Sandi Toksvig – författare

Pre-order Sandi Toksvig''s new novel FRIENDS OF DOROTHY now - coming in September 2024

The funny, wise and brilliant new novel from the star of QI and the author of Between the Stops - an instant Sunday Times bestseller

''Fierce, funny and long overdue - I read this book out loud to anyone who''d listen.'' Adam Kay''Toksvig''s Almanac is intended merely as a starting point for your own discoveries. Find a fabulous (or infamous) woman mentioned and, please, go looking for more of her story. The names mentioned are merely temptations. Amuse-bouches for the mind, if you like. How I would have loved to have written out in detail each tale there is to be told, but then this book would have been too heavy to lift.''Let Sandi Toksvig guide you on an eclectic meander through the calendar, illuminating neglected corners of history to tell tales of the fascinating figures you didn''t learn about at school.From revolutionary women to serial killers, pirate nuns to pioneering civil rights activists, doctors to dancing girls, artists to astronauts, these pages commemorate women from all around the world who were pushed to the margins of historical record. Amuse your bouche with:Belle Star, American Bandit QueenLady Murasaki, author of the world''s first novelMadame Ching, the most successful pirate of all timeMaud Wagner, the first female tattoo artistBegum Samru, Indian dancer and ruler who led an army of mercenariesInês de Castro, crowned Queen Consort of Portugal six years after her deathIda B. Wells, activist, suffragist, journalist and co-founder of the NAACPEleanor G. Holm, disqualified from the 1936 Berlin Olympics for drinking too much champagneThese stories are interspersed with helpful tips for the year, such as the month in which one is most likely to be eaten by a wolf, and the best time to sharpen your sickle. Explore a host of annual events worth travelling for, from the Olney Pancake Race in Wiltshire to the Danish Herring Festival, or who would want to miss Serbia''s World Testicle Cooking Championship?As witty and entertaining as it is instructive, Toksvig''s Almanac is an essential companion to each day of the year.

From the author of BETWEEN THE STOPS and TOKSVIG''S ALMANAC''Teasing out untold stories of the battlefield . . . follows the footsteps of the likes of Sarah Waters and Pat Barker'' Independent London, 1897. A young girl, Valentine Grey, arrives in England. She''s been brought up in the remote and sunny climes of India and finds being forced into corsets and skirts in damp and cold country insufferable. The only bright spot: her exciting cousin, Reggie. Reggie, and his lover Frank seek out the adventure the clandestine bars and streets of London offer and are happy to include Valentine in their secret, showing her theatre, gardens - even teaching her how to ride a bicycle. And then comes the Boer War and Reggie''s father volunteers him; the empire must be defended. But it won''t be Reggie who dons the Volunteer Regiment''s garb. Valentine takes her chance, puts on her cousin''s uniform, leaving Reggie behind and heads off to war. And for a long while it''s glorious and liberating for both of the cousins, but war is not glorious and in Victorian London homosexuality is not liberating . . .

From the author of BETWEEN THE STOPS and TOKSVIG''S ALMANACSandi Toksvig - broadcaster, writer, actor and seeker of all things whimsical - has turned her probing mind to many of the most intriguing questions of our times in the pages of the Sunday Telegraph for many years. Now, for the very first time, these musings have been collected in one hilarious collection.In The Chain of Curiosity, Sandi takes the reader on a side-splitting journey through life''s peculiarities in a book packed with wit, wisdom and wonderment. From pondering the joys of World Pencil Day to examining the intricacies of applause etiquette, and from tip-toeing around the delicate art of school report vocabulary to researching the oddest way to meet a sticky end, the tickling tidbits and intriguing revelations contained within the book will delight Sandi''s fans, both old and new.

Random House presents The End of the Sky by Sandi Toksvig, read by Amy de Bhrun 11-year-old Slim Hannigan and her family left their home in Ireland to travel to America - in search of a better life. It has been so long and such a journey that Slim Hannigan and the rest of her family can''t even imagine what home looks like anymore. And there are many, many miles across America for them to travel before they reach their destination.Between them and the home of their uncle lie thousands of miles of dangerous land, wild animals and strangers who do not wish them well. Slim has to draw on bravery like she''s never known to keep her family together and to keep them moving forward.

Because of the potato me and my family left our home and travelled 6,000 miles to find a new life . . .Slim Hannigan and her family are poor but happy. Theirs is a life filled with love and laughter - and a pet pig called Hamlet. But things change overnight, and suddenly they find themselves facing hunger and danger like they have never known . . . So they leave their village in Ireland to journey to America where, they hope, family and fortune await them.Slim soon finds herself living a life that feels just like one of those far-fetched stories her Da has always told. Can one brave girl keep her family together no matter what is thrown at them . . . ?