English High Society

From the author of Madame Restell and Get Well Soon, a biography of Mamie Fish that explores how women used parties and social gatherings to gain power and prestige. Marion Graves Anthon Fish, known by the nicknames “Mamie” and “The Fun-Maker,” threw the most epic parties in American...

We all know how identities - notably, those of nationality, class, culture, race, and religion - are at the root of global conflict, but the more elusive truth is that these identities are created by conflict in the first place. In provocative, entertaining chapters, Kwame Anthony Appiah interweaves keen-edged argument with engrossing historical tales and reveals the tangled contradictions within the stories that define us.

The beautiful young Dorian Gray has his portrait painted by society artist Basil Hallward. Admired by all, the dazzling, wealthy, handsome young man has everything anyone could wish for, or so it appears. Oscar Wilde's novel is a masterly study of moral corruption, a tour-de-force of suspense and surprise.

Jo Slater has it all. The queen of Manhattan society, she has dealt successfully with a tricky period in which she lost her husband, her fortune, and her reputation. But she bounced back, and now, newly single in the greatest city in the world, there is not a cloud in the sky.

The Second World War changed the course of modern history. It is filled with incredible stories of daring risks and exceptional struggles, but in the popular imagination, these stories are more often than not the stories of men. There is, however, a hidden treasure trove of untold stories of heroic women who have risked their lives in the monumental battle against fascism. We’ve heard of women who became nurses treating soldiers with battlefield injuries, partisans who fought occupying armies, and skilled laborers who worked in wartime industries.

As Marie Antoinette took her last breath as Queen of France in Paris, another formidable monarch—Antoinette’s dearly beloved sister, Charlotte—was hundreds of miles away, in Naples, fighting desperately to secure her release from the revolutionaries who would take her life. Little did...

"It takes an entire lifetime to learn how to die", wrote the Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca (c. 4 BC-65 AD). He counseled readers to "study death always", and took his own advice, returning to the subject again and again in all his writings, yet he never treated it in a complete work. How to Die gathers in one volume, for the first time, Seneca's remarkable meditations on death and dying. Edited and translated by James S. Romm, How to Die reveals a provocative thinker who speaks with a startling frankness about the need to accept death or even, under certain conditions, to seek it out.

"Everything is sad," wrote the Ancient poets. But is this sadness merely a human experience, projected onto the world, or is there a gloom attributable to the world itself? Could the universe be forever weeping the "tears of things"? In this series of meditations, Dominic Pettman and Eugene Thacker explore some of the key "negative affects"—both eternal and emergent—associated with climate change, environmental destruction, and cosmic solitude. In so doing they unearth something so obvious that it has gone largely unnoticed: the question of how we should feel about climate change.

In a world where social media, online relationships, and relentless self-absorption threaten the very idea of deep and lasting friendships, the search for true friends is more important than ever. In this short book, famous Roman politician and philosopher Cicero offers a compelling guide to finding, keeping, and appreciating friends. With wit and wisdom, Cicero teaches not only how to build friendships but also why they must be a key part of our lives. For, as Cicero says, life without friends is not worth living.

Travel to the Regency era with a New York Times bestselling author's novel of "irresistible romance," in which a woman looking to recover a stolen painting accidentally kidnaps a duke instead (Eloisa James). Chloe Wynchester is completely forgettable—a curse that gives her the ability to blend...

In How To Think About AI, Richard Susskind draws on his experience of working on AI since the early 1980s. For Susskind, balancing the benefits and threats of artificial intelligence is the defining challenge of our age. He explores the history of AI and possible scenarios for its future. His views on AI are not always conventional. He positions ChatGPT and generative AI as no more than the latest chapter in the ongoing story of AI and claims we are still at the foothills of developments.

Many people believe that, at its core, biological sex is a fundamental, diverging force in our development. According to this familiar story, differences between the sexes are shaped by past evolutionary pressures - women are more cautious and parenting-focused, men seek status to attract more mates - re-created in each generation by sex hormones and male and female brains. This, in turn, is the basis of supposedly entrenched inequalities in our modern societies.

Born in Chicago in 1897, 'Chips' Channon settled in England after the Great War, married into the immensely wealthy Guinness family, and served as Conservative MP for Southend-on-Sea from 1935 until his death in 1958. His career was unremarkable. His diaries are quite the opposite. Elegant, gossipy and bitchy by turns, they are the unfettered observations of a man who went everywhere and who knew everybody.

Harry Stillman cares nothing for his future and spends his time at gaming tables, horse races, and in the company of whatever beautiful woman has caught his eye that week. He has little use for society or his uncle’s approval - until his debts begin exceeding his profits. When Uncle Elliott refuses to pay off the debt and instead offers him a large, monetary wedding gift if Harry were to marry a woman of his uncle’s approval, Harry is offended, angry, and - scared.

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER * ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE SUMMER * An NPR and Time Best Book of the Year * Longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize (Canada) * Finalist for CALIBA’s Golden Poppy Awards A successful art dealer confesses the story of his meteoric rise in this...

Set against the glamorous 1960s Jet Set—a failed debutante's new job as assistant to society photographer Slim Aarons takes her into Palm Beach’s inner circle, and into a beguiling friendship with the star at its center, fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer “This glittering novel shines as...

"Amato's narration is easy to listen to, and her accents are excellent." — AudioFile Magazine From New York Times bestselling author Tasha Alexander comes the latest installment in the Lady Emily series. Death in St. Petersburg is a gripping new audiobook that will mesmerize fans of historical...

Fans of Bridgerton will love this “delightful” Regency romp (Julia Quinn, New York Times bestselling author​) in which a proper Society miss recruits a very improper lady investigator in a quest for vengeance, only to find love instead. As a master of disguise, Thomasina Wynchester can be...

When Ashley Shew became a self-described "hard-of-hearing chemobrained amputee with Crohn's disease and tinnitus," there was no returning to "normal." Suddenly well-meaning people called her an "inspiration" while grocery shopping or viewed her as a needy recipient of technological wizardry. Most disabled people don't want what the abled assume they want—nor are they generally asked. In vibrant prose, Shew shows how we can create better narratives and more accessible futures by drawing from the insights of the cross-disability community.

The Rose Garden is a richly imagined historical novel full of intrigue and secrets, spanning the luxury and poverty of Victorian England. Perfect for fans of Dinah Jefferies and Rachel Hore. Every house has its secrets . . . For twelve-year-old Ottilie Finch, London is an exciting playground to...