Wendy Holden – författare

'I came to realise my mother was a lioness. She was soft and strong at the same time and had the gentlest of hearts.' – Sean Hepburn Ferrer The deeply personal, official biography of Audrey Hepburn, full of untold stories exclusive photos and cherish memories from her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, one of the people who knew her best. Audrey Hepburn was many things. She was a child survivor of the Second World War. She was a symbol of timeless style. She played a runaway princess, an eccentric socialite and a nun struggling with her faith. But perhaps her greatest contribution to the world was as a selfless humanitarian in the final years of her life.For Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey was also his mother. In INTIMATE AUDREY, he candidly recounts how the shy ‘girl from across the landing’ became the star we remember and love today. Featuring never-before-seen photographs and excerpts from her personal letters, this book is an intimate portrait of Audrey: as an icon, as a mother and as an altruist who drew on her own experience of hunger and suffering to advocate fiercely for children in war-torn countries. Audrey shines in this moving portrait of a mother by her son; a visionary woman who continues to defy all expectations decades after her death.

'I came to realise my mother was a lioness. She was soft and strong at the same time and had the gentlest of hearts.' – Sean Hepburn Ferrer The deeply personal, official biography of Audrey Hepburn, full of untold stories exclusive photos and cherish memories from her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer, one of the people who knew her best. Audrey Hepburn was many things. She was a child survivor of the Second World War. She was a symbol of timeless style. She played a runaway princess, an eccentric socialite and a nun struggling with her faith. But perhaps her greatest contribution to the world was as a selfless humanitarian in the final years of her life.For Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey was also his mother. In INTIMATE AUDREY, he candidly recounts how the shy ‘girl from across the landing’ became the star we remember and love today. Featuring never-before-seen photographs and excerpts from her personal letters, this book is an intimate portrait of Audrey: as an icon, as a mother and as an altruist who drew on her own experience of hunger and suffering to advocate fiercely for children in war-torn countries. Audrey shines in this moving portrait of a mother by her son; a visionary woman who continues to defy all expectations decades after her death.

"Readers are transported to 1961 Britain in this fascinating tale about beloved Princess Diana....What follows is an astonishing story of Diana's route to the altar and beyond."—Woman's WorldThe whole world saw Diana Spencer step from a gilded carriage for her wedding. But before that fairy-tale moment came a difficult journey.… Bestselling author Wendy Holden explores the astonishing backstory and young adulthood of the ultimate royal celebrity. Britain, 1961: A beautiful blonde baby is born to Viscount Althorp, heir to the Spencer earldom. But Diana grows up amid the fallout of her parents’ messy divorce. She struggles at school. Her refuge throughout is romantic novels. She dreams of falling in love and being rescued by a handsome prince.In royal circles, there is concern about the Prince of Wales. Charles is nearing thirty and the right girl needs to be found, fast. She must be young, aristocratic and completely free of past liaisons. Pure and innocent.Eighteen-year-old Diana Spencer is just about the only candidate. Her yearning to be loved dovetails with royal desperation for a bride. But the route to the altar is perilous. There are hidden dangers. Ruthless schemers. Can Diana’s romantic dream survive?

Bestselling author Goldie Hawn offers parents a practical guide for helping their children to learn better and live more happily. Based on the MindUP programme, supported by the Hawn Foundation, 10 Mindful Minutes outlines short, practical exercises for parents and children - taking less than 10 minutes - to help young children and teenagers reduce stress and anxiety, improve concentration and academic performance, effectively manage emotions and behaviour, develop greater empathy for others and the world, and be more optimistic and happy. Representing the culmination of years of research and programmes developed by the Hawn Foundation currently being used by schools internationally, this book will help children and parents develop mindfulness which has been proven to promote more effective learning and happier lives.

'This is a remarkable book . . . Read it and use it: you may find you are doing nothing less than giving back to your children their childhood, while they still have the chance to live it' Mark Williams, Director, University of Oxford Mindfulness Centre and author of MINDFULNESS FINDING PEACE IN A FRANTIC WORLD'10 MINDFUL MINUTES can help any adult - parent, grandparent, teacher - make double use of their moments with the children they love and have a terrific time while helping shape that child's brain for a lifetime of resilience and happiness' Daniel Goleman, author of EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCEBestselling author Goldie Hawn offers parents a practical guide for helping their children to learn better and live more happily. Based on the MindUP programme, supported by the Hawn Foundation, 10 MINDFUL MINUTES outlines short, practical exercises for parents and children - taking less than 10 minutes - to help young children and teenagers reduce stress and anxiety, improve concentration and academic performance, effectively manage emotions and behaviour, develop greater empathy for others and the world, and be more optimistic and happy. Representing the culmination of years of research and programmes developed by the Hawn Foundation currently being used by schools internationally, this book will help children and parents develop mindfulness which has been proven to promote more effective learning and happier lives.

The Sunday Times bestseller now updated with a new forewordAmong millions of Holocaust victims sent to Auschwitz II-Birkenau in 1944, Priska, Rachel, and Anka each passed through its infamous gates with a secret. Strangers to each other, they were newly pregnant, and facing an uncertain fate without their husbands. Alone, scared, and with so many loved ones already lost to the Nazis, these young women were privately determined to hold on to all they had left: their lives, and those of their unborn babies.That the gas chambers ran out of Zyklon-B just after the babies were born, before they and their mothers could be exterminated, is just one of several miracles that allowed them all to survive and rebuild their lives after World War II. Born Survivors follows the mothers' incredible journey - first to Auschwitz, where they each came under the murderous scrutiny of Dr. Josef Mengele; then to a German slave labour camp where, half-starved and almost worked to death, they struggled to conceal their condition; and finally, as the Allies closed in, their hellish 17-day train journey with thousands of other prisoners to the Mauthausen death camp in Austria. Hundreds died along the way but the courage and kindness of strangers, including guards and civilians, helped save these women and their children.Sixty-five years later, the three 'miracle babies' met for the first time at Mauthausen for the anniversary of the liberation that ultimately saved them. United by their remarkable experiences of survival against all odds, they now consider each other "siblings of the heart." In Born Survivors, Wendy Holden brings all three stories together for the first time to mark their seventieth birthdays and the seventieth anniversary of the ending of the war.A heart-stopping account of how three mothers and their newborns fought to survive the Holocaust, Born Survivors is also a life-affirming celebration of our capacity to care and to love amid inconceivable cruelty.

This story poses a profound question - do we accept the hand that fate deals us, or do we battle to make the most of the life we have and help others in the process? Chris Graham, just 38 years old but already facing the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, has emphatically chosen the latter.Having lived through a troubled childhood, Chris joined the British Army at a young age and found that the life of a soldier provided him with a much-needed sense of stability. However, his world was turned upside down when, at just 34 years of age, he was diagnosed with a form of early onset dementia. This brutal disease had already claimed the life of his father at 42, along with several other members of his family, and tragically had already confined his brother to a nursing home at the age of 43. In his brother's life, Chris could see a terrifying window into his own near future.Chris, though, is an extraordinary human being. Having been handed nothing less than a death sentence, he decided overnight to stand up to this horrendous disease and do something to leave his mark before it was too late. And so it was that last year, Chris embarked on an awareness-raising 16,000-mile solo cycle around North America, armed only with his bike, a sense of humour, and some good old-fashioned British grit. Leaving his ever-supportive wife Vicky and baby son Dexter at home, he took on huge challenges - for instance, the fear that the ability to discern left from right might leave him at any point while navigating an entire continent - and made it home in time for Christmas, determined to spending however long he has left pouring his love and attention into his family life. Five Minutes of Amazing is both the story of Chris' epic journey and of his fight against the disease increasingly being recognised as the defining disease of our generation. Inspiring and heart-rending in equal measure, it's as important as it is moving, and it will touch everyone who reads it.

This story poses a profound question - do we accept the hand that fate deals us, or do we battle to make the most of the life we have and help others in the process? Chris Graham, just 38 years old but already facing the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, has emphatically chosen the latter.Having lived through a troubled childhood, Chris joined the British Army at a young age and found that the life of a soldier provided him with a much-needed sense of stability. However, his world was turned upside down when, at just 34 years of age, he was diagnosed with a form of early onset dementia. This brutal disease had already claimed the life of his father at 42, along with several other members of his family, and tragically had already confined his brother to a nursing home at the age of 43. In his brother's life, Chris could see a terrifying window into his own near future.Chris, though, is an extraordinary human being. Having been handed nothing less than a death sentence, he decided overnight to stand up to this horrendous disease and do something to leave his mark before it was too late. And so it was that last year, Chris embarked on an awareness-raising 16,000-mile solo cycle around North America, armed only with his bike, a sense of humour, and some good old-fashioned British grit. Leaving his ever-supportive wife Vicky and baby son Dexter at home, he took on huge challenges - for instance, the fear that the ability to discern left from right might leave him at any point while navigating an entire continent - and made it home in time for Christmas, determined to spending however long he has left pouring his love and attention into his family life. Five Minutes of Amazing is both the story of Chris' epic journey and of his fight against the disease increasingly being recognised as the defining disease of our generation. Inspiring and heart-rending in equal measure, it's as important as it is moving, and it will touch everyone who reads it.

Cash-strapped Rosie and her boyfriend Mark are city folk longing for a country cottage. Rampantly nouveaux-riches Samantha and Guy are also searching for rustic bliss - a mansion complete with mile-long drive and hot and cold running gardeners. The village of Eight Mile Bottom seems quiet enough, despite a nosy postman, a reclusive rock star, a glamorous Bond Girl and a ghost with a knife in its back. But there are unexpected thrills in the hills. The local siren seduces Guy while mysterious millionaire makes Rosie an offer she can't refuse. But should she?

A sparklingly witty novel from the bestselling author WENDY HOLDEN. For fans of GALLERY GIRL and BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.Ruthless, beautiful Belinda wants a rich and famous man. Her problem is that interviewing Z-list celebs offers zero opportunity for megastar-bagging. Gentle Grace, meanwhile, only wants a quiet life. Her problems include an egomaniac boyfriend, a meddling mother and a publishing job with the authors from hell.Belinda finally makes the A-list, while Grace finds fame thrust upon her in the shape of a handsome film star. As the girls' lives and careers spectacularly collide, their real problems begin...

Sophie's marriage was perfect, but now it's all gone wrong. Mark works late; she's left with the baby, domestic drudgery, her own career to keep on the go and the growing feeling that Mark is having an affair. When he fails to come home one night it's the last straw. Sophie wants a divorce. But Mark doesn't. He hasn't been unfaithful, just thoughtless. Desperate not to lose his family, he signs up to the 'School for Husbands', which transforms hopeless spouses into perfect marriage partners. But will its intensive and unusual tuition be enough to get him back with Sophie? Especially now an eligible millionaire is after her...

Fame, love and happiness. Can anyone have it all?Darcy's a struggling English-rose actress when The Call comes from LA. An Oscar-tastic director. A movie to make her famous. The hunkiest co-star in Hollywood. So why doesn't she want to go?Belle's a size-zero film star but she's in big, fat trouble. Hotter than the earth's core a year ago, she's now Tinseltown toast after her last film bombed. Can she get back to the big time?When the two women lock horns over men, movies and megadiets, there's more drama than even Hollywood can handle. And after a celebrity nanny, reluctant supermodel and passionate star chef enter the mix, things get seriously hot and spicy.

She stopped at nothing. To get everything.Scheming social climber Alexa may be humbly born. But she's a class-hopping cruise missile aimed at the very top of the gold-digging tree. Only a title, mansion and family tiara will do. Befriending feckless aristo Florrie (three surnames plus black hole where her brain should be) means the grandest doors swing open and the prince of her dreams is in sight. But has Florrie's mother, the formidable Lady Annabel, rumbled what Alexa is up to?Beautiful but penniless student Polly, meanwhile, is in love. Is Max, the handsome young vet she's found in a country lane, quite as ordinary as he seems, however? Passionate love, eye-widening snobbery and more than naked ambition abound in this contemporary Cinderella tale - a deliciously satirical novel of the upwardly mobile.

Welcome to Branston College ... We are an academic institution in the heart of an ancient university town. Our architecture might not feature dreaming spires, but the central dome nonetheless casts a characterful shadow. Amenities include a distinctive subterranean bar and a newly renovated garden where you can observe local wildlife.Diana is starting a new life as gardener at Branston, a challenging restoration project which allows her to indulge a love of delphiniums beneath the disconcerting gaze of dishy but remote Richard, the recently widowed College Master.A new term brings new students, among them It Girl Amber, darling of the gossip columns and dead ringer for inclusion in the university's notorious elite society. As lustful teenagers and crabby tutors run riot in Diana's garden, her peaceful haven is trampled, and then a blast from the past threatens to ruin a new romance. Can anything save Diana's hard-won happiness, let alone her herbaceous borders?

Wild and Free by Sunday Times bestselling author Wendy Holden sees the author of Bad Heir Day and The Wives of Bath at the top of her game. Fun for fans of Jane Costello and Carole Matthews.'Super-sharp ... This hugely entertaining novel is chick lit at its best!' CloserWild & Free is the festival du jour. Everyone piles through its gates - and Cupid lies in wait to sprinkle a little midsummer madness on them all.Teacher Ginnie is desperate to forget her crush on headmaster Mark, and hopes glamping might do the trick. But Mark is also heading for Wild & Free to reform his college band ... desperate not to be seen by anyone he knows. Mark's bandmate James dreams of a festival blow-out with his son, Guy ... until his wife Victoria's ambition kills the dream. Now she and Guy are en route to Wild & Free instead but when Guy meets Shanna-Mae and falls for her earthy charms, Victoria is determined to snap Cupid's arrow.Will the magic of the festival send them wild? Or set them free to find peace and love?

'[A] fun and fizzy romantic comedy' says the Daily Mail. Wendy Holden, the number one bestselling queen of romantic comedy, returns with a wonderfully warm and witty tale, guaranteed to delight her legions of fans. 'With plenty of laughter, love, fun and characters you really care about, this is the perfect companion for a weekend spent curled up on the sofa' Heat magazineWhen Nell is marooned at the altar, her feisty best friend Rachel says she'll come with her on honeymoon instead. Why waste a week in a posh country hotel?So the duo, plus Rachel's Agatha Christie-obsessed small daughter Juno, head for the hills and idyllic Edenville, on the edge of the beautiful Pemberton estate. Awaiting them is a cast of colourful characters from Jason the harassed hotel manager to the ruthless Angela, Director of HR. Not to mention the handsome Dylan, a bestselling writer on the run from his past. Nell doesn't want to go back to London, so when a job on the estate comes up, she's happy to stay. Even if it is arranging weddings in the Big House! As she becomes entangled in the lives of the locals - and they weave their way into her heart - she realises there might be a way to reach the rainbow's end after all

'I am in awe of Wendy Holden' Heather Morris'As exquisitely-rendered as a Holbein masterpiece, this vivid and compelling novel breathes new life into one of the most dramatic stories in English history' Tracy Borman'InThe Queen's Painter, Wendy Holden brings a well-known piece of history to life with a fresh and vivid perspective. Utterly gripping and portrayed in exquisite detail, this is a story to lose yourself in entirely.' Elizabeth LeeIn her dazzling new novel, No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller Wendy Holden presents a new take on the Anne Boleyn story. The Queen's Painter traces her stellar rise and tragic fall as seen by Tudor court artist Hans Holbein. Close friend of the ill-fated queen, did he use his genius in a stunning act of revenge?When the brilliant young Holbein arrives at the Tudor court, Anne Boleyn is among his first patrons. As she rises to the top, Hans rises with her. Courtiers clamour for his portraits of life-like accuracy; pictures which tell the truth about their subjects.When his beloved Anne is beheaded on false evidence, Hans is heartbroken and enraged. And he's not alone. Poet and diplomat Thomas Wyatt is agonised at his own unwitting part in her tragedy. He and Hans join forces and vow revenge on the person they blame for Anne's downfall: Thomas Cromwell, the king's ruthless chief minister.But what can a poet and painter do against the most powerful man in England? The answer comes when Henry VIII seeks a fourth wife. Cromwell turns to Holbein and Wyatt, his trusted artist and envoy, to travel across Europe to find and paint a new bride. Cromwell's position depends on a portrait of someone young and beautiful, painted with Hans' trademark truth. Anything less could bring the whole court crashing down.It's the opportunity they've been waiting for...Praise for Wendy Holden:'Traces Diana's journey from shy schoolgirl to blushing bride with verve, wit and a dash of foreboding' Daily Mail'Touching and distinctive' Rachel Hore'Riveting, revealing, an absolute must-read' Imogen Edwards-Jones'Perfect for fans of The Crown' Bella'Diana is depicted as warm, empathetic and mischievous' Mail on Sunday'Fascinating' Woman's Weekly'Fictionalises Diana's life in riveting and tender detail' Platinum'A compelling read' Prima'Scurrilous, funny, sharp, shot through with pathos' Saga'Wendy delves beneath the glamour and public persona. Fascinating' Woman

'I am in awe of Wendy Holden' Heather Morris'As exquisitely-rendered as a Holbein masterpiece, this vivid and compelling novel breathes new life into one of the most dramatic stories in English history' Tracy Borman'InThe Queen's Painter, Wendy Holden brings a well-known piece of history to life with a fresh and vivid perspective. Utterly gripping and portrayed in exquisite detail, this is a story to lose yourself in entirely.' Elizabeth LeeIn her dazzling new novel, No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller Wendy Holden presents a new take on the Anne Boleyn story. The Queen's Painter traces her stellar rise and tragic fall as seen by Tudor court artist Hans Holbein. Close friend of the ill-fated queen, did he use his genius in a stunning act of revenge?When the brilliant young Holbein arrives at the Tudor court, Anne Boleyn is among his first patrons. As she rises to the top, Hans rises with her. Courtiers clamour for his portraits of life-like accuracy; pictures which tell the truth about their subjects.When his beloved Anne is beheaded on false evidence, Hans is heartbroken and enraged. And he's not alone. Poet and diplomat Thomas Wyatt is agonised at his own unwitting part in her tragedy. He and Hans join forces and vow revenge on the person they blame for Anne's downfall: Thomas Cromwell, the king's ruthless chief minister.But what can a poet and painter do against the most powerful man in England? The answer comes when Henry VIII seeks a fourth wife. Cromwell turns to Holbein and Wyatt, his trusted artist and envoy, to travel across Europe to find and paint a new bride. Cromwell's position depends on a portrait of someone young and beautiful, painted with Hans' trademark truth. Anything less could bring the whole court crashing down.It's the opportunity they've been waiting for...Praise for Wendy Holden:'Traces Diana's journey from shy schoolgirl to blushing bride with verve, wit and a dash of foreboding' Daily Mail'Touching and distinctive' Rachel Hore'Riveting, revealing, an absolute must-read' Imogen Edwards-Jones'Perfect for fans of The Crown' Bella'Diana is depicted as warm, empathetic and mischievous' Mail on Sunday'Fascinating' Woman's Weekly'Fictionalises Diana's life in riveting and tender detail' Platinum'A compelling read' Prima'Scurrilous, funny, sharp, shot through with pathos' Saga'Wendy delves beneath the glamour and public persona. Fascinating' Woman

The remarkable memoir of Zuzana Ružicková, Holocaust survivor and world-famous harpsichordist. 'Extraordinary' Sunday Times'Compelling' Daily Telegraph Zuzana Ružicková grew up in 1930s Czechoslovakia dreaming of two things: Johann Sebastian Bach and the piano. But her peaceful, melodic childhood was torn apart when, in 1939, the Nazis invaded. Uprooted from her home, transported from Auschwitz to Hamburg to Bergen-Belsen, bereaved, starved, and afflicted with crippling injuries to her musician’s hands, the teenage Zuzana faced a series of devastating losses. Yet with every truck and train ride, a small slip of paper printed with her favourite piece of Bach’s music became her talisman. Armed with this ‘proof that beauty still existed’, Zuzana’s fierce bravery and passion ensured her survival of the greatest human atrocities of all time, and would continue to sustain her through the brutalities of post-war Communist rule. Harnessing her talent and dedication, and fortified by the love of her husband, the Czech composer Viktor Kalabis, Zuzana went on to become one of the twentieth century’s most renowned musicians and the first harpsichordist to record the entirety of Bach’s keyboard works. Zuzana’s story, told here in her own words before her death in 2017, is a profound and powerful testimony of the horrors of the Holocaust, and a testament in itself to the importance of amplifying the voices of its survivors today. It is also a joyful celebration of art and resistance that defined the life of the ‘first lady of the harpsichord’– a woman who spent her life being ceaselessly reborn through her music.