Black Beauty is a novel that changed our world. Intended to 'induce kindness' in a Victorian audience who relied on horses for transport, travel and power, it remains a dearly loved children's classic. Writing Black Beauty is the story of the remarkable woman who wrote this phenomenal book.Born in 1820 to a young Quaker couple, Anna Sewell grew up in poverty in London. She was 14 when she fell and injured her ankle, leaving her permanently disable...

Novelist Celia Brayfield had never lived more than a taxi ride from Soho, until one day she decided to take a year off. With the computer and the cats in the back of the car, and the blessing of her student daughter, she drove South until the dawn came up in the Bearn, the most romantic, remote and rustic region of France.Deep France is the diary of a writer's year in a tiny French village, trying to meet her deadlines when a good thunderstorm could blow out the computer a...

'Make this your next inspirational read. Trust us, it's Oprah's Book Club worthy' ViceIn London in 1958, a play by a 19-year-old redefined women's writing in Britain. It also began a movement that would change women's lives forever. The play was A Taste of Honey and the author, Shelagh Delaney, was the first in a succession of young women who wrote about their lives with an honesty that dazzled the world. They rebelled against sexism, inequality a...

Whether your passion is film, music, books, visual arts, or the stage, you can get closer to it as a reviewer and establish a career in one of the most influential roles open to a writer. A great review can be read by millions, and writing it calls for a high degree of skill. Based on a lifelong passion, packed into a few hundred words, and often written in less than an hour, a review makes heavy demands on a writer's technique and experience. This book explains how to seize readers' atten...

The most wanted, the most feared, the most hated, the most powerful job in journalism: being a reviewer means writing about something you love and getting paid for it. So for a lot of people it's the No 1 dream job in the media. Whether your passion is film, music, books, visual arts or the stage, you can get closer to it as a reviewer and establish a career in one of the most influential roles open to a writer. Get the edge on the competition with a book that's a treasure trove of wisdom,...

Writing Historical Fiction: A Writers' & Artists' Companion is an invaluable companion for a writer working in this challenging and popular literary genre, whether your period is Ancient Rome or World War II.PART 1 includes reflections on the genre and provides a short history of historical fiction.PART 2 contains guest contributions from Margaret Atwood, Ian Beck, Madison Smartt Bell, Ronan Bennett, Vanora Bennett, Tracy Chevalier, Lindsay Clarke, Elizabeth Cook, ...

FROM THE BESTSELLING WRITER OF REBECCA'The House on the Strand is prime du Maurier . . . ' NEW YORK TIMES'She wrote exciting plots . . . a writer of fearless originality' GUARDIAN'No other popular writer has so triumphantly defied classification . . . ' MARGARET FORSTERWhen Dick Young's friend, Professor Magnus Lane offers him an escape from his troubles i...