View basket and checkout
Books Events Subscriptions Vouchers Contact

Our Booksellers' Best: Biography & Memoir

Sleepless

Marie Darrieussecq

I Want to Die but I Want to Eat Tteokbokki

Baek Sehee

Crying in H Mart

Michelle Zauner

Do No Harm

Henry Marsh

"Marsh explores life in all its complex pain, humour and beauty, seen through his work as a brain surgeon." ~ Saskia, York

Zami

Audre Lorde

Stories of the Sahara

Sanmao

"Sanmao, a Taiwanese explorer, who lived in the Western Sahara territory in the 1970s. Her stories are straight from an adventure book, featuring everything from quicksand to cursed necklaces; they’re straight from an adventure book." ~ Saskia, York

Know My Name

Chanel Miller

Down Below

Leonora Carrington and Marina Warner

A Heart That Works

Rob Delaney

"Comedian Rob Delaney beautifully describes the loss of his son, Henry. A powerful exploration of love, grief and the fear of swimming in ponds that will have you laughing and crying at once."~ Roxane, Bath

Inferno

Catherine Cho

"My favourite memoir ever, Inferno details Cho's experience with post-partum psychosis after the birth of her first child. She records her stay in a mental health facility in America and beautifully weaves in stories of her childhood, past relationships and Korean culture." ~ Roxane, Bath

King Kong Theory

Virginie Despentes

The Year of Magical Thinking

Joan Didion

"A most devastating and healing reflection on grief - from one of the greatest writers of all time." ~ Toby, Edinburgh

Sontag

Benjamin Moser

Things I Don't Want to Know

Deborah Levy

"A gem of a book. The first in Levy's 'Living Autobiography' triptych. Sharp, brilliant writing & reflections on being a woman." ~ Saskia, York

Super-Infinite

Katherine Rundell

"An expansive, sparkling biography of 17th century poet John Donne. You don't have to know anything about Donne to fall in love with this book - Rundell's writing is entrancing." ~ Toby, Edinburgh

An Apartment on Uranus

Paul B. Preciado

"Electrifying, transformative; an extraordinary book." ~ Saskia, York

There's Always This Year

Hanif Abdurraqib

"Hanif Abdurraqib reflects on his life through his relationship with basketball. Lyrical, deeply moving, and incredibly stylish." ~ Toby, Edinburgh

How to End a Story

Helen Garner

Masquerade

Oliver Soden

"An expansive portrait of a remarkable man living through a remarkable age. Soden reconciles the contradictions at the heart of Coward with a characteristic sharpness of wit, warmth and intimacy. A joy to read." ~ Saskia, York

On Chapel Sands

Laura Cumming

Uncovering the mystery of her mother's disappearance as a child: Laura Cumming, prize-winning author and art critic, takes a closer look at her family story.

Who Killed My Father

Édouard Louis

In Who Killed My Father, Edouard Louis explores key moments in his father's life, and the tenderness and disconnects in their relationship.

Free

Lea Ypi

Wild Thing

Sue Prideaux

A Voyage Around the Queen

Craig Brown