Laura Thompson Knihy

A definitive biography of the author, now fully updated with a new introduction to mark 100 years of Agatha Christie publishing

Award-winning biographer Laura Thompson pays homage to the English pub through the remarkable story of her grandmother, the first woman in England to be given a publican's licence in her own name

Focusing on the significance of pubs in British culture, the narrative intertwines the life of Laura Thompson's grandmother, Violet, who made history as the first woman in England to hold a publican's license in her own name. Through Violet's story, the book delves into the social and cultural implications of pubs, highlighting their role as community hubs. Thompson, known for her previous work on the Mitford sisters, brings a personal and historical perspective to this exploration of gender and tradition in the British pub landscape.

This biography offers a perceptive and stylish exploration of Agatha Christie, drawing on previously unpublished papers to examine her as a phenomenon, a writer, and a woman.

Nancy Mitford was, in the words of her sister Lady Diana Mosley, 'very, very complex'. Her highly autobiographical early work, the biographies and novels of her more mature French period, her journalism, and the vast body of letters to her family, friends such as Evelyn Waugh, and to the great love of her life, Gaston Palewski, all tell an intriguing story. Drawing from these, as well as conversations with Mitford's two surviving sisters, acquaintances and colleagues, prize-winning author Laura Thompson has fashioned a portrait of a contradictory and courageous woman. Approaching her subject with wit, perspicacity and huge affection, Thompson makes her serious points lightly, eschewing clichés about the eccentricities of the Mitford clan. Life in a Cold Climate is full of the sound of Mitfordian laughter; but tells also the often paradoxical and complex story beneath the smiling and ever elegant façade.

An authoritative account of the Lucan case, which has remained etched on the psyche of a fascinated and appalled public for 40 years. Revised and updated following the death of Lady Lucan.

A survey of the world of the wealthy heiress - glittering and gleaming, flawed and fascinating - from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries.

A reissue of Laura Thompson's Take Six Girls, illustrated with beautiful and timeless photographs of the Mitford sisters.

The case of Edith Thompson and her lover Frederick Bywaters, both hanged for murder in 1923.