Selina Hastings è una scrittrice il cui lavoro approfondisce le vite e i mondi letterari di figure notevoli. Il suo approccio alla scrittura è caratterizzato da una ricerca approfondita e da un occhio attento ai dettagli. Hastings arricchisce il panorama letterario con i suoi acuti esami di personalità storiche e del loro impatto. La sua capacità di dare vita a vite passate attraverso una narrazione avvincente l'ha affermata come un'abile biografa.
A tale of how one young man matures through the sometimes violent blessing of social change and finds himself - and a sense of purpose - through the loss of innocence and naivete, the Seattle of his youth, and his father.
Born in Germany to aristocratic parents, Sybille Bedford's (1911-2006) life contained all the grand feeling and seismic event of the twentieth century: war and peace, love and trauma, friendship and death, as well as the need to write and rescue something from this wreckage. Openly gay, Bedford once said 'I wish I'd written more books and spent less time being in love. It's very difficult doing both at the same time.' In her forties she published her breakthrough novel, A Legacy, continuing to publish until her early nineties, writing some of the outstanding and most original novels, memoirs and travel books of the century. Bedford's father died when she was just fourteen and her mother, a great socialite and litterateur, fell victim to a debilitating morphine addiction. Striking out on her own, Bedford fell under the spell of Aldous Huxley, who was to become her friend and mentor. Staying with Aldous and his wife Maria in their sunlit villa in the south of France between the wars were some of the happiest and most enlivening years of Bedford's life - even as she failed and failed again at finding her own voice on the page. And yet it was these years that would provide the material for Jigsaw: An Unsentimental Education, widely considered to be her masterwork and which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1989. A bon viveur, lover of French wine and cuisine, and admired by her peers ('One of the most dazzling practitioners of English prose' Bruce Chatwin once commented) she roamed from country to country - Germany, France, England, Italy and the United States - in search of fresh experience, with ear and eye attuned to her surroundings, typewriter at the ready. Full of intense friendships (Martha Gellhorn and Elizabeth Jane Howard among them), a fierce commitment to the craft of writing, as well as an insatiable appetite for love and sex, Sybille Bedford blazed her own path in her life and her art.
The first full and intimate biography of writer and bon viveur Sybille Bedford 'A fantastic read' India Knight, Sunday Times 'A wonderful biography' Sara Wheeler, Spectator Born in Germany to aristocratic parents, Sybille Bedford's (1911-2006) life contained all the grand feeling and seismic event of the twentieth century: war and peace, love and trauma, friendship and death, as well as the need to write and rescue something from this wreckage. Openly gay, Bedford once said 'I wish I'd written more books and spent less time being in love. It's very difficult doing both at the same time.' In her forties she published her breakthrough novel, A Legacy , continuing to publish until her early nineties, writing some of the outstanding and most original novels, memoirs and travel books of the century. Bedford's father died when she was just fourteen and her mother, a great socialite and litterateur , fell victim to a debilitating morphine addiction. Striking out on her own, Bedford fell under the spell of Aldous Huxley, who was to become her friend and mentor. Staying with Aldous and his wife Maria in their sunlit villa in the south of France between the wars were some of the happiest and most enlivening years of Bedford's life - even as she failed and failed again at finding her own voice on the page. And yet it was these years that would provide the material for Jigsaw: An Unsentimental Education , widely considered to be her masterwork and which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1989. A bon viveur , lover of French wine and cuisine, and admired by her peers ('One of the most dazzling practitioners of English prose' Bruce Chatwin once commented) she roamed from country to country - Germany, France, England, Italy and the United States - in search of fresh experience, with ear and eye attuned to her surroundings, typewriter at the ready. Full of intense friendships (Martha Gellhorn and Elizabeth Jane Howard among them), a fierce commitment to the craft of writing, as well as an insatiable appetite for love and sex, Sybille Bedford blazed her own path in her life and her art
A beautifully illustrated edition of the Bible, created especially for children. From the peak of Mount Sinai to the shores of the Sea of Galilee - Old and New Testament stories are brought to life with photographs and maps to put the stories in context. Perfect for sharing with your child or grandchild or for them to read and discover the Bible on their own.
Nancy Mitford was witty, intelligent, often acerbic, a great tease and an acute observer of upper-class English idiosyncrasies. Selina Hastings has written a biography that is superbly entertaining and clear-eyed, of a life that Diana Mosley spoke of as being 'so sad one can hardly bear to contemplate it'.
The definitive biography of one of the twentieth century's greatest writers
Don't Tell Alfred is the wickedly funny sequel to Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. 'I believe it would have been normal for me to have paid a visit to the outgoing ambassadress. However the said ambassadress had set up such an uninhibited wail when she knew she was to leave, proclaiming her misery to all and sundry and refusing so furiously to look on the bright side, that it was felt she might not be very nice to me.' Fanny is married to absent-minded Oxford don Alfred and content with her role as a plain, tweedy housewife. But overnight her life changes when Alfred is appointed English Ambassador to Paris. In the blink of an eye, Fanny's mixing with royalty, Rothschilds and Dior-clad wives, throwing cocktail parties and having every indiscreet remark printed in tomorrow's papers. But with the love lives of her new friends to organize, an aristocratic squatter who won't budge and the antics of her maverick sons to thwart, Fanny's far too busy to worry about the diplomatic crisis looming on the horizon. . . Don't Tell Alfred continues the histories of the characters Nancy Mitford introduced in The Pursuit of Love. 'A comic genius' Independent on Sunday 'Deliciously funny' Evelyn Waugh
From Mount Sinai to the shores of the Sea of Galilee, this title brings the Old and New Testament stories to life. It is retold for children.
After a horrible hag saves King Arthur's life by answering a riddle, Sir Gawain agrees to marry her and thus releases her from an evil enchantment.
A beautifully illustrated children's Bible for families to enjoy together. This collection of influential and inspiring stories from the Old and New Testaments help children to learn and interpret the messages and meanings of the Bible. Major events, including the creation, the nativity, and the resurrection, are covered in depth and detail. The classic stories are retold in simple, accessible language for children, while beautiful illustrations bring the words to life. The book also introduces younger readers to sacred sites of religious significance, from the peak of Mount Sinai to the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Colourful photographs and illustrations of key people and places, together with geographical maps of locations in the Bible, provide fresh insight and aid understanding. Important quotations from the King James Bible are included with useful references to chapter and verse. This family favourite is a perfect gift for children and a continuing source of learning to return to time and time again.