Spufford is distinguished by a fluid transition between genres, all while maintaining a strong narrative gift. His works masterfully interweave fact and fiction, often exploring historical events and their impact on human destinies. Spufford's style is notable for its ability to draw readers into complex subjects through compelling storytelling. His writing has evolved from historical non-fiction to full-fledged novels, consistently retaining a unique perspective and literary depth.
A thrilling tale of murder and mystery in a city where history has run a little differently -- from the best-selling author of Golden Hill.In a city that never was, in an America that never was, on a snowy night at the end of winter, two detectives find a body on the roof of a skyscraper.It's 1922, and Americans are drinking in speakeasies, dancing t[Bokinfo].
From the author of Golden Hill 'Glorious.' Evening Standard'Exhilarating.' TLS'Brilliant.' Observer'Dazzling.' The Times'Extraordinary.' Financial Times'Superb.' Guardian'My god he can write.
An irresistible collection of favorite writings from an author celebrated for his bravura style and sheer unpredictabilityFrancis Spufford’s welcome first volume of collected essays gathers an array of his compelling writings from the 1990s to the present. He makes use of a variety of encounters with particular places, writers, or books to address deeper questions relating to the complicated relationship between story-telling and truth-telling. How must a nonfiction writer imagine facts, vivifying them to bring them to life? How must a novelist create a dependable world of story, within which facts are, in fact, imaginary? And how does a religious faith felt strongly to be true, but not provably so, draw on both kinds of writerly imagination? Ranging freely across topics as diverse as the medieval legends of Cockaigne, the Christian apologetics of C. S. Lewis, and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini, Spufford provides both fresh observations and thought-provoking insights. No less does he inspire an irresistible urge to turn the page and read on.
I've no history here, and no character: and what I am, is all in what I will be...
"Spufford cunningly maps out a literary genre of his own . . . Freewheeling and fabulous." —The Times (London) Strange as it may seem, the gray, oppressive USSR was founded on a fairy tale. It was built on the twentieth-century magic called "the planned economy," which was going to gush forth an abundance of good things that the lands of capitalism could never match. And just for a little while, in the heady years of the late 1950s, the magic seemed to be working. Red Plenty is about that moment in history, and how it came, and how it went away; about the brief era when, under the rash leadership of Khrushchev, the Soviet Union looked forward to a future of rich communists and envious capitalists, when Moscow would out-glitter Manhattan and every Lada would be better engineered than a Porsche. It's about the scientists who did their genuinely brilliant best to make the dream come true, to give the tyranny its happy ending. Red Plenty is history, it's fiction, it's as ambitious as Sputnik, as uncompromising as an Aeroflot flight attendant, and as different from what you were expecting as a glass of Soviet champagne.
"Suitable for believers who are fed up with being patronised, for non-believers curious about how faith can possibly work in the twenty-first century, this title presents an argument that Christianity is recognisable, drawing on the vocabulary of human feeling, and satisfying those who believe in it."--Www.whitcoulls.co.nz.
What if the Soviet 'miracle' had worked, and the communists had discovered the secret to prosperity, progress and happiness.'
Offers an account of how British boffins triumphed across the decades in creating everything from computer games to Martian landers. This book contains chapters on the Beagle II, Elite - the 80s computer game, the Blue Streak missile, Concorde, mobile phone technology and the Human Genome Project, among others.
Exploring the profound impact of children's literature, Francis Spufford reflects on how books shaped his upbringing and identity. He conveys a deep affection for the stories that served as his primary sources of comfort and education, illustrating the transformative power of literature in his life. Through personal anecdotes, he examines the role of books in nurturing imagination and understanding, making a compelling case for their significance in childhood development.
Children's books - from Narnia to The Hobbit - are celebrated in this enlightened examination of the joys of childhood reading.Fairy tales and Where the Wild Things Are, The Lord of the Rings and the Narnia books, Little House on the Prairie and The Earthsea Trilogy. What would you find if you went back and re-read your favourite books from childhood? Francis Spufford discovers both delight and sadness, in this widely celebrated memoir of a boy who retreats into books, faced with a tragedy in his family.'A beautifully composed and wholly original memoir, sounding the classics of children's literature.' David Sexton, Evening Standard'Exuberant and serious, funny and sophisticated, this memoir of reading and childhood is a delight.' Andrea Ashworth
