This landmark biography of celebrated Romantic poet John Keats explodes entrenched conceptions of him as a delicate overly sensitive tragic figure. Instead Nicholas Roe reveals the real flesh-&-blood poet: a passionate man driven by ambition but prey to doubt suspicion & jealousy; sure of his vocation while bitterly resentful of the obstacles that blighted his career; devoured by sexual desire & frustration; & in thrall to alcohol & opium. Through unparalleled original research Roe arrives at a fascinating reassessment of Keats entire life from his early years at Keatess Livery Stables through his harrowing battle with tuberculosis & death at the age of 25. Focusing on crucial turning points Roe finds in the locations of Keats poems new keys to the nature of his imaginative quest. Roe is the first biographer to provide a full & fresh account of Keats childhood in the City of London & how it shaped the would-be poet. The mysterious early death of Keats father his mothers too-swift remarriage living in the shadow of the notorious madhouse Bedlam
- all these affected Keats far more than has been previously understood. The author also sheds light on Keats doomed passion for Fanny Brawne his circle of brilliant friends hitherto unknown City relatives & much more. Filled with revelations & daring to ask new questions this book now stands as the definitive volume on one of the most beloved poets of the English language.
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This landmark biography of celebrated Romantic poet John Keats explodes entrenched conceptions of him as a delicate overly sensitive tragic figure. Instead Nicholas Roe reveals the real flesh-&-blood poet: a passionate man driven by ambition but prey to doubt suspicion & jealousy; sure of his vocation while bitterly resentful of the obstacles that blighted his career; devoured by sexual desire & frustration; & in thrall to alcohol & opium. Through unparalleled original research Roe arrives at a fascinating reassessment of Keats's entire life from his early years at Keats's Livery Stables through his harrowing battle with tuberculosis & death at age 25. Zeroing in on crucial turning points Roe finds in the locations of Keats's poems new keys to the nature of his imaginative quest. Roe is the first biographer to provide a full & fresh account of Keats's childhood in the City of London & how it shaped the would-be poet. The mysterious early death of Keats's father his mother's too-swift remarriage living in the shadow of the notorious madhouse Bedlam--all these affected Keats far more than has been previously understood. The author also sheds light on Keats's doomed passion for Fanny Brawne his circle of brilliant friends hitherto unknown City relatives & much more. Filled with revelations & daring to ask new questions this book now stands as the definitive volume on one of the most beloved poets of the English language. ...

John Lennon was a writer as well as a musician. It was entirely natural for him to put pen to paper whenever he had an idea a thought a reaction or a desire to communicate. He lived
- & died
- in an age before emails & texts. Pen & ink was what he turned to. John wrote letters & postcards all of his life; to his friends family strangers newspapers organisations lawyers & the laundry
- most of which were funny informative campaigning wise mad poetic anguished & sometimes heartbreaking. For the first time Johns widow Yoko Ono has given permission to publish a collection of his letters. The Editor is the Beatles official biographer Hunter Davies who knew John well. Johns letters are in a way something of a mystery
- where are they all? Over the years many have come up at auction then sold to dealers & collectors. Or they have been kept by the recipients locked up safely. It has been a wonderful piece of detective work tracing many of these 250 letters postcards & notes which are arranged in chronological order so that a narrative builds up reflecting Johns life. It will be visual
- in a sense that many of the letters are reproduced as they were in his handwriting or typing plus the odd cartoon or doodle. THE JOHN LENNON LETTERS is fundamentally a book to read & study providing a unique insight into the mind of one of the great figures of our times.




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John Lennon was a writer as well as a musician. It was entirely natural for him to put pen to paper whenever he had an idea a thought a reaction or a desire to communicate. He lived
- & died
- in an age before emails & texts. Pen & ink was what he turned to. John wrote letters & postcards all of his life; to his friends family strangers newspapers organisations lawyers & the laundry
- most of which were funny informative campaigning wise mad poetic anguished & sometimes heartbreaking. For the first time Johns widow Yoko Ono has given permission to publish a collection of his letters. The Editor is the Beatles official biographer Hunter Davies who knew John well. Johns letters are in a way something of a mystery
- where are they all? Over the years many have come up at auction then sold to dealers & collectors. Or they have been kept by the recipients locked up safely. It has been a wonderful piece of detective work tracing many of these 250 letters postcards & notes which are arranged in chronological order so that a narrative builds up reflecting Johns life. It will be visual
- in a sense that many of the letters are reproduced as they were in his handwriting or typing plus the odd cartoon or doodle. THE JOHN LENNON LETTERS is fundamentally a book to read & study providing a unique insight into the mind of one of the great figures of our times. Johns letters are read by Christopher Eccleston. Christopher Eccleston is an English actor who has had a hugely successful career in film TV & on stage. His regular appearance on the TV series Cracker in 1993 brought him recognition & he went on to star along side such actresses as Nicole Kidman & Cate Blanchett. He won the 2011 International Emmy Award for his performance in Jimmy Mc Governs Accused. He played John Lennon in the 2010 TV movie in & has twice been nominated in the Best Actor category of the BAFTA TV Awards. Hunters editorial materials are read by Allan Corduner. Allan Corduner trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School & has appeared on stage in PASSION at the Donmar Warehouse SERIOUS MONEY in the West End & TITANIC on Broadway & on screen in YENTL & TOPSY-TURVY amonst many other roles. He is a highly experience voice actor & memorably narrated the voice of Death when reading THE BOOK THIEF. He has read Elspeth Coopers WILD HUNT novels for Orion.

Includes:: a foreword read by Yoko Ono.






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John Lennon was a writer as well as a musician. It was entirely natural for him to put pen to paper whenever he had an idea a thought a reaction or a desire to communicate. He lived
- & died
- in an age before emails & texts. Pen & ink was what he turned to. John wrote letters & postcards all of his life; to his friends family strangers newspapers organisations lawyers & the laundry
- most of which were funny informative campaigning wise mad poetic anguished & sometimes heartbreaking. For the first time John's widow Yoko Ono has given permission to publish a collection of his letters. The Editor is the Beatles' official biographer Hunter Davies who knew John well. John's letters are in a way something of a mystery
- where are they all? Over the years many have come up at auction then sold to dealers & collectors. Or they have been kept by the recipients locked up safely. It has been a wonderful piece of detective work tracing many of these 250 letters postcards & notes which are arranged in chronological order so that a narrative builds up reflecting John's life. It will be visual
- in a sense that many of the letters are reproduced as they were in his handwriting or typing plus the odd cartoon or doodle. THE JOHN LENNON LETTERS is fundamentally a book to read & study providing a unique insight into the mind of one of the great figures of our times.




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John Martins many influential works brought him huge popularity in his lifetime & his paintings have gone on to inspire film-makers designers & artists in Europe & America. This beautifully illustrated book makes an important contribution to the revival of national & international interest in him & will complement a forthcoming touring exhibition. Establishing the context of Martins youth in rural Northumberland his career in London & subsequent national & international fame Morden captures the apocalyptic mood in England from the 1790s to the 1840s & examines Martins central position as a painter of the sublime". The distinctive character of his work is explored through key paintings in terms of his techniques devices & subject matter & their relationship to the culture & of popular entertainment of the time. Influencing 19th century railway & public architecture Martins reputation spread to Europe & America going on to determine the course of early 20th century cinema & anticipate inter-active mass media in the 21st century. This book establishes John Martin as an important figure in cultural history shaping the way we view & respond to our modern world." ...

The autobiography of Nottingham Forests legendary & twice European Cup-winning former captain John Mc Govern. In the book Mc Govern talks in detail about playing under the great Brian Clough during the glory days at Forest & Derby & the true story of what happened at Leeds for whom he was signed by Clough during his controversial 44-day reign infamously brought to life in The Damned United. Mc Govern also talks about his battle to make it in football despite a disability caused by a missing muscle in his back in this riveting & inspirational read. ...

John Pawsons career as an architect & designer spans a variety of sizes & programmes: from bowls to bridges & monasteries to Calvin Klein stores. In addition to his acclaimed design work he is the author of Phaidons successful Minimum a book that paired images & captions to illustrate the notion of simplicity in a beautiful & inspirational manner. Visual Inventory presents some of the images from Pawsons personal collection of over 200 000 digital snapshots. The book opens with an essay explaining the importance of photography as a tool for Pawsons work & the images are set one per page with illuminating captions. Covering a huge range of subjects the photographs form a remarkable body of reference material. Some of the images illustrate a particular idea about form material or space; others reflects the authors interest in returning repeatedly to certain subjects capturing the changes brought by different weather light conditions seasons & patterns of use. Each image has been chosen for the book because it is useful offering a lesson in visual thinking. None of the photographs in the book have been cropped or altered; it is the selection arrangement & captioning of the images that make this book unique valuable & attractive to any architect designer artist or student who wants to see the world around them with a stronger eye. ...

The unprecedented success of Nottingham Forest under master manager Brian Clough is one of the greatest stories in football folklore. Winning the European Cup in 1979 & 1980 were the remarkable highlights of that era in the clubs history. & the player at the heart of those Forest glories was winger John Robertson who fashioned the goal that conquered Europe a first time & then scored the match-winner as Cloughs side retained the trophy. His unkempt & unshaven appearance made him the most unlikely of footballers but his artistry & vision made him the creative on-the-field force behind a Forest side that swept all before them. After retiring from playing Robertson went on to strike up a wonderfully successful managerial partnership with Martin ONeill at Leicester Celtic & Aston Villa. Yet amid his years of football fame Robertson has known moments of deep personal tragedy with the death of his daughter who had cerebral palsy at the age of 13 & the loss of his elder brother in a car crash. In John Robertson: Super Tramp the footballing legend reveals all in a humorous & touching memoir that switches engagingly between footballing glory & personal heartache. ...

The unprecedented success of Nottingham Forest under master manager Brian Clough is one of the greatest stories in football folklore. Winning the European Cup in 1979 & 1980 were the remarkable highlights of that era in the clubs history & the player at the heart of those glories was winger John Robertson. His unkempt & unshaven appearance made him the most unlikely of star footballers but his artistry & vision made him the creative on-the-field force behind a Forest side that swept all before them. After retiring from playing Robertson struck up a wonderfully successful managerial partnership with Martin ONeill at Leicester Celtic & Aston Villa. Yet amid his years of football fame Robertson has known moments of deep personal tragedy. In John Robertson: Super Tramp the football legend reveals all in a humorous memoir that switches engagingly between footballing glory & personal heartache. ...