Jilly Cooper knew nothing of football in 2016 (Image: ) But she didnāt start writing the book ā saucily titled Tackle! ā until five years later. āWhen I was a cub reporter on the Middlesex Independent, aged 18, I used to cover the local football club. One of my first …
Read More »My forced adoption left me with a life of trauma | Books | Entertainment
Author Liz Harvie (Image: Emma Hardy) But as far back as I can remember, Iāve felt a deep sadness on my birthday because I knew this was the one day of the year when my birth mother must surely think about me. Iād imagine – is she counting the years? …
Read More »‘My books are about our darkest fears’ – James Patterson reveals inspiration | Books | Entertainment
āFiction writers, we tend to make things up,ā he says. āBut if you have the president there and youāre writing about a president, thatās wonderful. Because heāll tell you, āThis is what the Secret Service would do, hereās what they wouldnāt doā¦ hereās what might happen at the White House, …
Read More »The British women who sang for survival in a Japanese prisoner of war camp | Books | Entertainment
British women civilian internees queue up for food at the camp mess area (Image: Popperfoto) The beautiful voices of the ladiesā choir rose clear and true over the congregation, balm for the fractured minds and aching hearts of wartime. As the final notes of Land of Hope and Glory quivered …
Read More »Philippa Gregory brings women’s greatness to the fore in her new book | Books | Entertainment
It was 1629 and Englandās poor were suffering. Failed harvests, rocketing food prices and a slump in the cloth industry had brought families to the brink of starvation as merchants exported scarce grain abroad for greater profit. Hungry and incensed, scores of rioters stormed a ship docked in Maldon, Essex, …
Read More »Ian Livingstone: ‘Gaming is almost socially acceptable’ | Books | Entertainment
Lucca Comics and Games 2023 is celebrating a lot this year. Not only is it the 30th anniversary of the “Lucca Games” portion of the convention, but also – generally – the explosion of popularity in the gaming community over the past few decades. This creative spearheading began wholeheartedly in …
Read More »Daily Express’ ‘Give a Book’ campaign returns for 2023 | Books | Entertainment
Midlands primary school that will be the deserving recipient of a brand new library (Image: PA) For a school so committed to reading, the library for the youngest learners at Longwood Primary in Tamworth, near Birmingham, is woefully inadequate. Sharing corridor space with the lockers where the children store their …
Read More »Barbara Taylor Bradford: I’m still a woman of substance at 90 | Books | Entertainment
She published her first novel, A Woman Of Substance, in 1979 which went on to become one of the best-selling novels in history. Now, 44 years later, sheās publishing her 40th, The Wonder Of It All, the cumulative sales of her books have topped 90 million and she celebrated her …
Read More »Reports of my own demise have been greatly exagerated, says Billy Connolly | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV
Billy Connolly (Image: Getty) When I was a wee boy, I felt like an outsider. I didnāt fit in anywhere. As a boy I could never follow the established rules and paths that could lead to the kind of success other boys achieved. The one thing that made me feel …
Read More »Does DNA prove that Dr Crippen didn’t murder his cheating wife? | Books | Entertainment
Henry Kendall had a sharper eye than most. It was a skill that stood him in fine stead in his profession as a maritime Captain. But, on this occasion, it wasnāt his ability to locate and avoid fellow vessels or rocky outcrops that would catapult him into the public eye. …
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