Literary Biography

When Rebecca Barry and her husband moved to upstate New York to start their family, they wanted to be surrounded by natural beauty but close to a small urban center, doing work they loved, and plenty of time to spend with their kids. But living their dreams turned out not to be so simple.

In the opening of Holding Silvan: A Brief Life, Monica Wesolowska gives birth to her first child, a healthy-seeming boy who is taken from her arms for "observation" when he won't stop crying. Within days, Monica and her husband have been given the grimmest of prognoses for Silvan, and they must make a choice about his life. The story that follows is not a story of typical maternal heroism. There is no medical miracle here. Instead, we find the strangest of hopes.

D. H. Lawrence is no longer censored, but he is still on trial - and we are still unsure what the verdict should be, or even how to describe him. History has remembered him, and not always flatteringly, as a nostalgic modernist, a sexually liberator, a misogynist, a critic of genius and a sceptic who told us not to look in his novels for 'the old stable ego’, yet pioneered the genre we now celebrate as auto-fiction. But where is the real Lawrence in all of this, and how - 100 years after the publication of Women in Love - can we hear his voice above the noise?

"Who is Mr Ian Fleming, the creator of this—to put it mildly—rubbish?" The whole Bond phenomenon is attacked as pornography, capitalist filth and anti-socialist poison. Here, translated into English for the first time, you will also hear the long Russian critique of the Bond films by Maja Turovskaya published in 1966, and the extremely interesting account that appeared in Prague the following year of Sean Connery’s rise to fame. A bonus is the Bulgarian attempt to publish a novel in which Bond was killed.

In this deeply personal reflection, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri explores the art of the book jacket from the perspectives of both reader and writer. Probing the complex relationships between text and image, author and designer, and art and commerce, Lahiri delves into the role of the uniform; explains what book jackets and design have come to mean to her; and how, sometimes, "the covers become a part of me".

Meet our fearless adventurers Cassandra, Otto and Missy AKA the smartest raven in the universe as they set out on their next action-packed Ladybird Audio Adventure! On this adventure, we're entering the world of performance, where we'll learn about different literary legends throughout history! We'll meet William Shakespeare at work at the Globe Theatre, and go behind the scenes of the amazing musical, Hamilton. Let's take to the stage!

Twenty literary luminaries, ranging from Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare to Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain, are profiled in this entertaining and informative collection. Winner of A School Library Journal's Book of the Year Award, Lives of the Writers is both an indispensable reference tool and an exhilarating gossipfest. Author Kathleen Krull makes learning fun, painting realistic portraits of Hans Christian Andersen, Edgar Allan Poe, Frances Hodgson Burnett, the Brontë sisters, Emily Dickinson, E.B. White, Jack London, Murasaki Shikibu, Miguel de Cervantes, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jane Austen, and more. Krull serves up an outstanding introduction to the classics of literature for the whole family, while telling us all the real stories behind their writers.

Starting with Lucy Terry of the early 18th century and finishing with poet laureate Rita Dove, this inspiring anthology edited by Catherine Clinton captures the enormous talent and passion of black poets. Powerful and diverse, I, Too, Sing America is a forum for voices baring their souls, speaking their minds, tracing their roots, and proclaiming their dreams.

Harvard Square is at the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is the business district around Harvard University. It’s a place of history, culture, and some of the most momentous events of the nation. But it’s also a gathering place for some of the city’s homeless. What is life like for the homeless in Harvard Square? Do they have anything to tell people about life? And God? That’s what Harvard student John Frame discovered and shares in Homeless at Harvard.

This glorious biography of Maya Angelou’s life - from her traumatic childhood through her work as a freedom fighter and her triumphant rise as a poet - is a powerful tribute to a phenomenal woman.

Meet one of the most significant and notorious American writers of the 20th century. Ernest Hemingway is considered one of the greatest writers in modern history, and his novels and stories are read, studied, and imitated around the world. His concise prose style earned him both a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize. His name conjures up vivid images: grand adventurer, soldier, war correspondent, big-game hunter, bullfight aficionado, and writer.

In Russian literary marriages, the wives of some of the most famous authors of all time did not resent taking a "secondary position", although to call their position secondary does not do justice to the vital role these women played in the creation of some of the greatest literary works in history. Living under restrictive regimes, many of these women battled censorship and preserved the writers' illicit archives, often risking their own lives to do so. They established a tradition all their own, unmatched in the West.

The Story of Dr. Seuss explores the fascinating life behind one of our favorite authors through rhyme. We know and love his books, including The Cat in The Hat, The Grinch, and Green Eggs and Ham, and now we can get to really know the man himself. In this short and fun biography, you will learn about Ted’s early years, family life, path to success, building and flourishing in his writing career and beyond!

Fue un novelista, dramaturgo y poeta francés nacido en 1910, cuya obra expresa una profunda rebelión contra la sociedad y sus costumbres, hablando sin pudor de la criminalidad, los prejuicios, el homosexualismo, etcétera, por lo que su lectura fue muy resistida en muchos países, pero alabado en otros.

Imagine sitting with an esteemed writer on his or her front porch somewhere in the world and swapping life stories. Dr. Wayne Flynt got the opportunity to do just this with Nelle Harper Lee. In a friendship that blossomed over a dozen years starting when Lee relocated back to Alabama after having had a stroke, Flynt and his wife Dartie became regular visitors at the assisted living facility that was Lee's new home. And there the conversation began, with an invitation to "Come in, sit down, and stay a while."

Elle a été enlevée à sept ans dans son village du Darfour et a connu toutes les horreurs et les souffrances de l'esclavage. Rachetée à l'adolescence par le consul d'Italie, elle découvre un pays d'inégalités, de pauvreté et d'exclusion. Affranchie à la suite d'un procès retentissant à Venise, elle entre dans les ordres et traverse le tumulte des deux guerres mondiales et du fascisme en vouant sa vie aux enfants pauvres.

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!

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.

Hai cinque anni, due sorelle e desidereresti tanto un fratellino per fare con lui giochi da maschio. Una sera i tuoi genitori ti annunciano che lo avrai, questo fratello, e che sarà speciale. Tu sei felicissimo: speciale, per te, vuol dire "supereroe". Gli scegli pure il nome: Giovanni. Poi lui nasce, e a poco a poco capisci che sì, è diverso dagli altri, ma i superpoteri non li ha. Alla fine scopri la parola "Down", e il tuo entusiasmo si trasforma in rifiuto, addirittura in vergogna.

Anshel Brusilow started playing violin in 1933 at age five, in a Russian Jewish neighborhood of Philadelphia where practicing your instrument was as ordinary as hanging out the laundry. His playing wasn’t ordinary, though. At 16, he was soloing with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Brusilow turned in his violin bow for the baton and created his own Philadelphia Chamber Symphony. Next he took on the then-troubled Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Brusilow played with or conducted many top-tier classical musicians and has something to say about each one. He also made many recordings.