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Books for The Budding Writer
The Wrong Turning: Encounters with Ghosts by Stephen Johnson
The Wrong Turning: Encounters with Ghosts
Stephen Johnson
A curated selection of chilling ghost stories from world literature, introduced and edited by broadcaster Stephen Johnson. What these tales of the supernatural have in common is the theme of taking a 'wrong turning' in which the protagonists are made to face their darkest fears. In the spirit of a fireside storyteller, each tale has an afterword by Stephen Johnson, to suggest what the story might really be telling us.
Happy Half-Hours. Selected Writings of A. A. Milne by A. A. Milne, Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Happy Half-Hours. Selected Writings of A. A. Milne
A. A. Milne Frank Cottrell-Boyce
A delightful selection of writing from non-fiction books and articles by the ever-popular A.A. Milne, many of which haven't been in print for decades. Introduced by the prize-winning children's author Frank Cottrell Boyce, this volume is an ideal gift book, bringing AA Milne's brilliant non-fiction back to the spotlight.
Happy Half-Hours – Signed Copy by A. A. Milne, Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Happy Half-Hours – Signed Copy
Each beautiful book in this collection expresses a wistful affection for a period in the past.
Found and Lost: Mittens, Miep, and Shovelfuls of Dirt by Alison Leslie Gold
Found and Lost: Mittens, Miep, and Shovelfuls of Dirt
Alison Leslie Gold
Starting with supervision of her primary school's 'Lost and Found' depot, Gold charts her need to save objects, stories, and people – including herself – that she sensed to be on a road to perdition. In this compelling memoir, Gold relates her descent into addiction, and the fateful meeting that ultimately led to her salvation.
Alchemy: Writers on Truth, Lies and Fiction by Iain Sinclair
Alchemy: Writers on Truth, Lies and Fiction
Iain Sinclair
We live in a world of docu-drama, in which the 'real life' story is held in higher regard than fiction. Where does that leave the imagination? Five writers grapple with reality and fiction, and the alchemical process of turning life into art.
Grumbling at Large: Selected Essays of J. B. Priestley by J. B. Priestley, Valerie Grove
Grumbling at Large: Selected Essays of J. B. Priestley
J. B. Priestley Valerie Grove
A delightful selection of Priestley's essays, drawing on five decades of his writing. Priestley defined the essay as a 'prose masterpiece in miniature' and understood that to perfect the form, the essayist had to stand 'naked and shivering' in the very first sentence.
Portrait Inside My Head by Phillip Lopate
Portrait Inside My Head
Phillip Lopate
In this revealing collection of personal essays, renowned essayist, Phillip Lopate, shares his unique view on the big subjects of parenthood, marriage, sex, friendship, and 'the nail parings of daily life'. At turns funny, tender, and searingly honest, he searches with a cool eye for that elusive truth about himself and the world.
Essays on the Self by Virginia Woolf, Joanna Kavenna
Essays on the Self
Virginia Woolf Joanna Kavenna
The essays in this collection are, of course, not merely concerned with the self. Woolf does also discuss the rights of women, the revolutions of modernity, the past, present and future of the novel. She is eloquent on social inequality and the agony of war.
Things I Don't Want To Know by Deborah Levy
Things I Don't Want To Know
Deborah Levy
Things I Don't Want to Know is a unique response to George Orwell from one of our most vital contemporary writers. Taking Orwell's famous list of motives for writing as the jumping-off point for a sequence of thrilling reflections on the writing life, this is a perfect companion not just to Orwell's essay, but also to Levy's own, essential oeuvre.
On Dolls by Kenneth Gross
On Dolls
Kenneth Gross
The essays and reflections in this collection explore the seriousness of play and the mysteries of inanimate life.