Virago

Zorah Sharaf's friends know her as witty, confident, obsessed with Paris; Zorah Sharaf's family know her as their beloved daughter and sister; Zorah Sharaf's community know her as a selfish girl intent on dragging her father's name through the mud. So who is Zorah Sharaf? EVERYONE THINKS THEY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED . . . The Sharaf family is the picture of success. They arrived in America as refugees with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. And now, after years of hard work, they live in the most exclusive neighbourhood, their growing family attending the most prestigious schools. Zorah, the eldest daughter, is the apple of her father's eye. But when Zorah dies in an unthinkable tragedy, everyone is left reeling and the family is thrust into the court of public opinion. There is talk that behind closed doors the Sharafs' happy household was anything but, and soon the veneer of the model immigrant family starts to crumble. Those who knew her best - and those who never met her - all have an opinion on who Zorah really was, and what really happened to her . . . A kaleidoscopic, urgent narrative, told through the chorus of voices surrounding the Sharafs, Good People is a riveting, provocative and unforgettable story of community, family and identity.

THE ANCIENT GREEK STAGE BROUGHT THRILLINGLY TO LIFE BY THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION 'Mary Renault has made the classical era alive' GORE VIDAL 'Her books have stood the test of time' INDEPENDENT The artist flows into the mask the poet offers him; only so will the god possess him. Greece, fourth century BC. The golden age of theatre may be over, but Nikeratos still lives and breathes the stage. Finding work with a group of travelling actors, he discovers amongst their dusty props an old, discarded mask of Apollo. When a violent attack threatens the company mid-performance, the actors must go on: once the show ends, they know their lives are at stake. Seized by inspiration, Niko dons the golden mask and feels the powerful words of Apollo coursing through him - spurring the defenders to victory. But Greece is racked by political struggles, and as his fame grows Niko finds himself caught in the crossfire, a pawn in a game of tyrants. And all the while, the mask gains power - becoming his conscience, keeper of his secrets and, ultimately, the maker of his gravest choice.

Crazy isn't being broken or swallowing a dark secret. It's you or me amplified. If you ever told a lie and enjoyed it. If you ever wished you could be a child forever. In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital to be treated for depression. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital renowned for its famous clientele - Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor and Ray Charles. Unflinchingly honest and darkly funny, this bestselling memoir is a sharply vivid portrait of Susanna's fellow patients, the kaleidoscopically shifting world of the late sixties, and how sometimes the only way to stay sane is to go a little crazy.

Giving a party was not as simple as going to one. You could always leave someone else's party. You were stuck with your own. Dolls - red or black; capsules or tablets; washed down with vodka or swallowed straight. For Anne, Neely and Jennifer, it doesn't matter, as long as the pill bottle is within easy reach. These three starlets become best friends when they are young and in New York, struggling to make their names in the entertainment industry. Only when they reach the peak of their careers do they find there's nowhere left to go but down - to the valley of the dolls. A record-breaking bestseller and an instant sensation, this is a salaciously subversive cult classic about the dark heart of fame.

Contrary to what many of you might imagine, a career in letters is not without its drawbacks - chief among them the unpleasant fact that one is frequently called upon to actually sit down and write. Acerbic, wisecracking and hilarious, this is the definitive essay collection from the New York legend and satirist. Lebowitz turns her trademark caustic wit to the vicissitudes of life - from children ('rarely in the position to lend one a truly interesting sum of money') to landlords ('it is the solemn duty of every landlord to maintain an adequate supply of roaches'). Her advice for would-be Absolute Political Dictators is invaluable ('Not recommended for the shy type'), and her attitude to work is the perfect antidote to our exhausting culture of self-betterment ('3.40pm. I consider getting out of bed. I reject the notion as being unduly vigorous. I read and smoke a bit more').

Everyone in Cork remembers the Rachel Incident. But what really happened? It's simple. It's complicated. It's about love, sex and friendship. It's definitely about betrayal. And, above all, it's the story of Rachel and James, two twenty-somethings who met at a bookshop, became best friends, and spent one unforgettable year screwing up and growing up.

A beautiful new edition of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, the iconic, beloved and deeply moving first volume of Maya Angelou's autobiography. The international classic and bestseller, Maya Angelou's memoir paints a portrait of 'a brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' BARACK OBAMA 'I write about being a Black American woman, however, I am always talking about what it's like to be a human being. This is how we are, what makes us laugh, and this is how we fall and how we somehow, amazingly, stand up again' Maya Angelou In this first volume of her seven books of autobiography, Maya Angelou beautifully evokes her childhood with her grandmother in the American south of the 1930s. Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a Black woman she has known discrimination, violence and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration.

From the beloved star of Gilmore Girls and the New York Times bestselling author of Talking as Fast as I Can comes a candid, insightful, and wildly entertaining essay collection about her years in show business, featuring stories that range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Lauren Graham has graced countless television screens with her quick wit and larger-than-life personality, earning a reputation as a pop culture icon who always has something to say - and fast. Now Graham shares personal stories about her career in entertainment, from her early days navigating Los Angeles as a struggling actress in a red Volkswagen, to her first appearance on late-night TV, to the challenges of ageing gracefully in Hollywood. With her signature sense of humour and down-to-earth storytelling, she tells all and never spares a detail (as long as she hasn't forgotten it). In 'R.I.P. Barneys New York' she writes about an early job as a salesperson at the legendary department store (and the time she inadvertently shoplifted); in 'Ryan Gosling Cannot Confirm' she attempts to navigate the unspoken rules of Hollywood hierarchies; in 'Ne Oublie' she warns us about the perils of coming from an extremely forgetful family; and in 'Actor-y Factory' she recounts what a day in the life of an actor looks like (unless you're Brad Pitt). She also welcomes back her alter ego Old Lady Jackson to share some more homespun wisdom ('Buy wrapping paper in January when it goes on sale') and reveal the easiest recipe for orange marmalade you'll ever find (which isn't actually easy, because easy recipes for marmalade are a total time suck and just another internet lie). Filled with surprising anecdotes, sage advice, and laugh-out-loud observations, these all-new, original essays showcase the winning charm and wry humour that have delighted Graham's millions of fans.

Selma Blair has played many archetypal roles: gullible ingenue in Cruel Intentions. Preppy ice queen in Legally Blonde. Fire-starter in Hellboy. Muse to Karl Lagerfeld. Face of Chanel. Cover model. Advocate for the multiple sclerosis community. But before all of that, Selma was known best for being one thing: a mean baby. In a memoir that is as wildly funny as it is emotionally shattering, Selma Blair tells the captivating story of growing up and finding her truth. The first story Selma Blair Beitner ever heard about herself is that she was a mean, mean baby. With her mouth pulled in a perpetual snarl and a head so furry it had to be rubbed to make way for her forehead, Selma spent years living up to her terrible reputation: biting her sisters, lying spontaneously, getting drunk from Passover wine at the age of seven, and behaving dramatically so that she would be the center of attention. Although Selma went on to become a celebrated Hollywood actress and model, she could never quite shake the periods of darkness that overtook her, the certainty that there was a great mystery at the heart of her life. She often felt like her arms might be on fire, a sensation not unlike electric shocks, and she secretly drank to escape. Over the course of this beautiful and, at times, shocking memoir, Selma lays bare her addiction to alcohol, her devotion to her brilliant and complicated mother, and the moments she flirted with death. There is brutal violence, passionate love, true friendship, the gift of motherhood and, finally, the simultaneous devastation and surprising salvation of a multiple sclerosis diagnosis. In a voice that is powerfully original, fiercely intelligent, and full of hard-won wisdom, Selma Blair's Mean Baby is a deeply human memoir and a true literary achievement.

Lydia is hungry. She's always wanted to try sashimi and ramen, onigiri and udon - the food her Japanese father liked to eat - but the only thing she can digest is blood. Yet Lydia can't bring herself to prey on humans, and sourcing fresh pigs' blood in London - where she is living away from her Malaysian-British mother for the first time and trying to build a career as an artist - is much more difficult than she'd anticipated. If Lydia is to find a way to exist in the world, she must reconcile the conflicts within her - between her demon and human sides, her mixed ethnic heritage and her relationship with food, and, in turn, humans. Before any of this, however, she must eat.

TWO CULTURES. TWO FAMILIES. TWO PEOPLE. Yasmin Ghorami has a lot to be grateful for: a loving family, a fledgling career in medicine, and a charming, handsome fiancée, fellow doctor Joe Sangster. But as the wedding day draws closer and Yasmin's parents get to know Joe's firebrand feminist mother, both families must confront the unravelling of long-held secrets, lies and betrayals. As Yasmin dismantles her own assumptions about the people she holds most dear, she's also forced to ask herself what she really wants in a relationship and what a 'love marriage' actually means ...

A woman visits a friend with terminal cancer. Brilliant, strong-willed and alone, the friend, facing death, makes a momentous request. Will she accompany her on a holiday where she will, without warning one day, take a lethal pill to end her life on her own terms? Shaken and grieving, she finds the strength to agree. What follows is an extraordinary story - profound, surprising and often funny - of a lifelong friendship given the ultimate challenge; to witness its end. Utterly of our moment and timeless, What Are You Going Through is a deeply moving affirmation of life in its current existential threat and in its ordinary tragedies - the loss, loneliness, and the love that yet survives.

A new cover reissue of AND STILL I RISE, first published in 1986, from Maya Angelou, one of the most celebrated writers and poets of the world. A beautiful and inspiring collection of poetry by Maya Angelou, author of I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS and 'a brilliant writer, a fierce friend and a truly phenomenal woman' (BARACK OBAMA). Maya Angelou's poetry - lyrical and dramatic, exuberant and playful - speaks of love, longing, partings; of Saturday night partying, and the smells and sounds of Southern cities; of freedom and shattered dreams.

The New York Times-bestselling, National Book Award-winning author of THE FRIEND brings her singular voice to a story about the meaning of life and death, and the value of companionship. The woman at the heart of this extraordinary novel finds that everyone she meets has a common need: the urge to talk about themselves and to have an audience for their experiences. And so she tries to pay attention, to imagine and listen to what those around her are going through. But then an old friend makes an extraordinary request and draws her into an intense and transformative experience of her own.

'A METICULOUS HISTORY THAT READS LIKE A THRILLER' BEN MACINTYRE, TEN BEST BOOKS TO READ ABOUT WORLD WAR II An astounding story of heroism, spycraft, resistance and personal triumph over shocking adversity. 'A rousing tale of derring-do' THE TIMES * 'Riveting' MICK HERRON * 'Superb' IRISH TIMES THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In September 1941, a young American woman strides up the steps of a hotel in Lyon, Vichy France. Her papers say she is a journalist. Her wooden leg is disguised by a determined gait and a distracting beauty. She is there to spark the resistance. By 1942 Virginia Hall was the Gestapo's most urgent target, having infiltrated Vichy command, trained civilians in guerrilla warfare and sprung soldiers from Nazi prison camps. The first woman to go undercover for British SOE, her intelligence changed the course of the war - but her fight was still not over. This is a spy history like no other, telling the story of the hunting accident that disabled her, the discrimination she fought and the secret life that helped her triumph over shocking adversity. 'A cracking story about an extraordinarily brave woman' TELEGRAPH 'Gripping ... superb ... a rounded portrait of a complicated, resourceful, determined and above all brave woman' IRISH TIMES WINNER of the PLUTARCH AWARD FOR BEST BIOGRAPHY

Rosalind Miles' The Women's History of the World was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and translated into almost forty languages.Now it is time for a new women's history - for more famous, infamous and little-known rebels. We begin with the French Revolution when women took on the fraternite of man, then it's off to America to round up the rebels fighting side by side for freedom with their men, before heading back to Britain to witness the courage of the suffragettes. From Australia to Iceland, from India to China and from many other countries, we track women who - often at a very high cost to themselves - have stood up to age-old cruelties and injustices. Recording the important milestones in the long march of women towards equality through a colourful pageant of astonishing women, we chart the birth of modern womanhood. Women in sport, women in business, women in religion, women in politics and women in power - all female life is there. We end in the present day thrilled with what women have done - and can and will do. Rebel Women is as brave and as brilliant as its renegades, viragos and heroines.