Kathryn Hughes – författare

‘Victorians Undone is the most original history book I have read in a long while’ Daily Mail A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR • AN OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR A groundbreaking account of what it was like to live in a Victorian body from one of our best historians. Why did the great philosophical novelist George Eliot feel so self-conscious that her right hand was larger than her left?Exactly what made Darwin grow that iconic beard in 1862, a good five years after his contemporaries had all retired their razors?Who knew Queen Victoria had a personal hygiene problem as a young woman and the crisis that followed led to a hurried commitment to marry Albert?What did John Sell Cotman, a handsome drawing room operator who painted some of the most exquisite watercolours the world has ever seen, feel about marrying a woman whose big nose made smart people snigger?How did a working-class child called Fanny Adams disintegrate into pieces in 1867 before being reassembled into a popular joke, one we still reference today, but would stop, appalled, if we knew its origins?Kathryn Hughes follows a thickened index finger or deep baritone voice into the realms of social history, medical discourse, aesthetic practise and religious observance – its language is one of admiring glances, cruel sniggers, an implacably turned back. The result is an eye-opening, deeply intelligent, groundbreaking account that brings the Victorians back to life and helps us understand how they lived their lives.

*Shortlisted for the Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize* A Times and Sunday Times Book of the YearA Wall Street Journal Book of the YearA Spectator Book of the YearA Times Literary Supplement Book of the YearA New Yorker Book of the Year Some called it a craze. To others it was a cult. Join prize-winning historian Kathryn Hughes to discover how Britain fell in love with cats and ushered in a new era. 'Smart, gorgeously written cultural history’ TLS ‘Delightful’ Guardian ‘Excellent’ Spectator ‘Joyous cultural history’ The Times ‘He invented a whole cat world’ declared H. G. Wells of Louis Wain, the Edwardian artist whose anthropomorphic kittens made him a household name. His drawings were irresistible but Catland was more than the creation of one eccentric imagination. It was an attitude – a way of being in society while discreetly refusing to follow its rules.As cat capitalism boomed in the spectacular Edwardian age, prized animals changed hands for hundreds of pounds and a new industry sprung up to cater for their every need. Cats were no longer basement-dwelling pest-controllers, but stylish cultural subversives, more likely to flaunt a magnificent ruff and a pedigree from Persia. Wherever you found old conventions breaking down, there was a cat at the centre of the storm.Whether they were flying aeroplanes, sipping champagne or arguing about politics, Wain’s feline cast offered a sly take on the restless and risky culture of the post-Victorian world. No-one experienced these uncertainties more acutely than Wain himself, confined to a mental asylum while creating his most iconic work. Catland is a fascinating and fabulous unravelling of our obsession with cats, and the man dedicated to chronicling them.‘Through humour, elegance and sheer knowledge, Hughes builds something remarkable’ Literary Review‘If a Louis Wain cat were reading this book, he would raise his topper in tribute’ The Times‘Catland is a tour de force of (cat) history: sleek, elegant and razor-sharp when needed’ History Today‘Excellent … Hughes reveals a fascinating, forgotten aspect of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain: how the British fell in love with felines’ Daily Mail‘An entertaining and often surprising cultural history … typically delivered in an inviting spirit of delight’ New Yorker

*Shortlisted for the Pol Roger Duff Cooper Prize* A Times and Sunday Times Book of the YearA Wall Street Journal Book of the YearA Spectator Book of the YearA Times Literary Supplement Book of the YearA New Yorker Book of the Year Some called it a craze. To others it was a cult. Join prize-winning historian Kathryn Hughes to discover how Britain fell in love with cats and ushered in a new era. 'Smart, gorgeously written cultural history’ TLS ‘Delightful’ Guardian ‘Excellent’ Spectator ‘Joyous cultural history’ The Times ‘He invented a whole cat world’ declared H. G. Wells of Louis Wain, the Edwardian artist whose anthropomorphic kittens made him a household name. His drawings were irresistible but Catland was more than the creation of one eccentric imagination. It was an attitude – a way of being in society while discreetly refusing to follow its rules.As cat capitalism boomed in the spectacular Edwardian age, prized animals changed hands for hundreds of pounds and a new industry sprung up to cater for their every need. Cats were no longer basement-dwelling pest-controllers, but stylish cultural subversives, more likely to flaunt a magnificent ruff and a pedigree from Persia. Wherever you found old conventions breaking down, there was a cat at the centre of the storm.Whether they were flying aeroplanes, sipping champagne or arguing about politics, Wain’s feline cast offered a sly take on the restless and risky culture of the post-Victorian world. No-one experienced these uncertainties more acutely than Wain himself, confined to a mental asylum while creating his most iconic work. Catland is a fascinating and fabulous unravelling of our obsession with cats, and the man dedicated to chronicling them.‘Through humour, elegance and sheer knowledge, Hughes builds something remarkable’ Literary Review‘If a Louis Wain cat were reading this book, he would raise his topper in tribute’ The Times‘Catland is a tour de force of (cat) history: sleek, elegant and razor-sharp when needed’ History Today‘Excellent … Hughes reveals a fascinating, forgotten aspect of late Victorian and Edwardian Britain: how the British fell in love with felines’ Daily Mail‘An entertaining and often surprising cultural history … typically delivered in an inviting spirit of delight’ New Yorker

This report offers a summary of the substantive presentations during an international workshop, Trends in Science and Technology Relevant to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, held October 31 - November 3, 2010 at the Institute of Biophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is meant to provide scientists and other technical experts with factual information about the range and variety of topics discussed at the workshop, which may be of interest to national governments and non-governmental organizations as they begin to prepare for the 7th Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) in 2011. The Beijing workshop reflected the continuing engagement by national academies international scientific organizations, and individual scientists and engineers in considering the biosecurity implications of developments in the life sciences and assessing trends in science and technology (S&T) relevant to nonproliferation. The workshop provided an opportunity for the scientific community to discuss the implications of relevant developments in S&T for multiple aspects of the BWC.Trends in Science and Technology Relevant to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention follows the structure of the plenary sessions at the workshop. It begins with introductory material about the BWC and current examples of the types and modes of science advice available to the BWC and other international nonproliferation and disarmament agreements, in particular the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). This report includes only a very brief description of the some of the post-presentation discussions held during the plenary sessions - and does not include an account of the small breakout groups - since these were intended to inform the committee's finding and conclusions and will be reflected in the final report.

Dual-use applications for chemical manufacturing equipment have been recognized as a concern for many years, and export-control regulations worldwide are in place as a result. These regulations, in conjunction with the verification and inspection requirements of Article VI of the Chemical Weapons Convention, are designed to support non-proliferation of manufacturing equipment suitable for production of chemical warfare agents. In recent years, globalization has changed the distribution of chemical manufacturing facilities around the world. This has increased the burden on current inspection regimes, and increased the amount of manufacturing equipment available around the world. Movement of that equipment, both domestically and as part of international trade, has increased to accommodate these market shifts.To better understand the movement and tracking of chemical manufacturing equipment of dual-use concern, the Project on Advanced Systems and Concepts for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction at the Naval Postgraduate School contracted with the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology of the National Research Council to hold a workshop on the global movement and tracking of chemical manufacturing equipment. The workshop, held in May 2014, looked at key concerns regarding the availability and movement of equipment for chemical manufacturing, particularly used and decommissioned equipment that is of potential dual-use concern. The workshop examined today's industrial, security, and political contexts in which these materials are being produced, regulated, and transferred. The workshop also facilitated discussions about current practices, including consideration of their congruence with current technologies and security threats in the global chemical industrial system. The Global Movement and Tracking of Chemical Manufacturing Equipment summarizes the presentations and discussion of the event.

In the last few decades great strides have been made in chemistry at the nanoscale, where the atomic granularity of matter and the exact positions of individual atoms are key determinants of structure and dynamics. Less attention, however, has been paid to the mesoscale--it is at this scale, in the range extending from large molecules (10 nm) through viruses to eukaryotic cells (10 microns), where interesting ensemble effects and the functionality that is critical to macroscopic phenomenon begins to manifest itself and cannot be described by laws on the scale of atoms and molecules alone. To further explore how knowledge about mesoscale phenomena can impact chemical research and development activities and vice versa, the Chemical Sciences Roundtable of the National Research Council convened a workshop on mesoscale chemistry in November 2014. With a focus on the research on chemical phenomena at the mesoscale, participants examined the opportunities that utilizing those behaviors can have for developing new catalysts, adding new functionality to materials, and increasing our understanding of biological and interfacial systems.The workshop also highlighted some of the challenges for analysis and description of mesoscale structures. This report summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Any understanding of George Eliot's mature art must begin with an appreciation of the rich, difficult family dynamic out of which it was forged. Her friends and relations understood this, and went into print with their own accounts of the process by which George Eliot's early recollections became the basis, not just for her fiction, but also for her philosophic conservatism. The past - and memory of that past - was the cornerstone on which Eliot believed any chance of social or political progress must securely rest.This set, the fifth collection in the Family History series brings together valuable sources, including manuscript material from letters and diaries which give insights into these crucial influences. A new introduction places the material in its literary and historical context.

Every so often a love story comes along to remind us that sometimes, in our darkest hour, hope shines a candle to light our way. The No. 1 million-copy bestseller which has captured thousands of hearts worldwide, THE LETTER tells the story of two women whose paths are destined to cross, and how one woman's devastation leads to the other's salvation...⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'An amazing, heartwrenching, unforgettable story'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'This beautiful story will bring tears and joy'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Loved this story !! It kept me totally gripped although I was sobbing in places as well'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Heartbreaking but utterly romantic'⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'A tale of love and hope with lots of twists and turns!'Tina Craig longs to escape her violent husband. She works all the hours God sends to save up enough money to leave him, also volunteering in a charity shop to avoid her unhappy home. Whilst going through the pockets of a second-hand suit, she comes across an old letter, the envelope firmly sealed and unfranked. Tina opens the letter and reads it - a decision that will alter the course of her life for ever...Billy Stirling knows he has been a fool, but hopes he can put things right. On 4th September 1939 he sits down to write the letter he hopes will change his future. It does - in more ways than he can ever imagine...

* THE MEMORY BOX, THE BRAND NEW NOVEL FROM KATHRYN HUGHES, IS AVAILABLE NOW *'Riveting' Lesley Pearse on The Letter. 'Gripping' Good Housekeeping on The Secret. From the #1 bestselling author of The Letter comes The Secret - a powerful, twisting novel that you won't be able to put down. Mary has been nursing a secret. Forty years ago, she made a choice that would change her world for ever, and alter the path of someone she holds dear.Beth is searching for answers. She has never known the truth about her parentage, but finding out could be the lifeline her sick child so desperately needs. When Beth finds a faded newspaper cutting amongst her mother's things, she realises the key to her son's future lies in her own past. She must go back to where it all began to unlock...The Secret.What readers are saying about the unputdownable stories of Kathryn Hughes:'Get set to be hooked' 'A page-turner from the very beginning''This is one of the BEST BOOKS I have ever read''I cried buckets of tears reading it''A beautifully told, tragic tale'

* THE MEMORY BOX, THE BRAND NEW NOVEL FROM KATHRYN HUGHES, IS AVAILABLE NOW *A hidden note. A lost love. A second chance...'A wonderful, enthralling story; one that I didn't want to end' Lesley Pearse on The Key 'A heartbreakingly powerful read' The Sun on The KeyFrom the #1 bestselling author of The Letter, Kathryn Hughes, comes The Key, an unforgettable story of a heartbreaking secret that will stay with you for ever.1956 It's Ellen Crosby's first day as a student nurse at Ambergate Hospital. When she meets a young woman admitted by her father, little does Ellen know that a choice she will make is to change both their lives for ever...2006Sarah is drawn to the now abandoned Ambergate. Whilst exploring the old corridors she discovers a suitcase belonging to a female patient who entered Ambergate fifty years earlier. The shocking contents, untouched for half a century, will lead Sarah to unravel a forgotten story of tragedy and lost love, and the chance to make an old wrong right . . .'Oh wow! This story broke my heart then filled it with joy then broke it all over again! I adored The Letter and The Secret but this I have to say was my favourite. Heartfelt and poignant an absolute joy' A reader on The KeyIt's time to discover what a million readers already know. No one grips your heart like Kathryn Hughes . . .'You will find it hard to put down. I cried buckets of tears reading it''A beautifully told, tragic tale . . . restoring your faith in the kindness of strangers and the strength of the human spirit''From start to finish, a lovely, sometimes heartbreaking read''A sheer joy to read . . . Wonderfully romantic with beautiful characters''I have finished this book with tears in my eyes but a smile on my face''I couldn't put it down. So beautifully written. I feel like I'm a better person for reading it' 'I cried with this book - it tugged at the heart all the way through' 'This must be one of the best books I have ever read''You will be thinking of this book long after you've finished it'

A beautiful, page-turning and heartwrenching story of how hope can blossom in the ruins of tragedy and of the redeeming power of love. From No. 1 bestselling author of The Letter Kathryn Hughes.**Previously published as Her Last Promise**Winner Book of the Year in Prima magazine Big Book AwardsTara Richards was just a girl when she lost her mother. Years later when Tara receives a letter from a London solicitor its contents shake her to the core. Someone has left her a key to a safe deposit box. In the box lies an object that will change everything Tara thought she knew and lead her on a journey to deepest Spain in search of the answers that have haunted her for forty years.Violet Skye regrets her decision to travel abroad leaving her young daughter behind. As the sun dips below the mountains, she reminds herself she is doing this for their future. Tonight, 4th June 1978, will be the start of a new life for them. This night will indeed change Violet's destiny, in the most unexpected of ways...'Storytelling at its finest with characters that come alive and a plot that dances with intrigue. An absolutely first-class read that does not disappoint' Prima'A gripping read' Woman & Home_______Readers adore this book:'Hope rises from despair and new beginnings are forged in the most extraordinary and unexpected way. Kathryn Hughes delves deeply into the heart and soul of her characters, making them totally relatable...like friends you really care for. My addiction to this novel was total and uncompromising ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Wonderful! First book I have read by Kathryn Hughes and will now read her previous stories. I loved it ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Unputdownable ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Kathryn has a talent for weaving the mystery and bringing the threads together seamlessly ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Beautifully written, it will stay with me for a long time ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''Completely captivating ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''I really enjoyed this book, especially the nostalgic 1970's descriptions ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'

Some love stories last a lifetime...'UTTERLY UNPUTDOWNABLE' Jenny Ashcroft'Wow, wow, wow!!! The BEST BOOK I have read all year. A gorgeous story which had me hooked. Make sure you have a box of tissues when you read this beautiful story ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'_______From the million-copy-bestselling author of The Letter, Kathryn Hughes, and inspired by true events, an unforgettable, moving and timeless story of love and war which will stay with you for ever. Readers who adored The Nightingale, The Notebook or The Tattooist of Auschwitz will love to unlock The Memory Box...Jenny Tanner opens the box she has cherished for decades. Contained within are her most precious mementoes, amongst them a pebble, a carving and a newspaper cutting she can hardly bear to read. But Jenny knows the time is finally here. After the war, in a mountainside village in Italy, she left behind a piece of her heart. However painful, she must return to Cinque Alberi. And lay the past to rest.After a troubled upbringing, Candice Barnes dreams of a future with the love of her life - but is he the man she believes him to be? When Candice is given the opportunity to travel to Italy with Jenny, she is unaware the trip will open her eyes to the truth she's been too afraid to face. Could a place of goodbyes help her make a brave new beginning?_______Will you be the next reader to lose your heart to The Memory Box?'With beautiful writing, wonderful characters, and a page-turning plot, Kathryn has given us another unputdownable read. Warmth and heart burst from every page, transporting the reader from joy to heartbreak. I couldn't have loved it more' JENNY ASHCROFT'A heartbreaking and heartwarming tale of love, loss and forgiveness' Daily Mail'A spellbinding tale with lots of surprises and endearing characters. Hughes is a wonderful storyteller' Woman's Weekly'I could not put this book down! It is absolutely phenomenal from the very first page right until the very last page. It is heartbreaking, joyful, hopeful, and a book that you won't want to put down ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''I have loved every single one of Kathryn Hughes' books, but this one was my absolute favourite! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''The twist at the end made me gasp! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''I absolutely loved this book. Devoured it in a few days. I eagerly await more of Kathryn Hughes' books. I will be first in line. Excellent ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''What a gorgeously written tale. This story was heartbreaking but also heartwarming. Full of unexpected twists, this one had me gripped! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''A stunningly beautiful story. Brilliantly developed characters. A heart-warming and emotional read that I read in one sitting ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐''A heartwarming, well-written story. Heartbreaking in places but a story that had to be told ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'

We each of us strive for domestic bliss, and we may look to Delia and Nigella to give us tips on achieving the unattainable. Kathryn Hughes, acclaimed for her biography of George Eliot, has pulled back the curtains to look at the creator of the ultimate book on keeping house.In Victorian England what did every middle-class housewife need to create the perfect home? ‘The Book of Household Management’. ‘Oh, but of course!’ Mrs Beeton would no doubt declare with brisk authority. But Mrs Beeton is not quite the matronly figure that has kept her name resonating 150 years after the publication of ‘The Book of Household Management’.The famous pages of carefully costed recipes, warnings about not gossiping to visitors, and making sure you always keep your hat on in someone else’s house were indispensable in the moulding of the Victorian domestic bliss. But there are many myths surrounding the legend of Mrs Beeton. It is very possible that her book was given so much social standing through fear as she was believed to be a bit of an old dragon.It seems though that Mrs Beeton was a series of contradictions. Kathryn Hughes reveals here that Bella Beeton was a million miles away from the stoical, middle-aged matron. She was in fact only 25 years old when she created the guide to successful family living and had only had five years experience of her own to inform her. She lived in a semi-detached house in Pinner with the bare minimum of servants. She bordered on being a workaholic, and certainly wasn’t the meek and mild little wife that her book was aimed at – more a highly intelligent and ambitious young woman. After preaching about wholesome and clean living, Bella Beeton died at the age of 28 from (contrary to her parent’s belief) bad hygiene. Kathryn Hughes sympathetically explores the irony behind Bella Beeton’s public and private image in this highly readable and informative study of Victorian lifestyle.

The figure of the governess is very familiar from 19th-century literature. Much less is known about the governess in reality. This work explores what the life of the home schoolroom was actually like. Drawing on original diaries and a variety of sources, the author describes why the period 1840-80 was the classic age of the governess. She examines their numbers, recruitment, teaching methods, social position and prospects. The governess provides a key to the central Victorian concept of the lady. Her education consisted of a series of accomplishments designed to attract a husband able to keep her in the style to which she had become accustomed from birth. Becoming a governess was the only acceptable way of earning money open to a lady whose family could not support her in leisure. Being paid to educate another woman's children set in play a series of social and emotional tensions. The governess was a surrogate mother, who was herself childless, a young woman whose marriage prospects were restricted, and a family member who was sometimes mistaken for a servant.

This highly praised biography is the first to explore fully the way in which her painful early life and rejection by her brother Isaac in particular, shaped the insight and art which made her both Victorian England’s last great visionary and the first modern.An immensely readable biography of the 19th century writer whose territory comprised nothing less than the entire span of Victorian society. Kathryn Hughes provides a truly nuanced view of Eliot, and is the first to grapple equally with the personal dramas that shaped her personality – particularly her rejection by her brother Isaac – and her social and intellectual context. Hughes shows how these elements together forged the themes of Eliot’s work, her insistence that ideological interests be subordinated to the bonds between human beings – a message that has keen resonance in our own time. With wit and sympathy Kathryn Hughes has written a wonderfully vivid account of Eliot’s life that is both moving, stimulating and at times laugh-out-loud funny.