Esther Freud – författare

The thirtieth anniversary edition of a twentieth century classic - an unforgettable journey through 1960s Morocco, based on the author's own childhoodFor fans of Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals, Laurie Lee's Cider With Rosie and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat Pray LoveQuirky, charming and suffused the footloose spirit of the sixties, this is the irresistible story of an English woman who decides on a whim to move herself and her two young daughters to Morocco. The ensuing adventure takes them through richly perfumed markets, dilapidated hotels and mystical Sufi retreats, via friendships and feuds, romances with nomadic street performers, hitch-hiking and nights camping by the coast - all seen through the eyes of a precocious five-year-old girl. Rediscover this transporting modern classic about the spirit of freedom, filled with the sights, smells and textures of twentieth century Morocco.

The architect Klaus Lehmann loves his wife, Elsa, with a passion that continues throughout their married life, despite long periods of separation. Almost half a century after Lehmann's death in the village of Steerborough, a young woman, Lily, arrives to research his life and work. Poring over Klaus's letters to Elsa, Lily pieces together the story of their lives. And alone in her rented cottage by the sea, she begins to sense an absence in her own life that may not be filled by simply going home.

It is July, three months after Lara's seventeenth birthday, and a week before Charles and Diana's Royal Wedding. When Lara's father, a man she barely knows, invites her to accompany him on holiday, she finds herself far away from the fumes of London's Holloway Road in the sun-scorched hillsides of Tuscany. There she meets the Willoughby family, rife with illicit alliances and vendettas. The more embroiled Lara becomes with them, and with the carelessly beautiful Kip, the more consumed she is with doubt, curiosity and dread. And so begins her intoxicating, troubled journey into self discovery and across the very fine line between childhood and what lies beyond.

Sixteen-year-old Lisa has high hopes for her first year in London. But squeezed into a temporary council flat with her bohemian mother and a little brother obsessed with foxes, she is not off to the best start. Ambitious to be more like her elusive, glamorous sister, Ruby, who lives life to the full, Lisa trails through the city, dabbling with drugs and romance, and refusing to lose faith in her belief that something fantastic will happen to mark the rest of her life.

Summer, 1914. It is Emanuel's twenty-first birthday, and eleven-year-old Eva and her sisters are helping transform Gaglow for a glorious party. But their brother's arrival is overshadowed by the talk of war that comes with him from Hamburg, and when he is wrenched from the family to serve his country, Eva knows that nothing will be the same again. Seventy-five years later, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, Sarah's father begins to tell her about Gaglow, the grand East German country estate that will now come back to them. Alternating between Sarah's bohemian life in London and her grandmother's childhood during the First World War, "Summer at Gaglow" unites four generations of an extraordinary family in a tale of loss and love.

Nine-year-old Tess has never seen anything like The Wild. An old bakery, converted into a home, it has a fireplace big enough to sit in, a garden with a badminton net and another one for vegetables. And then there's William, its owner. Single father of three, he cooks homemade ravioli, cuts trees down with a chainsaw and plays the guitar. When her mother, Francine, rents two rooms from him, Tess can hardly believe her luck. Her brother Jake, however, proves harder to convince. As the two grown-ups begin to fall for each other, Tess struggles to please the adults, as well as win Jake round. But she finds that good intentions don't always bring happiness and that adults are disturbingly capable of making mistakes.

'Full of pitch-perfect observation, spiced with wry humour. It is also a terrifically absorbing book, as authentic an evocation of the acting experience as you're ever likely to read' ObserverA captivating novel about the world of acting from the acclaimed author of I Couldn't Love You Any More, Hideous Kinky and Love FallsIt is their first day at Drama Arts, and the circle of huddled, nervous students are told in no uncertain terms that here, unlike at any other drama school, they will be taught to Act. To Be. To exist in their own world on the stage. But outside is the real world - a pitiless, alluring place in which each of them in their most fervent dreams, hopes to flourish and excel.Nell, insecure and dumpy, wonders if she will ever be cast as anything other than the maid. She'll never compete, she knows this, with the multitude of confident, long-legged beauties thronging the profession - most notably Charlie, whose effortless ascendance is nothing less than she expects. While Dan, ambitious and serious, has his sights fixed on Hamlet, as well as on fiery, rebellious Jemma.Over the following decade these young actors will grapple with haphazard tours, illogical auditions, unobtainable agents, deluxe caravans, rocky relationships and red-carpet premieres. This dazzling new novel from Esther Freud uncovers a world of ruthless ambition, uncertain alliances and the many-sided holy grail of Success.

'A compelling tale beautifully told, Mr Mac & Me is as close to a perfect novel as anything I’ve read in a long time. I loved every page of it' Ann PatchettSet on the Suffolk coastline in 1914, a compelling story of an unlikely friendship from the Granta Best of Young British author of Hideous Kinky and The Sea HouseThomas Maggs, the son of the local publican, lives with his parents and sister in a village on the Suffolk coast in 1914. He is the youngest child, and the only son surviving. Life is quiet – shaped by the seasons, fishing and farming and the summer visitors.Then one day a mysterious Scotsman arrives. To Thomas he looks for all the world like a detective, in his black cape and hat of felted wool, and the way he puffs on his pipe as if he’s Sherlock Holmes. Mac is what the locals call him when they whisper about him in the inn. And whisper they do, for he sets off on his walks at unlikely hours, and stops to examine the humblest flowers. He is seen on the beach, staring out across the waves as if he’s searching for clues.But Mac isn’t a detective. He’s the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and together with his red-haired artist wife, they soon become a source of fascination and wonder to Thomas.Yet just as Thomas and Mac’s friendship begins to blossom, war with Germany is declared. The summer guests flee and are replaced by regiments of soldiers on their way to Belgium, and as the brutality of war weighs increasingly heavily on this coastal community, they become more suspicious of Mac and his curious behaviour…In this tender and compelling story of an unlikely friendship, Esther Freud paints a vivid portrait of a home front community during the First World War, and of a man who was one of the most brilliant and misunderstood artists of his generation.

An unforgettable novel of mothers and daughters, wives and muses, secrets and outright lies‘Freud is a modern literary rarity: a born storyteller’ THE TIMES'Such a powerful book' RICHARD CURTIS'Delivers an emotional punch that left me in tears' RACHEL JOYCE'Utterly compelling' HANNAH ROTHSCHILD'I couldn't love it more' POLLY SAMSON'I loved this book' AMANDA CRAIG'Completely, inspiringly wonderful' BARBARA TRAPIDO'Breathtakingly beautiful' JULIET NICOLSONAN EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF 2021Rosaleen is still a teenager, in the early Sixties, when she meets the famous sculptor Felix Lichtman. Felix is dangerous, bohemian, everything she dreamed of in the cold nights at her Catholic boarding school. And at first their life together is glitteringly romantic – drinking in Soho, journeying to Marseilles. But it’s not long before Rosaleen finds herself fearfully, unexpectedly alone. Desperate, she seeks help from the only source she knows, the local priest, and is directed across the sea to Ireland on a journey that will seal her fate.Kate lives in Nineties London, stumbling through her unhappy marriage. But something has begun to stir in her. Close to breaking point, she sets off on a journey of her own, not knowing what she hopes to find.Aoife sits at her husband’s bedside as he lies dying, and tells him the story of their marriage. But there is a crucial part of the story missing and time is running out. Aoife needs to know: what became of Rosaleen?Spanning three generations of women, I Couldn’t Love You More is an unforgettable novel about love, motherhood, secrets and betrayal – and how only the truth can set us free.

A captivating coming-of-age novel about love, sisterhood, secrets and betrayal‘A subtle, clever, evocative book’ Joanna Quinn, Guardian Book of the Day'Gorgeous and sad and gripping and moving' Marian Keyes'Slender, perfect and sparkling ... I'm stricken with love for this book' Meg Mason'Details the profound and complex nature of love and family ... Spare, moving and beautifully written' Jojo Moyes‘Freud brings us directly inside the beating hearts of her characters. I loved this’ Miranda Cowley Heller‘Both delicate and profound – about how relationships bind us together and pull us apart’ Tracy Chevalier____________________________________________________From the author of Hideous Kinky comes a captivating novel about sisterhood, secrets, betrayal and love.For as long as Lucy can remember, she’s been caught between loyalty to her rootless, idealistic mother and devotion to her fierce and exacting sister, Bea. From her unsettled childhood to her turbulent teenage years, she’s been forced to make a choice.But as the sisters come of age and embark on their own experiments – in love, drugs, work, motherhood – they find their lives, and their relationships, increasingly in turmoil.Can the love they have for each other transcend the damage of the past? Or is the past too dangerous to examine?

A captivating coming-of-age novel about love, sisterhood, secrets and betrayal‘A subtle, clever, evocative book’ Joanna Quinn, Guardian Book of the Day'Gorgeous and sad and gripping and moving' Marian Keyes'Slender, perfect and sparkling ... I'm stricken with love for this book' Meg Mason'Details the profound and complex nature of love and family ... Spare, moving and beautifully written' Jojo Moyes‘Freud brings us directly inside the beating hearts of her characters. I loved this’ Miranda Cowley Heller‘Both delicate and profound – about how relationships bind us together and pull us apart’ Tracy Chevalier____________________________________________________From the author of Hideous Kinky comes a captivating novel about sisterhood, secrets, betrayal and love.For as long as Lucy can remember, she’s been caught between loyalty to her rootless, idealistic mother and devotion to her fierce and exacting sister, Bea. From her unsettled childhood to her turbulent teenage years, she’s been forced to make a choice.But as the sisters come of age and embark on their own experiments – in love, drugs, work, motherhood – they find their lives, and their relationships, increasingly in turmoil.Can the love they have for each other transcend the damage of the past? Or is the past too dangerous to examine?

A captivating coming-of-age novel about love, sisterhood, secrets and betrayal‘A subtle, clever, evocative book’ Joanna Quinn, Guardian Book of the DayFrom the author of Hideous Kinky comes a captivating novel about sisterhood, secrets, betrayal and love.For as long as Lucy can remember, she’s been caught between loyalty to her rootless, idealistic mother and devotion to her fierce and exacting sister, Bea. From her unsettled childhood to her turbulent teenage years, she’s been forced to make a choice.But as the sisters come of age and embark on their own experiments – in love, drugs, work, motherhood – they find their lives, and their relationships, increasingly in turmoil.Can the love they have for each other transcend the damage of the past? Or is the past too dangerous to examine?

A lyrical picture book celebrating the changing seasons and living at the seaside with a gentle environmental message by an award-winning author and an exciting new illustration talent.“A beautiful, magical book that captures childhood at the seaside.” Emma Chichester ClarkFrom summer days spent playing on the beach, to flying kites in autumn, to buffeting winter storms and treasure hunts in spring, this is a magnificent celebration of the seaside throughout the changing year. This joyful story charts family life by the sea and celebrates many milestones such as birthdays and New Years. Esther’s lively poetic and lyrical text combines perfectly with Emma’s classic illustrations to captivate and enchant young readers.

Acclaimed novelist Esther Freud's first picture book – a timeless tale about the magic of spending time together at the seaside.“A beautiful, magical book that captures childhood at the seaside.” Emma Chichester ClarkFrom treasure hunts in spring, summer days spent playing on the beach, flying kites in autumn and walking through buffeting winter storms, the magic of the beach is that it changes with the seasons and we change with it. A timeless story from acclaimed novelist Esther Freud about the importance of spending time together - from tiny moments playing in the sand to bigger milestones of birthdays and New Year Day swims - together in a very special place.