Biographies

In 1938, before Kindertransport, Jewish parents in Vienna took out adverts in the Manchester Guardian asking for people to take in their children – a desperate, last ditch attempt to save them from the Nazis. Eighty-three years later, Julian Borger discovers an advert for an ‘intelligent boy, aged 11, Viennese of good family’. It was his father, Robert. Like almost everything about his childhood, Robert had kept this a secret, until he took his own life. Starting with nothing but the adverts, Borger traces the remarkable stories of his father, the other advertised children and their families. From a Viennese radio shop to the Shanghai ghetto, internment camps and family homes across Britain, forests and concentration camps in Germany, smugglers saving Jewish lives in Holland, an improbable French Resistance cell, and a redemptive story of survival in New York, he unearths the astonishing journeys and legacies of children left in the hands of fate – and at the mercy of other people’s kindness. I Seek a Kind Person is a gripping story of grief, inheritance, courage and hope. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781399803311 • Author: Julian Borger • Publisher: Orion Publishing • Format: Paperback • Pages: 304 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 3 cm

A heartbreaking and hilarious memoir by iCarly and Sam & Cat star Jennette McCurdy about her struggles as a former child actor—including eating disorders, addiction, and a complicated relationship with her overbearing mother—and how she retook control of her life. Jennette McCurdy was six years old when she had her first acting audition. Her mother’s dream was for her only daughter to become a star, whatever it took, and Jennette would do anything to make her mother happy. So she went along with what her mother called “calorie restriction”, weighing herself five times a day and ultimately shrinking down to 89 pounds. She endured extensive at-home makeovers using knockoff whitening strips, hot curlers, eyelash tint, and gobs of bleach to enhance her “natural beauty.” She was showered by her mother until age sixteen while sharing her diaries, an email account, and all her earnings. The dream finally comes true when Jennette is cast in a new Nickelodeon series called iCarly and is thrust into fame. But for Jennette, the dream is a nightmare. Practically overnight, her fake smile and cheesy airbrushed hair-do is plastered on billboards across the country. And though her mom is ecstatic, ordering her to smile for the paparazzi (with whom she’s on a first-name basis) and sign endless autographs for fans who only know her by her character’s name, Jennette is riddled with anxiety, shame and self-loathing, which manifest into eating disorders, addiction and a series of unhealthy relationships.These issues only get worse when Jennette’s mother dies of cancer. Finally, after discovering therapy and coldly examining the relationship with her mother, Jennette embarks on recovery and decides for the first time in her life what she really wants. Told with raw honesty and equal parts gravity and humor, I’m Glad My Mom Died is a a shocking, devastating, and ultimately inspiring story of resilience. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781982185831 • Author: Jennette McCurdy • Publisher: Simon & Schuster • Format: Paperback  • Pages: 320

The explosive new book from Britain’s leading investigative biographer, Tom Bower As one of the most famous and influential couples in the world, David and Victoria Beckham have attained iconic status. The ultimate power couple have together built a multi-billion-dollar global brand. For decades, adoring fans have been captivated by the glamorous world they have created, while their unrivalled fusion of showbiz, fashion, football and celebrity has been cultivated alongside the image of a strong marriage. When the much-trailed Netflix documentary Beckham aired in 2023, viewers were offered an even more intimate insight into their private lives. Produced by the Beckhams themselves, the series raised many questions, not only about their success and personal relationship, but also about the ruthlessly successful management of their image in the media. Are their lives really as perfect as the Beckhams would like the world to believe? Through extensive research, expert sourcing and interviews with insiders, Britain’s most celebrated investigative biographer, Tom Bower, has unearthed a succession of revelations that give surprising insight into the reality of ‘Brand Beckham’. Exploring the couple’s relationship, and the truth about their football and fashion careers, their finances and their new life in Miami, The House of Beckham unravels the extraordinary reality of the business-savvy cultural icons to tell an engrossing, often astonishing story of money, sex and power. Product Information:  • ISBN: 9780008638870 • Author: Tom Bower • Publisher: HarperCollins • Format:  Hardcover • Pages: 384 • Dimensions: 15.9 x 3.8 x 24 cm

Jamie Laing is still figuring it all out. And now that he's going to be a dad, he wants to share the tools to help his child grow into a happy, thoughtful and kind person. This is the handbook Jamie has put together for that purpose. In a world struggling to find genuine connection, Jamie wants to share his experiences of life, relationships and maturing. He takes us through his personal A-Z of growing up in today's society – from overcoming anxiety, checking in with your mates and working out what makes you happy, to embracing our failures, trying therapy and understand what it means to be a loving and present partner. Above all, Jamie shows us that vulnerability is cool. And that boys do cry – after all, he's done plenty of that this year. With contributions from his wife Sophie Habboo, this book will help men and women, boys and girls have the conversation of all conversations: how to live your happiest and most resilient life in today's world. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781037200182 • Author: Jamie Laing • Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc • Format: Hardback • Pages: 256 • Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.3 cm

A deeply moving and unforgettable portrait of an ordinary and yet an extraordinary teenage girl. First published over sixty years ago, Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl has reached millions of young people throughout the world. In July 1942, thirteen-year-old Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the occupation, went into hiding in an Amsterdam warehouse. Over the next two years Anne vividly describes in her diary the frustrations of living in such close quarters, and her thoughts, feelings and longings as she grows up. Her diary ends abruptly when, in August 1944, they were all betrayed. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780241657959 • Author: Anne Frank • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd • Format: Paperback • Pages: 372 • Dimensions: 20 x 13 x 2.2 cm

Welcome to Staying Relevant, a book written by two best friends . . . contains swearing, adult themes and outrageous stories from life in the spotlight. If you think you know us already, you're wrong. You're gonna find out a hell of a lot about us. Probably more than you ever needed or wanted to know, to be honest. This book isn't about the glossy, filtered version of us that people normally see. It's about the real Sam and Pete, the ones behind the nonsense. Now grab a bevvy, get comfy and enjoy the journey with us - through the best bits, the worst bits, and all the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel moments in between, on our quest to stay relevant. In their first book together, Sam and Pete lay out what it truly takes to stay in the spotlight. A celebration of their unlikely friendship, the book features brand new, insane stories from their lives, including: behind the scenes, never-before-told tales from the jungle and the ballroom, hosting the NTAs red carpet, their journey creating the podcast, and plenty more. Expect swearing, heaps of positivity from Sam and, of course, zero sarcasm from Pete. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781408734742 • Author: Sam Thompson & Pete Wicks • Publisher: Little Brown • Format: Hardback • Pages: 384 • Dimensions: 24 x 15.8 x 3.6 cm

The mystery has haunted generations since the Second World War: Who betrayed Anne Frank and her family? And why? Now, thanks to radical new technology and the obsession of a retired FBI agent, this book offers an answer. Rosemary Sullivan unfolds the story in a gripping, moving narrative. Over thirty million people have read The Diary of a Young Girl, the journal teenaged Anne Frank kept while living in an attic with her family and four other people in Amsterdam during World War II, until the Nazis arrested them and sent them to a concentration camp. But despite the many works – journalism, books, plays and novels – devoted to Anne’s story, none has ever conclusively explained how these eight people managed to live in hiding undetected for over two years – and who or what finally brought the Nazis to their door. With painstaking care, retired FBI agent Vincent Pankoke and a team of indefatigable investigators pored over tens of thousands of pages of documents – some never before seen – and interviewed scores of descendants of people familiar with the Franks. Utilising methods developed by the FBI, the Cold Case Team painstakingly pieced together the months leading to the infamous arrest – and came to a shocking conclusion. The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation is the riveting story of their mission. Rosemary Sullivan introduces us to the investigators, explains the behaviour of both the captives and their captors and profiles a group of suspects. All the while, she vividly brings to life wartime Amsterdam: a place where no matter how wealthy, educated, or careful you were, you never knew whom you could trust. Product Information: • ISBN: 9780008353872 • Author: Rosemary Sullivan • Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers • Format: Paperback • Pages: 416 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.6 cm

It is never too late to build the life you’re seeking. Part-memoir, part-inspirational manual for better living, Simply More by Cynthia Erivo is for anyone seeking greater harmony and fulfilment in their lives. Cynthia Erivo learned the music to Wicked a decade before she needed it, not knowing that those same lyrics would change her life. Ten years later, she performed those songs on a world stage, showing us that there is always time to keep discovering ourselves, and that the journey of becoming is not a finite one. In Simply More, through a series of powerful, personal vignettes, Cynthia reflects on the ways that she has grown as an actor and a person, shares the lessons she’s learned over years of performing, and reminds us how we are capable of so much more than we think. In this profoundly honest and moving memoir, Cynthia draws from her experiences running marathons, both real and metaphorical, on stage and on screen, to show how each challenge can help us. Through personal anecdotes, lessons and advice, she urges readers to lean into the wisdom of their bodies and to understand and strive for a physical and mental balance. Because when we chase our deepest desires, each small step leads us closer to where we want to go. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781035086016 • Author: Cynthia Erivo • Publisher: Macmillan Distribution Limited • Format: Hardback • Pages: 208

'I am a survivor. That comes with a survivor's obligation to represent one and half million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis. They cannot speak. So I must speak on their behalf.' Tova Friedman was one of the youngest people to emerge from Auschwitz. After surviving the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto in Central Poland where she lived as a toddler, Tova was four when she and her parents were sent to a Nazi labour camp, and almost six when she and her mother were forced into a packed cattle truck and sent to Auschwitz II, also known as the Birkenau extermination camp, while her father was transported to Dachau. During six months of incarceration in Birkenau, Tova witnessed atrocities that she could never forget, and experienced numerous escapes from death. She is one of a handful of Jews to have entered a gas chamber and lived to tell the tale. As Nazi killing squads roamed Birkenau before abandoning the camp in January 1945, Tova and her mother hid among corpses. After being liberated by the Russians they made their way back to their hometown in Poland. Eventually Tova's father tracked them down and the family was reunited. In The Daughter of Auschwitz, Tova immortalizes what she saw, to keep the story of the Holocaust alive, at a time when it's in danger of fading from memory. She has used those memories that have shaped her life to honour the victims. Written with award-winning former war reporter Malcolm Brabant, this is an extremely important book. Brabant's meticulous research has helped Tova recall her experiences in searing detail. Together they have painstakingly recreated Tova's extraordinary story about the world's worst ever crime. Product Information:  • ISBN:  9781529423501 • Author: Tova Friedman & Malcolm Brabant • Publisher:  Quercus • Format:  Paperback • Pages:  352 • Dimensions: 12.8 x 3 x 19.6 cm

'Don't leave me here! Please, don't leave me.' What possesses a mum to kidnap her own child? That's what Maggie asks herself when she's asked to foster 13-year-old Saskia, the subject of a bitter custody battle between her parents. When Saskia's mum Rosa fears the courts are going to favour her ex-husband, James, she takes matters into her own hands. With Rosa facing criminal charges, and Saskia refusing to live with her dad, her future looks uncertain. Will Maggie be able to step in and discover the bombshell that will tear this family apart? From Britain's best-loved foster carer, a new and inspiring true story of secrets and hope. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781399629256 • Author: Maggie Hartley • Publisher: Orion Publishing • Format: Paperback • Pages: 256 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.4 cm

Christopher Berry-Dee is a world-renowned investigative criminologist. He has gained the trust of murderers across the world and now delves into the mind of perhaps the most sadistic and psychopathic killer of all time. Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer murdered and dismembered seventeen boys and men. But he is most notorious for what happened to his victims after their grisly deaths and the shocking depravity that led to Dahmer being dubbed the ‘Milwaukee Cannibal’. Using his long experience and psychological expertise, Berry-Dee seeks to understand the motivation, the amoral urges and the merciless horror behind Dahmer's inhuman behaviour: what could make a man do this? Product Information: • ISBN: 9781913543310 • Author: Christopher Berry-Dee • Publisher: Ad Lib Publishers Ltd • Format: Paperback • Pages: 256 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 cm

The hilarious, must-read memoir from everyone's favourite Celebrity Traitors Faithful - The truth about being a rugby player from the horsey's mouth. This book is not just about how a psychiatrist called Humphrey helped me get back on my horse and clippity-clop all the way to the World Cup semi-final in Japan. It's the story of how a fat kid who had to live up to the nickname Psycho grew up to play and party for over a decade with rugby's greatest pros and live weird and wonderful moments both in and out of the scrum. That's why I'm letting you read my diary on my weirdest days. You never know what you're going to get with me. From being locked in a police cell to singing Adele on Jonathan Ross (I'll let you decide which is worse), being kissed by a murderer on the number 51 bus to drug tests where clipboard-wielding men hover inches away from my naked genitalia, melting opponents in rucks, winning tackles, and generally losing blood, sweat and ears in the name of the great sport of rugby. This is how (not) to be a rugby player. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781529995589 • Author: Joe Marler • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd • Format: Paperback  • Pages: 336 • Dimensions: 19.69 x 12.7 x 2.29 cm

The extraordinary story of Olympian who was imprisoned in Auschwitz and survived to tell his story. Alfred Nakache, a Jewish child from Constantine, never imagined that he would one day swim for France at the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936, nor than he would achieve a world record, as he did in 1941. As a child he was petrified of the water and yet, somehow, through sheer willpower and determination, he rose to become one of the very best swimmers in the world. That was until 1943, when he was banned from the pool - and in the same year, deported and sent to Auschwitz. Not knowing if he would ever see his wife and daughter again, Alfred battled on, through the humiliation and the pain, even defying the guards by swimming in the water reserves of Auschwitz. Somehow - miraculously - he survived, swimming every day until the end of his life. The Swimmer of Auschwitz is the unique, true story of a forgotten hero, told with remarkable power and simplicity. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781800962965 • Author: Renaud Leblond • Publisher: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd • Format: Paperback • Pages: 272 • Dimensions: 12.6 x 19.6 x 1.8 cm

In this extraordinary work of non-fiction, we hear the unforgettable stories of everyday heroes who look after our families, our friends and ourselves in the most challenging circumstances imaginable. When we're at our worst, nurses are at their best. Around the clock, highly skilled and compassionate men and women sacrifice and struggle for us and our loved ones. You have never heard their true stories. Not like this. From big-city and small-town hospitals. These are stories told from the heart. This book will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you understand the importance of the work they do. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781804955604 • Author: James Patterson & Matt Eversmann • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd • Format: Paperback • Pages: 320 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1.9 cm

HMP Wakefield. ‘Monster Mansion’. Hell to be inside. Almost impossible to escape. This prison has seen some of the most infamous prisoners of all time pass through its cells – from Levi Bellfield to Harold Shipman, Ian Huntley and Charles Bronson. Jonathan Levi and Emma French are the perfect authors to give chilling insight into all the terrible men who have served time there. After detailing the shocking truth of life in Britain’s most high-profile psychiatric hospital in their bestselling book Inside Broadmoor, now they will take readers behind bars in this the UK’s most notorious prison. Inside Wakefield Prison will trace its long and intriguing history, from when it was first built in 1594 all the way up to the present day. Today, just over 750 of the country’s most dangerous offenders are kept there, including ‘Hannibal the Cannibal’ Robert Maudsley, notorious killer Jeremy Bamber and former Lostprophets singer Ian Watkins. Featuring all the sinister and truly horrifying stories that have emerged from the prison, as well as new unheard tales, this book will fascinate and shock readers on every page. Told with the help of interviews with staff, experts – and even in the words of the prisoners themselves – this is a no-holds-barred journey into the dark. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781789467536 • Author: Jonathan Levi & Emma French • Publisher: Bonnier Books UK Limited • Format: Paperback • Pages: 336 • Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 2cm

Every family has its secrets, but some are worse than others. Lynn’s mother wanted the world to see the perfect family. An immaculate house, three well-dressed children and a charming husband. But behind closed doors it was a different story. Abused by her father from when she was just a baby, Lynn would scream for her mother, who ignored the little girl’s cries. Nothing was going to shatter her perfect life. Threatened by their parents, Lynn and her brother never told anyone in fear of being separated, but the trauma of their past followed them throughout their lives, with devastating consequences. Now as Lynn tries to piece together and come to terms with her past as an adult, she discovers she wasn’t the only one with a secret. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781529988505 • Author: Toni Maguire & Lynn Murray • Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd • Format: Paperback • Pages: 320 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2.2 cm

‘Please help me,’ he said in a small voice. ‘Will you help me?’ Six-year-old Ralph has only been in the care system for three days and has already been rejected by three different foster carers. After hitting a teacher at his school and causing mayhem since he arrived four months ago, staff are unable to get a hold of his mum and her partner. Social Services are called and when Ralph turns up at Maggie’s house, she knows immediately it’s going to be a challenge. Within a couple of hours, Ralph has trashed Maggie’s house and spit on her face. After a nightmare first day though, Maggie notices that Ralph is limping and a hospital check reveals broken limbs and several injuries that are months and years old. Can Maggie help this troubled little boy who has been rejected by everyone in his life find his forever home? From Britain’s most-loved foster carer, a new powerful true story of abuse, family and hope. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781399620925 • Author: Maggie Hartley • Publisher: Orion Publishing • Format: Paperback • Pages: 336 • Dimensions: 19.56 x 12.7 x 2.29 cm

FATHOMLESS RICHES is the Reverend Richard Coles’ warm, witty and wise memoir in which he divulges with searing honesty and intimacy his pilgrimage from a rock-and-roll life of sex and drugs in the Communards to one devoted to God and Christianity. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781399628457 • Author: Richard Coles • Publisher: Orion Publishing • Format: Paperback • Pages: 288 • Dimensions: 20.32 x 12.7 x 2.29 cm

The trial of Dominique Pelicot, which began on 2 September 2024, has captured the world's attention. Behind the haunting details of Pelicot's unthinkable crimes are a mother, Gisèle Pelicot, and a daughter, Caroline Darian, who were forced to rebuild their lives. This is their story. In November 2020, Caroline Darian received a call from the police in Carpentras. Her father was in police custody. The seizure of his computer equipment revealed the unthinkable: since 2013, he had drugged his wife before handing her over, in a state of unconsciousness, to men, from all ages and stages of life. With exceptional courage, Darian recounts the earth-shattering discovery that a loved one, her own father, is capable of the worst. But more importantly, she shares the remarkable story of her mother Gisèle and how she carried on living, without self-pity, while learning to manage all of the things her husband once took care of. She shares how her mother managed to maintain her joie de vivre in circumstances none of us could imagine. Gisèle Pelicot has won acclaim around the world after she gave up her right to anonymity and opted for a public trial, a trial in which Caroline herself has testified, turning the tables: the shame no longer borne by the victims in silence but directed, at last, to the abusers. She has also written her own book, A Hymn to Life. Together, mother and daughter reveal another side to the violence committed against women, as they bravely transform their private trauma into a collective fight. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781785126031 • Author: Caroline Darian • Publisher: Bonnier Books UK Limited • Format: Paperback • Pages: 208 • Dimensions: 19.6 x 13 x 2.3 cm

Filled with terrifying tales of ghosts and ghouls, poltergeists and other unexplained encounters, this bone-chilling compendium of paranormal phenomena is sure to haunt you long after you have turned the final page Did you hear about the ghost who solved her own murder? What about the terrifying case of the Battersea poltergeist? Do you know the story of the killer ghost of Kentucky? Prepare for your blood to run cold and for your heart to beat a little faster, because the disturbing tales lurking within are not for the faint-hearted. Delve into this collection to discover infamous accounts of the eerie and the unexplained - as well as lesser-known strange, contemporary happenings from across the globe - and connect to the rich tradition of paranormal stories that have captivated humankind throughout the ages. But beware: after sampling these sinister histories, you might be too scared to close your eyes - no matter how much your body craves sleep. Product Information: • ISBN: 9781837994854 • Author: Jamie King • Publisher: Summersdale Publishers Ltd • Format: Paperback  • Pages: 304 • Dimensions: 19.69 x 13.11 x 2.01 cm