Boswell's Presumptuous Task : Writing the Life of Dr Johnson

Biographies & Memoirs

Adam Sisman

Arts & Literature

Harperperennial

Boswell's Presumptuous Task

Penguin Books, Ltd.

Boswell's Presumptuous Task. The Making of the Life of Dr. Johnson.

Farrar. Straus and Giroux

John le Carre: The Biography

BLOOMSBURY

<p>Dashing for the Post: The Letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor</p>

Dashing for the Post: The Letters of Patrick Leigh Fermor

PATRICK LEIGH FERMOR

John Murray Publishers

In this definitive biography–blessed by John le Carré himself–Adam Sisman reveals the man behind the bestselling persona. In John le Carré, Sisman shines a spotlight on David Cornwell, an expert at hiding in plain sight–“born to lying,” he wrote in 2002, “bred to it, trained to it by an industry that lies for a living, practiced in it as a novelist.”Of course, the pseudonym “John le Carré” has helped to keep the public at a distance. Sisman probes Cornwell’s unusual upbringing, abandoned by his mother at the age of only five and raised by his con man father (when not in prison), and explores his background in British intelligence, as well as his struggle to become a writer, and his personal life. Sisman has benefited from unfettered access to le Carré’s private archive, talked to the most important people in his life, and interviewed the man himself at length.Who is John le Carré? Intriguing, thorough, and packed with entertaining detail, this biography will be a treat for the legions of le Carré fans.

John le Carré

BRILLIANCE AUDIO ^

The definitive biography of the internationally adored author of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and A Perfect Spy―arguably one of the most important and influential writers of the post-World War II period―by the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning biographer Adam Sisman.In this definitive biography–blessed by John le Carré himself–Adam Sisman reveals the man behind the bestselling persona. In John le Carré, Sisman shines a spotlight on David Cornwell, an expert at hiding in plain sight–“born to lying,” he wrote in 2002, “bred to it, trained to it by an industry that lies for a living, practiced in it as a novelist.”Of course, the pseudonym “John le Carré” has helped to keep the public at a distance. Sisman probes Cornwell’s unusual upbringing, abandoned by his mother at the age of only five and raised by his con man father (when not in prison), and explores his background in British intelligence, as well as his struggle to become a writer, and his personal life. Sisman has benefited from unfettered access to le Carré’s private archive, talked to the most important people in his life, and interviewed the man himself at length.Who is John le Carré? Intriguing, thorough, and packed with entertaining detail, this biography will be a treat for the legions of le Carré fans.

<p>Longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction'I embarrassed myself by uncontrollable guffaws ... This is a truly wonderful story' A. N. Wilson, Spectator'A white-knuckle roller-coaster ride of fibs and frauds' Sunday Telegraph'An utterly mad, and wholly delightful story of chicanery and fantasy' Simon WinchesterOne day in November 1958, the celebrated historian Hugh Trevor-Roper received a curious letter. It was an appeal for help, written on behalf of a student at Magdalen College, with the unlikely claim that he was being persecuted by the Bishop of Oxford. Curiosity piqued, Trevor-Roper agreed to a meeting. It was to be his first encounter with Robert Parkin Peters: plagiarist, bigamist, fraudulent priest and imposter extraordinaire. The Professor and the Parson traces the strange career of one of Britain's most eccentric criminals. Motivated not by money but by a desire for prestige, Peters' lied, stole and cheated his way to academic positions and religious posts from Cambridge to New York, Singapore and South Africa. Frequently deported, and even more frequently discovered, his trail of destruction included seven marriages (three of which were bigamous), an investigation by the FBI and a disastrous appearance on Mastermind. Based on Trevor-Roper's own detailed 'file on Peters', The Professor and the Parson is a witty and charming account of eccentricity, extraordinary narcissism and a life as wild and unlikely as any in fiction.</p>

The Professor and the Parson: A Story of Desire, Deceit and Defrocking

Profile Books Limited (London, UK)

The Secret Life of John le Carre

Profile Books, Ltd.

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Books by Adam Sisman