Biography Books

A substantial and visually impressive celebration of the imagination and legacy of Douglas Adams, bringing together a wide-ranging exploration of t...

A substantial scholarly reference set devoted to the life, writings, and critical reception of George Eliot, bringing together a wide-ranging selec...

The Naked Civil Servant is Quentin Crisp's celebrated autobiographical memoir, first published in 1968, recounting his unconventional life as an ...

Sylvia Plath (1932-1963) was one of the most influential poets and literary voices of the twentieth century, known for her intensely personal and p...

Cultural Amnesia by Clive James is an expansive and highly personal work of literary and cultural criticism, first published in 2007. Structured th...

With Malice Toward Some by Margaret Halsey is a humorous travel memoir first published in 1938, recounting the author’s experiences in Britain (and...

The work of David Roberts (1796-1864) remains among the most celebrated visual records of the Near East produced in the nineteenth century. Based o...

The life and travels of Isabella Bird (1831-1904) are among the most remarkable of the nineteenth century, and this biography by Anna M. Stoddart o...

The works of Isabella Bird (1831–1904) remain among the most vivid and engaging travel narratives of the nineteenth century. Among the Tibetans off...

The works of Isabella Bird (1831–1904) remain among the most vivid and engaging travel narratives of the nineteenth century. The Hawaiian Archipela...

A Sketch of a Tour on the Continent by James Edward Smith is an engaging early nineteenth-century travel account, first published in 1793 and prese...

First published in 1823, the Memoirs of General Count Rapp provide a vivid first-hand account of the Napoleonic era from one of the Emperor’s most ...

Captain Gronow’s lively recollections of Regency and early Victorian society remain one of the most engaging first-hand accounts of life in the cam...

In the Footprints of Charles Lamb, by Benjamin Ellis Martin, is a richly illustrated literary topography tracing the life and world of Char...

Charles Lamb; A Memoir, by Barry Cornwall (the pen name of Bryan Waller Procter), offers an early and affectionate account of one of the mo...

The Duchess of Cleveland – Invitation to “Mr Henry James” 17 St James’s Square – Saturday Evening, May 7th[Likely 7 May 1876 or 7 May 1881] A finel...

Beatrice Webb is a clear, engaging biography of one of the most important figures in British social reform, written by Margaret Cole. Cole traces W...

A finely produced companion volume to the celebrated Nonesuch Dickens, issued in 1937 as both a retrospective on Dickens’ illustrators and editions...

A cornerstone account of one of the most ambitious Arctic undertakings of the nineteenth century, Sir George Naress Narrative of a Voyage to the Po...

A substantial Edwardian biography of the influential Victorian newspaper editor John Thadeus Delane, who steered The Times through major political,...

A distinguished Centenary Edition, first published in 1934 by the Nonesuch Press, Bloomsbury, London, and edited by G.D.H. Cole. This volume brings...

A distinguished Centenary Edition, first published in 1934 by the Nonesuch Press, Bloomsbury, London, and edited by G.D.H. Cole. This volume brings...

The Phanseys of William Cavendish, Marquis of Newcastle, addressed to Margaret Lucas and her Letters in Reply was issued by the Nonesuch Press in 1...

A very smart first edition copy of the General circulation issue of this book (following the Private printing in 1926). T.E. Lawrence's autobiograp...

A well-presented copy of Harry Graham’s engaging biographical study of remarkable Scottish women, spanning six centuries from Dervorguilla (1213–12...

The Bee, or Literary Weekly Intelligencer, Consisting of Original Pieces, and Selections from Performances of Merit, Foreign and Domestic, A Work c...

The Bee, or Literary Weekly Intelligencer, Consisting of Original Pieces, and Selections from Performances of Merit, Foreign and Domestic, A Work c...

A compact and elegantly produced India Paper edition of one of the most important and entertaining historical diaries in the English language. The ...

The Bee, or Literary Weekly Intelligencer, Consisting of Original Pieces, and Selections from Performances of Merit, Foreign and Domestic, A Work c...

The Merchistonian was the long-running magazine of Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, published for the school community, alumni, and supporters....

The Merchistonian was the long-running magazine of Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, published for the school community, alumni, and supporters....

This is a handsome set of four large-format 19th‑century bound volumes of Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, originally launched in 1832 by the enterpri...

This is a handsome 19th‑century bound volume of Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal – New Series, Volume II, comprising issues 27–52 from July to December...

A charming illustrated edition of Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton’s classic The Compleat Angler, edited by Richard Le Gallienne and adorned with il...

A smart copy of this detailed biography of Lord Macaulay — the eminent 19th-century historian, essayist, and politician best known for his History ...

James Boswell’s The Life of Samuel Johnson remains one of the most celebrated biographies in the English language. First published in 1791, this ex...

Robert Burns's Commonplace Book 1783-1785; Reproduced in Facsimile from the Poet's Manuscript with Transcript and the Original Introduction and Not...

Published at the close of the Second Boer War, Heroes and Gentlemen (1902) records the front-line impressions of the Rev. Robert M’Clelland, Presby...

A finely preserved early Victorian edition of Memorials of the Reformation of Europe, issued by Thomas Nelson around 1850. This volume presents bio...

This late Victorian edition of The Complete Works of William Hogarth presents the artist’s celebrated oeuvre in 150 finely detailed steel engraving...

Emma Roberts’ Memoirs of the Rival Houses of York and Lancaster (1827) offers a detailed narrative of late medieval English history, tracing the dy...

This early and more comprehensive collected edition of Jonathan Swift’s writings represents a significant moment in the dissemination of his satiri...

Hudibras was originally published between 1663 and 1678, and is Butler's classic satirical poem, which has remained admired and influential for ove...

This two-volume historical work by Thomas Arnold offers a detailed account of the political and military development of Rome during its transition ...

The Spectator began publication in 1711 and ended in 1713, and at its height sold 20,000 copies a day, according to its authors, covering all manne...

The Adventures of a Ballet Critic is a lively collection of essays and reflections drawn from Richard Buckle's experiences covering the wor...

Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation in 1838–1839 is a powerful and personal account written by Frances Anne Kemble, a British actress a...

Middle East Diary by Noel Coward (published by William Heinemann in 1944) is a brief firsthand account of Coward’s entertainment tour through North...