Search Results: Autobiography, Diaries & Memoirs from Ariadne Books

London: Granta, 2013. First edition. Hardback. Fine/Very Good. Signed by the author. Granta Publications, London, 2013. First edition, signed by the author. Book condition: near fine and unread. Dust jacket: very good. Unclipped and with minor edge wear only. Finding himself in Alexandria in the winter of 2010, Peter Stothard, editor of the TLS, is forced to contemplate his past in circumstances he does not expect. The aftermath of a bombing and the onset of the Arab Spring complicate his plans to complete a long-delayed biography of Cleopatra. Minded by two guids whose motives are mysterious, he visits Alexandria's ancient sites and revisits places and people from his own life. In this extraordinary book, part memoir and part travel literature, written against the background of the fracturing police state of Egypt, a man and a woman from the author's schooldays are as present as the political minders of today.

Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing, 2005. Paperback, 2005. David Bryce recounts the many highs and lows he has experienced in what is an inspirational tale of survival and success against the odds. Book in very good condition with an unread feel.

London: Harper Press, 2007. First edition. Hardback. Fine/Very Good. Harper Press, London, 2007. First edition. Book condition: near fine and unread. Dust jacket: very good. Unclipped and with only minor edge wear. Spine slightly faded and a 'As heard on Radio 4' sticker to front. This stunningly candid volume of never before published letters sheds fascinating light on a man who has remained largely hidden behind his most famous character. Gracefully written and consistently revealing, these letters illuminate Conan Doyle's life, character and career as never before.

London: Folio Society, 1999. Llewellyn Thomas. Folio Society, 1999 (first published in book form in 1883). Hardback. xxviii, 240pp. Grey cloth binding over light grey boards. Top edge tinted grey. Slipcase. Introduction by John Sutherland. Illustrated. Book and slipcase in near fine condition.

London: John Murray, 1941. First edition. Signed by Edward Ardizzone to front free endpaper. Hardback. 121pp. No jacket. Amusing reminiscences from the time when Ardizzone was one of a small number of Official War Artists during WW2. The book begins in Arras when he and Edward Bawden were billeted in a local hotel. Illustrated throughout by the author. Book in very good condition. Slight lean to spine and a little fade to blue cloth. Small printed ownership to foot of front pastedown which also has a neat ink inscription by a different owner. Mild toning to paper, mainly around edges. Small mark to foot of p79 which shows through adjacent couple of pages before and after.

London: John Murray, 1986. First edition, 1986. Signed by the author to the title page. Hardback. 248pp. Double page map between pages 22 and 23. Blue cloth boards with gilt design to upper board. Gilt titles to spine. This is the sequel to the remarkable 'A Time of Gifts'. With a borrowed rucksack and the lifeline of a pound a week, Patrick Leigh Fermor set off in 1933 from the Hook of Holland to walk to Constantinople - a walk of a year and a half. 'Between the Woods and the Water' continues the journey down the Danube from Budapest: on horseback across the Great Hungarian Plain, and over the Rumanian border into Transylvania, a wild and beautiful region of forests and mountains secluded from tWestern eyes during centuries of religious and national complexity. He planned to live 'like a tramp, a pilgrim, or a wandering scholar', sleeping in work-houses, monasteries and barns. But a chance introduction in Bavaria led to a counterpointing of this rough curriculum with… Read More

London: Faber & Faber, 1957. The book has the supposed signature of Edward Ardizzone to the front free endpaper but we are doubtful that this is genuine. Although it bears many characteristics of Ardizzone's hand, the initial 'E' is normally more angular, the tails of the 'z's are normally straight rather than curled and the terminal 'e' most often ends in a straight line rather than a curl. There is no provenance or other evidence to support the genuineness of the signature. That being said, the book is undoubtedly a first edition with its original dust jacket. Hardback. 191pp. Dust jacket in a protective sleeve. This is a delightful book. It begins with a bus ride through the streets of his boyhood which shocked Leslie Paul into the realization that the world of his suburban childhood had disappeared. When he paced the streets again he saw that the whole pattern of life had changed. In this book he looks back on Kitchener Street, and recreates his childhood around… Read More

London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1984. First edition. Hardback. Fine/Fine. The book is in near fine condition with only the faintest amount of bumping to the head and tail of the spine. The dust jacket is also fine with slight shelf wear at the usual vulnerable points and a little discolouration. In this complling memoir, Haig discusses the substance of American policy worldwide and reveals the machinations of the President's men. The problems, both global and political, that Haig confronted remain today and his proposals for solving them are arguable even more valid now than when he left office. A bit of a hefty book but very readable. 367 pages with 16 pages of photographs.

London: Michael Joseph, 1978. First edition. Hardback. Very good/Very Good. D. J. Watkins-Pitchford. Michael Joseph, London, 1978. First edition. Book condition: very good. Minimal shelf wear. Light dust soiling to upper edge of text block. Very slight lean to spine and some faint toning to page edges. Dust jacket: very good. Unclipped. A little edge wear and some sporadic light soiling. Every 'BB' enthusiast will be fascinated to learn how a childhood stickleback expedition up a local stream later gave him the idea for Folly Brook in his classic The Little Grey Men and how Wild Lone was based on a fox who outwitted the Pytchley hounds for many years. In his early years, illness prevented 'BB' from going to school and led to a lonely childhood. Had he gone away to school like his brothers perhaps he would never have become an author. It was, of course, art which first took him from home. When he left the Royal College of Art, he taught at Rugby School for seventeen years before… Read More

London: Michael Joseph, 1978. D. J. Watkins-Pitchford. First edition, 1978. Hardback. 169pp. Dust jacket in a protective sleeve. Every 'BB' enthusiast will be fascinated to learn how a childhood stickleback expedition up a local stream later gave him the idea for Folly Brook in his classic The Little Grey Men and how Wild Lone was based on a fox who outwitted the Pytchley hounds for many years. In his early years, illness prevented 'BB' from going to school and led to a lonely childhood. Had he gone away to school like his brothers perhaps he would never have become an author. It was, of course, art which first took him from home. When he left the Royal College of Art, he taught at Rugby School for seventeen years before leaving to become a full-time writer. These evocative reminiscences are accompanied by the distinguished line-drawings of D. J. Watkins-Pitchford. Book condition: very good. Minimal shelf wear. Light dust soiling to upper edge of text block. Faint toning to page… Read More

London : Faber & Faber, 2012. First edition, first impression. Hardback. [i - vi], vii - x, [1 - 2], 3 - 339pp. Dust jacket in a protective sleeve. The publication of Edna O'Brien's memoir was a major literary event. O'Brien was born in Ireland in 1930, and her brilliant debut novel, "The Country Girls" was banned there on its publication in 1960. Since then she has created a body of work which bears comparison with the very best writing of the twentieth century. In "Country Girl" we come face to face with a life of high drama and contemplation. And along the way there are encounters with Hollywood giants, pop stars and literary titans - all of whom lend this life, so gorgeously, sometimes painfully remembered here, a terrible poignancy. In prose which sparkles with the effortless gifts of a master, Edna O'Brien has recast her life with the imaginative insight of a poet. This is a book of unfathomable depth and honesty. Book in near fine condition. Very… Read More

Norwalk. Connecticut: Easton Press, 2018. Signed first edition from Easton Press. Full leather with gilt to boards and spine. From the winner of the 2018 UN Peace Prize, this is the story of a woman who inspired change with her calls for greater freedom for women in Saudi Arabia. New and still in publisher's shrinkwrap.

London: Victor Gollancz, 1996. First edition. Hardback. Fine/Very Good. Victor Gollancz, London, 1996. First UK edition. Book condition: near fine and unread. Dust jacket: very good. Unclipped and with only the slightest edge wear. An indelible account of a childhood lived on the edge, hallmarked by Paulsen's sinewy writing, purity of voice and his bedrock honesty. Must rank as one of the greatest of twentieth-century childhood memoirs.

London: Guild Publishing, 1989. Hardback. Very Good/Very Good. Guild Publishing, London, 1989. Book condition: very good. Minor shelf wear only. Internally very clean and unmarked. Faint tanning to page edges and very small stain to rear end paper. Dust jacket: very good. Unclipped and wth very slight edge wear only. Wrapper in a protective sleeve. This is Daphne du Maurier's personla memoir, the story of how Cornwall formed her as a writer - how the spirit of Cornwall awakened in her a response so imaginative that it transformed ordinary perception into the inspired perception of a master storyteller. Completed just before her death in 1989. Profusely illustrated.

London: Folio Society, 1968. Hardback. Good/Original Slipcase in very good condition. Folio Society, London, 1968. Book condition: good. Spine a litle faded, very slight shelf wear around the edges and some light soiling. Internally very clean. Binding totally sound. Original slipcase in very good condition. In the early hours of May 6th 1860 Garibaldi and just over a thousand meb sailed from Genoa in two stolen steamers to conquer the island of Sicily, at that time part of the Kingdom of Naples. Giuseppe de Lampedusa made use of this book as source material for his remarkable novel The Leopard. In this book, Brancaccio has caught the atmosphere, the feverish excitement and the idealism of those days with an absolute focus. They are so much more real than in the novel not only because this is a work based on experience rather than imagination, but because they are viewed through the eyes of a Tancredi.

Norwalk. Connecticut: Easton Press, 2014. Signed first edition from Easton Press. Full leather with gilt to boards and spine. Text block edges all gilt. New and still in publisher's shrinkwrap.

London: Folio Society, 1957. Hardback. Good/Original slipcase in good condition. Folio Society, London, 1957. Book condition: good. Spine very slightly rubbed and a little faded. Slight toning to endpapers and previous owner's name & date to ffep. Internally clean and unmarked. Original slipcase in good condition with the occasional small area of scuffing/rubbing. This is the memoir of a French Huguenot who tried to escape from France to a more sympathetic Protestant country after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Marteilhe was condemned to the French Mediterranean Galleys for his religion. Believed to be the only authentic record of the miseries of being a galley slave in the eighteenth century.

London: Macmillan & Co Ltd, 1940. First edition, 1940. Signed by John Farleigh to half title page and dated 12 Sept. 44. Hardback. 388pp. Illustrated boards. No dust jacket. John Farleigh, painter, illustrator and engraver, is probably best known for his illustrations to George Bernard Shaw's "Black Girl in Search of God". He also illustrated some of the works of D. H. Lawrence and Sacahverell Sitwell. He was a member of the Wood Engraving Society and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society and was, at one time, Art Instructor at Rugby School and then Instructor at the Central School of Arts & Crafts, Bloomsbury. This is both an autobiography and a discourse on some aspects of the engraver's technique. The book is well illustrated and of particular interest are the reproductions of wood engravings in various states. Book in good condition. Boards generally a little soiled and rubbed. Corners mildly bumped. Spine a little discoloured. Small printed sticker with previous… Read More

London: Macmillan & Co Ltd, 1948. Macmillan & Co Ltd., London, 1948. First edition. Book condition: very good. Just a little light shelf wear. Partial dust jacket only and in poor condition though unclipped. Rear and rear flap completely lost. Some loss to head of spine and a little to upper edge. Chipping and split around tail of spine. Discoloured. This is the third volume of 'Left Hand, Right Hand!' - Osbert Sitwell's autobiography.

London: Macmillan & Co Ltd, 1948. Hardback. Very Good/Good. Macmillan & Co Ltd., London, 1948. Second impression. Book condition: very good. Relatively free of shelf wear. Dust jacket condition: good. Unclipped. Some shelf wear to edges with some chipping (mainly to head & tail of spine). Some discolouration - especially to spine. This is the third volume of 'Left Hand, Right Hand!' - Osbert Sitwell's autobiography.