Winner of the Elizabeth Longford prize for Historical Biography'Engrossing' Claire Tomalin / 'Superb' Sunday Times / 'A triumph' Daily MailWhether honoured and admired or criticized and ridiculed, Florence Nightingale has invariably been misrepresented and misunderstood. As the Lady with the Lamp, ministering to the wounded and dying of the Crimean War, she offers an enduring image of sentimental appeal and one that is permanently lodged in ...

The inspiration for the film Testament of Youth, this book from Mark Bostridge (Vera Brittain's biographer) tells the story of a remarkable woman and her extraordinary account of the destructive power of war.In the midst of her studies at Oxford when war broke out across Europe, Vera Brittain left university in 1915 to become a V.A.D (Voluntary Aid Detachment) nurse, treating soldiers in London, Malta and Etaples in France. The events of the First World Wa...

Nothing in the papers, not the most vivid and heart-rending descriptions, have made me realise war like your letters' Vera Brittain to Roland Leighton, 17 April 1915.This selection of letters, written between 1913 & 1918, between Vera Brittain and four young men - her fiance Roland Leighton, her brother Edward and their close friends Victor Richardson & Geoffrey Thurlow present a remarkable and profoundly moving portrait of five young people caught up in the cataclysm of total war....

'Profound, shattering and utterly immersive' Frances Wilson'Blurring the edges of biography and autobiography, Bostridge displays a profound empathy for Adele, even at her most baffing and elusive' Literary ReviewIn this unforgettably shattering memoir, Mark Bostridge finds himself haunted by the daughter of Victor Hugo. More than a century after her mysterious disappearance, he pursues Adele on her doomed and reckless journey of unrequited...

The Fateful Year by Mark Bostridge is the story of England in 1914. War with Germany, so often imagined and predicted, finally broke out when people were least prepared for it.Here, among a crowded cast of unforgettable characters, are suffragettes, armed with axes, destroying works of art, schoolchildren going on strike in support of their teachers, and celebrity aviators thrilling spectators by looping the loop. A theatrical diva prepares to shock her au...

For nearly a decade I have wanted; with a growing sense of urgency; to write something which would show what the whole War and post-war period — roughly; from the years leading up to 1914 until about 1935 — has meant to the men and women of my generation; the generation of those boys and girls who grew up just before the war broke out. I wanted to give too; if I could; an impression of the changes which that period brought about in the minds and lives of very different groups of individual...

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain; Mark Bostridge; et al.: Embark on a deeply personal and poignant journey through the tumultuous years of World War I with Vera Brittain's "Testament of Youth." This autobiographical account, expertly edited by Mark Bostridge and others, offers an intimate glimpse into the author's experiences as a nurse and her reflections on the devastating impact of war on individuals and society.Why T...

Bloomsbury presents In Pursuit of Love by Mark Bostridge, read by John Hastings.From Normandy to the Caribbean Islands, this innovative biographical pursuit follows Adèle Hugo on her reckless journey of unrequited love – and the writer who chased after her more than 150 years later.It’s 1863. The daughter of the most famous writer in the world, Victor Hugo, who has ambitions as a writer and composer, suddenly leaves her family’s home on the Channel Islands bound for Nova Sc...

The definitive biography of Vera Brittain, acclaimed author of Testament of Youth. With a new introduction by Mark Bostridge.'Riveting and authoritative' Kate Figes, Independent on Sunday'Honest, precise and smart' Natasha Walter, Guardian'They succeed triumphantly... A fascinating portrait' Fiona MacCarthy, ObserverVera Brittain is most widely known as th...

A selection of the powerful and poignant wartime letters of Vera Brittain and her friends.‘If war spares me,’ wrote Vera Brittain to her brother Edward in 1916, ‘it will be my one aim to immortalise in a book the story of us four.’ Seventeen years later, Vera was to achieve her aim with the acclaimed Testament of Youth.This series of letters was the inspiration behind Testament. Written between Vera, her brother, her fiancé Roland Leighton and their two best frien...

2013 marks the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten. Here is an outstanding collection of essays to mark the event.Britten's Century considers various aspects of Britten's life and work. The book is written by biographers, performers and music critics. Here is a wealth of subject matter - Britten's operatic output, his orchestral works, his contribution to the revival of English song.Biographically, this book moves on beyond the relationship ...