20th Century History

Following on from Osborne's first autobiographical book, "A Better Class of Person", this book looks at the period 1955 to 1966. It covers the foundation of the English Stage Company...

In this brilliant account of the literary war within the Cold War, novelists and poets become embroiled in a dangerous game of betrayal, espionage, and conspiracy at the heart of...

The second volume of the autobiography of Doris Lessing, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. 'Walking in the Shade' begins in 1949, as Doris Lessing arrives in London with...

Four writers. Four dictators. One world, changed out of all recognition. ENGINEERS OF HUMAN SOULS is an intimate and shocking shadow history of creative vanity in a time that turned...

HarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics. The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to...

'A smart and highly entertaining portrait of a literary powerhouse' - THE TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR 'A riveting portrait' - GUARDIAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR *** 'Worsley's sparkling biography...

Poets representing war's anguish, modernists transforming the novel, Beats capturing the rhythm of the times: the 20th century witnessed some of the most diverse and experimental writing since the birth...

Lawrence L. Langer, perhaps the most important literary critic of the Holocaust, here explores the use of Holocaust themes in literature, memoirs, film, and painting. Among the authors he examines...

A guide to English literature from 1900 to the present day. It combines a series of critical essays on understanding modern literature, drama, poetry and the contemporary historical background, with...

'Riveting, tragic tale' New Yorker 'Anna Pasternak has produced an irresistible account of joy, suffering and passion' Financial Times The heartbreaking story of the passionate love affair between Boris Pasternak...

Sean O' Casey's Irish plays, among them "Juno and the Paycock", arguably place him amongst the great playwrights of the 20th century. This book explores the myth of O'Casey's slum...

Acting the Right Part is a cultural history of huaju (modern Chinese drama) from 1966 to 1996. Xiaomei Chen situates her study both in the context of Chinese literary and...

The essential translation of the author's complete, uncensored diaries - revealing the idiosyncrasies and rough edges of one of the twentieth century's most influential writers Dating from 1909 to 1923,...

A collection of Bennett's diaries and essays, covering 2005 to 2015 Alan Bennett's third collection of prose, Keeping On Keeping On , follows in the footsteps of the phenomenally successful...

An extraordinary and hugely topical story of a Jewish man's passion for the Arab world. he Orientalist is the extraordinary story of a Jewish man's passion for the Arab world...

Anyone who cares to understand the cultural ferment of America in the later twentieth century must know of the writings and lives of those scruffy bohemians known as the Beats....

The definitive portrait of one of the twentieth century's most towering figures- her writing and her radical thought, her public activism and her private face. Susan Sontag was our last...

In this biography of W.B. Yeats (1865-1939) the author shows him through a life of tumultuous creativity through which he strove to bring new meaning to poetry, vision and politics....

This is a new edition of the first volume of the biography of the poet Robert Graves, giving an account of his early development. The author - the poet's nephew,...

Many years after the downfall of Oscar Wilde, Alfred Douglas, hoping to boost sales of his autobiography, asked Bernard Shaw to write the preface. An unlikely but enduring friendship developed...

This biography presents a richer and more comprehensive account of Thomas Hardy's life than has previously been available, as well as a more complex, balanced, and sympathetic view of Hardy...

With this second volume of autobiography Penelope Mortimer covers the three decades, from the acceptance of her first novel in 1945 ("intended as an immense historical saga about the collapse...

Lolita: on the cusp between fashion and cinema, childhood and adolescence, capriciousness and sensuality... The figure of the 'Lolita' embodies one of the most fascinating, but at the same time...

The fascinating and heartwarming true story of one of the world's most beloved authors. In this inspiring book, fans of the Harry Potter series get to see their favourite author...

An essential new translation of the author's complete, uncensored diaries - revealing the idiosyncrasies and rough edges of one of the twentieth century's most influential writers Dating from 1909 to...

An expansive collection of George Orwell's writing on the down and out The vivid, impassioned writings collected together in this powerful volume chronicle Orwell's first-hand experiences of life among the...

The 'invigorating', 'stupendous' and 'exhilarating' guide (Observer) to the beguiling form which has attracted many of our most beloved writers 'It is hard to know how it could possibly be...

The radical, relatable, and playful love story between two extraordinary twentieth-century writers, revealed in selected letters and diary entries. 'I am reduced to a thing that wants Virginia. I composed...

The Sunday Times no. 1 memoir now in paperback The Pigeon Tunnel, John le Carre's memoir and his first work of non-fiction, is a thrilling journey into the worlds of...

Elizabeth Smart's passionate fictional account of her intense love-affair with the poet George Barker, described by Angela Carter as 'Like Madame Bovary blasted by lightening ... A masterpiece'. One day,...

Over seventy years since his premature death, George Orwell (1903-50) has become one of the most significant figures in western literature. His two dystopian masterpieces, Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen...