£5.00
The children’s novel “Black Beauty” was written by Anna Sewell in her fifties and she sold it outright for GBP20. She did not live to know of its success. This work chronicles her extraordinary life from the tragic accident that left her lame at the age of 14 to the writing of her novel from her death bed.
4 in stock
| Weight | 0.303 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 198 × 125 × 22 mm |
| ISBN | 9780752442822 |
| Cover | Paperback |
| Publication Year | 2007 |
| Publisher | Tempus |
This historic edition is an invaluable memoir to those who wish to study this most English of poets and to give him his rightful place in his literary heritage. Much of the work was prepared by Hardy himself and reconstructed from his notes and letters.
Winston Churchill’s political career spanned over 50 years, during which time he was alternately at the centre of power and out of favour. He is most remembered for his inspirational leadership in the second world war and his rousing speeches urging Britain to fight on. This book reveals the influences that shaped his life and career and looks at his strengths and weaknesses.
Quotation panels, featuring many of Churchill’s well-known sayings and comments, and the opinions of his well-known contemporaries, such as Stalin, are scattered liberally throughout. The final chapter examines his legacy and attempts to answer the question: how justifiable is his reputation in view of his achievements?
Across almost 50 years, Winston Churchill produced more than 500 paintings. His subjects included his family homes at Blenheim and Chartwell, evocative coastal scenes on the French Riviera, and many sun-drenched depictions of Marrakesh in Morocco, as well as still life pictures and an extraordinarily revealing self-portrait, painted during a particularly troubled time in his life. In war and peace, Churchill came to enjoy painting as his primary means of relaxation from the strain of public affairs.
In his introduction to Churchill: The Statesman as Artist, David Cannadine provides the most important account yet of Churchill’s life in art, which was not just a private hobby, but also, from 1945 onwards, an essential element of his public fame. The first part of this book brings together for the first time all of Churchill’s writings and speeches on art, not only ‘Painting as a Pastime’, but his addresses to the Royal Academy, his reviews of two of the Academy’s summer exhibitions, and an important speech he delivered about art and freedom in 1937.
The second part of the book provides previously uncollected critical accounts of his work by some of Churchill’s contemporaries: Augustus John’s hitherto unpublished introduction to the Royal Academy exhibition of Churchill’s paintings in 1959, and essays and reviews by Churchill’s acquaintances Sir John Rothenstein, Professor Thomas Bodkin and the art critic Eric Newton. The book is lavishly illustrated with reproductions of many of Churchill’s paintings, some of them appearing for the first time. Here is Churchill the artist more fully revealed than ever before.
David Lean’s films were nominated for an astonishing 57 Academy Awards, of which 27 won Oscars. He made unique movies on a grand scale, with huge stories on vast canvases. He was aided by hundreds of technicians, thousands of extras and the most talented actors in the world. Yet he singularly controlled this vast army giving pleasure and inspiration to millions.
His films reflected his own life – the single brooding perfectionist force to a great endeavour – whether they be Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago or Brief Encounter. Collated by his widow, Lady Sandra Lean, this is a highly personal account in text and images by the people that came into contact with David through his work and his private life.
Thousands of words have been written about David Lean the film director and the work he created. Yet until now, very little has been said about the man who sacrificed his private life for his art. Six marriages are proof of a man whose preferred family was the film crew and whose personal life was always subservient to making films. Yet, without a strong understanding of human emotion, how could a man make so many productions that touched the hearts of millions?
In this fascinating book, the answers are presented in both text and pictures. David always said that a good book should contain “Really good pictures…That’s all. Just bloody good pictures.” Illustrated throughout with over 300 well-known and previously unpublished photographs, which are complemented by David’s inspiration: letters, quotations, memorabilia or an anecdote relating to his travels or his films David Lean – An Intimate Portrait is a unique study, containing a wealth of fascinating photography, of a man who continues to entertain millions.
Sir Robert Vere (‘Robin’) Darwin, great-grandson of Charles Darwin, was a British artist of note and the highly influential Rector of the Royal College of Art from 1948 until 1971. His story, beginning in 1910, takes in life as an art student and then a teacher, his wartime involvement in camouflage, British postwar reconstruction and the Festival of Britain 1951. His influence in shaping British arts education for the future is uncontested (the list of RCA graduates from 1950-1980 is particularly impressive, including not only fine artists (David Hockney, Peter Blake) but also leaders in industrial design such as James Dyson.
The current status of the Royal College of Art is largely the result of one man, a formidable force with the drive, vision and ability to inspire huge loyalty and first-class creative thinking in others. The list of RCA professors, tutors and visiting lecturers recruited by Darwin reads like a rollcall of the best in post-war British design and art, and their influence continues to inspire students to this day.
“A wonderful, fascinating account of two stars of the post-war literary generation, and their mutual influence.” –Good Book Guide
Kingsley Amis and Philip Larkin were close from the moment they met as undergraduates at Oxford. They were, however, very different personalities. Kingsley was charming, sociable, and completely amoral whilst Larkin was awkward and insecure. Their relationship with one another is fascinating in part because it provided the inspiration behind their work. In fact, parts of Lucky Jim were based on Larkin’s life, a fact the poet begrudged for the rest of his life. An extraordinary study of one of the most controversial literary friendships of the twentieth century.
