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Take a look at our favourite biographies below. We've also included
some discussion points to help you on your way.
 My
Life So Far by Jane Fonda
Oscar winner, political activist, fitness guru, wife, mother, philanthropist
- Jane Fonda's done it all. In this - a powerful account of the
life of an extraordinary woman - she reveals all.
With unflinching honesty she addresses, amongst other things, her
tragic relationship with her mother; her tortured one with her father;
her lovers and husbands, from Roger Vadim to Ted Turner; her passions
and political views. The result is rare in its readability and sheer
page-turning force.
'Such candidness...you're left with something less frequently
inspired by a Hollywood star autobiography - respect'
The Times
Click
Here to read an extract.
 Just
One More Day by Susan Lewis
In an impressive move from fiction to non-fiction, Susan Lewis,
the bestselling author of The Hornbeam Tree, tells her life
story. How does a child cope when faced with a wall of adult secrets?
What does a mother do when her biggest fear starts to become a reality?
Because it's the Sixties, and because it's shameful to own up to
feelings, Eddress tries to deny the truth, while Susan creates a
world that will never allow her mother to leave.
Set in a world where a fridge is a luxury, cars have starting handles,
and where bingo and coupons bring in the little extras, Just
One More Day is a deeply moving true-life account, told by mother
and daughter, of how the spectre of death moved into their family,
and how hard they tried to pretend it wasn't there.
'Spellbinding - you just keep turning the pages, with the atmosphere
growing more and more intense as the story leads to its dramatic
climax'
Daily Mail
Click
here to check out the reading guide!
 Smashed
by Koren Zailckas
On her fourteenth birthday, Koren Zailckas tasted alcohol for the
first time. By the time she was sixteen she was rendered unconscious
after a drinking binge.
Brought up by loving parents in a stable middle-class home, Koren
was a sweet and altogether normal child. Yet from her mid-teens
until her early twenties, she thought nothing of regularly drinking
herself into a state of amnesia. Alcohol became her safeguard and
prop, providing her with a self-confidence she couldn't otherwise
feel.
Beautifully written and brutally honest, compelling without preaching,
this is a book that demands to be read.
'Well and fiercely written'
Hilary Mantel, The Sunday Telegraph
Click
Here to read an extract.
 Autobiography
of a Geisha by Sayo Masuda
Many people believe that the life of a Geisha is a rich and glamorous
one. Sayo Masuda tells a different story. Now 75, she lives quietly
in Japan, but once upon a time she was sent to work as a nursemaid
aged 6 and then sold to a Geisha house to learn the Geisha arts.
Here, she was subjected to life as a Geisha - where the realities
of sex for sale were unadorned by the trappings of wealth and power.
Remarkably frank and incredibly moving, this is the record of one
woman's survival on the margins of Japanese society.
'An unvarnished firsthand look into the world of a woman who
unflinchingly relates the bitter struggle of her geisha existence
in pre-World War II Japan. This is a fascinating and heart-rending
tale'
Liza Dalby
Click
here to check out the reading guide!
 Diane
Arbus by Patricia Bosworth
In 1971, aged 48, Diane Arbus committed suicide. Until that point,
she had carved a fascinating career and reputation with her startling
photographic images of dwarfs, transvestites and freaks. This revealing
biography by Patricia Bosworth who once modelled for Arbus tells
of her strained relationship with her parents, her passionate marriage
to fellow photographer Allan Arbus, and the depression that eventually
led to her suicide. Until recently, Arbus had remained an enigma
- finally Bosworth tells the life story of the woman behind the
lens.
'Fascinating . . . a compelling biography . . . valuable in
its insights into the cultural history of the 50s and 60s as well
as its understanding of the special place Arbus occupies in it.'
Washington Post
 The
Private World of Georgette Heyer by Jane Aiken Hodge
As an internationally bestselling phenomenon and queen of the Regency
Romance, Georgette Heyer is one of the most beloved historical novelists
of our time. She's written more than fifty novels - romances, detective
stories and contemporary works of fiction - yet her private life
was practically inaccessible to any but her closest friends and
relatives.
With this classic biography we catch a glimpse into Georgette Heyer's
world and that of her most memorable characters. With access to
private papers and archives, Jane Aiken Hodge reveals a formidable,
energetic woman, with an impeccable sense of style and, beyond everything,
a love for all things Regency.
'One of the most beautiful books I know'
Washington Post Book World
Topics for Discussion
- Did you have any preconceptions about the subject of the biography?
Did the book do anything to change your mind?
- Why do you think the author chose to tell this story?
- Why did you choose this book for your reading group?
- The sales of biographies and autobiographies are ever increasing
- why do you think that people are so interested in the lives
of others?
- In Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden states that 'It [Memoir]
must differ from biography in that a memorist can never achieve
the perspective that a biographer possesses as a matter of course.
Autobiography, if there really is such a thing is like asking
a rabbit to tell us what he looks like hopping through the grasses
of the field.' Do you agree?
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