Mark Logue

Peter Conradi

One man saved the British Royal Family in the first decades of the 20th century - he wasn't a prime minister or an archbishop of Canterbury. He was an almost unknown, and self-taught, speech therapist named Lionel Logue, whom one newspaper in the 1930s famously dubbed 'The Quack who saved a King'. Logue wasn't a British aristocrat or even an Englishman - he was a commoner and an Australian to boot. Nevertheless it was the outgoing, amiable Logue who single-handedly turned the famously nervous, tongue-tied Duke of York into one of Britain's greatest kings after his brother, Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 over his love of Mrs Simpson. This is the previously untold story of the remarkable relationship between Logue and the haunted future King George VI, written with Logue's grandson and drawing exclusively from his grandfather Lionel's diaries and archive. It throws an extraordinary light on the intimacy of the two men, and the vital role the King's wife, the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, played in bringing them together to save her husband's reputation and reign. The King's Speech: How One Man Saved the British Monarchy is an astonishing insight into a private world. Logue's diaries also reveal, for the first time, the torment the future King suffered at the hands of his father George V because of his stammer. Never before has there been such a personal portrait of the British monarchy - at a time of its greatest crisis - seen through the eyes of an Australian commoner who was proud to serve, and save, his King.

How One Man Saved the British Monarchy

The King's Speech

Jeremy Langmead

Molly Martin

Jo Glanville

Holan Liang

Milad Shadrooh

In this beautiful book, master repairer, Molly Martin, champions the value of slow and sustainable fashion and the psychological benefits that go with it For Molly Martin, it all started with a pair of socks. Her favorite pair. When the heels became threadbare, her mother got out her darning mushroom and showed her how to reinforce the thinning stitches and bring them back to life. She has been stitching and darning ever since. In The Art of Repair, Molly explores the humble origins of repair and how the act of mending a cherished item carefully by hand offers not just a practical solution but nourishment for the soul. Using her own beautiful illustrations, she guides us through the basics of the craft - from piecing and patching to the ancient Japanese art of Sashiko. This book will stay with you long after you put down your needle and thread. It offers an antidote to our increasingly disposable lifestyle, encouraging us to reconnect not just with the everyday objects in our environment but also with ourselves.

How to Piece, Patch and Stitch Old Things to New Life

The Art of Repair

The King's Speech is the previously untold story of the extraordinary relationship between an unknown and certainly unqualified speech therapist called Lionel Logue and the haunted young man who became King George VI. Logue wasn't a British aristocrat or even an Englishman—he was a commoner and an Australian to boot. Nevertheless, it was Logue who single-handedly turned the famously nervous, tongue-tied Duke of York into a man who was capable of being king. Had Logue not saved Bertie (as the man who was to become King George VI was always known) from his debilitating stammer and pathological nervousness in front of a crowd or microphone, it is almost certain that the House of Windsor would have collapsed. Drawn from Logue's personal diaries, The King's Speech is an intimate portrait of the British monarchy at the time of its greatest crisis. It throws extraordinary light on the intimacy of the two men—and on the vital role the king's wife, the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, played in bringing them together to save her husband's reputation and his career as king.

How One Man Saved The British Monarchy

O Confidente de Hitler

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was hailed as the beginning of a new era of peace and co-operation between East and West. But in the years since, Russia has made incursions into Georgia, Ukraine and Syria, leaving the Western powers at a loss. What went wrong? Drawing on exclusive interviews with key players, Peter Conradi examines the pivotal moments of the past quarter of a century and outlines how we might get relations back on track before it’s too late. Who Lost Russia? provides the essential background to understanding the bizarre and shifting relationship between Trump’s America and Putin’s Russia. This updated edition includes a new chapter on the year following the 2016 US presidential election.

How the World Entered a New Cold War

Who Lost Russia?

A Moscow-based journalist explores the flaws and successes of Soviet law enforcement, as he examines the bizarre and terrifying case of "Citizen Chi", as he is known in the Russian media, a seemingly steadfast member of the Communist Party and father of two children--who embarked on a 12-year killing spree, murdering and mutilating more than 50 people.

The Red Ripper

Peter J. Conradi

An examination of Dostoevsky's understanding of psychological doubleness. Referring to the four major novels, the author illustrates how Dostoevsky's understanding of suffering, guilt, repentance, paranoia and religious terrors has proved relevant in today's unbelieving age.

Fyodor Dostoevsky

Tin Tin’s Snowy, Odysseus’s Argos, Darwin’s Polly, Mary Queen of Scots’s 22 lap-dogs, Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Flush... Behind every great man or woman is a dog. A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs is a rich compendium of the world’s most significant and beloved dogs. Embracing the intriguing and the provocative, the essential and the trivial, Peter J. Conradi forays into history, literature and personal anecdotes to unearth a treasure trove of canine characters. Discover the stories behind Karl Marx's and his daughter's Dogberry Club; the lapdogs who were secreted in first-class cabins on the Titanic and how they survived; Edinburgh’s Greyfriars Bobby who stayed by his master’s grave for 14 years; and the one undisputed fact about Shakespeare – his singular dislike for dogs. A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs is a wonderful and witty homage to man’s most faithful friend.

A Dictionary of Interesting and Important Dogs

H. E. Bates

Kent, the "Garden of England," provides the rustic setting for these poignant stories from the creator of The Darling Buds of May. Graham Greene liked to compare H. E. Bates with Chekhov, greatest of short story writers, thinking Bates the best writer of short stories of his generation and time. This new collection, selected by Bates’ grandson, shows why.

Love in a Wych Elm and Other Stories

Conradi recounts the remarkable life of Ernst Hanfstaengl--Hitler's court jester, pianist, and foreign press chief, and history's personal link between Hitler and FDR--through newly declassified documents, photographs, interviews with members of his family and writing by Hanfstaengl himself.

The Rise and Fall of Ernst Hanfstaengl, Confidant of Hitler, Ally of FDR

Hitler's Piano Player

Between 9th and 12th June 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth were the guests of Roosevelt at his country estate in Hyde Park, New York State, during what was the first ever visit by a reigning British monarch to the United States. Coming at a time when Britain desperately needed American help in the conflict that now seemed inevitable, the meeting was front page news on both sides of the Atlantic and imbued with huge political significance. In his new book Peter Conradi - who has already introduced us to the gentle, shy figure of George VI in his number-one bestseller The King's Speech - recreates the backdrop to the royal visit, analysing the political background and the media's reaction, and telling the back stories both of the King and of Roosevelt, whose colourful personal life became entwined with the visit.

Hot Dogs and Cocktails

'Het fascinerende verhaal van Hanfstaengls vreemde carrière geeft een nieuwe kijk op hoe het nazisme van binnenuit werkte en hoe de Führer aan de macht kwam.' Sunday Times'Een voorbeeldig geschreven biografie. Hitlers pianist zit vol sfeer en beweging, en geeft een schrijnend intiem portret van de Führer.' Independent'Conradi's verhaal over Putzi's vlucht naar Zwitserland heeft alle elementen van een bloedstollende thriller een vlot geschreven, onbevooroordeelde biografie van een man in een netelige positie.' Guardian'Conradi's boek bevat boeiende gegevens over deze bizarre man, de enige die zowel nauw heeft samengewerkt met Hitler als met FDR Het bevat een overvloed aan fantastische anekdotes ' Financial Times Weekend Magazine'Waardevol en zeer onderhoudend.' Sunday Times'Hitlers pianist laveert voorzichtig tussen de door Hanfstaengl zelf gecreëerde mythen door.' Spectator'Uitstekende biografie bijna een thriller Hanfstaengl was arrogant, snel boos, opvliegend en kon heel onbeschoft zijn Maar, Conradi's portret van hem is evenwichtig en niet onsympathiek.' BBC History'Een rake biografie over een man die op zo goede voet stond met Hitler dat zijn zoon de stamvader van de holocaust oom Dolf noemde.' Kirkus Review'Er zijn verbazingwekkende verhalen bekend uit de verborgen geschiedenis van de Tweede Wereldoorlog, maar weinig daarvan kunnen tippen aan het verhaal van Hitlers pianist.' The Weekly News

de financier van Mein Kampf, vertrouweling van Hitler en bondgenoot van Roosevelt

Hitlers pianist

Robert Josephus Maria Ridder

Vergelijkend onderzoek naar de vraag waarom de tien huidige Europese monarchieën nog altijd goed functioneren.

achter de schermen van de tien Europese koningshuizen

De royals van Europa

J. P. Flintoff

Simone Kuper

Many people dread public speaking. And yet we all find ourselves forced to make a speech at some point in our lives, and suffer the same inevitable anxieties: Will my jokes fall flat? What if I freeze up? Is it OK to read notes? What if people walk out? This book will not magically transform you into a fast-talking, high-flying hotshot. But it does hope to teach you how to be adequate at public speaking - and, with a spot of luck, you might turn out to be 'rather good'. Using Cicero's five canons of rhetoric (invention, arrangement, style, memory and delivery) and drawing upon his own highly entertaining tales of success and failure from the speech-giving circuit, Flintoff will arm you with a handful of simple structural techniques that will enable you to stand up, if not with delight, then at least with confidence, in front of any crowd - whether it's a serious work event or a best friend's wedding. As humble as it is motivating, this is a guide to finding your voice, even if it's a bit croaky at first, and a reassuring affirmation that we all have something to say.

A Modest Book about How to Make an Adequate Speech

John Fowles had gained great popularity as a contemporary novelist on both sides of the Atlantic. In this comprehensive study of his work, originally published in 1982, Peter Conradi relates his work to his life, his ideas and his place in contemporary English fiction at the time. Conradi sees him as both realist and experimental, and in detailed analyses of The Magus and The French Lieutenant’s Woman illuminates Fowles’s use of literary genres – the romance (in particular), the detective story, the thriller, the Victorian novel, the tale of courtly love – to exploit and explode the conventions of that particular genre. Seduction, erotic quest, capture and betrayal are among the most important themes in Fowles’s work to be considered here.

John Fowles

In this riveting and extensively researched account, Peter Conradi - the celebrated author of The King's Speech - offers an uncompromising portrayal of Europe's royals and reveals the scandals, excesses, conflicts and interests hidden behind the pomp of ceremonial garb and the grandeur of official functions. At a time when Western society appears to be demanding more equality and democracy, people's fascination with monarchies shows no signs of waning.Taking the reader on a journey between past and present, into a world populated by great celebrities such as Wallis Simpson, Grace Kelly and Princess Diana, as well as lesser-known and slightly murkier aristocratic figures, The Great Survivors analyses the reasons behind this apparent paradox by looking at the history of the main European dynasties - including the Windsors and their predecessors - and providing a glimpse into their world, their lives and their secrets.

Great Survivors

Willem-Alexander en Máxima, Filip en Mathilde, Albert en Charlene, Kate en William, we kennen hun namen en gezichten. Maar wie zijn ze echt? Wat is hun taak en hoe rijk zijn ze? Welke macht hebben ze tegenwoordig nog en hoe beïnvloeden ze de koers van hun land? En wanneer gingen ze behoren tot de jetset? De vorstendommen dateren dan wel uit de negentiende eeuw, maar twee eeuwen later zijn ze nog steeds populair.Peter Conradi vertelt op meeslepende wijze hun verhalen. Hij onthult in deze speciaal voor de Nederlandstalige markt aangepaste editie, de geheimen van de gekroonde hoofden en de verborgen conflicten die achter de paleisdeuren schuilgaan. De royals van Europa is een kleurrijk boek, niet alleen voor de vele fans van de Europese vorstenhuizen, maar ook voor degenen die willen begrijpen wat het belang is van het koningshuis in deze tijd.'Verplichte kost voor wie het merkwaardige verschijnsel "monarchie" wil doorgronden. Een feest om te lezen; ik kon het niet wegleggen toen ik er eenmaal in begonnen was.' Dorine Hermans, auteur van Wie ben ik dat ik dit doen mag

Peter Conradi

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