- Table View
- List View
This Time, This Place: My Life in War, the White House, and Hollywood
by Jack ValentiWith the nation at war in the 1940s, twenty-two-year-old Jack Valenti flew fifty-one combat missions as the pilot of a B-25 attack bomber with the 12th Air Force based in Italy. In the 1960s, with the nation reeling from the assassination of a beloved president and becoming embroiled in a far different kind of war in Vietnam, he was in that fateful Dallas motorcade in 1963, flew back to Washington with the new president, and for three years worked in the inner circle of the White House as special assistant to President Lyndon Johnson. Then, for the next thirty-eight years, with American society and popular culture undergoing a revolutionary transformation, Valenti was the public face of Hollywood in his capacity as head of the Motion Picture Association of America. Been there, done that, indeed. Texas-born and Harvard-educated, Valenti has led several lives, any one of which could have provided ample material for an unforgettable memoir. As it is, This Time, This Place is the gripping story of a man who saw the terrible face of war while fighting with skill and bravery for his country; who was in the room, listening, participating, and remembering, as political decisions were made that would benefit or devastate countless lives in this country and on the other side of the world; and who championed the interest of the vast and globally influential movie industry with tenacity and vision. The list of boldface names whom Valenti knew and with whom he worked is as varied as it is astonishing in number. Aside from LBJ, there were Jack and Bobby Kennedy, Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Robert McNamara, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Julia Roberts, Cary Grant, Lew Wasserman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Warren Beatty, and Bill Clinton, to begin a very long list. The life of a man who earned both the Distinguished Flying Cross and his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is inherently intriguing, but Valenti's warm, sometimes rueful, always engaging account gives this memoir a depth of humanity and a taste of life's unpredictability that will linger long after you turn the final page. From growing up poor but largely oblivious to that fact in a hardscrabble neighborhood of Greek and Italian immigrants in Houston to rising to the highest summits both of national government and Hollywood, This Time, This Place is a candid and clear-eyed reflection of the joys and sorrows, ambitions and disappointments, of a life fully recognizable in its extraordinary variety. It is also a sweeping and important historical record, written by a brilliantly successful man who helped to shape politics and entertainment in the second half of the twentieth century, and who always found himself in the center of the current storm. From the Hardcover edition.
This Was Burlesque
by Ann Corio Joseph DiMonaA rollicking, colorfully illustrated history of burlesque as seen through the eyes of its first lady, Ann Corio.
This Was Hollywood: Forgotten Stars and Stories (Turner Classic Movies)
by Carla ValderramaIn this one-of-a-kind Hollywood history, the creator of Instagram's celebrated @ThisWasHollywood reveals the forgotten past of the film world in a dazzling visual package modeled on the classic fan magazines of yesteryear.From former screen legends who have faded into obscurity to new revelations about the biggest movie stars, Valderrama unearths the most fascinating little-known tales from the birth of Hollywood through its Golden Age.The shocking fate of the world's first movie star. Clark Gable's secret love child. The film that nearly ended Paul Newman's career. A former child star who, at ninety-three, reveals her #metoo story for the first time. Valderrama unfolds these stories, and many more, in a volume that is by turns riveting, maddening, hilarious, and shocking.Drawing on new interviews, archival research, and an exhaustive library of photographs, This Was Hollywood is a compelling and visually stunning catalogue of the lost history of the movies.
This Wheel's On Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of The Band
by Levon HelmThe singer and drummer of The Band details, in this book, the history of one of the most influential groups of the 1960s. While their music evoked a Southern mythology with their beautifully crafted, image-rich songs, only their Arkansan drummer, Levon Helm, was the genuine article. This updated edition of his life story includes a new epilogue that covers the last dozen years of his life. From the cotton fields to Woodstock and from seeing Sonny Boy Williamson and Elvis Presley to playing for President Clinton, This Wheel's on Fire replays the tumultuous life of Levon Helm in his own unforgettable folksy drawl. The Band, who backed Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965 and then turned out a half-dozen albums of beautifully crafted, image-rich songs, is now regarded as one of the most influential rock groups of the '60s. But while their music evoked a Southern mythology, only their Arkansawyer drummer, Levon Helm, was the genuine article. From the cotton fields to Woodstock, from seeing Sonny Boy Williamson and Elvis Presley to playing for President Clinton, This Wheel's on Fire replays the tumultuous history of our times in Levon's own unforgettable folksy drawl. This edition is expanded with a new epilogue covering the last dozen years of Levon's life.
This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of the Band
by Stephen Davis Levon HelmThe singer and drummer of the Band details, in this book, the history of one of the most influential groups of the 1960s. While their music evoked a Southern mythology with their beautifully crafted, image-rich songs, only their Arkansan drummer, Levon Helm, was the genuine article. This updated edition of his life story includes a new epilogue that covers the last dozen years of his life. From the cotton fields to Woodstock and from seeing Sonny Boy Williamson and Elvis Presley to playing for President Clinton, This Wheel's on Fire replays the tumultuous life of Levon Helm in his own unforgettable folksy drawl.
This Will All Be Over Soon: A Memoir
by Cecily StrongA powerful memoir from the Saturday Night Live cast member Cecily Strong about grieving the death of her cousin—and embracing the life-affirming lessons he taught her—amid the coronavirus pandemic.Cecily Strong had a special bond with her cousin Owen. And so she was devastated when, in early 2020, he passed away at age thirty from the brain cancer glioblastoma. Before Strong could attempt to process her grief, another tragedy struck: the coronavirus pandemic. Following a few harrowing weeks in the virus epicenter of New York City, Strong relocated to an isolated house in the woods upstate. Here, trying to make sense of Owen&’s death and the upended world, she spent much of the ensuing months writing. The result is This Will All Be Over Soon—a raw, unflinching memoir about loss, love, laughter, and hope. Befitting the time-warped year of 2020, the diary-like approach deftly weaves together the present and the past. Strong chronicles the challenges of beginning a relationship during the pandemic and the fear when her new boyfriend contracts COVID. She describes the pain of losing her friend and longtime Saturday Night Live staff member Hal Willner to the virus. She reflects on formative events from her life, including how her high school expulsion led to her pursuing a career in theater and, years later, landing at SNL. Yet the heart of the book is Owen. Strong offers a poignant account of her cousin&’s life, both before and after his diagnosis. Inspired by his unshakable positivity and the valuable lessons he taught her, she has written a book that—as indicated by its title—serves as a moving reminder: whatever challenges life might throw one&’s way, they will be over soon. And so will life. So make sure to appreciate every day and don&’t take a second of it for granted.
This Will Be Funny Someday
by Katie HenryThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel comes to high school in acclaimed author Katie Henry’s coming-of-age YA contemporary about a girl who accidentally falls into the world of stand-up comedy. Perfect for fans of John Green and Becky Albertalli! Sixteen-year-old Izzy is used to keeping her thoughts to herself—in school, where her boyfriend does the talking for her, and at home, where it’s impossible to compete with her older siblings and high-powered parents.When she mistakenly walks into a stand-up comedy club and performs, the experience is surprisingly cathartic. After the show, she meets Mo, an aspiring comic who’s everything Izzy’s not: bold, confident, comfortable in her skin. Mo invites Izzy to join her group of friends and introduces her to the Chicago open mic scene. The only problem? Her new friends are college students—and Izzy tells them she’s one, too. Now Izzy, the dutiful daughter and model student, is sneaking out to perform stand-up with her comedy friends. Her controlling boyfriend is getting suspicious, and her former best friend knows there’s something going on.But Izzy loves comedy and this newfound freedom. As her two parallel lives collide—in the most hilarious of ways—Izzy must choose to either hide what she really wants and who she really is, or finally, truly stand up for herself.
This Will Only Hurt a Little: The New York Times Bestseller
by Busy PhilippsTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'Busy is a legit writer with a voice as clear as a bell' Tina Fey 'Funny, refreshingly candid memoir about Hollywood, motherhood and BFFhood' Cosmopolitan'Judy Blume meets Karl Ove Knausgaard meets one brave woman from Arizona' Miranda JulyA memoir by the beloved comedic actress known for her roles on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson's Creek, and Cougartown who has become 'the breakout star on Instagram stories . . . imagine I Love Lucy mixed with a modern lifestyle guru' (New Yorker).Busy Philipps's autobiographical book offers the same unfiltered and candid storytelling that her Instagram followers have come to know and love, from growing up in Scottsdale, Arizona and her painful and painfully funny teen years, to her life as a working actress, mother, and famous best friend.Busy is the rare entertainer whose impressive arsenal of talents as an actress is equally matched by her storytelling ability, sense of humor, and sharp observations about life, love, and motherhood. Her conversational writing reminds us what we love about her on screens large and small. From film to television to Instagram, Busy delightfully showcases her wry humor and her willingness to bare it all.'I've been waiting my whole life to write this book. I'm just so grateful someone asked. Otherwise, what was the point of any of it??''Candid, painful and extremely wryly funny' Stylist'Like most women, famous or not, bad things have happened to Busy Philipps - as well as weird stuff, jawdropping stuff and heartwarming stuff' Refinery29'This Will Only Hurt a Little has stopped me in my tracks completely' Sophie Heawood, Observer
This Will Only Hurt a Little: The New York Times Bestseller (A Bestselling Celebrity Memoir)
by Busy PhilippsA hilarious, heartfelt, and refreshingly honest memoir and New York Times bestseller by the beloved comedic actress known for her roles on Freaks and Geeks, Dawson&’s Creek, and Cougar Town who has become &“the breakout star of Instagram stories...Imagine I Love Lucy mixed with a modern lifestyle guru&” (The New Yorker).There&’s no stopping Busy Philipps. From the time she was two and &“aced out in her nudes&” to explore the neighborhood (as her mom famously described her toddler jailbreak), Busy has always been headstrong, defiant, and determined not to miss out on all the fun. These qualities led her to leave Scottsdale, Arizona, at the age of nineteen to pursue her passion for acting in Hollywood. But much like her painful and painfully funny teenage years, chasing her dreams wasn&’t always easy and sometimes hurt more than a little. In a memoir &“that often reads like a Real World confessional or an open diary&” (Kirkus Reviews), Busy opens up about chafing against a sexist system rife with on-set bullying and body shaming, being there when friends face shattering loss, enduring devastating personal and professional betrayals from those she loved best, and struggling with postpartum anxiety and the challenges of motherhood. But Busy also brings to the page her sly sense of humor and the unshakeable sense that disappointment shouldn&’t stand in her way—even when she&’s knocked down both figuratively and literally (from a knee injury at her seventh-grade dance to a violent encounter on the set of Freaks and Geeks). The rough patches in her life are tempered by times of hilarity and joy: leveraging a flawless impression of Cher from Clueless into her first paid acting gig, helping reinvent a genre with cult classic Freaks and Geeks, becoming fast friends with Dawson&’s Creek castmate Michelle Williams, staging her own surprise wedding, conquering natural childbirth with the help of a Mad Men–themed hallucination, and of course, how her Instagram stories became &“the most addictive thing on the internet right now&” (Cosmopolitan). Busy is the rare entertainer whose impressive arsenal of talents as an actress is equally matched by her storytelling ability, sense of humor, and sharp observations about life, love, and motherhood—&“if you think you know Busy from her Instagram stories, you don&’t know the half of it&” (Jenni Konner). Her conversational writing reminds us what we love about her on screens large and small. From &“candid tales of celebrity life, mom life, and general Busy-ness&” (W Magazine), This Will Only Hurt a Little &“is everything we&’ve been dying to hear about&” (Bustle).
This Year, Maybe: From the author of A Gift in December
by Jenny GladwellThe new heart-warming novel from the Kindle bestselling author of A Gift in December, Jenny Gladwell, about a widowed mother and daughter coming together to pull together the perfect family Christmas.Sometimes you have to fall apart to become whole again... Kate is a successful interior designer with two wonderful kids. Kate is also a recent widow, a grieving daughter and worrying about how to pay the bills. Her life might look perfect from the outside, but making things look better than they are is just how Kate copes. Her mother, Jean, worries about her - but she has her own problems. A mystery from the past has come back to haunt her, and she decides now is the time to put the pieces together. When romance makes an appearance in both their lives, can mother and daughter lay the past to rest - and begin again?(P) 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd
This is 40: The Shooting Script (Shooting Script)
by Judd ApatowFive years after Judd Apatow introduced us to Pete and Debbie in Knocked Up, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprise their roles as the couple in the writer/director's This Is 40, a comedic look at the everyday life of an American family. What emerges is a portrait of the challenges and rewards of marriage and parenthood: sex and romance, career triumphs and financial hardships, aging parents and maturing children and everything in between. This Is 40 captures what it takes for a family to flourish in the middle of a lifetime together, rendered with the unique intimacy of a filmmaker collaborating with his own wife and children.The Newmarket Shooting Script Book includes: An introduction by writer/actor Lena Dunham written especially for this edition Judd Apatow's answers to "Five Obvious Questions" and an afterword on his writing/directing process The complete screenplay 35 color photographs Complete cast and crew credits
This is Gomorrah: Shortlisted for the CWA 2020 Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award
by Tom ChatfieldThe Dark Web is everywhere - and those who know where to look, and who to ask, can find anything. Drugs, guns, porn, ideologies, lives and deaths are all up for sale . . . and everything must go. Set in the technological underbelly of the 21st century, this conspiracy thriller follows elite hacker Azi Bello on a journey of discovery into the dark marketplace known as Gomorrah, within which the world's worst people trade lives and influence. Taking the reader between London, Berlin, Athens and Los Angeles, as well as into terrorist-controlled Syrian cities, THIS IS GOMORRAH explores what it means to win, and to lose, at the global game of ideology and power. A loner, charmer, idealist and connoisseur of other people's mistakes, Azi's life is spun around by a mysterious approach from a young Muslim woman called Munira, and before long his carefully crafted privacy comes crashing down. Munira is at her wits' end, a fellow hacker whose cousin has been recruited by terrorists, and who has unearthed a terrible conspiracy in her struggle to bring him home. She needs Azi's help and connections to track him down. But can she be trusted? Can Azi trust anyone when identities can be changed with just a few clicks. . ?(P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited
Thom Pain (based on nothing) [Trade Edition]
by Will Eno"Astonishing in its impact. . . One of the treasured nights in the theatre that can leave you both breathless with exhilaration and, depending on your sensitivity to meditations on the bleak and beautiful mysteries of human experience, in a puddle of tears . . . Thom Pain is at bottom a surreal meditation on the empty promises life makes, the way experience never lives up to the weird and awesome fact of being. But it is also, in its odd, bewitching beauty, an affirmation of life's worth."--Charles Isherwood, The New York Times"Eno has emerged as one of the most original young playwrights on the scene. He is one of the few writers who can convert discomfort and outright agony into such pleasure."--David Cote, TimeOut New York"Will Eno is one of the finest younger playwrights I've come across in a number of years. His work is inventive, disciplined and, at the same time, wild and evocative."--Edward AlbeeWhen Will Eno's one-person play Thom Pain opened in New York in February 2005, it became something rare--an unqualified hit, which soon extended through July. Before that, the play was a critical success in London and received the coveted Fringe First Award at the Edinburgh Festival. Dubbed "stand-up existentialism" by The New York Times, it is lyrical and deadpan, both sardonic and sincere. It is Thom Pain--in the camouflage of the common man--fumbling with his heart, squinting into the light.Will Eno lives in Brooklyn, New York. His plays include The Flu Season, Tragedy: a tragedy, King: a problem play, and Intermission. His plays have been produced in London by the Gate Theatre and BBC Radio, and in the United States by Rude Mechanicals and Naked Angels. His play The Flu Season recently won the Oppenheimer Award, presented by NY Newsday for the previous year's best debut production in New York by an American playwright.
Thomas Betterton
by David RobertsRestoration London's leading actor and theater manager Thomas Betterton has not been the subject of a biography since 1891. He worked with all the best-known playwrights of his age and with the first generation of English actresses; he was intimately involved in the theater's responses to politics, and became a friend of leading literary men such as Pope and Steele. His innovations in scenery and company management, and his association with the dramatic inheritance of Shakespeare, helped to change the culture of English theater. David Roberts's entertaining study unearths new documents and draws fresh conclusions about this major but shadowy figure. It contextualizes key performances and examines Betterton's relationship to patrons, colleagues and family, as well as to significant historical moments and artifacts. The most substantial study available of any seventeenth-century actor, Thomas Betterton gives one of England's greatest performing artists his due on the tercentenary of his death.
Thomas Dixon Jr. and the Birth of Modern America (Making the Modern South)
by Michele K. Gillespie Randal L. Hall"A sweeping yet rigorous analysis of Dixon and his work. The collection approaches the southern intellectual through multiple methodologies -- from literary theory and film studies to social history and religious studies. We get an exhaustive yet diverse perspective on Dixon's influence and legacy." -- Journal of American HistoryThomas Dixon Jr. (1864--1946), best remembered today as the author of the racist novels that served as the basis for D. W. Griffith's controversial 1915 classic film The Birth of a Nation, also enjoyed great renown in his lifetime as a minister, lecturer, lawyer, and actor. Although this native southerner's blatantly racist, chauvinistic, and white supremacist views are abhorrent today, his contemporary audiences responded enthusiastically to Dixon. In Thomas Dixon Jr. and the Birth of Modern America, distinguished scholars of religion, film, literature, music, history, and gender studies offer a provocative examination of Dixon's ideas, personal life, and career and in the process illuminate the evolution of white racism in the early twentieth century and its legacy down to the present. The contributors analyze Dixon's sermons, books, plays, and films seeking to understand the appeal of his message within the white culture of the Progressive era. They also explore the critical responses of African Americans contemporary with Dixon. By delving into the context and complexity of Dixon's life, the contributors also raise fascinating questions about the power of popular culture in forming Americans' views in any age. "An important and valuable addition to the literature on turn-of-the-century white supremacy." -- Journal of Southern History
Thomas Holcroft’s Revolutionary Drama: Reception and Afterlives (Transits: Literature, Thought & Culture, 1650-1850)
by Amy GarnaiA key figure in British literary circles following the French Revolution, novelist and playwright Thomas Holcroft promoted ideas of reform and equality informed by the philosophy of his close friend William Godwin. Arrested for treason in 1794 and released without trial, Holcroft was notorious in his own time, but today appears mainly as a supporting character in studies of 1790s literary activism. Thomas Holcroft’s Revolutionary Drama authoritatively reintroduces and reestablishes this central figure of the revolutionary decade by examining his life, plays, memoirs, and personal correspondence. In engaging with theatrical censorship, apostacy, and the response of audiences and critics to radical drama, this thoughtful study also demonstrates how theater functions in times of political repression. Despite his struggles, Holcroft also had major successes: this book examines his surprisingly robust afterlife, as his plays, especially The Road to Ruin, were repeatedly revived worldwide in the nineteenth century.
Thomas Shadwell's Bury-Fair: A Critical Edition (Routledge Revivals)
by John C. RossFirst published in 1995, Ross provides a critical edition of Thomas Shadwell’s Bury Fair.
Thornton Wilder's The Skin of our Teeth (The Fourth Wall)
by Kyle Gillette"Ladies and gentlemen, I’m not going to play this particular scene tonight." - Sabina Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth (1942) telescopes an audacious stretch of western history and mythology into a family drama, showing how the course of human events operates like theatre itself: constantly mutable, vanishing and beginning again. Kyle Gillette explores Wilder’s extraordinary play in three parts. Part I unpacks the play’s singular yet deeply interconnected place in theatre history, comparing its metatheatrics to those of Stein, Pirandello and Brecht, and finding its anticipation of American fantasias in the works of Vogel and Kushner. Part II turns to the play’s many historic and mythic sources, and examines its concentration of western progress and power into the model of a white, American upper-middle-class nuclear family. Part III takes a longer view, tangling with the play’s philosophical stakes. Gillette magnifies the play’s ideas and connections, teasing out historical, theoretical and philosophical questions on behalf of readers, scholars and audience members alike.
Thornton Wilder: A Life
by Penelope NivenThe definitive biography of the great American playwright: a “fine-grained, sympathetic portrait” with a foreword by Edward Albee (The New York Times).Thornton Wilder—three-time Pulitzer Prize winner, creator of such enduring stage works as Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and beloved novels like Bridge of San Luis Ray and Theophilus North—was much more than a pivotal figure in twentieth century American theater and literature. He was also a traveler, a teacher, a scholar, a soldier, an outspoken citizen, and a complex, intensely private man. In Thornton Wilder: A Life, biographer Penelope Niven pulls back the curtain to present a fascinating portrait one of America's greatest literary icons. With unprecedented access to Wilder's papers, including his family's private journals and records, Niven shows the many sides of this multifaceted man, including his relationship to his two brilliant parents, four gifted siblings, and the specter of his twin brother lost at birth.“Comprehensive and wisely fashioned. . . . A splendid and long needed work.” —Edward Albee, playwright
Those Were the Days: Why All in the Family Still Matters
by Jim CullenBetween 1971 and 1979, All in the Family was more than just a wildly popular television sitcom that routinely drew 50 million viewers weekly. It was also a touchstone of American life, so much so that the living room chairs of the two main characters have spent the last 40 years on display at the Smithsonian. How did a show this controversial and boundary-breaking manage to become so widely beloved? Those Were the Days is the first full-length study of this remarkable television program. Created by Norman Lear and produced by Bud Yorkin, All in the Family dared to address such taboo topics as rape, abortion, menopause, homosexuality, and racial prejudice in a way that no other sitcom had before. Through a close analysis of the sitcom’s four main characters—boorish bigot Archie Bunker, his devoted wife Edith, their feminist daughter Gloria, and her outspoken liberal husband Mike—Jim Cullen demonstrates how All in the Family was able to bridge the generation gap and appeal to a broad spectrum of American viewers in an age when a network broadcast model of television created a shared national culture. Locating All in the Family within the larger history of American television, this book shows how it transformed the medium, not only spawning spinoffs like Maude and The Jeffersons, but also helping to inspire programs like Roseanne, Married... with Children, and The Simpsons. And it raises the question: could a show this edgy ever air on broadcast television today?
Those Who Made It: Speaking with the Legends of Hollywood
by John C. TibbettsWhat was it like to work behind the scenes, away from the spotlight's glare, in Hollywood's so-called Golden Age? The interviews in this book provide eye-witness accounts from the likes of Steven Spielberg and Terry Gilliam, to explore the creative decisions that have shaped some of Classical Hollywood's most-loved films.
Those Who Made It: Speaking with the Legends of Hollywood
by John C. TibbettsWhat was it like to work behind the scenes, away from the spotlight's glare, in Hollywood's so-called Golden Age? The interviews in this book provide eye-witness accounts from the likes of Steven Spielberg and Terry Gilliam, to explore the creative decisions that have shaped some of Classical Hollywood's most-loved films.
Thousands of Broadways: Dreams and Nightmares of the American Small Town
by Robert PinskyBroadway, the main street that runs through Robert Pinsky's home town of Long Branch, New Jersey, was once like thousands of other main streets in small towns across the country. But for Pinsky, one of America's most admired poets and its former Poet Laureate, this Broadway is the point of departure for a lively journey through the small towns of the American imagination. The citizens of quintessential small towns know one another extensively and even intimately, but fail to recognize the geniuses and criminal minds in their midst. Bringing the works of such figures as Mark Twain, William Faulkner, Alfred Hitchcock, Thornton Wilder, Willa Cather, and Preston Sturges to bear on this paradox, as well as reflections on his own time growing up in a small town, Pinsky explores how such imperfect knowledge shields communities from the anonymity and alienation of modern life. Along the way, he also considers how small towns can be small-minded -- in some cases viciously judgmental and oppressively provincial. Ultimately, Pinsky examines the uneasy regard that creative talents like him often have toward the small towns that either nurtured or thwarted their artistic impulses.
Three Days in Florence: perfect escapism with a holiday romance
by Chrissie ManbyThe new hilariously funny romance from the bestselling author of SEVEN SUNNY DAYS, perfect for fans of Melissa Hill, Jenny Colgan and Holly Martin'Manby's novels are made for holidays' Glamour*****When a mini-break becomes make or break...Kathy Courage has never visited the famous Italian city of Florence before, so she's thrilled when she and her boyfriend Neil are invited there for a wedding. Unfortunately, with Neil's constant complaining and his teenage children in tow, it's not exactly the romantic break Kathy was hoping for.But when a mix-up with her flights leaves Kathy stranded in the city, she decides to embrace the unexpected and stay on alone.What follows is a life-changing few days in the Tuscan sun, as Kathy begins to question the choices that have led her here. With the help of the colourful Innocenti family, who offer Kathy a place to stay, she gradually begins to realise that there's a much bigger world out there, if only she can be brave enough to explore it.Could Italy hold the answers to her future happiness? Or is Kathy destined to return to her old life?Praise for Chrissie Manby:'I've been a fan of Manby's writing for years and thoroughly enjoyed this' Daily Mail'Perfect, unputdownable summer adventures' Jenny Colgan'Nothing short of brilliant' Marie Clare'This sassy and addictive read will make you laugh - a lot!' Closer(P) 2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd