Collection: Adult Non Fiction - Biography

Aged nineteen, Alison McKelvie was a self-confessed romantic, immersed in books and poetry, and dreaming of beauty, truth and love. In 1940, whilst working as a secretary at MI6, Alison met Alexander Wilson. Thirty years her senior, Alexander was worldly and charismatic. An intense affair quickly...

In his mid-twenties, Jimmy was bored, boring, unfulfilled and underachieving. He wasn't exactly depressed, but he was very sad. Think of a baby owl whose mum has recently died in a windmill accident. He was that sad. This book tells the story of how Jimmy turned it around and got happy, through t...

"In this thought-provoking book, the Black musicians who influenced Elvis Presley's music finally receive recognition and praise. After Baz Luhrmann's movie, Elvis, hit theatres, audiences and critics alike couldn't help but question the Black origins of Elvis Presley's music and style, reignitin...

Now in his late-eighties, and listed by the National Trust as a 'Living Treasure', in Before I Forget Geoffrey Blainey reflects on his humble beginnings as the son of a Methodist Minister and school teacher, one of five children, and a carefree childhood spent in rural Victoria, from Terang to Le...

One day in December, Natasha Walter's mother Ruth took her own life. At first, the grief and guilt that Natasha felt were overwhelming. But in the aftermath of her mother's suicide, her personal grief intertwines with a sense of political despair. Gradually, she starts to search back through Ruth...

Jon English was the original multitasker. He was the pop star with the raccoon eyes who sang such hits as 'Hollywood Seven', 'Six Ribbons' and 'Hot Town', and the rocker in leather duds who packed beer barns across Australia. Jon was also the swashbuckling Pirate King in the hugely successful Pir...

The most senior and best respected member of any royal family in history, she did not give one media interview in her 101 years. This affectionate and often hilarious glimpse into her world by her former equerry reveals what life was really like living with the most private of all the royals. In ...

Nick Kaldas is a cop's cop. From investigating war criminals to taking down global drug operations, Kaldas has seen the worst humanity can offer. But he's also seen which human qualities can lead to greatness. This is the compelling true story of an immigrant boy from Egypt who rose from beat cop...

David Suchet has been a stalwart of British stage and screen for fifty years. From Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde, Freud to Poirot, Edward Teller to Doctor Who, Harold Pinter to Terence Rattigan, Questions of Faith to Decline and Fall, right up to 2019's The Price, David has done it all. Throughout t...