Anthologies

Powerful essays by such luminaries and literary giants as Daniel Day-Lewis and Martin Amis offer a compassionate look at the crises that most affect our world today. An important book for anyone interested in global issues, Writing on the Edge features twelve essays that take the reader to countries in crisis. Award-winning writer Martin Amis experienced firsthand the problems of gang violence in Colombia, South America; New York Times bestselling author Tracy Chevalier focuses on the abuse of women in Burundi, East Africa; Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis writes of meeting children raised in war-torn Palestine; Booker Prize–winning author DBC Pierre addresses the unusually high incidence of mental health issues in Armenia. Award-winning photographer Tom Craig was commissioned by the humanitarian charity Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders to document the writers in these places in trouble. His striking photographs amplify the sense of compassion required while also demonstrating that beautiful humanity is the victim of tragedy.

• Published on the occasion of a new display at the National Portrait Gallery, London from 3 December - August 2012 • Features two new pieces by award winning author Alexander McCall Smith and Tarnya Cooper, 16th Century Curator and Deputy Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London • A major collaboration between the National Portrait Gallery, postgraduate students at the University of Bristol and the National Trust, and includes new research into the identities of the sitters In Rosy, Tracy Chevalier writes of a handsome young man with a flushed complexion as the object of homosexual desire. Minette Walters writes a poignant letter from a despairing wife. Julian Fellowes has created a biography of a resourceful woman whose husband was executed during Henry VIII's reign. Sarah Singleton relates the adventures of a spice merchant and amateur musician struggling to make his way in the world, despite his illegitimate status. Joanna Trollope tells a touching tale about the offer of a marriage proposal in the form of a letter from the sitter's intended bride. By contrast, the fantasy writer Terry Pratchett has written an amusing tale about an explorer who presented Elizabeth I with a skunk. And John Banville has seen, in the features of a man on his deathbed, the face of an admired officer serving with Cromwell's New Model Army. These short, fictional narratives build brilliantly on what can be seen in each portrait, thereby providing a new and entertaining way of looking at these intriguing images.

Tracy Chevalier, bestselling author Girl with a Pearl Earring, has edited a beautiful new short story collection with original contributions from nineteen of our best loved contemporary authors. Published by IndieBooks in association with Hamish Hamilton, Why Willows Weep: Contemporary Tales from the Woods is an enchanting new collection in support of the Woodland Trust. Contributors: William Fiennes, James Robertson, Richard Mabey, Tracey Chevalier, Susan Elderkin, Rachel Billington, Blake Morrison, Maria McCann, Terence Blacker, Joanne Harris, Philippa Gregory, Catherine O Flynn, Tahmima Anam, Maggie O Farrell, Amanda Craig, Ali Smith, Philip Hensher, Salley Vickers and Kate Mosse.

This collection of original stories by today’s finest women writers—including Tracy Chevalier, Francine Prose, Elizabeth McCracken, Tessa Hadley, Audrey Niffenegger, and more—takes inspiration from the famous line in Charlotte Brontë’s most beloved novel, Jane Eyre . A fixture in the literary canon, Charlotte Brontë is revered by readers all over the world. Her novels featuring unforgettable, strong heroines still resonate with millions today. And who could forget one of literature’s best-known lines: “Reader, I married him” from her classic novel Jane Eyre ? Part of a remarkable family that produced three acclaimed female writers at a time in 19 th -century Britain when few women wrote, and fewer were published, Brontë has become a great source of inspiration to writers, especially women, ever since. Now in Reader, I Married Him , twenty of today’s most celebrated women authors have spun original stories, using the famous line from Jane Eyre as a springboard for their own flights of imagination. Reader, I Married Him will feature stories by: Tracy Chevalier Tessa Hadley Sarah Hall Helen Dunmore Kirsty Gunn Joanna Briscoe Jane Gardam Emma Donoghue Susan Hill Francine Prose Elif Shafak Evie Wyld