Showing titles in Art & Literature

With an introduction by Harriet McDougal, Origins of The Wheel of Time by Michael Livingston explores the inspirations behind the acclaimed series The Wheel of Time, including a biography of Robert Jordan for the first time. ‘Jordan has come to dominate the world Tolkien began to reveal’ –...

So here I am, delving into the past like Monsieur Poirot, not to solve a mystery, but to try to understand some of the events that have helped define the sort of person I have become. Some of it, naturally, is in the genes; but much of it is in the environment, in the circumstances in which we...

In 1845 Henry David Thoreau, one of the principal New England Transcendentalists, left the small town of Concord for the country. Beside the lake of Walden he built himself a log cabin and returned to nature, to observe and reflect – while surviving on eight dollars a year. From this experience emerged Walden, one of the great classics of American literature.

Miller played the lead role in Death in Paradise before leaving to spend more time with his family. Beyond television, Miller has acted in films such as Johnny English (2003) and its sequel, Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism (2014), and on stage in The Ladykillers (2011) and The Duck House. His directorial debut was the film Huge. We'll be chatting to Ben Miller about his book The Boy Who Made the World Disappear, his partnership with Alexander Armstrong and what he would put into a black hole.

With deftness and skill, journalist Lili Anolik uses Babitz, Babitz's brilliance of observation, Babitz's incisive intelligence and, most of all, Babitz's diary-like letters, as the key to unlocking Didion. Franklin Avenue was the making of one great American writer: Joan Didion, a mystery behind her dark glasses and cool expression, her marriage to John Gregory Dunne as tortured as it was enduring. It was also the breaking and then the remaking - and thus the true making - of another great American writer: Eve Babitz.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) never signed a painting, and none of his supposed self-portraits can be securely ascribed to his hand. He revealed next to nothing about his life in his extensive writings, yet countless pages have been written about him that assign him an identity: genius, entrepreneur, celebrity artist, outsider. Addressing the ethical stakes involved in studying past lives, Stephen J. Campbell shows how this invented Leonardo has invited speculation from figures ranging from art dealers and curators to scholars, scientists, and biographers.

During the 1930s at Oxford, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams - remarkable friends, writers, and scholars - met regularly to discuss philosophy and literature and to read aloud from their own works in progress. Calling themselves the Inklings, their circle grew. It was in this company that such classics as The Lord of the Rings, The Screwtape Letters, and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe first found an audience.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832) war ein deutscher Dichter und Naturforscher. Er gilt als einer der bedeutendsten Schöpfer deutschsprachiger Dichtung. Johann Peter Eckermann (1792 - 1854) war ein deutscher Dichter, Schriftsteller und enger Vertrauter Goethes. Der greise Goethe setzte Eckermann gegen eine Gewinnbeteiligung testamentarisch zum Hauptherausgeber seines literarischen Nachlasses ein. Daraus resultierten fünfzehn Nachlassbände, die Eckermann nach Goethes Tod (1832) veröffentlichte.

In George Orwell: The Man and the Mind Behind 1984, Professor Michael Shelden will show you how 1984 presents a plausible reality of thought control and totalitarian power that feels contemporary even as it reflects its own time.

Best-selling author Leigh Bardugo joins Robin Morgan in the Audible Studios to discuss her latest release.

Over more than five decades, legendary architect Moshe Safdie has built some of the world's most influential and memorable structures. Safdie always refers to the "silent client" an architect must ultimately serve: the people who live in, work in, or experience a building. If Walls Could Speak takes listeners behind the veil of an essential yet mysterious profession to explain through Safdie's own experiences how an architect thinks and works.

भारतीय कविता की एक महान परम्परा है जो समय, इतिहास, भूगोल और विभिन्न भाषाओं के आर-पार फैली है. सुप्रसिद्ध हिंदी...

“On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist beautifully outlines . . . what it means to seek the truth. It gave me a new faith in the power of reporting.” —Oprah Winfrey The recipient of multiple Peabody and Murrow awards, Clarissa Ward is a world-renowned conflict reporter. In this...

May Sarton's parrot chatters away as Sarton looks out the window at the rain and contemplates returning to her "real" life - not friends, not even love, but writing. In her bravest and most revealing memoir, Sarton casts her keenly observant eye on both the interior and exterior worlds. She shares insights about everyday life in the quiet New Hampshire village of Nelson, the desire for friends, and need for solitude - both an exhilarating and terrifying state.

Oscar Wilde is remembered as one of the wittiest minds ever, thanks to his provocative style and humor. In the 1890s, he was one of London's most popular playwrights; his masterpieces are The Importance of Being Earnest and the dark and fantastical Picture of Dorian Gray. His writings entwine themes of beauty, decadence and duplicity, which made him a more than colorful agent provocateur in the Victorian society. This would eventually lead to a very public trial after he was accused of sodomy. His defense, punctuated with witticism, often left the court roaring with laughter, but the evidence was against him, and he was eventually sent to prison.

Joining us at Audible Studios is award-winning television and radio presenter Anita Rani. Rani, with a career presenting television spanning over 20 years, is a household name. Born and raised in Bradford, Rani moved to London with a goal to pursue a career in broadcasting. She is now a lead presenter on Countryfile, regularly presents on Radio 2 and hosts Woman's Hour on Radio 4 every week. Rani has now penned her powerful memoir, The Right Sort of Girl.

From much-loved documentary maker Louis Theroux comes a funny, heartfelt and entertaining account of his life and weird times in TV. The audio edition is read by the author and contains an exclusive additional chapter. The Sunday Times Bestseller. 'Honest and soul-searching' - Sunday Express...

Joining us in the Audible Studios to discuss his latest novel, Smile, is award-winning novelist, dramatist and screenwriter Roddy Doyle, who talks to us about his own childhood growing up in Dublin and the backstory behind his 11th novel. One of the most celebrated Irish authors of the late 20th century, Roddy Doyle tells us why his latest novel is different from the others.

Exclusive interview with best-selling author Donna Leon. Donna joins us to discuss the latest in the Brunetti series, The Waters of Eternal Youth.

By the acclaimed journalist and New York Times best-selling author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, this day-by-day eyewitness account of the momentous events leading up to World War II in Europe is the private, personal, utterly revealing journal of a great foreign correspondent.