Showing titles in Biographical Fiction

In 1997, Werner Herzog was in Tokyo to direct an opera. His hosts asked him, 'Whom would you like to meet?' He replied instantly: Hiroo Onoda. Onoda was a former solider famous for having quixotically defended an island in the Philippines for decades after World War II, unaware the fighting was over. Herzog and Onoda developed an instant rapport and would meet many times, talking for hours and together unravelling the story of Onoda's long war.

Adored only child of King Henry VIII and his first wife Katherine of Aragon, young Princess Mary grows up as the sole heiress to the English throne. But her father wants a son, and soon Mary's world begins to fall apart. With her parents' marriage - and England - in crisis, Mary is banished from the court and kept apart from the mother she adores. The King promises to restore his daughter to favour, but first Mary must do something for which she will never forgive herself. She seeks solace in her faith.

Drawing on James Baldwin's own boyhood in a religious community in 1930s Harlem, his first novel tells the story of young Johnny Grimes. Johnny is destined to become a preacher like his father, Gabriel, at the Temple of the Fire Baptized, where the church swells with song and it is as if 'the Holy Ghost were riding on the air'. But he feels only scalding hatred for Gabriel, whose fear and fanaticism lead him to abuse his family. Johnny vows that, for him, things will be different. This blazing tale is full of passion and guilt, of secret sinners and prayers singing on the wind.

Many know the story but not many have heard it told through the eyes of the protagonist—Joseph. In this version of the immensely popular and extremely motivational account of the life of Joseph, we get to experience events through his eyes and hear the gripping account relayed in his voice.

One mistake cost me everything, and I was ready to pay the price until one day, I was given an offer I couldn't refuse.

Based on real events, The Pressure Cooker Bomber is a chilling, fictionalized retelling of a true crime story that shook a nation. It delves into the psychological and social forces that drive extremism while providing an unflinching look at the aftermath—for victims, for families, and even for those who perpetrate such acts.

Irlanda 1973, un bambino viene trovato sulla spiaggia di un villaggio di pescatori. Il pescatore Ambros Bonnar si offre di accoglierlo nella propria famiglia, che comprende la moglie Christine, il figlio Declan, la sorella e l'anziano padre di Christine. Le fortune della famiglia vanno e vengono nel corso degli anni, mentre la vorace economia globale e la pesca commerciale modernizzata devastano il loro stile di vita.

Italy is exhausted. Tired of the political class. Tired of the inept moderates and the agonising machinations of a democracy that no longer seems to be working. While the leaders of the country have sat idly in the safety of parliament, achieving nothing, one man on the outside has risen to the top. Like an animal, he can smell that change is coming. He is Benito Mussolini.

Mrs. Post, the President and First Lady are here to see you. . . . So begins another average evening for Marjorie Merriweather Post. Presidents have come and gone, but she has hosted them all. Growing up in the modest farmlands of Battle Creek, Michigan, Marjorie was inspired by a few simple rules: always think for yourself, never take success for granted, and work hard—even when deemed American royalty, even while covered in imperial diamonds.

Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference. When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists.

Shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize. A Guardian Fiction Book of the year. Sometimes discovery brings destruction. "When We Cease to Understand the World" shows us great minds striking out into dangerous, uncharted terrain. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger: these are among the luminaries into whose troubled minds we are thrust as they grapple with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, they alienate friends and lovers, they descend into isolated states of madness.

This book is an inspiring tribute to the remarkable life of Sir Sidney Kidman - the Cattle King. At the age of 13 Sidney Kidman ran away from home with only five shillings in his pocket. He went on to become a horse dealer, drover, cattle buyer and bush jockey and he also ran a coach business.

Behind My Back, Beneath My Roof is a raw, unforgettable story of friendship, betrayal, and the devastating price of telling the truth. When a woman discovers a secret affair unfolding right under her nose—between her best friend and her husband—she’s forced to make a choice that will shatter lives and shake a community.

Sixteen-year-old Catherine Seymour has always idolized her elder sister Jane. As a child was groomed to be queen, to marry her cousin King Edward, and since his death she has been determined to restore her family's claim to throne. After spending time at Queen Mary's court, Jane has now returned home to Hanworth Park to the delight of Catherine and their brother Ned. To their surprise, Jane brings with her Lady Catherine Grey, sister of Jane Grey, the ill-fated nine-day queen, and heiress to the throne after Princess Elizabeth.

Brennen ist eine atemlose Reise, voller Exzesse, skurriler Begegnungen, über Grenzen, an den Rand von Abgründen – und immer wieder zurück zu den Sommern der Jugend in Tel Aviv, zu Tyler und einer Nacht, die alles veränderte. Zwölf Jahre, nachdem das Schicksal die beiden auseinandergerissen hat, drängt es den Erzähler, seinem Freund Tyler zu schreiben: von dem Leben, das inzwischen vergangen ist.

« Kells, c'est moi. Gamin enfui de Lyon à 17 ans pour ne pas être dévoré par son Minotaure de père, raciste et antisémite. Enfant fragile devenu chien des rues, luttant pour sa survie pendant un an, seul à Paris, sans toit, sans refuge, sans rien d'autre pour dormir que les bancs, les caves d'immeubles, les paillassons des derniers étages. Un paumé qui se faisait appeler Kells, en référence à un Évangéliaire irlandais du IX e siècle, une merveille celtique.

»Lilianas unvergänglicher Sommer« ist das intime und zugleich vielschichtige Porträt einer Schwester. Es ist die aufwühlende Suche nach den Spuren einer jungen Frau. Es ist der unbedingte Wunsch, nach dem und über das Grauen zu schreiben und die eigene Trauer zuzulassen. Es ist ein funkelndes literarisches Werk von weltweiter Strahlkraft.

In the frigid days of February 1870, Caroline Ingalls and her family leave the familiar comforts of the Big Woods of Wisconsin and the warm bosom of her family for a new life in Kansas Indian Territory. Packing what they can carry in their wagon, Caroline, her husband, Charles, and their little girls, Mary and Laura, head west to settle in a beautiful, unpredictable land full of promise and peril. The pioneer life is a hard one, especially for a pregnant woman with no friends or kin to turn to for comfort or help.

Thirteenth-century Bohemia is a dangerous place for a girl, especially one as odd as Mouse, born with unnatural senses and an uncanny intellect. Some call her a witch. Others call her an angel. Even Mouse doesn't know who - or what - she is. But she means to find out. When young King Ottakar shows up at the Abbey wounded by a traitor's arrow, Mouse breaks church law to save him and then agrees to accompany him back to Prague as his personal healer.

January 2003. The Berest family receive a mysterious, unsigned postcard. On one side was an image of the Opéra Garnier; on the other, the names of their relatives who were killed in Auschwitz: Ephraïm, Emma, Noémie and Jacques. Years later, Anne sought to find the truth behind this postcard. She journeys 100 years into the past, tracing the lives of her ancestors from their flight from Russia following the revolution, their journey to Latvia, Palestine, and Paris, the war and its aftermath.