Nicholas Shakespeare

A biography of Bruce Chatwin, based on private notebooks, diaries, letters and hundreds of interviews. It illuminates the many sides of Chatwin, from Sotheby's director, archaeologist, "Sunday Times" journalist and traveller to devoted husband and active gay, socialite and loner.

Ex-journalist John Dyer must take on a dangerous political conspiracy in order to bring his friend's killer to justice in this gripping thriller by an award-winning writer. John Dyer is living a quiet life when he receives a call that changes everything: an old university friend, Lia, has been killed. Decades have passed since his last heartbreaking conversation with her, but Dyer finds himself driven to investigate. What Dyer uncovers puts him in the path of a political conspiracy with one man at its heart. A man who, forty years ago, committed a crime witnessed by just four people. When another of the witnesses dies in suspicious circumstances, Dyer finds his life in danger. To combat the forces arrayed against him, he needs incontrovertible proof--but will he find it in time? As Dyer chases his leads from Tasmania to Argentina and finally to Michigan, where it all began, he unwittingly pits himself against an adversary more powerful than he could have imagined, in a race as heartstopping as tomorrow's headlines.

A fresh portrait of the man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact, by an award-winning biographer with unprecedented access to the Fleming family papers. *WINNER OF THE CWA GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION*Ian Fleming's greatest creation, James Bond, has had an enormous and ongoing impact on our culture, but Fleming’s life was more mysterious than anything he wrote.Ian’s childhood with his gifted brother and extraordinary mother established his ambition to be ‘the complete man’. Only a writer for his last twelve years, his dramatic personal experiences and career in Naval Intelligence put him at the heart of critical moments in world history, while also providing rich inspiration for his fiction.Nicholas Shakespeare is one of the most gifted biographers working today. His talent for uncovering new material that casts fresh light on his subjects is fully evident in this masterful, definitive biography.‘Elegant and painstakingly researched’ Observer‘Marvellous…one of the most engaging portraits of a particular period of British history that I have read in a long time’ Antonia Fraser‘A book so buoyant and delicious that you feel it will be a friend for life' Telegraph*SHORTLISTED FOR THE SALTIRE SOCIETY LITERARY AWARD**A The Times, Financial Times, Economist, Spectator and BBC History Magazine Book of the Year*

Leandro's schoolmates are the children of powerful people, and a chance conversation with another father, Iranian scientist Rustum Marvar, sets Dyer onto a truly dangerous path. Then Marvar disappears.

Pressured to sign the register, little does he realise what effect that signature will have upon his life. The extraordinary story that follows tells of one man's failed love, the temptations of unanticipated wealth, the secrets of damaged families and the price of being true to oneself.

Torn by tragedy from his early life on a remote farm in Tasmania, Alex Dove has returned years later to start over. A chance encounter with quiet, alluring Merridy Bowman--a young woman similarly haunted by a tangled and catastrophic history--results in marriage, as two damaged souls unite to build a home, family, and livelihood far removed from civilization's bustle. Soon they are drawn into the unpredictable dynamics of small-town island life--and into the destructive orbit of an unscrupulous real estate agent who maintains a secret hold over both Doves. But when a shipwreck off the shore thrusts a troubled, possibly criminal teenage castaway into their world, Alex and Merridy's tenuously forged happiness is suddenly at grave risk, as they are forced to confront deeper questions about the true meaning of fulfillment.

Thomas Wavery is the new Consul General at Abyla on the tip of North Africa. A career diplomat, Wavery was once a high flyer, but an affair with a younger woman has dashed his dreams of ambassadorship. He arrives in Abyla with his wife suing for divorce, his passport stolen by a Gibraltarian ape and precious little enthusiasm for the task ahead.

From the acclaimed author of The Sandpit, an exhilarating literary thriller about the hunt for a missing terrorist in South America.Out of a job but in search of one last scoop from South America, journalist John Dyer strikes gold when he chances upon Agustín Rejas, a former police colonel whose dogged pursuit - and eventual capture - of murderous guerrilla leader Ezequiel made him a national hero.Over many nights, Rejas recounts his story of the years-long manhunt. So too emerges the tale of his own poor upbringing, his turbulent marriage and the passion he once felt for Yolanda, his daughter's ballet teacher - an all-consuming obsession that would ultimately lead him straight to the elusive Ezequiel...'Astoundingly good... Demands you put your life on hold until it is finished' Guardian'A genuinely fine novel from a writer who possesses real heart and flair' Louis de Bernières, Sunday Times

*** Selected as a 2017 Book of the Year in the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Observer and The Economist ***`A gripping story of Churchill's unlikely rise to power' ObserverLondon, May 1940.

Priscilla: The Hidden Life of an Englishwoman in Wartime France by Nicholas Shakespeare is a transcendent work of narrative nonfiction in the vein of The Hare with Amber Eyes.When Nicholas Shakespeare stumbled across a trunk full of his late aunt's personal belongings, he was unaware of where this discovery would take him and what he would learn about her hidden past. The glamorous, mysterious figure he remembered from his childhood was very different from the morally ambiguous young woman who emerged from the trove of love letters, journals and photographs, surrounded by suitors and living the precarious existence of a British citizen in a country controlled by the enemy during World War II.As a young boy, Shakespeare had always believed that his aunt was a member of the Resistance and had been tortured by the Germans. The truth turned out to be far more complicated. Piecing together fragments of his aunt's remarkable and tragic story, Priscilla is at once a stunning story of detection, a loving portrait of a flawed woman trying to survive in terrible times, and a spellbinding slice of history.

For Priscilla, pre-war Paris was an exciting carousel of suitors, soirees and heartbreak, and eventually a lavish wedding to a French aristocrat. But the arrival of the Nazi tanks signalled the end of life as a Vicomtesse, and the beginning of a precarious existence under German Occupation.

Bruce Chatwin is one of the most significant British novelists and travel writers of our time. Comprising material collected over two decades from hundreds of contacts across five continents, Chatwin's letters are a valuable and illuminating record of one of the greatest and most enigmatic writers of the twentieth century.

This novel explores one of the most astonishing stories in the whole history of twentieth century terrorism. The Dancer Upstairs is a story reminiscent of Graham Greene and John le Carré - tense, intricate and heartbreaking.

In this fascinating history of two turbulent centuries in an apparently idyllic place, Shakespeare effortlessly weaves the history of this unique island with a kaleidoscope of stories featuring a cast of unlikely characters from Errol Flynn to the King of Iceland, a village full of Chatwins and, inevitably, a family of Shakespeares.

In a world of lies, proof is power John Dyer is living a quiet life when he receives a call that changes everything: an old university friend, Lia, has been killed. Decades have passed since his last heartbreaking conversation with her, but Dyer finds himself driven to investigate. What Dyer uncovers puts him in the path of a political conspiracy with one man at its heart. A man who forty years ago committed a crime witnessed by just four people. When another of the witnesses dies in suspicious circumstances, Dyer finds himself in danger of his life. To combat the forces arrayed against him, he needs incontrovertible proof – but will he find it in time? As Dyer chases his leads from Tasmania to Argentina and finally to Michigan, where it all began, he unwittingly pits himself against an adversary more powerful than he could have imagined, in a race as heartstopping as tomorrow’s headlines. PRAISE FOR NICHOLAS SHAKESPEARE: 'A remarkable contemporary thriller... A triumph' William Boyd 'An absorbing thriller with shades of John le Carré' Evening Standard 'One of our best and truest novelists' The Times 'Exciting... A page-turner' Daily Telegraph ‘Wonderfully well written... with an insidious escalation of menace, and paranoia that fairly shimmers off the pages’ Guardian

A fresh portrait of the man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact, by an award-winning biographer with unprecedented access to the Fleming Archive. A fresh portrait of the man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact, by an award-winning biographer with unprecedented access to the Fleming Archive. Ian Fleming's greatest creation, James Bond, has had an enormous and ongoing impact on our culture. What Bond represents about ideas of masculinity, the British national psyche and global politics has shifted over time, as has the interpretation of the life of his author. But Fleming himself was more mysterious and subtle than anything he wrote. Ian's childhood with his gifted brother Peter and his extraordinary mother set the pattern for his ambition to be 'the complete man', and he would strive for the means to achieve this 'completeness' all his life. Only a writer for his last twelve years, his dramatic personal life and impressive career in Naval Intelligence put him at the heart of critical moments in world history, while also providing rich inspiration for his fiction. Exceptionally well connected, and widely travelled, from the United States and Soviet Russia to his beloved Jamaica, Ian had access to the most powerful political figures at a time of profound change. Nicholas Shakespeare is one of the most gifted biographers working today. His talent for uncovering material that casts new light on his subjects is fully evident in this masterful, definitive biography. His unprecedented access to the Fleming archives and his nose for a story make this a fresh and eye-opening picture of a man who lived his life in the shadow of his famous creation.

Dette er historien om hvordan slaget om Narvik i april 1940 førte til regjeringskrise i England og endret krigens gang. Fra 1939 var Winston Churchill marineminister og en del av det britiske krigskabinettet, og like lenge hadde han vært fiksert på Norge og den tyske malmtransporten gjennom Vestfjorden fra Narvik. Dette var en hovedåre for oppbyggingen av den tyske krigsmaskinen. Statsminister Neville Chamberlain ville lenge ikke høre på Churchills planer om å avskjære tyskernes transportrute, av frykt for å provosere Hitler. Da angrepet på Norge kom, var det for sent, og de britiske aksjonene langs norskekysten ble en katastrofe - for Churchill også personlig. Med en rekke nye kilder og detaljer bringer Nicholas Shakespeare oss tett på begivenhetene som ledet fram til «The Norway Debate» i det britiske parlamentet - som den 10. mai endte med en seks minutters avstemning der Winston Churchill helt uventet ble landets statsminister.