Journalist and memoirist Susan Allen Toth brings her special England vivdly to life as she recalls her many trips there over the years, where she explored the countryside, traveled both second-class and in luxury, theatre-hopped, hunted for ghosts, and honeymooned. Humorous, bittersweet, and wonderfully eccentric, this is a delightful remembrance to be savored by those who love to travel or just dream of it. "I love MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ENGLAND. It is written clearly and with a understanding that far supasses any feeling of condescension or superiority or general quaintness among the natives, all of which I detect in books about other countries." M.F.K. Fisher
In a moving and witty memoir, Podhoretz shows his style as a natural-born storyteller with a sure sense of character and anecdote and the ability to construct a compelling narrative that opens a window onto an exemplary American life.
A warm, intimate account of the love between Eleanor Roosevelt and reporter Lorena Hickok—a relationship that, over more than three decades, transformed both women's lives and empowered them to play significant roles in one of the most tumultuous periods in American history In 1932, as her husband assumed the presidency, Eleanor Roosevelt entered the claustrophobic, duty-bound existence of the First Lady with dread. By that time, she had put her deep disappointment in her marriage behind her and developed an independent life—now threatened by the public role she would be forced to play. A lifeline came to her in the form of a feisty campaign reporter for the Associated Press: Lorena Hickok. Over the next thirty years, until Eleanor’s death, the two women carried on an extraordinary relationship: They were, at different points, lovers, confidantes, professional advisors, and caring friends. They couldn't have been more different. Eleanor had been raised in one of the nation’s most powerful political families and was introduced to society as a debutante before marrying her distant cousin, Franklin. Hick, as she was known, had grown up poor in rural South Dakota and worked as a servant girl after she escaped an abusive home, eventually becoming one of the most respected reporters at the AP. Her admiration drew the buttoned-up Eleanor out of her shell, and the two quickly fell in love. For the next thirteen years, Hick had her own room at the White House, next door to the First Lady. These fiercely compassionate women inspired each other to right the wrongs of the turbulent era in which they lived. During the Depression, Hick reported from the nation’s poorest areas for the WPA, and Eleanor used these reports to lobby her husband for New Deal programs. Hick encouraged Eleanor to turn their frequent letters into her popular and long-lasting syndicated column "My Day," and to befriend the female journalists who became her champions. When Eleanor’s tenure as First Lady ended with FDR's death, Hick pushed her to continue to use her popularity for good—advice Eleanor took by leading the UN’s postwar Human Rights Commission. At every turn, the bond these women shared was grounded in their determination to better their troubled world. Deeply researched and told with great warmth, Eleanor and Hick is a vivid portrait of love and a revealing look at how an unlikely romance influenced some of the most consequential years in American history.
With "England for All Seasons", Susan Allen Toth entices even experienced London visitors into exciting new adventures, from sharing the most scenic London bus routes to bargain-hunting to personal walking tours of eccentric museums. Toth illuminates the nooks and crannies of a vibrant culture--the real England that every Anglophile dreams of finding.
What happens when two enterprising young women give up their Madison Avenue salaries, leave the glamorous whirl of New York behind, and move up to Maine to become proprietors of a country store? That's what Scotty Mackenzie and Dorothy Mignault did back in the 1940s, and Scotty's spirited account of their often hilarious setbacks and triumphs has been a well-love classic ever since. When she traded in her silk stockings and pumps for jeans and tennis shoes, Scotty learned a lot--about the people of Goose Rocks Beach, near Kennebunkport, where the store served summer people and year-round residents alike; about the hard work it takes to run a business during the hectic tourist season; about the wisdom to be gained from the solitude of a Maine winter; and most of all, about the strength of a community that sticks together through the best of times and the worst of tragedies. For Goose Rocks Beach, the tragedy swept in with the flames of the infamous Fire of '47, which leveled the small seaside community. Not only is My Love Affair with the State of Maine as fresh and enjoyable a read today as when it was first published, but over the years its value as a snapshot of a bygone era has increased. This new edition contains pictures and an afterword from Scotty herself, filling us in on her adventures since the book was written. It is a rare glimpse of the Maine that was, and that lives on in the hearts of all those who have had their own love affairs with the State of Maine.
Profiles the film star's collection of jewelry, providing descriptions of her most noteworthy pieces and describing their representation of particular relationships and events in her life.
We English, supposedly cold and unemotional, are helplessly in love with nature. We fell in love two hundred years ago and, since then, have been on a wild roller-coaster ride through escapism, romanticism, art, animal cruelty, conservation, birdwatching, the back-to-nature movement and much more. Today we live with pets, gardening, wildlife documentaries and smartphone apps. The English Love Affair with Nature tells the story of this extraordinarily long, tangled and passionate romance, how we fell in love, and why we are still mad about nature.
Here for the first time is the complete, captivating story of an on-set romance that turned into a lifelong love story between silver screen legends Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. In 1954, Hepburn and Holden were America’s sweethearts. Both won Oscars that year and together they filmed Sabrina, a now-iconic film that continues to inspire the worlds of film and fashion. Audrey & Bill tells the stories of both stars, from before they met to their electrifying first encounter when they began making Sabrina. The love affair that sparked on-set was relatively short-lived, but was a turning point in the lives of both stars. Audrey & Bill follows both Hepburn and Holden as their lives crisscrossed through to the end, providing an inside look at the Hollywood of the 1950s, ’60s, and beyond. Through in-depth research and interviews with former friends, co-stars, and studio workers, Audrey & Bill author Edward Z. Epstein sheds new light on the stars and the fascinating times in which they lived.
The Big Cat Man - wildlife autobiography of Jonathan Scott, holiday reads and travel literature, including the BBC's Big Cat Diary, Paramount's Wild Things, and Elephant Diaries. Also included are photographs and illustrations by Jonathan and Angela Scott, plus coverage of the Maasai Mara and Serengeti, Antarctica, and travels to India and Bhutan.
Making it up the aisle was the easy part: Rebecca "Bex" Porter must survive her own scandals and adjust to royal British life in this "positively delicious" follow-up to The Royal We that's "just as fun, charming, and delightful as the first" (Taylor Jenkins Reid). After a scandalous secret turns their fairy-tale wedding into a nightmare, Rebecca "Bex" Porter and her husband Prince Nicholas are in self-imposed exile. The public is angry. The Queen is even angrier. And the press is salivating. Cutting themselves off from friends and family, and escaping the world's judgmental eyes, feels like the best way to protect their fragile, all-consuming romance. But when a crisis forces the new Duke and Duchess back to London, the Band-Aid they'd placed over their problems starts to peel at the edges. Now, as old family secrets and new ones threaten to derail her new royal life, Bex has to face the emotional wreckage she and Nick left behind: with the Queen, with the world, and with Nick's brother Freddie, whose sins may not be so easily forgotten—nor forgiven.
