The Times Lives Less Ordinary: Obituaries of the Eccentric, Unique and Undefinable

The Times obituaries have given readers throughout the world an instant picture of a life for more than 150 years. This is a selection of those who saw the world in different colors. Some were eccentrics, some mavericks, all marched to the beat of their own drum. Each obituary has been updated and reproduced in its entirety. 
The Times Register provides a rich store of information and opinion on the most fascinating characters of the twentieth and early twenty-first century – be they dons, pop stars, vicars, MPs, rugby players or aristocrats. 
Authoritative, fascinating, insightful and endlessly engaging, this is a must for anyone with an interest in the eccentrics and unique characters of recent times. Includes Diana Athill, Betty Dodson, Anita Pallenberg, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Jackie Stallone, Eve Babitz, Jan Morris, John McAfee and Ted Knight.

The Times Lives Less Ordinary: obituaries of the eccentric, unique and undefinable

Biographies & Memoirs

Farndale, Nigel

Arts & Literature

Times Books UK

Discover the lives of some of the most fascinating and unconventional characters of recent times, with 85 obituaries carefully curated from The Times archive. Be they dons, pop stars, vicars, MPs, rugby players or aristocrats, each has marched to the beat of their own drum and led a life far from ordinary. The Times obituaries have given readers throughout the world an instant picture of a life for more than 150 years. Meet the mavericks, rogues and eccentrics from recent history, including: * Baroness Trumpington, the codebreaking, chainsmoking, two-finger-flicking grande dame of British politics * 'Magic Alex' Mardas, inventor who was the Beatles' 'scientific guru' * Zsa Zsa Gábor, Hungarian socialite and actress who made a success out of celebrity and was best known for having married nine times * John Lucas, influential philosopher who argued against determinism and had a reputation for being the most eccentric don in Oxford * Brigadier Jack Thomas, military police commander who survived a landmine, bullet, rhino and faulty parachute and liked to watch TV with an owl on his head * April Ashley, model, socialite and transgender rights campaigner whose reassignment surgery was part of a rollercoaster life of lovers and high drama * Jordan Mooney, punk muse known as 'the original Sex Pistol' who appeared on stage with them, guided their 'look' and then became a veterinary nurse Authoritative, insightful and endlessly engaging, this book is a must for anyone with an interest in the eccentrics and unique characters of recent times.

Humor & Entertainment

The Times Lives Behind the Music

Collins Music

On its way to the Galápagos Islands, a light aircraft ditches into the sea. As water floods the cabin, zoologist Daniel Kennedy faces an impossible choice—should he save himself, or Nancy, the woman he loves and the mother of his child? Back in London, Daniel can’t stop thinking about the man he saw while swimming fourteen miles—on the verge of exhaustion and hypothermia—to reach the islands: a smiling figure treading water, urging him to swim just a few strokes farther until his foot touched sand. An adamant atheist, Daniel is certain it was merely a hallucination brought on by his physical state. Or was it? Meanwhile, in a parallel narrative, Daniel’s great-grandfather, Andrew Kennedy, faces mortal danger during the horrific battle of Passchendaele. But what does the unraveling truth about the life and death of Andrew have to do with Daniel? As secrets are disclosed—from the diary of a military chaplain who knew Andrew and from the enigmatic scribbles on a musical score signed by Gustav Mahler—Daniel must confront the miraculous, despite his atheism. In doing so, he is given another fateful chance to prove his unconditional love to his family. A literary thriller of rare depth that sweeps from the morbid trenches of World War I to the terrorist-besieged streets of present-day London, The Blasphemer is about one man coming to grips with his darkest instincts, his moments of betrayal, his shocking family legacy, and ultimately his desperate hope for redemption and faith.

The Blasphemer: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Genre Fiction

Crown

An astonishing, ambitious and masterful new novel, with echoes of Birdsong, that reads at the pace of a thriller. On its way to the Galápagos Islands, a light aircraft crashes into the sea. Zoologist Daniel Kennedy is confronted with a stark Darwinian choice. Should he save himself, or Nancy, the woman he loves? But how can one moment of betrayal ever be forgiven? And after he escapes the plane and swims for help, who is the elusive figure who guides him away from certain death? Back in London, Daniel thinks he finds the answer; it is connected with his great grandfather and the first horrific day of Passchendaele. But as the past collapses into the present, the fissures in his relationship with Nancy show through. Until he is given a second chance to prove his courage and earn her forgiveness. The Blasphemer is a novel that speaks to the head as well as the heart of the reader.

British & Irish

Broadway Books

William and Margaret Joyce – Lord and Lady Haw-Haw – became one of the most mythologized, feared and ridiculed partnerships of the Second World War. His ‘Germany Calling’ broadcasts and her pro-Nazi wireless talks were part of the very fabric of the Home Front. Yet, when the couple were captured in May 1945, only William was charged with high treason - despite its becoming apparent that he wasn`t actually a British subject.Authorized by William Joyce’s daughter, Heather, and based on new interviews and unpublished letters, diaries and recently declassified Secret Service files, Haw-Haw is a meticulously researched biography: an incisive and shocking study of two people whose beliefs overrode everything.`Makes Joyce`s belief in the eventual victory of British fascism seem credible to today`s readers... masterful use of source material` James Wood, Scotland on Sunday`Exciting and endlessly fascinating` Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday  (5 stars)`Well-researched and fast-paced` Michael Burleigh, Sunday Times

Haw-Haw

Reference

Pan/Macmillan

William and Margaret Joyce-Lord and Lady Haw-Hawbecame one of the most mythologized, feared, and ridiculed partnerships of the Second World War. His 'Germany Calling' broadcasts delivered in an upper-class drawl, and her more feminine pro-Nazi wireless talks, were part of the very fabric of the Home Front. Yet when they were captured in May 1945, only he was charged with high treason. Authorized by William Joyces daughter and based on new interviews and previously unpublished archives, Haw-Haw is the meticulously researched and vividly written biography that traces William and Margarets relationship from the rise of the fascist movement in the East End of London through to war-torn Berlin; intrigue, hubris, alcoholism, infidelity following them along the way.

Haw-Haw: The Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce

Historical

Macmillan

The Blasphemer

On its way to the Galapagos Islands, a light aircraft ditches into the sea. Daniel Kennedy faces an impossible choice  should he save himself or the woman he loves? In a parallel narrative, it is 1917 and Daniels great grandfather Andrew is preparing to go over the top at Passchendaele. He, too, will have his courage tested, and must live with the moral consequences of his actions. Back in London the atheistic Daniel is wrestling with something his cold philosophy cannot explain  something unearthly he though he saw while swimming for help in the Pacific. But before he can make sense of it, the past must collapse into the present, and both he and Andrew must prove themselves capable of altruism, and deserving of forgiveness.

London: Doubleday

An astonishing, ambitious and masterful new novel, with echoes of Birdsong, that reads at the pace of a thriller. On its way to the Galápagos Islands, a light aircraft crashes into the sea. Zoologist Daniel Kennedy is confronted with a stark Darwinian choice. Should he save himself, or Nancy, the woman he loves? But how can one moment of betrayal ever be forgiven? And after he escapes the plane and swims for help, who is the elusive figure who guides him away from certain death? Back in London, Daniel thinks he finds the answer; it is connected with his great grandfather and the first horrific day of Passchendaele. But as the past collapses into the present, the fissures in his relationship with Nancy show through. Until he is given a second chance to prove his courage and earn her forgiveness. The Blasphemer is a novel that speaks to the head as well as the heart of the reader.

Doubleday, UK

The Road Between Us

From the author of the acclaimed The Blasphemer, a stunning new novel ranging from forbidden love in World War Two to the painful return of a man kept hostage in today's Afghanistan. 1939: In a hotel room overlooking Piccadilly Circus, two young men are arrested. Charles is court-martialled for ‘conduct unbecoming’; Anselm is deported home to Germany for ‘re-education’ in a brutal labour camp. Separated by the outbreak of war, and a social order that rejects their love, they must each make a difficult choice, and then live with the consequences.2012: Edward, a diplomat held hostage for eleven years in an Afghan cave, returns to London to find his wife is dead, and in her place is an unnerving double – his daughter, now grown up. Numb with grief, he attempts to re-build his life and answer the questions that are troubling him. Was his wife’s death an accident? Who paid his ransom? And how was his release linked to Charles, his father?As dark and nuanced as it is powerful and moving, The Road Between Us is a novel about survival, redemption and forbidden love. Its moral complexities will haunt the reader for days after the final page has been turned.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Farndale, Nigel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Farndale, Nigel

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Farndale, Nigel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Times Lives Less Ordinary: obituaries of the eccentric, unique and undefinable

The Times Lives Less Ordinary: Obituaries of the Eccentric, Unique and Undefinable

The Times Lives Behind the Music

The Blasphemer: A Novel

The Blasphemer: A Novel

Haw-Haw

Haw-Haw: The Tragedy of William and Margaret Joyce

The Blasphemer

The Blasphemer

The Road Between Us