{"title":"Biography \/ Autobiography","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780571214815","title":"1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare : Winner of the Baillie Gifford Winner of Winners Award 2023","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Shapiro, James \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eBiography: literary\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 6 April 2006 by Faber \u0026amp; Faber in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 464 pages\u003cbr\u003e199 x 124 x 31 | 376g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWinner of the Baillie Gifford Prize and the Baillie Gifford 'Winner of Winners' award in 2023How did Shakespeare go from being a talented poet and playwright to become one of the greatest writers who ever lived? In this one exhilarating year we follow what he reads and writes, what he saw and who he worked with as he invests in the new Globe theatre and creates four of his most famous plays - Henry V, Julius Caesar, As You Like It, and, most remarkably, Hamlet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book brings the news, intrigue and flavour of the times together with wonderful detail about how Shakespeare worked as an actor, businessman and playwright, to create an exceptionally immediate and gripping account of an inspiring moment in history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A brilliant study, which carefully unpacks a single year in Shakespeare's life ... The audacious focus on just one year pays off magnificently.' Sunday Times'A far richer, more intimate portrait of our greatest author than you're likely to find in any cradle-to-grave biography.' Daily Mail'Gripping and illuminating.' Telegraph'A fascinating and entirely believable portrait of a talented workaholic ... Shapiro's informed enthusiasm and energetic prose is addictive.' Guardian\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55490627469698,"sku":"9780571214815","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9780571214815.jpg?v=1753731054"},{"product_id":"9780571235797","title":"1606 : Shakespeare and the Year of Lear","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Shapiro, James \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eEngland\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 7 April 2016 by Faber \u0026amp; Faber in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 448 pages\u003cbr\u003e195 x 126 x 30 | 370g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear traces Shakespeare's life and times from the autumn of 1605, when he took an old and anonymous Elizabethan play, The Chronicle History of King Leir, and transformed it into his most searing tragedy, King Lear.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1606 proved to be an especially grim year for England, which witnessed the bloody aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot, divisions over the Union of England and Scotland, and an outbreak of plague.  But it turned out to be an exceptional one for Shakespeare, unrivalled at identifying the fault-lines of his cultural moment, who before the year was out went on to complete two other great Jacobean tragedies that spoke directly to these fraught times: Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing the biographical style of 1599, a way of thinking and writing that Shapiro has made his own, 1606: William Shakespeare and the Year of Lear promises to be one of the most significant and accessible works on Shakespeare in the decade to come\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55490627535234,"sku":"9780571235797","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9780571235797.jpg?v=1753731056"},{"product_id":"9780751503845","title":"84 Charing Cross Road","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Hanff, Helene \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAutobiography: literary\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 31 December 1992 by Little, Brown Book Group (Sphere) in the United Kingdom as part of 'the Virago Modern Classics' series.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 240 pages\u003cbr\u003e176 x 106 x 16 | 132g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book is the very simple story of the love affair between Miss Helene Hanff of New York and Messrs Marks and Co, sellers of rare and secondhand books, at 84 Charing Cross Road, London'. DAILY TELEGRAPHTold in a series of letters in 84 CHARING CROSS ROAD and then in diary form in the second part THE DUCHESS OF BLOOMSBURY STREET, this true story has touched the hearts of thousands.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55490627666306,"sku":"9780751503845","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9780751503845.jpg?v=1753731059"},{"product_id":"9781860498503","title":"84 Charing Cross Road","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Hanff, Helene, Stevenson, Juliet \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eBiography \u0026amp; True Stories\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 3 October 2002 by Little, Brown Book Group (Virago Press Ltd) in the United Kingdom as part of 'the Virago Modern Classics' series.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 240 pages\u003cbr\u003e196 x 127 x 15 | 192g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA TRUE STORY THAT HAS TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF THOUSANDS'Unmitigated delight from cover to cover' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A real-life love story . . . A timeless period piece. Do read it' WALL STREET JOURNAL 'Beguile an hour of your time and put you in tune with mankind' NEW YORK TIMES This charming classic, first published in 1970, brings together twenty years of correspondence between Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York City, and a used-book dealer in London. Through the years, though never meeting and separated both geographically and culturally, they share a winsome, sentimental friendship based on their common love for books. Their relationship, captured so acutely in these letters, is one that will grab your heart and not let go.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55490627699074,"sku":"9781860498503","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9781860498503.jpg?v=1753731061"},{"product_id":"9780861549764","title":"A Bright Cold Day : The Wonder of George Orwell","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Waddell, Nathan \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eBritish Isles\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 5 June 2025 by Oneworld Publications in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 304 pages\u003cbr\u003e232 x 156 x 30 | 458g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA pioneering biography of George Orwell told through moments of everyday life'A clever, offbeat history of mid-century Britain through George Orwell’s eyes.' 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Riveting and inspiring' Bill Browder, bestselling author of Freezing OrderWhen Paul Caruana Galizia was at work in London, his eldest brother called to say their mother Daphne had just been assassinated. That day, he returned to their native Malta and, with his two brothers and their father, began a quest to discover who was responsible for Daphne's murder and who stood to profit from ending the life of a journalist whose courage and determination threatened the powerful with the truth. Two years later, they did.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA Death in Malta is more than an investigation into the life and assassination of Daphne by her son Paul. It's an examination of the globalisation of corruption and what it has done to a modern European country; it's about that country's escape from colonialism to another kind of arrogant power; it's a personal history of writing when the stakes are high and the intimidation is violent. 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I cannot remember being so moved by a book' Dolly Alderton 'Fascinating, funny and heart wrenching' Dame Julie Walters'An emotional rollercoaster - profoundly moving and wonderfully entertaining. A brilliant memoir about living, loving and losing' Bernardine Evaristo Richard E. Grant emigrated from Swaziland to London in 1982, with dreams of making it as an actor, when he unexpectedly met and fell in love with renowned dialect coach Joan Washington. Their relationship and marriage, navigating the highs and lows of Hollywood, parenthood and loss, lasted almost forty years. When Joan died in 2021, her final challenge to him was to find ‘a pocketful of happiness in every day’.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e This honest and frequently hilarious memoir is written in honour of that challenge –  Richard has faithfully kept a diary since childhood, and in these entries he shares in raw detail everything he has experienced : both the pain of losing his beloved wife, and the excitement of their life together, from the role that transformed his life overnight in Withnail \u0026amp; I to his thrilling Oscar nomination thirty years later for Can You Ever Forgive Me?  Told with candour in Richard’s utterly unique style, A Pocketful of Happiness is a powerful, funny and moving celebration of life’s unexpected joys.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55490628387202,"sku":"9781398519503","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9781398519503.jpg?v=1753731075"},{"product_id":"9780241973745","title":"A Very English Scandal : Now a Major BBC Series Starring Hugh Grant","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Preston, John \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eUnited Kingdom, Great Britain\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 6 April 2017 by Penguin Books Ltd in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 368 pages\u003cbr\u003e129 x 196 x 22 | 266g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe bestselling book that inspired the Bafta-winning BBC dramaCorruption. 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A story of cack-handed assassins, buffoonish policemen, dodgy Home Secretaries' Daily Telegraph'I loved it; eccentric, dark, humane and English in the very best sense' Alain de Botton'Retold with masterful skill . . . It grips like a detective story' Daily Mail, Book of the WeekJOHN PRESTON'S NEXT BOOK, FALL: THE MYSTERY OF ROBERT MAXWELL, IS AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55490628485506,"sku":"9780241973745","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9780241973745.jpg?v=1753731080"},{"product_id":"9780715654545","title":"A Woman in Your Own Right : The Art of Assertive, Clear and Honest Communication","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Dickson, Anne \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eFeminism \u0026amp; feminist theory\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 3 March 2022 by Duckworth Books (Duckworth) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 288 pages\u003cbr\u003e129 x 340 x 28 | 290g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The classic assertiveness bible' GUARDIANDo you sometimes struggle to state what you want (or don't want)? Do tricky conversations go wrong? Does it at times seem easier to suffer in silence? This book has the solutions you need. Despite recent advances in gender equality in education, the workplace and the home, in practice many women and girls still find it a challenge to speak up and be heard. Assertiveness - defined by psychologist and assertiveness trainer Anne Dickson as clear, honest and direct communication - is an art, which can be learned. Instead of being governed by the desire to please - the Compassion Trap - assertiveness teaches us to take charge of our own feelings and behaviour, without blaming others. 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As a young journalist, he reported first from party conferences and picket lines and then from war zones, witnessing the events making international headlines, from Haiti to Hong Kong, before returning home to join the infighting on BBC Radio 4's Today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring this time, the Empire has given way to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, men-only clubs have been replaced by Me Too, and instead of a choice selection of voices on a handful of radio and television channels, we have millions of voices on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe world has changed, and so has Ed. Brought face to face with the author of his obituary and his own inevitable mortality, Ed is prompted to reflect on the life he has led and the events that have shaped him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Confessions, he describes this remarkable journey with candour, humour and the insight that only forty years' experience of writing and reporting can provide.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A searingly honest insight into the life of one of our great journalists. Hugely entertaining too.' John Humphrys\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55490631401858,"sku":"9781804991855","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9781804991855.jpg?v=1753731188"},{"product_id":"9780099578598","title":"Darling Monster : The Letters of Lady Diana Cooper to her Son John Julius Norwich 1939-1952","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Cooper, Diana, Norwich, John Julius \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eBiography \u0026amp; True Stories\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 6 November 2014 by Vintage Publishing (Vintage) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 544 pages\u003cbr\u003e198 x 140 x 34 | 380g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe glittering letters of British socialite Lady Diana Cooper to her son John Julius Norwich, from pre-World War Two London to post-Liberation Paris 'Please, darling monster, write as often as you can. It's so sad waiting for letters that don't come and are not even written. I love my darling boy. Don't treat me so badly again or I'll have your lights and liver when I get home.' 19 November 1939 'I wish, I wish it was all over - Hitler defeated, the lights up again and the guns still.' 2 October 1940Lady Diana Cooper was the Edwardian It Girl who inspired novelists from Evelyn Waugh to Nancy Mitford. Born Lady Diana Manners, she was an aristocrat, society darling and an actress. Married to political star Duff Cooper, they were the golden couple at the heart of 20th century British upper-class life. This extraordinary collection of letters written by Diana to her only son, John Julius Norwich, takes us from the rumblings of war, through the Blitz to rural Sussex to post-Liberation Paris.  Beyond all the glitz, Diana emerges in these letters as highly intelligent, funny and fiercely loyal: a woman who disliked extravagance and was often shy, who was happiest in the countryside and whose greatest love were her husband and son John, who would later become a leading historian and broadcaster. These illuminating letters document some of history's most dramatic events, but they provide a vivid and touching portrait of the love between a mother and son, separated by war, oceans - and the constraints of the time they lived in.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Diana Cooper is as vivid in literature and social legend as she was in life. Her letters are frank, witty and humorous' The Times\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55490631467394,"sku":"9780099578598","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9780099578598.jpg?v=1753731190"},{"product_id":"9781399601238","title":"Decca : The Letters of Jessica Mitford","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor:  Mitford, Jessica \u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eBiography: general\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 1 August 2024 by Orion Publishing Co (Weidenfeld \u0026amp; Nicolson) in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaperback | 1168 pages, 8 line drawings\u003cbr\u003e133 x 200 x 53 | 796g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe captivating letters by the most idiosyncratic, witty and irrepressible of the notorious Mitford sisters.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere's what readers are saying:'It is both laugh-out-loud funny and enthralling' ?????'A wonderful record of a remarkable woman' ?????'A total page turner ... kept me enthralled' ?????Decca's letters reveal a remarkable life - from her childhood as the daughter of a British peer to her scandalous elopement to the Spanish Civil War with her cousin, to her life in the USA, where she married a radical lawyer. The Mitford girls included Diana (who married the British fascist leader Oswald Mosley), Unity (who was close to Adolf Hitler) and Debo (who became the Duchess of Devonshire). Decca shocked them all when she joined the American Communist Party. Her letters are the stories of a century: gossip and politics, war and the poignancy of personal struggles. They are also a record of her never-ending quest for social justice. This is a fascinating collection that reveals to us intimately the most ebullient Mitford of them all.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Captures history's most charming muckraker, from her friendships with Katharine Graham and Maya Angelou to her devotion to civil rights' VOGUE'Jessica Mitford is a sister of mine. If I had to go into a room with a leopard, I wouldn't hesitate to ask for her' Maya Angelou\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cobham Bookshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55490631598466,"sku":"9781399601238","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0569\/4567\/2367\/files\/9781399601238.jpg?v=1753731193"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.cobhambooks.com\/collections\/biography-autobiography.oembed?page=24","provider":"Cobham Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}