The Last Of The Great Romantics

Fans of Sophie Kinsella, Milly Johnson, Heidi Swain and Holly Martin will love this delightfully funny romantic comedy with real heart and warmth from bestselling author Claudia Carroll - the perfect dose of escapism! 'A fabulous romp. It made me laugh out loud' -- ANITA NOTARO 'It bubbles and sparkles like pink champagne. A hugely entertaining read' -- PATRICIA SCANLAN 'Enjoyable, easy read and funny characters' -- 5 star reader review 'All in all a great read - super for taking on holiday' -- 5 star reader review 'This book had me laughing out loud several times - a great story and the characters were unforgettable. Definitely one of her best books!' -- 5 star reader review **************************************************************** WHO SAID ROMANCE WAS DEAD? Portia Davenport is officially the luckiest woman in the world. She and her drop-dead gorgeous husband, Andrew, have just finished ploughing a fortune into renovating her ancestral home, Davenport Hall, and are now planning to unveil it as one of the most fabulous, luxurious, five-star country house hotels in Kildare.... But life never turns out like you think, and no sooner has the red ribbon been cut at the grand opening party, than Andrew is jetting off to New York, back to his old job, old apartment, old friends and Portia very much fears, his bachelor ways..... And so the smooth running of Davenport Hall is entrusted to her beautiful, yet inexperienced, younger sister, Daisy - and the timing isn't perfect as Eleanor Armstrong, daughter of the Irish President, has chosen the Hall as the perfect backdrop for her society wedding to a footballing legend...So the pressure is on! Meanwhile, in Manhattan, Portia meets Lynn Fairweather, a single woman on a one-track mission to find Mr Right. And if he just happens to be married to Portia, then that's her problem...

The musical child of Russia’s golden age, Sergei Rachmaninoff, was the last of the great Romantics. Scorned by the musical establishment until very recently, his music received hostile reviews from critics and other composers. Conversely, it never failed to find widespread popular acclaim, and today he is one of the most popular composers of all time. Biographer Michael Scott investigates Rachmaninoff’s intense and often melodramatic life, following him from imperial Russia to his years of exile as a wandering virtuoso and his death in Beverly Hills during the Second World War, worn out by his punishing schedule. In this remarkable biography which relates the man to his music, Michael Scott tells the colourful story of a life that spanned two centuries and two continents. His original research from the Russian archives, so long closed to writers from the West, brings us closer to the spirit of a man who genuinely believed that music could be both good and popular, a belief that is now triumphantly vindicated.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of The House Girl comes a novel about our most precious and dangerous attachment: family In the spring of 1981, the young Skinner siblings—fierce Renee, dreamy Caroline, golden boy Joe and watchful Fiona—lose their father to a heart attack and their mother to a paralyzing depression, events that thrust them into a period they will later call “the Pause.” Caught between the predictable life they once led and an uncertain future that stretches before them, the siblings navigate the dangers and resentments of the Pause to emerge fiercely loyal and deeply connected. Two decades later, the Skinners find themselves again confronted with a family crisis that tests the strength of these bonds and forces them to question the life choices they’ve made and what, exactly, they will do for love. Narrated nearly a century later by the youngest sibling, the renowned poet Fiona Skinner, The Last Romantics spans a lifetime. It’s a story of sex and affection, sacrifice and selfishness, deeply held principles and dashed expectations, a lost engagement ring, a squandered baseball scholarship, unsupervised summers at the neighbourhood pond and an iconic book of love poems. But most of all it is the story of Renee, Caroline, Joe and Fiona: the ways they support each other, the ways they betray each other and the ways they knit back together bonds they have fractured. In the vein of Commonwealth, Little Fires Everywhere and The Nest, this is a panoramic, tenderly insightful novel about one devoted, imperfect family. The Last Romantics is an unforgettable exploration of the responsibilities we bear both gracefully and unwillingly, and the all-important, ever-complex definition of love.

A striking literary biography by a significant and talented young writer

Pete Doherty, erstwhile singer with The Libertines, is a British icon. Whether he is playing impromptu gigs in his front room or performing at Live 8, he possesses a sense of drama and expectation not seen in a performer since Sid Vicious. He is enigmatic, charismatic and thoroughly entertaining. Since leaving The Libertines, his life has become something of a rock 'n' roll soap opera where rumours of crack addiction abound, gossip about his relationship with Kate Moss is rife, and predictions for his future vary wildly. Written by Alex Hannaford, former rock and pop editor on the London Evening Standard, and with a brand new foreword by Pete's mum, Jackie Doherty, this is the definitive biography of Pete Doherty.

In this second collection of biographical accounts of Romantic writers, the characters of Keats, Coleridge and Scott are recalled by their contemporaries, offering insights into their lives and writings, as well as into the art of 19th-century biography.

This volume sheds light on contemporary perception of William Godwin, Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley, a biographically and intellectually compelling literary family of the Romantic period. The writings reveal the personalities of the subjects, and the motives and agendas of the biographers.