Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found

Tom Mitchelson (Author)

Don't Ask Me about My Dad: An Inspiring True Story of a Scared Little Boy with a Dark Secret

Growing up with him was like being in my own war zone, living in perpetual fear of when the bombs would fall. I was terrified of becoming him, and in moments I could feel I might. He still lives within me grimly like some battered demon spright. And I'm fearful of his shadow. The rage, and his blood. There are some moments when he arrives and I want to tear up the whole world with my bare hands, and all I really want is love. I want him away now. Please. Just go. While growing up in Essex, Tom Mitchelson and his identical triplet sisters routinely witnessed unspeakable acts of violence and abuse at the hands of their dad. They would watch in horror as he dragged their mum around the house, but they never dared breathe a word. Tom knew his dad was a monster, but it seemed he had nowhere to turn until a kindly teacher sought his company... Don't Ask Me About My Dad is an inspirational story of how one isolated young boy overcame the odds and finally found his voice.

Clara Batten (Author)

Gin & Phonics: My Journey Through Middle-Class Motherhood (Via the Occasional Pub)

'I was asked the other day what I thought the hardest part of parenting was. I'd have to say that it's definitely the kids.' TikTok sensation Clara Batten has dedicated the last few years to seeking the answer to one of life's most crucial questions: Is it possible to raise and nurture two small humans without losing your bloody mind? The good news is, now she's found (some of) the answers and is sharing her secrets with the rest of us! In this riotous book, Clara reveals: when it's acceptable to buy your kids lunch from a kebab shop. why a jar of pickled herrings from Waitrose is the ultimate guilty pleasure, nay necessity, for a sleep-deprived parent. how to finally pursue your acting ambitions in your forties (despite a toddler sh*tting on the stairs during a self-tape audition). Most importantly, Clara shows us that no matter how much we adore our little treasures, life isn't just about their A, B and bloody Cs.

Richard Holmes

Wellington: The Iron Duke

Richard Holmes, highly acclaimed military historian and broadcaster, tells the exhilarating story of Britain's greatest-ever soldier, the man who posed the most serious threat to Napoleon. The Duke of Wellington's remarkable life and extraordinary campaigns are recreated with Holmes' superb skill in this compelling book.Richard Holmes charts Wellington's stellar military career from India to Europe, and in the process, rediscovers the reasons Queen Victoria called him the greatest man the nineteenth century had produced. Combining his astute historical analysis with a semi-biographical examination of Wellington, Holmes artfully illustrates the rapid evolution in military and political thinking of the time.Wellington is a brilliant figure, idealistic in politics, cynical in love, a wit, a beau, a man of enormous courage often sickened by war. As Richard Holmes charts his progress from a shy, indolent boy to commander-in-chief of the allied forces, he also exposes the Iron Duke as a philanderer, and a man who sometimes despised the men that he led, and was not always in control of his soldiers. Particularly infamous is the bestial rampage of his men after the capture of Cuidad ...