Böcker av Piers Dudgeon

A compelling oral history of life in Liverpool and the third title in our Disappearing Britain series

A compelling oral history of life in Glasgow and the second title in our Disappearing Britain series

The first title in our Disappearing Britain series, which records the lives of those in areas which have changed massively

A fascinating look at the remarkable life of Barbara Taylor Bradford, bestselling author of the unforgettable A Woman of SubstanceFrom the cobbled streets of Yorkshire to the sweeping avenues of Manhattan, Barbara's own story is as dramatic a tale as any one of her bestsellers.Barbara Taylor Bradford's rise to fame and fortune was a difficult one. But from an early age her mother marked her out for glory - at any cost. The drive and ambition instilled in Barbara were to reap huge rewards. From humble beginnings in Yorkshire she took London's Fleet Street by storm. And then, with the creation of Emma Harte, the unforgettable heroine of her first novel A Woman of Substance, she inspired women the world over - and became one of the world's bestselling authors.This is the first time that Barbara Taylor Bradford has been involved in a memoir of any kind and this unique collaboration has produced an extraordinary story. For Emma Harte's rise from Edwardian kitchen maid, single and pregnant, to one of the richest women in the world uncannily mirrors Barbara's own family history - something which was as much of a shock to Barbara as it will be to her millions of fans...Don't miss this incredible story of suffering, loss and triumph over adversity, a must-read for any A Woman of Substance fan.

A fascinating insight into the life of one of the country's bestselling and best-loved authors, marrying her work with her extraordinary life, and looking at her rise to fame and fortune against all the odds.'Everything I have touched in my life figures in my books. Every single book I write has something that has happened to me or my family or to my friends.'Josephine Cox was born in Blackburn during its decline as the cotton-weaving capital of the world. Life was hard but characterful, the joys and tragedies of her youth later inspiring her multi-million selling novels.One of ten children, Josephine knew poverty, hunger and charity. Between births, her mother worked in the cotton mills, her father on the roads. Sleeping up to six in a bed, her family lived in the tightly packed, working-class terraces of Blackburn. But Josephine never felt victimised or shamed.Transforming their closed-in community into one that inspired 'another kind of love, a deep sense of belonging' were the characters Josephine writes about in her novels with such fondness and feeling.But alas reality was not always so easy. Hand in hand with poverty came deprivation and domestic difficulties. At the end of her tether, Jo's mother gathered her children around her in the bus station one day and announced they were leaving Blackburn. Josephine was fourteen years old. Not only did she lose her friends, she also lost her brothers too who were left behind. 'Belonging to a street, to a place, to a family, is the most important thing.' Out of this tremendous loss, Josephine's novels were born.