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Shirley, goodness & mercy: a childhood memoir
By Chris Wyk. 2005
Despite van Wyk's later becoming involved in the anti-apartheid 'struggle', this is not a book about racial politics. Instead, it…
is a delightful account of one boy's special relationship with the relatives, friends and neighbours - often decidedly quirky - who made up his community, and of the important coping role laughter and humour played during the years he spent in bleak, dusty townships. In the book, the author creates a remarkable record of life in the Coloured community, at once both informative and vastly entertaining. 2005.Something in the blood: the untold story of Bram Stoker, the man who wrote Dracula
By David J Skal. 2016
Bram Stoker, despite having a name nearly as famous as his legendary undead Count, has remained a puzzling enigma. Skal…
exhumes the inner world and strange genius of the writer who conjured an undying cultural icon. Stoker was inexplicably paralyzed as a boy, and his story unfolds against a backdrop of Victorian medical mysteries and horrors: cholera and famine fever, childhood opium abuse, frantic bloodletting, mesmeric quack cures, and the gnawing obsession with "bad blood" that informs every page of Dracula. Stoker's ambiguous sexuality is explored through his lifelong acquaintance and romantic rival, Oscar Wilde. The psychosexual dimensions of Stoker's passionate youthful correspondence with Walt Whitman, his punishing work ethic, and his slavish adoration of the actor Sir Henry Irving are examined in splendidly gothic detail. 2016.Something to declare: Essays
By Julia Alvarez. 1998
Alvarez, the author of "How the Garcia girls lost their accents" and other works, reminisces about her childhood in the…
Dominican Republic and her family's escape to New York City. Also describes how she became an author and how to experience the writing life. 1998.Small beneath the sky: a prairie memoir
By Lorna Crozier. 2009
Poet Crozier vividly depicts her hometown of Swift Current, with its one main street, two high schools, and three beer…
parlours - where her father spent most of his evenings. She writes unflinchingly about the grief and shame caused by poverty and alcoholism, while at the heart of the book is her fierce love for her mother, Peggy. The narratives of daily life - sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking - are interspersed with prose poems. Some strong language. 2009.Shania Twain: on my way
By Dallas Williams. 1997
Shirley Jackson: a rather haunted life
By Ruth Franklin. 2016
Still known to millions only as the author of the "The Lottery," Shirley Jackson (1916-1965) remains curiously absent from the…
American literary canon. A genius of literary suspense, Jackson plumbed the cultural anxiety of postwar America better than anyone. Biographer Ruth Franklin reveals the tumultuous life and inner darkness of the author behind such classics as 'The Haunting of Hill House' and 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle'. Placing Jackson within an American gothic tradition of Hawthorne and Poe, Franklin demonstrates how her unique contribution to this genre came from her focus on "domestic horror" drawn from an era hostile to women. With its exploration of astonishing talent shaped by a damaged childhood and a troubled marriage, this is the definitive biography of a generational avatar and an American literary giant. Winner of the 2017 Edgar Award for best critical / biography book. 2016.Storyteller: the authorized biography of Roald Dahl
By Donald Sturrock. 2010
Biography of writer Roald Dahl (1916-1990), author of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (DC00453). Chronicles Dahl's English boarding-school education; World…
War II service that involved aerial combat and espionage; and family tragedies, including the death of his daughter Olivia and his first wife Patricia Neal's stroke. 2010.Stormy weather: the life of Lena Horne
By James Gavin. 2009
Biography of African American singer/actress Lena Horne, born in 1917 Brooklyn, who first performed at Harlem's Cotton Club at age…
sixteen. Interprets Horne's multiracial family background in the pre-civil rights era as the reason for emotional conflicts in both her personal and professional lives. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. c2009.Strange things happen: a life with the Police, polo, and pygmies
By Stewart Copeland. 2009
Most people know Copeland as the drummer for The Police, one of the most successful bands in rock history. But…
they may not know as much about his childhood in the Middle East as the son of a CIA agent, or be aware of his filmmaking adventures with the Pygmies in the deepest reaches of the Congo, and his passion for polo. Moves from Copeland's remarkable childhood to the formation of The Police, their rise to stardom, and to the settled-down life that followed. Some strong language. 2009.Stompin' Tom and the Connors tone: The Legend Continues
By Stompin' Tom Connors. 2000
An autobiography of Canadian country singer Stompin' Tom Connors, continuing the story begun in "Stompin' Tom: before the fame". It…
follows his life from his first big break in 1967 to 2000, including his marriage and family, awards, comeback tour and music. Also covers the controversies and battles of his career as he attempted to get his message across. 2000.Stompin' Tom: before the fame
By Stompin' Tom Connors. 1995
In the first volume of his autobiography, Stompin' Tom Connors' talks about his life up to the age of 31.…
Born to an unwed teenager in Saint John, he grew up in the streets, two orphanages, and a foster home. When he was thirteen, he ran away and began a life which would see him visit just about every town in Canada. Some strong language. 1995.Stephen Leacock (Extraordinary Canadians)
By John Ralston Saul, Margaret MacMillan. 2009
Macmillan has great affection for Leacock's gentle wit and sharp-eyed insight. The renowned historian examines Leacock's life as a poor…
but ambitious student who rose to become an economist, celebrated academic, and, most importantly, the beloved humourist who taught Canadians to laugh at themselves. c2009.Sophia Tolstoy: a biography
By Alexandra Popoff. 2010
As Leo Tolstoy's wife, Sophia Tolstoy experienced both glory and condemnation during their forty-eight-year marriage. Drawing on newly available archival…
material, including Sophia's unpublished memoir, Alexandra Popoff presents a dramatically different and accurate portrait of the woman and the marriage. Some descriptions of sex. c2010.Starting out, 1920-1947
By Pierre Berton. 1987
Stay me, oh comfort me: journals and stories, 1933-1941
By M. F. K Fisher. 1993
Shortly before her death in 1992, Fisher decided to publish a memoir about the end of her first marriage and…
her brief, tragic second marriage. She wanted a record of how she felt at the time instead of a version reinterpreted by her older self. Fisher put together unpublished letters, short stories, and excerpts from journals of that period to tell her story. Sequel to "Long Ago in France" .1993.Stars come out within
By Jean Little. 1990
Renowned author Jean Little describes her childhood with a visual impairment, the early death of her father, the shock of…
losing her remaining sight to glaucoma, and her battle with depression. A talking computer and her guide dog, Zephyr, brought her independence and freedom. Sequel to "Little by Little".Song of Rita Joe: autobiography of Mi'kmaq poet
By Lynn Henry, Rita Joe. 1996
Mi'kmaq poet Rita Joe reflects on the tumultuous events of her life. Raised in foster homes and educated in an…
Indian residential school, she endured prejudice, sexism, and poverty. She began to write poetry, and soon discovered the voice through which she could reclaim her Aboriginal heritage. 1996.Song of Erne
By Robert Harbinson. 1987
Something cloudy, something clear
By Tennessee Williams. 1995
Autobiographical play set in 1940 dealing with Tennessee Williams' first love - a young Canadian draft dodger who was dying…
of a brain tumour. Descriptions of sex and some strong language. 1995, c1981.So far, so good: the autobiography of a wandering minstrel
By Roger Whittaker, Natalie Whittaker. 1986
A few years after completing his military service, Roger Whittaker left Kenya for Britain to attend university. Encouraged by some…
early musical successes, Whittaker gradually worked his way from the gruelling club circuit to concert halls and recording studios. 1986.