This is the third in
Mantel’s Wolf Hall series chronicling the life of Thomas Cromwell during the
reign of Henry VIII. I had read each of the first two books when they came out,
but for some reason, I kept putting this one off. In the end, my curiosity on
how Mantel would end Cromwell’s story pushed me to read it.
Her rich
characterizations, stunning descriptions that bring the age to life, and the sheer
breadth and depth of the story make for compelling reading. The careful
explication of Cromwell’s sudden fall and the far-reaching consequences for
both his allies and enemies is a tour de force of historical fiction.
The Sunday Times bestselling sequel to Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, the stunning conclusion to Hilary Mantel's Man Booker Prize-winning Wolf Hall trilogy.
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020
Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2020
'Mantel has taken us to the dark heart of history...and what a show' The Times
'If you cannot speak truth at a beheading, when can you speak it?'
England, May 1536. Anne Boleyn is dead, decapitated in the space of a heartbeat by a hired French executioner. As her remains are bundled into oblivion, Thomas Cromwell breakfasts with the victors. The…
For
all of Christie’s clever plotting, her own life is the biggest mystery.
I
started reading her around the age of ten and now that I write mysteries
myself, I reread her books just to see how she structures plot, plants clues,
and misleads the reader. But I have always been fascinated by her life as well.
Laura Thompson’s books weaves together Christie’s life with her fiction for a
rich explanation of not only why Christie became a writer, but how her
experiences informed her themes, why she created romances under the name Mary
Westmacott, and of course tries to unravel the mystery of the eleven missing
days in 1926 when she disappeared and was feared dead.
If you are a Christie
fan, this book is essential to understanding the woman behind the writer and
finding more depth in Christie’s own works through Thompson’s analysis.
The author of the Somerset Maugham award-winning The Dogs: A Personal History of Greyhound Racing, and the brilliant biography Life In A Cold Climate: Nancy Mitford, Laura Thompson turns her highly acclaimed biographical skills to arguably the greatest crime writer in the world, Agatha Christie.
'Laura Thompson's outstanding biography . . . is a pretty much perfect capturing of a life' Kate Mosse, Book of the Year 2007
It has been 100 years since Agatha Christie wrote her first novel and created the formidable Hercule Poirot. In this biography, Laura Thompson describes the Edwardian world in which she grew up,…
I was having breakfast with a
writer friend when she mentioned that she was listening to Sam Wasson’s book.
I’d never heard of it, but after seeing The Offer last year on Paramount+, I
had become fascinated with Paramount head and producer Robert Evans.
He is one
of the three men who are the focus of this book. The others are Jack Nicolson
and Roman Polanski. Wasson brilliantly weaves together their stories of love, loss, ambition, and the wielding
of power, of friendships made and betrayed, dreams realized or dashed.
The sweep is breathtaking. Many
previously unknown facts (at least to me) are revealed, and the crumbling
edifice of studio glamor is exposed. For
anyone who loves movies, this book is an enthralling ride on the rollercoaster of
reaching for the gold ring.
Chinatown is the Holy Grail of 1970s cinema. Its ending is the most notorious in American film and its closing line of dialogue the most haunting. Here for the first time is the incredible true story of its making. In Sam Wasson's telling, it becomes the defining story of its most colorful characters. Here is Jack Nicholson at the height of his powers, embarking on his great, doomed love affair with Anjelica Huston. Here is director Roman Polanski, both predator and prey, haunted by the savage murder of his wife, returning to…
Twenty years ago, Cress Taylor and Max Grant were strangers in Oxford, England, but when their paths crossed, a spark was lit. Now, in the hustle of bustling Chicago, Cress is a successful novelist receiving mysterious threats, and Max is a former spy working for a global security company.
When Max sees Cress in a TV interview, it ignites his curiosity. They soon find themselves tangled in an intense game of cat and mouse. As Max swoops in to protect Cress from anonymous threats, they must decide if they're willing to take a chance on love. As threats escalate and Max's big Scottish family arrives in Chicago for Christmas, Cress and Max must learn to trust each other and overcome their fears to have a Happy New Year.
