"Bloomsbury presents Life in a Cold Climate by Laura Thompson, read by Jilly Bond.
'The book is a gem: fresh, intelligent and assured' Sunday Times
Nancy Mitford was, in the words of her sister Lady Diana Mosley, 'very, very complex'. Her biographies and novels, her journalism, and the vast body of letters to her family, friends such as Evelyn Waugh, and to the great love of her life, Gaston Palewski, all tell an intriguing story. Drawing from these, as well as conversations with Mitford's two surviving sisters and colleagues, prize-winning author Laura Thompson has fashioned a portrait of a contradictory and courageous woman.
Thompson approaches her subject with wit, perspicacity and affection, while eschewing clichés about the eccentricities of the Mitford clan. Life in a Cold Climate is full of the sound of Mitfordian laughter; but tells also the often paradoxical and complex story beneath the smiling and ever elegant façade.
'A brilliant study, original, perceptive, passionate' Selina Hastings
'Well-nigh perfect' Diana Mosley, Literary Review C 2015 Laura Thompson P 2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC"
"Bloomsbury presents Take Six Girls by Laura Thompson, read by Jilly Bond.
'Wonderfully readable... Emphasises their sheer extraordinariness and celebrates them' MAIL ON SUNDAY.
The eldest was a razor-sharp novelist of upper-class manners; the second was loved by John Betjeman; the third was a fascist who married Oswald Mosley; the fourth idolized Hitler and shot herself in the head when Britain declared war on Germany; the fifth was a member of the American Communist Party; the sixth became Duchess of Devonshire.
They were the Mitford sisters: Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica and Deborah. Born into country-house privilege, they became prominent as 'bright young things' in the high society of interwar London. Then, as the shadows crept over 1930s Europe, the stark – and very public – differences in their outlooks came to symbolise the political polarities of a dangerous decade.
The intertwined stories of their lives – recounted in masterly fashion by Laura Thompson – hold up a revelatory mirror to upper-class English life before and after World War II. C 2015 Laura Thompson P 2026 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC"
"You can achieve energy independence through solar power by following the steps outlined in the book 'Harnessing the Sun: Mastering Off-Grid Solar Power Systems: Building Independence with Sustainable Solar Solutions.' If you are looking for a reliable backup for power outages, a distant lodge, or a sustainable farm, this book will give you everything you need to design, build, and operate an off-grid solar power system.
In the book 'Harnessing the Sun,' the author begins by providing an explanation of the fundamentals of solar energy, including the science underlying solar energy, the important components of an off-grid system, and the practical procedures for determining your energy requirements. To construct a system that is personalized to your particular needs, you will learn how to select the appropriate solar panels, batteries, inverters, and other components. Through the provision of lucid instructions on installation and ongoing maintenance, this book equips you with the ability to successfully manage your system in order to achieve outstanding performance.
'Harnessing the Sun' goes into the lifestyle benefits of living off the grid, going beyond the technical specifics of the topic. Resilience and sustainability can be achieved through the use of solar electricity, which offers a number of benefits, including a reduced impact on the environment and increased self-sufficiency. This book will be your reliable travel companion on the path to clean, renewable energy independence, regardless of whether you are a novice to solar energy or looking to enhance your expertise."
"A razor-sharp, beautifully written survey of the world of the wealthy heiress – glittering and gleaming, flawed and fascinating – from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries.
We fantasize about what we would do if we inherited a fortune: the house on Cheyne Walk? The Manolo Blahniks? The racehorses? But what would it be like, never to have to dream in that way?
Laura Thompson explores the historical phenomenon of the heiress in four inviting categories. First, the Estate Builders, women like Elizabeth Sloan, whose father Sir Hans owned the land that is now Chelsea. The Patrons – those heiresses who tried to do something with their money – feature Winnaretta Singer, inheritor of the sewing-machine fortune, whose salon in Paris showcased work by Debussy, Fauré and Ravel. Party Girls enjoy their money without shame or conscience. After the death of hostess Ronnie Greville, high-living illegitimate daughter of a Scottish brewer death, 286 bottles of Bollinger 1928 were discovered in her Mayfair home. The Rebels include Alice Silverthorne, who walked her black panther along the Promenade des Anglais and shot her lover in the stomach at the Gare du Nord.
A famous heiress once said: 'Life is less sad with money'. It should be true. But is it? Laura Thompson's Heiresses takes the listener on a sparklingly enlightening search for the answer.
'Heiresses is a glorious book, endlessly entertaining and about much more than its stated subject. Thompson is a fabulous writer' Caroline O'Donoghue
'Witty, insightful, deliciously gossip-laden and slightly scandalous ... entertaining, occasionally sad and never less than gripping' Anne Sebba
'Excellent ... [A] wonderfully entertaining book' Sunday Times
'Exquisite and gossipy ... Thompson, a gifted storyteller, obviously delighted in the writing of this book' TLS
'[A] deeply empathetic study of heiresses through the ages' The Times"
"On the night of 3 October 1922, in the quiet suburb of Ilford, Edith Thompson and her husband Percy were walking home after an evening spent at a London theatre, when a man sprang out of the darkness and stabbed Percy to death. The assailant was Frederick Bywaters, a twenty-year-old merchant seaman who had been Edith's lover. When the police learned of his relationship with Edith, she was arrested as his accomplice, despite protesting her innocence. The remarkably intense love letters Edith wrote to Freddy – some of them couched in ambiguous language – were read out at their trial for murder at the Old Bailey. They would seal her fate: Edith and Freddy were hanged for the murder of Percy Thompson in January 1923. Freddy was demonstrably guilty; but was Edith truly so?"
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