Louisa May Alcott is best known as the author of Little Women. But she was also a noted essayist who wrote on a wide range of subjects, including her father’s failed utopian commune, life as a Civil War nurse and her experience as a young woman sent to work in service to alleviate her family’s poverty. Blending gentle satire with reportage and emotive biography, these essays show Alcott to be one of the sharpest wits in American literature.
First published in 1964, Modern Buildings in London is a celebration of the city’s post-war architecture by the famously untrained critic Ian Nairn. Written ‘by a layman for laymen’, Nairn’s take on 260 buildings that were instantly recognisable as ‘modern’ includes descriptions of classic designs such as the Barbican, the former BBC Television Centre, as well as schools, ambulance stations, car parks and even care homes.
Todd McEwen grew up in Southern California. As the son of relatively normal people, he had no in with Hollywood, a mere thirteen miles away, try as he might. This is a kid who loved the movies so much, he got up at 4.30 in the morning to watch Laurel and Hardy. A kid who made his father project 8mm cartoons onto the family’s dining room curtains so they could be slowly parted, just like at a real cinema. A guy who based his philosophy of life on Captain Nemo, and has watched Chinatown over sixty times. So far.
In this series of brilliant autobiographical essays, A. J. Lees takes us on a grand tour of his neurological career, giving the reader insight into the art of listening, observation and imagination that the best neurologists still rely on to heal minds and fix brains.
For centuries cats have been venerated and mistrusted in equal measure. Through memoir, fiction, letters and poems, the writers in these pages celebrate cats and their curious ways. Introduced by Margaret Atwood, this beautiful gift book contains writing by Alice Walker, Edward Gorey, Mary Gaitskill, Caitlin Moran, Ernest Hemingway, Nikola Tesla, John Keats, Muriel Spark, Lynne Truss, Hilaire Belloc, Guy du Maupassant, Rebecca West and more. Plus: photography from Elliot Ross.
A collection of twelve provocative essays by the philosopher and political thinker Roger Scruton. Each ‘confession’ reveals an aspect of the author’s thinking that his critics would probably have advised him to keep to himself. This diverse collection includes essays on art, music, architecture, government, social media, and culture.
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.
The writers and poets collected within this delectable anthology reflect on the joys and pitfalls of dog ownership with wit and affection. From Roald Amundsen’s account of using sled dogs in his expedition to the South Pole to J.R. Ackerley’s tender portrayal of his ill-behaved dog Tulip, On Dogs traces the canine’s journey from working animal to pampered pet. With a humorous introduction by Tracey Ullman (an inveterate adopter of strays), and 6 arresting dog portraits by international photographer Rhian ap Gruffydd. The perfect gift for dog-lovers.
