Showing titles in Biographies & Memoirs

“An immensely entertaining tribute to love and resilience.” — Kirkus What kind of child grows up to create Billy on the Street? And who is the real Billy when he's not playing his iconic character? From the voice behind the viral sensation comes a hilarious and poignant memoir exclusively...

This long-awaited memoir from one of Britain's best-loved celebrities - a writer, broadcaster, activist, comic on stage, screen and radio for nearly forty years, presenter of QI and Great British Bake Off star - is an autobiography with a difference: as only Sandi Toksvig can tell it. 'Between...

What if transgender people aren’t a threat to faith—but the prophets we’ve been waiting for? Christianity has largely taught us that there are only two genders, man and woman, with one created to lead and one to serve. Transgender, nonbinary, and queer people have been blamed for society’s moral decline, while churches uphold structures proven to enable gendered violence and inequality. What if the Bible reveals a different story about gender and humanity?

From comedian and TikTok star Kevin James Thornton comes a hilarious and heartfelt story of growing up in a Christian fundamentalist church, turning trauma into comedy, and finding your own way. Growing up in the 90s in a small town in Indiana, Kevin James Thornton had little notion he would one...

The unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of the hugely successful The Fry Chronicles, brilliantly read by Stephen Fry himself. Thirteen years ago, Moab is my Washpot, Stephen Fry's autobiography of his early years, was published to rave reviews and was a huge bestseller. In those thirteen...

An unflinching memoir about growing up in Iran where homosexuality is punishable by death, and yet underground, hidden from Sharia law, is a vibrant gay scene threatening to burst open. The dawn prayer calls echo through the streets. As many make their way to mosques, for some it signals the end of another illegal gay party. Under the cover of darkness, smiles on lips and sweat on foreheads, the gays of Tehran blend back into daily life. Hidden in plain sight, they plan when and where they will meet again.

Brought to you by Penguin Following on from his hugely successful first book, The Fry Chronicles, comes the second chapter in Stephen Fry's life. This unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of More Fool Me is read by Stephen Fry himself. 'Oh dear I am an arse. I expect there'll be what I...

From Blackadder to Call the Midwife, from the Cadbury's Caramel Rabbit to Harry Potter, Miriam Margolyes is the outspoken great aunt (after two sherries) we all wish we had -- this is (at last) her extraordinary life story and it's well worth the wait. 'There is no one on earth quite so...

Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez was an invisible architect behind evangelical Christianity's digital empire, crafting messages of belonging for some of the most influential megachurches, all while secretly questioning his own place within the faith. In a desperate attempt to "fix" himself, he turned to conversion therapy, spending eight years trying to pray the gay away. And he wasn't alone. Even though Exodus International, the largest ex-gay organization, closed in 2013, the practice still thrives in many conservative religious communities.

A BBC History magazine, Esquire, Historia magazine and Waterstones History Book of the Year 'James comes alive in full flamboyance … Russell expertly weaves the bedchamber gossip into the tapestry of a tumultuous reign' SUNDAY TIMES 'Brings the backbiting and power struggles of the Jacobean...

Few people serve time in prison before studying at Cambridge. You might be surprised to know that Stephen Fry is one of them. Moab is My Washpot, the remarkable story of Stephen Fry's tumultuous early life, is by turns funny, shocking, tender, delicious, sad, lyrical, bruisingly frank and addictively listenable.

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable, audiobook edition of Spectacles, the hilarious, creative and incredibly moving memoir from much loved comedian, writer and presenter Sue Perkins. When I began writing this book, I went home to see if my mum had kept some of my stuff. What I found...

Graham Norton has been entertaining audiences and having fun with some of the world's biggest stars for nearly twenty years. He is loved across the nation for his delight in the peculiar and for his ability to find humour and a common ground in all that life brings. The Life and Loves of a He...

Get to know a national icon in Eddie Izzard's hilarious and dazzling autobiography 'Comic genius . . . Entertainment incarnate' Telegraph ______ Star of stage and screen. Tireless supporter of charity. Marathon runner. Political campaigner. Fashion icon. Human. There is no one quite like Eddie...

Rainbow History Class is your entry into LGBTQ+ history, sharing queer and trans stories from Ancient civilisations all the way up to the internet. So much of queer and trans history and culture has been erased, but Hannah McElhinney, writer and creator of Rainbow History Class (as seen on TikTok), is here to help us all with this crash course.

By the age of twenty, Lucy Spraggan had already experienced more extraordinary things than many do across a lifetime. When her X Factor audition went viral in 2012, Lucy became the bookies' favourite to win the show. She was the first contestant ever to write and perform her own original songs, refusing to be pigeonholed by stylists and producers. Viewers fell for her unmanufactured, anti-pop princess stance, and the tabloids loved her. Then, suddenly, mid-way through the live shows, Lucy dropped out. The public were told Lucy was unwell.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER From international drag superstar and pop culture icon RuPaul, comes his most revealing to date—a brutally honest and deeply intimate memoir of growing up Black, poor, and queer in a broken home to discovering the power of performance and self-acceptance. A profound...

When Jan Morris joined the 1953 Everest expedition and was first to get news of the ascent back to London, she became the most famous journalist in the world. So began a glittering career covering the Eichmann trial, interviewing Che Guevara and scooping the story of Suez collusion. Morris transitioned in the early seventies and documented the experience in Conundrum. She was a pioneer and her books, including Venice and the Pax Britannica trilogy, have inspired readers across the globe.

Alan Bennett is one of the country's most celebrated and best-loved authors. This unmissable collection of diaries and memoirs brings together for the first time Telling Tales, Diaries: 1980-1990, the autobiographical section of Untold Stories, which covers the period 1997-2004, and Keeping On Keeping On: The Diaries 2005-2014. With wit, wisdom, sharp social commentary and perceptive impressions, Alan Bennett's memoirs and diaries are a joy to discover, and a delight to hear again.

Over the course of his distinguished entertainment career, Alan Bennett has received multiple awards and honours, including two BAFTAs, four Laurence Olivier Awards, two Tony Awards, an Academy Award nomination for his film The Madness of King George, and a British Book Award for Author of the Year in 2006. In this four-part collection of his remarkable Untold Stories, the acclaimed writer considers his childhood, career, and the current state of the world with his customary blend of wit and poignancy.