My Review (5 stars out of 5) In 1986, together with close friend and screenwriter Stewart Stern, Paul Newman began to tape an oral history. His aim was to provide a biographical record, including comments from family members, friends, actors and movie directors. The idea focused on everyone being entirely truthful – a no-hold-barred account…
Category: biography
‘Let’s Do It’ by Jasper Rees
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) In this authorised biography, the life and work of entertainer, writer, actor, comedienne and – in all likelihood – the funniest woman on TV, Victoria Wood, is laid bare in all its hysterical, heart-warming and often poignant detail. The audiobook version includes VW’s hilarious classic, the Ballad…
‘A Fine Day for a Hanging’ by Carol Ann Lee
***** When 28-year-old Ruth Ellis shot her lover, David Blakely, in 1955, she set in motion a trial that rocked the country. Found guilty, she was sentenced to death and became the last woman to be hanged in Britain. With many theories about what really happened, this account attempts to lay out the facts, rather…
‘Evil Relations’ by David Smith, with Carol Ann Lee
***** At the trial of Myra Hindley and Ian Brady in 1966, David Smith acted as chief prosecution witness. But his evidence did him no favours. Due in part to the insistence by Hindley and Brady that Smith took part in the murders, he was reviled and vilified by the press for years afterwards—even after…
‘I May Kill You’ by Keith Dixon
My Review (5 stars out of 5) When a series of mysterious, threatening notes are sent out to hundreds of apparently unconnected people, ex-cop Ben Buckland is shocked to learn his teenage daughter has also been targeted. Though no longer on the ‘force’ Ben seeks help from former colleague and old flame Serena, triggering bad…
‘Diary of a Young Girl’ by Anne Frank
Diary of a Young Girl Teenager Anne Frank’s record of life in a secret annexe for more than two years during World War Two, is a unique document, portraying innocence and humanity, suffering and survival in the starkest and most moving terms. This version of Anne’s diary brings together all the versions of the book,…
‘Home Work’ by Julie Andrews
Home Work (Audiobook) This is the second volume of the actor’s memoirs, beginning with the story of Julie’s arrival in Hollywood and the movies that made her famous: Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. It details the ups and downs of her marriages, the growth of her family as well as her work as…
‘Born a Crime’ by Trevor Noah
Born a Crime Trevor Noah’s childhood began with a crime – born of a black Xhosa mother and a white Swiss father, the young lad risked being taken away by the Government simply for being the wrong colour. Growing up in South Africa in the latter days of apartheid and the unrestrained freedom that followed…
‘There Was a Country’ by Chinua Achebe
There Was a Country From the author of ‘Things Fall Apart’, ‘There Was a Country’ is Chinua Achebe’s long-awaited account of the significant experiences of his life, most notably during the Nigerian Civil War (or Biafran War). Charting one of the last century’s greatest humanitarian disasters, successful novelist Achebe recalls his observations as a spectator…
Paul Heatley – Author Interview
North-east author Paul Heatley is most at home writing fiction that’s dark, bleak and a bit scary. So where did his love of crime stories come from? Your books have a strong undercurrent of violence and gangster-type activities. Did you start out to write crime thrillers, or did it happen by accident? By accident. When…
Colin Garrow 