدبية ونقدية كثيرة. فاستمع الآن

Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' was published when she was 20 years old, but it is more than just a precocious book of early science fiction. In Episode 3 of The Book Club, Amit Varma explains how Shelley fearlessly tackled big themes, and delved as deep into human nature as the best literature of the time. Her book gave birth to many tropes that still exist – and showed an ambition that has since characterised the best writing in a genre she helped create.

'இலக்கிய முன்னோடிகள்' என்ற இந்நூல் 31 இலக்கியவாதிகளைப் பற்றிய தனித்தனிக் கட்டுரைகளின் தொகுப்பு. கு.அழகிரிசாமி எழுதிய 'நான் கண்ட எழுத்தாளர்கள், அறிஞர் வ.ரா. எழுதிய 'தமிழ்ப் பெரியார்கள்', வையாபுரிப்பிள்ளை எழுதிய'தமிழ்ச் சுடர்மணிகள்'என்று இதே பாணியில் அமைந்த சில நூல்கள் முன்னரே தமிழில் உண்டு.

A mother cat and her kittens, shot with a pellet gun. A poacher illegally stalking a bear. Peg Kehret tells these true stories and more as she invites readers into her life on a small wildlife sanctuary. Vividly showing the joys of animal rescue while providing facts about the animals and birds she encounters, Kehret also shares the tragedy of her husband's sudden death, and the pain of losing Pete, the shelter cat who co-authored three of her books.

Do you feel stuck in life? Your current challenges may be the result of trauma left over from a past incarnation. This book is far more than the story of the author's past lives: It is an instruction manual to conducting your own past life explorations and finally get unstuck from the karma carried over from prior incarnations. Even if you are just curious about reincarnation, grab your copy today and let the exploration of yourself (selves) begin!

Tomie keeps hearing the phrase, "For the duration." Gas is being rationed "for the duration." The Fourth of July fireworks will be the last show "for the duration." So many things will be different as long as the war goes on, but much of Tomie's life goes on as usual. He's excited about starring in a dance recital, taking the bus around town all by himself, and having his first Communion. But Tomie is also still getting over his cousin's death in the war, and he has to say good-bye to his uncle as he ships off to basic training.

Jack the Ripper was probably the first serial killer to appear in a large metropolis at a time when the general populace was literate and the press was a force for social change. The press was also partly responsible for creating many myths surrounding the Ripper. Robin Odell's Ripperology is the first study to present a sequential history of literary investigations of Jack the Ripper's crimes and to address the seven principal phases of Ripper speculations....

Daniel and Alexander Macmillan arrived in London in the 1830s at a crucial moment of social change. These two idealistic brothers, working-class sons of a Scottish crofter, set up a publishing house that spread radical ideas on equality, science and education across the world. They also brought authors like Lewis Carroll, Thomas Hardy and Charles Kingsley, and poets like Matthew Arnold and Christina Rossetti, to a mass audience. No longer would books be just for the upper classes. In Literature for the People Sarah Harkness brings to life these two amusing, warm-hearted men.

As soon as artist Robert McCloskey saw the ducks in Boston Public Garden, he knew he had to write about them. But how? Studying stuffed birds didn’t help. Would inviting some into his apartment work? What? Was he quack-ers? For months ducklings slept on his sofa and swam in his bathtub, making incredible messes. Quack! Quack! His roommate was not amused and his neighbors complained, but Robert did not give up. As the ducklings grew, he got down on his hands and knees and followed them with pad and pencil.

Not heard of Paul Sykes? Mentioned in the book Legends by Charles Bronson, an A to Z guide of the men Bronson had regarded to be the toughest in Britain. Referring to "Sykesy", Bronson describes him as "a Legend, Born and Bred" and writing: "I first met Sykes in Liverpool in the early 70s and at that time he was probably the fittest Con in Britain. A notorious hard man from Yorkshire, a fighting man in every sense. A lot of people never liked him, perhaps they even feared him but I respected the man for what he stood for."

To understand England's greatest cricket player is to know what it takes to succeed. Alastair Cook is the greatest batsman to ever play for England, and as one of the most gifted players in the world, he knows that his triumphs are as important as the challenges and moments of resilience. Now, as he English cricket team reel from his dramatic retirement, Alastair tells his story: a close-up account of his last chapter, his 33rd and last Test hundred, an intimate tale of his life, his family, of the man he is today and the man he will be - after cricket.