For curious children and adults alike.

‘Reading this little book feels like opening a window to let in air and light. It’s filled with curious information and powerful feelings, and is humorous, sad, meditative and rapturous by turns.’  Guardian

‘A  strange, beguiling, beautiful book. No one else could have written it, or anything even a little like it. If Lemony Snicket didn’t exist, we’d have to invent him.’ Anthony McGowan, author of  Lark

For more than twenty years, Lemony Snicket has led millions of young readers through a mysterious world of bewildering questions and unfortunate events. With this latest book – a love letter to readers young and old about the vagaries of real life – long-time fans and new readers alike will experience Snicket’s distinctive voice in a new way.

This true story – as true as Lemony Snicket himself – begins with a puzzling note under his door: You had poison for breakfast. Following a winding trail of clues to solve the mystery of his own demise, Snicket takes us on a thought-provoking tour of his predilections…

‘Riveting, and immaculately written’ Sunday Telegraph
‘A superb psychological study of a literary genius’ Business Post
‘A rounded picture… and gets to Dahl’s flawed, human core’ Country Life
‘Crisply done and well-judged’ TLS

Roald Dahl was one of the world’s greatest storytellers. He conceived his vocation as one as intrepid as that of any explorer and, in his writing for children, he was able to tap into a child’s viewpoint throughout his life. He crafted tales that were exotic in scenario, frequently invested with a moral, and filled with vibrant characters that endure in public imagination to the present day.

In this brand-new biogrpahy, Matthew Dennison re-evaluates the received narrative surrounding Dahl – that of school sporting hero, daredevil pilot, and wartime spy-turned-author – and examines surviving primary resources as well as Dahl’s extensive literary output to tell the story of a man who identified as a rule-breaker, an iconoclast and a romantic, both insider and outsider, hero and child’s friend.

This illustrated biography of the beloved writer has been a strong seller and critical success. It is now available in a smaller, more affordable format. Interest in Beatrix Potter and her characters is undimmed, with the second Peter Rabbit film being released in summer 2021 and an exhibition at the V&A from February 2022, ‘Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature’.  

Few people realise how extraordinary Beatrix Potter’s own story is.  She was a woman of contradictions. A sheltered Victorian daughter who grew into an astute modern businesswoman. A talented artist who became a scientific expert. A famous author who gave it all up to become a farmer, then a pioneering conservationist.  

Bestselling biographer Sarah Gristwood follows the twists and turns of Beatrix Potter’s life and its key turning points – including her tragically brief first engagement and happy second marriage late in life. She traces the creation of Beatrix’s most famous characters – including the naughty Peter Rabbit, confused Jemima Puddleduck and cheeky Squirrel Nutkin – revealing how she drew on her unusual childhood pets and locations in her beloved Lake District.  

A fitting legacy for a pioneering conservationist who helped save thousands of acres of the Lake District.’ – The Mail on Sunday

‘Excellent, anecdotal text?’ – The Times Literary Supplement

‘Beautifully illustrated.’ – The Sunday Express

Winner of the Rubery Book Award 2020 (Non Fiction)

Edith Nesbit is considered the inventor of the children’s adventure story and her brilliant children’s books influenced bestselling authors including C.S. Lewis, P. L. Travers, J.K. Rowling, and Jacqueline Wilson, to name but a few. But who was the person behind the best loved classics The Railway Children  and Five Children and It? Her once-happy childhood was eclipsed by the chronic illness and early death of her sister. In adulthood, she found herself at the centre of a love triangle between her husband and her close friend. She raised their children as her own.

Yet despite these troubling circumstances Nesbit was playful, contradictory and creative. She hosted legendary parties at her idiosyncratic Well Hall home and was described by George Bernard Shaw – one of several lovers – as ‘audaciously unconventional’. She was also an outspoken Marxist and founding member of the Fabian Society. Through Nesbit’s letters and deep archival research, Eleanor Fitzsimons reveals her as a prolific activist and writer on socialism. Nesbit railed against inequity, social injustice and state-sponsored oppression and incorporated her avant-garde ideas into her writing, influencing a generation of children – an aspect of her legacy examined here for the first time.

Eleanor Fitzsimons, acclaimed biographer and prize winning author of Wilde’s Women, has written the most authoritative biography in more than three decades. Here, she brings to light the extraordinary life story of an icon, creating a portrait of a woman in whom pragmatism and idealism worked side-by-side to produce a singular mind and literary talent.

***PRAISE FOR  THE LIFE AND LOVES OF E. NESBIT***

‘A terrific book.’ Neil Gaiman

‘A very well-researched biography.’  Kate Atkinson

‘Eleanor Fitzsimons’ painstaking research gives us a new insight into the bizarre Bohemian life of the groundbreaking children’s author E. Nesbit. It’s a fantastic read.’  Jacqueline Wilson  

‘Absolutely superb!’  Hilary McKay, children’s author of  The Skylarks War  (shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards)

‘In this long-overdue new biography, Eleanor Fitzsimons gives us a nuanced yet compelling portrait of E. Nesbit’s many-facetted personality, life and works, as well as of the politically and culturally vibrant milieu in which she lived.’  Fiona Sampson, author of  In Search of Mary Shelley

‘What a stirring and unexpected story Eleanor Fitzsimons tells and what a subject she has found. I can’t think of a single writer who doesn’t owe something to Edith Nesbit’s glorious books for children. The extraordinary woman who wrote them proves to be every bit as brave, funny and imaginative as her own intrepid characters.’  Miranda Seymour, author of  In Byron’s Wake

‘One of the greatest children’s writers, and an acknowledged much loved influence on Joan Aiken E. Nesbit is celebrated in this wonderful new biography by Eleanor Fitzsimons.’  Lizza Aiken, daughter of Joan Aiken

‘An exceptional biography about an absolutely fascinating individual.’ Adam Roberts, Vice-President of the H.G. Wells Society

‘A fascinating, thoughtfully organized, thoroughly researched, often surprising biography.’ Kirkus Review

‘Fitzsimons delivers a sprightly and highly readable life of a writer who deserves even wider recognition.’  Publishers Weekly

Everybody’s heard of William Shakespeare. He’s famous for writing a few plays, having a bit of a way with words and creating characters like romantic Romeo and murderous Macbeth. But have you heard that William:

Did a seven-year vanishing act?

Nearly had his head chopped off by the Queen?

Nicked an entire theatre?

Now you can get the inside story with William’s secret diary, find out the news of the day in the Shakespearean Sun and prepare to be amazed as the curtain is raised on Shakespeare’s most dramatic acts.

Everything you could ever want to know about Shakespeare!