Biography & Memoir

This is published to coincide with Leonard Cohen's exclusive show at London's The O2 on Friday 21 June 2013. This book contains exclusive material and interviews making it the biography to buy on Leonard Cohen - singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist. The genius behind such classic songs as Suzanne, Bird on the Wire ... read more

The definitive biography of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's pro-democracy leader. Until she was released in November 2010, Aung San Suu Kyi had been under house arrest in Burma for fourteen of the previous twenty years. She was already confined to her home when the party she co-founded and led, the National League for Democracy, wo... read more

In 1985 Jeanette Winterson's first novel, "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit", was published. It was Jeanette's version of the story of a terraced house in Accrington, an adopted child, and the thwarted giantess Mrs Winterson. It was a cover story, a painful past written over and repainted. It was a story of survival. This book ... read more

Grace Coddington's extraordinary life revealed in her own words, drawings and photographs. Exquisite! Grace Coddington, the passionate and flame-haired doyenne of fashion. It is said that she has the knack of being in the right place at the right time; that she can predict a trend; turn a piece of clothing into a best-seller ... read more

In the tradition of The Bell Jar and Girl, Interrupted comes a stunning autobiographical account from a 29-year-old New Zealander. A creative, intelligent young woman with a loving family, in her first year of university MaryJane starts to experience nightmarish delusions and hallucinations. Her journey into madness has begun... read more

From one of America's greatest and most iconic writers: an honest and courageous portrait of age and motherhood. Several days before Christmas 2003, Joan Didion's only daughter, Quintana, fell seriously ill. In 2010, Didion marked the sixth anniversary of her daughter's death. 'Blue Nights' is a shatteringly honest examinati... read more

This short, unconventional book is probably the most moving that Julian Barnes has ever written.
'You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed...'
Julian Barnes' new book is about ballooning, photography, love and grief; about putting two things, and two people, tog... read more

The history of a family through 264 objects - set against a turbulent century - from an acclaimed writer and potter.
264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox: Potter Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in the Tokyo apartment of his great uncle Iggie. Later, when... read more

Helen Brown wasn't a cat person, but her nine-year-old son Sam was. So when Sam heard a woman telling his mum that her cat had just had kittens, he pleaded to go and see them. Helen's heart melted as Sam held one of the kittens in his hands, with a look of total adoration. In a trice the deal was done - the kitten would be de... read more

Before I Forget is the second volume of memoirs by well-known painter, feminist and writer Jacqueline Fahey. In her first volume, Something for the Birds (AUP, 2006), Fahey described her childhood in Timaru and bohemian life as an art student. 'With this richly detailed and warm-toned memoir, Fahey looks set to be Timaru's Tu... read more

In May 2012 Kirstie Clements was unceremoniously sacked after thirteen years in the editor's chair at Vogue Australia. Here she tells the story behind the headlines, and takes us behind the scenes of a fast-changing industry. During a career at Vogue that spanned twenty-five years, Clements rubbed shoulders with Karl Lagerfel... read more

In 1994, Anchee Min published Red Azalea, a memoir of growing up during the violent trauma of the Cultural Revolution. It became an international bestseller. Twenty years later, Anchee Min returns to give us the next chapter, as she moves from the shocking deprivations of her homeland to the sudden bounty of the promised land... read more

The genius behind such classic songs as "Suzanne", "Bird on the Wire" and "Hallelujah", Leonard Cohen has been one of the most important and influential songwriters of our time, a man of spirituality, emotion, and intelligence whose work has explored the definitive issues of human life - sex, religion, power, meaning, love. Y... read more

The inspiring story of a son and his dying mother, who form a 'book club' that brings them together as her life comes to a close. For fans of Tuesdays With Morrie and The Last Lecture.
Mary Anne Schwalbe is waiting for her chemotherapy treatments when Will casually asks her what she's reading. The conversation they have... read more

Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life tells the story of the life, loves and work of Leonard Cohen, the poet, songwriter and singer 'born with the gift of a golden voice.' As the man himself once dryly put it.Anthony Reynolds' fascinating and detailed biography draws on scores of new interviews conducted with Cohen's band members ... read more

A Rothschild by birth and a Baroness by marriage, beautiful, spirited Pannonica - known as Nica - seemed to have it all: children, a handsome husband and a trust fund. But in the early 1950s she heard a piece by the jazz legend Thelonious Monk. The music overtook her like a magic spell, and she abandoned her marriage to go an... read more

Although Paul Auster and J.M. Coetzee had been reading each other's books for years, the two writers did not meet until February 2008. Not long after, Auster received a letter from Coetzee, suggesting they begin exchanging letters on a regular basis and, "God willing, strike sparks off each other". "Here and Now" is the resul... read more

After 3 decades of groundbreaking music Bruce Springsteen still manages to amaze audiences around the world with his live shows and bring new fans to his music with every album release. Highly acclaimed music critic Peter Carlin tracks the Boss's dazzling ascent to fame, whilst painting a vivid portrait of the real Springstee... read more

A young girl who is abducted and abandoned in the Colombian jungle. She spends five years living with a family of monkeys before being found and sold in to slavery. 'It all happened so quickly. One minute I was squatting on the bare earth, preoccupied with popping pea pods, and the next I saw a flash of black hand and white... read more