WorkExperience, Author at Allison & Busby

From Heroic Protectors to ‘Facebook Mums’: the Greatest Literary Mothers of All Time

21 March, 2017

Agatha Christie once wrote that ‘A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dates all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path.’ Across time, this powerful and boundless maternal love that Christie describes has been captured by writers in […]

Are You a Little Miss Wise or a Mr Perfect?

31 August, 2016

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Mr Men and Little Miss books, four brand new characters have been created by Adam Hargreaves, son of original author Roger Hargreaves, who created the series back in 1971. As children, my brother and I were obsessed with this collection and constantly argued about which characters were the […]

The Tony Awards – By the Book

15 June, 2016

The 2016 Tony Awards took place earlier this week and were something for any book-lover to get excited about, with many of the nominations being book-to-stage adaptations. If a holiday to America to see these productions is not on the cards, then perhaps a read of their phenomenal source material will make a good plan […]

A ‘Real-Life’ Amazon Book Store?

11 November, 2015

Yes, it’s happening, Amazon opened their first brick-and-mortar store on 3rd November last week. Waterstones have already spoken out with the slightly-hilarious-yet-aggressive notion that they hope the store “falls flat on its face”. But how should we, the general public and fellow book-lovers, feel? Personally I am a little confused about how I feel. Whenever […]

Going…going…GONE!

28 October, 2015

Abebooks revealed last week what they think of as their most unusual item on their site: Edith Wharton’s baby rattle. £10,500 and it’s yours! It’s just a rattle. The Guardian describes it as simply a ‘sterling silver and coral’ rattle, engraved ‘Edith’ which Wharton even gave away to her friend’s daughter. For those looking for a pricier […]

Discovering London’s Time Ball

10 September, 2015

Despite being born and raised in London, frequenting the capital’s many attractions is something I have been woefully neglectful of. Prompted by the arrival of American cousins however, I took it upon myself to become a tourist in my own city – and it was then that I discovered the concept of the Time Ball. […]

Across the Pond . . . Simplified English?

23 July, 2015

Technically speaking, we Brits and our friends across the pond, the Americans, speak (and read) the same language. However, anyone who has ever crossed the Atlantic in either direction can tell you that isn’t quite the case. Somewhere along the way, after they dumped our tea into Boston harbour, declared their independence and grew into […]

Colouring Craze

9 July, 2015

Five adult colouring books currently occupy Amazon’s top 20 bestseller’s list, with Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom – A Colouring Book Adventure beating Harper Lee’s anticipated Go Set a Watchman to second place, only to be outdone by Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as told by Christian. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry . […]

Disobedient Commuters

17 June, 2015

Unused to the London commuter routine I was blown away by the queue when I stepped off my train at Vauxhall and headed for the underground, the whole of one side of the entrance was blocked by people and overflowing out of the station. The other side had sensibly been left free for passengers leaving […]

150 Curious Years of Alice

3 June, 2015

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll was first published in 1865. It has never been out of print since. Carroll first wrote it for Alice Liddell, a child who was the daughter of a family friend. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, a little girl named Alice tumbles down a rabbit hole and finds the […]

New Old Fairy Tales

28 May, 2015

Last month saw the publication of a new collection of fairy tales: The Turnip Princess and Other Newly Discovered Fairy Tales by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth. But considering they were first recorded in the 1800s, ‘new’ may not be the best way to describe them… Franz Xaver von Schönwerth was a civil servant in Bavaria. […]

Bye, Bye, Blackbird

18 August, 2014

Chuck Wendig’s Blackbirds is a quite horrible book; that said I loved it. Not for the faint hearted this novel is a graphically detailed tale of gore, carved out with a scalpel-like precision and acerbic wit. The protagonist Miriam Black is reminiscent of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander, damaged but definitely able to take care of […]

The Man Booker Prize-Longlist announced

4 August, 2014

It’s that time of year again, the time you’ve all been waiting for. The countdown has begun-The Man Booker Prize Longlist has been released! The undeniable highlight of all our calendars has come around again-move over X-Factor; we have the Booker. Make ready your calendars (as if you didn’t already have the dates circled in […]

Holiday Destinations: which book belongs in your suitcase?

25 July, 2014

We’re finally having that global-warming-induced fabulous summer. The sun is beaming down and a mirage appears: you’re reclining by the pool with a large glass of perfectly chilled rosé, a tantalizing book within your beautifully bronzed hands. Whether you’re enjoying the sunshine at home or traveling abroad, a good book is essential to the summer […]

Summer Reads-Take Out the Trash!

21 July, 2014

The “Summer Read” has come to refer to trashy, ‘chick-lit’, easy reads. The Fifty-Shades phenomenon (which coincidentally was followed by a massive increase in the popularity of the discreet eBook) cemented this genre of the ‘holiday-read’ as guilty-pleasures, not ‘proper’ books. But this is a myth! The holidays are the perfect time to read books […]

Internship musings…

6 May, 2014

Working with the team at A&B these past three weeks has been a great experience. For such a small team they really do amazing things! Yet even in this short amount of time I’ve noticed a few recurring side effects of gaining an editorial publishing placement, and feel that it’s only my duty to make […]

One Hit Wonders

29 April, 2014

One thing which always impresses me is the ability of some authors to produce book after book at a formidable rate. How strongly must they believe in and desire to share their characters, to be able to return to them again and again, always with fresh ideas and heaps of enthusiasm? Covering an entire decade, […]

Literary sequels

9 April, 2014

By the time of his death in 1959, Raymond Chandler had completed seven novels featuring his most famous creation, Philip Marlowe. But as with many other great literary heroes, the detective’s appeal has endured far beyond the lifetime of his creator. This year, Marlowe appears again in Benjamin Black’s The Black Eyed Blonde. The book […]

Behind Scorsese is a good book…

23 January, 2014

This week movie-goers have been enjoying release of the much-anticipated The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Martin Scorsese. The film is based on Jordan Belfort’s memoirs of the same, depicting his hedonistic and scandalous time as a corrupt banker on Wall Street. Scorsese is widely seen as one of film’s […]

Sherlock Fever

13 January, 2014

Sherlock concluded its third mysterious and marvellous series last night and the Sherlock fever is palpable in the air. Since Benedict Cumberbatch first donned the deer hunter hat and dark collar, a new generation of Sherlock was reborn. Cleverly coaxing Conan Doyle’s adventures into every day modern life has been a triumph of all three […]

Time for some Literary Bling…

22 November, 2013

I’m a little bit of a self-confessed online shop-o-holic (Big Lie Alert…I’m a massive online shopping addict!) So imagine my heart palpitations over this little number that I treated myself to earlier this year. This beautiful handmade necklace is a miniature replica of my all time favourite novel, The Great Gatsby. Given the convenience of, […]