Biographical Fiction

The epic story of Rani Jindan Kaur, one of the most fierce and fearless women of the nineteenth century. An inspiration for our times. 'I am Rani Jindan, Mother of the Khalsa. That is my identity. That is my fate.' While we have all heard tales of Rani Lakshmi Bai and Padmavati, not many of us...

The classic samurai novel about the real exploits of the most famous swordsman. Miyamoto Musashi becomes a reluctant hero to a host of people whose lives he has touched and by whom he has been touched. Inevitably, he has to pit his skill against the naked blade of his greatest rival....

This program is read by renowned English actor Ben Miles, best known for his narration of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall trilogy. “Ben Miles's English accent is perfect for the text of this recent, award-winning translation. He delivers narrative sections in a consistent tone, and his expression is...

First published in 1923, Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is the fictionalized biography of Jesse Livermore, one of the greatest speculators who ever lived....

Low-life writer and unrepentant alcoholic Henry Chinaski was born to survive. After decades of slacking off at low-paying dead-end jobs, blowing his cash on booze and women, and scrimping by in flea-bitten apartments, Chinaski sees his poetic star rising at last. Now, at fifty, he is reveling in...

A landmark BBC radio production of Proust's epic masterpiece, starring Derek Jacobi as the narrator, Marcel. Waking in the small hours, Marcel Proust embarks on a retrospective journey, endeavouring to capture the elusive moments that shaped his life. A sip of tea and the taste of a madeleine...

Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He's a normal Italian teenager - obsessed with music, food, and girls....

A BBC Radio six-part dramatisation of Marcel Proust’s groundbreaking series of novels, tracing the extraordinary story of the author’s own life. Starring James Wilby and Jonathan Firth, and with a distinguished cast including Harriet Walter, Imogen Stubbs and Corin Redgrave, this rich...

ബഷീറിന്റെ ഏറ്റവും മികച്ച കൃതിയായി എക്കാലവും വിലയിരുത്തപ്പെട്ടിട്ടുള്ളത് 'ബാല്യകാല സഖി' യാണ്. അദ്ദേഹം തന്നെ...

When Donaldina Cameron arrives at the Occidental Mission Home for Girls in 1895, she intends to teach sewing skills to young Chinese women immigrants, but, within days, she discovers that the job is much more complicated than perfect stitches and even hems....

With opportunities for black men limited in post-World War II London, Rick Braithwaite accepts a teaching position that puts him in charge of a class of angry, unmotivated, bigoted white teenagers....

Over one million copies sold! The Instant New York Times Bestseller! A Good Morning America* Book Club Pick! Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR! Named a Notable Book of the Year by the Washington Post! “Historical fiction at its best!”* A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal...

The Dalai Lama's cat is back - older, a bit wiser and as curious as ever....

The politics of empire-building and the hypocricies, back-stabbings and corruptions of Rome's first family come to light....

In the tradition of The Paris Wife and Mrs. Poe, The Other Einstein offers us a window into a brilliant, fascinating woman whose light was lost in Einstein's enormous shadow. This is the story of Einstein's wife, a brilliant physicist in her own right, whose contribution to the special...

Her beauty saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich's plans while at her husband's side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee....

WINNER of the 2022 INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WORKING WOMEN AWARD for BEST FICTION OF THE YEAR! LONGLISTED for 2022 DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD! She rose from commoner to become the last reigning queen of India’s Sikh Empire. In this dazzling novel, based on true-life events, bestselling author...

Seventeenth-century India. Chhatrapati Shivaji's dominion has been firmly established over the Deccan peninsula. Troubled by the mounting European threat along the Konkan coast, the Maratha empire turns to Kanhoji Angrey, master mariner, excellent swordsman and astute strategist, to lead its...

Corbin College, not quite upstate New York, winter 1959-1960: Ruben Blum, a Jewish historian—but not an historian of the Jews—is co-opted onto a hiring committee to review the application of an exiled Israeli scholar specializing in the Spanish Inquisition....

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, a convicted killer becomes the first prisoner to be executed in the United States. The Executioner's Song follows the true story of cold-blooded murderer Gary Gilmore, who, after being tried and convicted, insisted on being executed for his crimes. To do...

This remarkable book is the only novel by Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926), the greatest German-language poet of his time. It is, in a sense, a true curiosity - dark and intense - and possesses, not surprisingly, strong elements of autobiography....

Brought to you by Penguin. This Penguin Classic is performed by Kirsty Besterman, an experienced TV and theatre actress known for her leading role as Lady Macbeth in the National Theatre Tour, as well as a number of roles with Shakespeare's Globe and the RSC. 'January 22nd - Robert startles me...

Also known as Demons, The Possessed is a powerful socio-political novel about revolutionary ideas and the radicals behind them. It follows a political terrorist who leads a group of nihilists....

"The others form the human being, I depict him; and here I present an individual who is quite poorly formed and whom I would certainly make...

My Struggle: Book One introduces American listeners to the audacious, addictive, and profoundly surprising international literary sensation....

Er gibt verlorenen Seelen eine zweite Chance – doch wer rettet ihn, wenn die Vergangenheit zurückkehrt? Falko Bruckner ist in ganz Deutschland bekannt für das, was wenige sonst können: Er versteht Hunde, die andere längst aufgegeben haben. Mit Geduld, Herz und einem feinen Gespür verwandelt er Angst in Vertrauen. Seine besondere Gabe ist kein Zufall – denn auch Falko trägt eine Geschichte in sich, die Narben hinterlassen hat. Missbrauch, Einsamkeit und Verrat – seine Kindheit war von Dunkelheit geprägt. Nur durch die Liebe zu den Tieren fand er den Weg ins Leben zurück.

Coco Chanel, a párizsi divat nagyasszonya szép szakmai sikereket ért már el, mikor magánélete válságba jut, mert szerelme autóbalesetben életét veszti. Támogató barátnője segítségével idővel új életcélt talál, amikor a szeretett férfival közös ötletüket, egy Chanel parfüm megalkotását veszi tervbe. A múltjának árnyaival is küzdő Coco útján a karizmatikus Romanov herceg személyében kap szerető lelki társat a sorstól.

Novembre 1941, gare de Lyon, à Paris. Cécile laisse partir son fils de cinq ans dans un convoi de la Croix-Rouge. Ce petit garçon s'appelle Georges Perec. Sa mère, juive polonaise, prend cette décision pour le sauver. Mais en le privant de sa présence, elle le condamne, sans le savoir, au vide et à l'absence de souvenirs. En 1943, elle est déportée à Auschwitz. Son fils ne la retrouvera jamais. Olivia Elkaim fait revivre Georges Perec, l'auteur culte des Choses et de La Vie mode d'emploi, membre éminent de l'Ouvroir de littérature potentielle (l'Oulipo), mort prématurément en 1982.

How can a smile be so misunderstood? For Nell, it's a sign of friendship. To her male colleagues, it's so much more. With two men intent on securing her affections, and little chance of escape, life for Nell is challenging. Until she finds an unexpected guardian. Her savior is charming and chivalrous, but when he unwittingly causes more problems than he solves, she finally snaps.

Jack London’ın yarı otobiyografik romanı, bir yazarın sınıf atlama mücadelesini anlatır. Bireysel hırs ve toplumsal gerçeklik çatışır.

In De namen van Feliza neemt Juan Gabriel Vásquez die woorden als uitgangspunt voor een meeslepende roman over het leven van deze bijzondere vrouw. Feliza Bursztyn verzette zich noodgedwongen tegen de maatschappij waar zij haar hele leven deel van uitmaakte.

Setting off in search of his brother, William-Wetherby heads to Liverpool. Since they were last together their world has changed and with no one to turn to, he needs a friend. When he rents a room with a local family, he refuses to tell his landlady or her daughter, Bella, anything about his past. But their curiosity is piqued. As their friendship develops and he begins to trust her, Bella hopes he'll settle down. But a final surprise from Mr. Wetherby reignites past grievances...and this time, William-Wetherby is ready for a fight.

Wir schreiben das Jahr 1941. Nach Aufenthalten in New York, New Haven und Rio de Janeiro übersiedelt Stefan Zweig, gefeierter und weltweit gelesener Schriftsteller, österreichischer und vor den Nazis geflohener Jude, mit seiner Frau Lotte in das 60 Kilometer von Rio entfernte Städtchen Petropolis, wo er einen kleinen Bungalow mietet, um dort weiter an seinen Texten zu arbeiten. Trotzdem gelingt es ihm, in der Abgeschiedenheit von Petropolis seine Autobiografie Die Welt von Gestern zu beenden und die Schachnovelle – vielleicht sein heute bekanntestes Werk – zu schreiben.

Es handelt sich um eines seiner bekanntesten Werke aus dem frühen 20. Jahrhundert, das – wie viele seiner Geschichten – tief in psychologischen Themen, menschlichen Beziehungen und der Suche nach Identität verwurzelt ist. Der nie geküsste Mund ist eine Erzählung des berühmten deutsch-jüdischen Schriftstellers Jakob Wassermann (1873–1934).

Mitte der 1930er Jahre wird unter den Erstklässlern eines abgelegenen Dorfes ein fremder schweigsamer Knabe entdeckt. Der Knabe lernt sich ohne Zuspruch und emotionale Zuwendung in einer gefühlsarmen Umgebung zu behaupten und beginnt alles Nötige für ein gelungenes Leben zu lernen. Die Geschichte einer Selbstwerdung.

Im Hörspiel 'Abgesang auf Leo G.' tritt die Kunstfigur Leo Greller als mäßig erfolgreicher Liedermacher der `Hamburger Schule´ an der Seite ehemaliger Weggefährten auf.

Diese hier handelt von dem bewegten Leben einer irdischen Heiligen, die manche für eine ganz normale Verrückte hielten. Prinzessin Alice erzählt vom bewegten und überraschenden Leben der hochadligen Alice von Battenberg, der Großmutter des britischen Königs Charles III. Eine atemberaubende Schönheit, erzogen dazu, Königin zu werden. Ihre Familie wandte sich ab und brachte sie in einer der frühen Psychiatrien unter, der sie unter größter Gefahr aber mit großem Einfallsreichtum entkam. Fortan lebte sie in größter Einsamkeit in Griechenland, wo sie eine Suppenküche für die Ärmsten unterhielt.

Nell's dream of traveling on a transatlantic steamship is about to come true. Although not in the way she expected. Life is hard, and with only three women working amongst a crew of eighty, there are challenges Nell had not foreseen. While she struggles to cope with the constant attention of her colleagues, not to mention their criticisms, there are some who will do whatever they can to support her.

With one impatient phone call, a young Christopher Isherwood is drawn into the film industry. On the other end of the line is the brilliant yet temperamental Austrian director Friedrich Bergmann. Christopher’s job is to rescue the script of a saccharine love story set in nineteenth-century Vienna, a film called Prater Violet. Meanwhile, in the real Vienna of 1934, the Austrian right crushes a socialist uprising. Bergmann is distraught; his family is in danger in Vienna, while his prophecy of a coming war goes unheeded by his British colleagues.

Nevzrušené dětství na americkém Středozápadě. A také strach z nočních můr a fyzického násilí, halucinace a plačtivost. Záliba v rybaření, lovu, turistice a čtení. Prázdnota ústící v samotářská dobrodružství a vloupačky. Studium anglické literatury na prestižní americké univerzitě, kterou nenáviděl. Poflakování po Evropě, homosexuální pajzly. Po návratu domů život z renty, flinkání a psychoterapie. Z ní vyražen jako „nenapravitelný lhář". Příležitostná zaměstnání jako krysař, soukromý detektiv, výčepní, dělník. Život na hraně a návyk na drogy.