Samantha Ellis - Böcker

Cathy Earnshaw or Jane Eyre?Petrova or Posy?Scarlett or Melanie?Lace or Valley of the Dolls?On a pilgrimage to Wuthering Heights, Samantha Ellis found herself arguing with her best friend about which heroine was best: Jane Eyre or Cathy Earnshaw. She was all for wild, passionate Cathy; but her friend found Cathy silly, a snob, while courageous Jane makes her own way.And that’s when Samantha realised that all her life she’d been trying to be Cathy when she should have been trying to be Jane.So she decided to look again at her heroines – the girls, women, books that had shaped her ideas of the world and how to live. Some of them stood up to the scrutiny (she will always love Lizzy Bennet); some of them most decidedly did not (turns out Katy Carr from What Katy Did isn’t a carefree rebel, she’s a drip). There were revelations (the real heroine of Gone with the Wind? It's Melanie), joyous reunions (Anne of Green Gables), poignant memories (Sylvia Plath) and tearful goodbyes (Lucy Honeychurch). And then there was Jilly Cooper...How To Be A Heroine is Samantha’s funny, touching, inspiring exploration of the role of heroines, and our favourite books, in all our lives – and how they change over time, for better or worse, just as we do.

The food we eat can have an important influence on our skin, nails, and hair, but there is surprisingly little to guide the medical professional through what reputable scientific research has established and how best to advise a patient interested in the topic. Recent research has also challenged many previous ideas, which can add to a general air of uncertainty. This succinct text guides the physician through the many controversies and summarizes what can be recommended.

'An optimistic and wryly funny book... rich with insights' OBSERVER'I couldn’t put it down’ RUKMINI IYER‘I loved this book so much... Think: The Body Keeps the Score in practice not theory’ ELLA RISBRIDGERSamantha’s mother tongue is dying out. An urgent need to find out more becomes an expansive investigation into how to keep hold of her culture – and when to let it goThe daughter of Iraqi Jewish refugees, Samantha grew up surrounded by the noisy, vivid, hot sounds of Judeo-Iraqi Arabic. A language that’s now on the verge of extinction.The realisation that she won’t be able to tell her son he’s ‘living in the days of the aubergines’ or ‘chopping onions on my heart’ opens the floodgates. The questions keep coming. How can she pass on the stories without passing on the trauma of displacement? Will her son ever love mango pickle?In her search for answers Samantha encounters demon bowls, the perils of kohl and the unexpected joys of fusion food. Her journey transports us from the clamour of Noah’s Ark to the calm of the British Museum, from the Oxford School of Rare Jewish Languages to the banks of the River Tigris. As Samantha considers what we lose and keep, she also asks what we might need to let go of to preserve our culture and ourselves.This is a life-affirming memoir about resilience and repair, and the healing power of dancing to our ancestors’ music, cooking up their recipes and sharing their stories.‘A moving and resonant lament for the past but also a thought-provoking siren call for the future' ANNE SEBBA'Urgent, alive, propulsive. I adored it' MARINA BENJAMIN

'I was wowed and moved' Tracy Chevalier Anne Brontë is the forgotten Brontë sister, overshadowed by her older siblings - virtuous, successful Charlotte, free-spirited Emily and dissolute Branwell. Tragic, virginal, sweet, stoic, selfless, Anne. The less talented Brontë, the other Brontë. Take Courage is Samantha's personal, poignant and surprising journey into the life and work of a woman sidelined by history. A brave, strongly feminist writer well ahead of her time - and her more celebrated siblings - and who has much to teach us today about how to find our way in the world.

'An optimistic and wryly funny book... rich with insights' OBSERVER'I couldn’t put it down’ RUKMINI IYER‘I loved this book so much... Think: The Body Keeps the Score in practice not theory’ ELLA RISBRIDGERSamantha’s mother tongue is dying out. An urgent need to find out more becomes an expansive investigation into how to keep hold of her culture – and when to let it goThe daughter of Iraqi Jewish refugees, Samantha grew up surrounded by the noisy, vivid, hot sounds of Judeo-Iraqi Arabic. A language that’s now on the verge of extinction.The realisation that she won’t be able to tell her son he’s ‘living in the days of the aubergines’ or ‘chopping onions on my heart’ opens the floodgates. The questions keep coming. How can she pass on the stories without passing on the trauma of displacement? Will her son ever love mango pickle?In her search for answers Samantha encounters demon bowls, the perils of kohl and the unexpected joys of fusion food. Her journey transports us from the clamour of Noah’s Ark to the calm of the British Museum, from the Oxford School of Rare Jewish Languages to the banks of the River Tigris. As Samantha considers what we lose and keep, she also asks what we might need to let go of to preserve our culture and ourselves.This is a life-affirming memoir about resilience and repair, and the healing power of dancing to our ancestors’ music, cooking up their recipes and sharing their stories.‘A moving and resonant lament for the past but also a thought-provoking siren call for the future' ANNE SEBBA'Urgent, alive, propulsive. I adored it' MARINA BENJAMIN

A sassy, offbeat comedy-drama about rebelling against your roots.Rivka wants the perfect Orthodox wedding. With two weeks to go, she has the man, the dress – and the wig. But when doubt is cast on her wig, everything starts to unravel. Rivka finds herself far from home, up a tree and in the midst of an anti-road protest, not knowing whether she’ll be able to go back to where she came from… Or even if she wants to. Samantha Ellis' play Cling To Me Like Ivy was inspired by a chance remark by Victoria Beckham in 2004 which sparked a crisis within the Orthodox Jewish community about the wigs worn by married women.The play was first performed at The Door, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, in February 2010, followed by a UK tour.

A hilarious new spin on the Hollywood romcom featuring two proposals, two weddings, an elopement and a cast of unforgettable characters.Kate likes her men tall, dark and smouldering. She has a fatal attraction to bad men. Then she meets Steve…Steve is a feminist.Can Kate overcome her love of lipstick, cupcakes and Heathcliff? Can Steve forgo the ethical confetti and learn to be a little bit more ravishing in bed? Can the two of them reinvent romance for the twenty-first century?Samantha Ellis's play How to Date a Feminist premiered at the Arcola Theatre, London, in 2016, ahead of a UK tour.