Best known for her role in cult comedy TV hit, Benidorm and for playing Maggie Conlon in Ken Loach’s remarkable film Ladybird Ladybird, Crissy Rock is a hugely popular actress and comedienne. But Crissy’s path to success was far from easy and her life has been plagued by trauma and turmoil. Never has there been a more honest and disturbing biography ever written; never has there been so much to tell. Crissy Rock’s poor but idyllic young life was plunged into darkness at the age of eight, when her grandfather began to abuse her both physically and sexually. Pregnant and married to a violent bully at sixteen it seemed that trouble and turmoil would always stalk her. Having finally escaped her violent marriage, Crissy began to turn her life around. Having firmly established herself on the comedy circuit she was then cast in Ladybird Ladybird for which she won Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. This is one of the most astonishing books you will ever read.

Price : £ 5.59

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Best known for her role in cult comedy TV hit, Benidorm and for playing Maggie Conlon in Ken Loach’s remarkable film Ladybird Ladybird, Crissy Rock is a hugely popular actress and comedienne. But Crissy’s path to success was far from easy and her life has been plagued by trauma and turmoil. Never has there been a more honest and disturbing biography ever written; never has there been so much to tell. Crissy Rock’s poor but idyllic young life was plunged into darkness at the age of eight, when her grandfather began to abuse her both physically and sexually. Pregnant and married to a violent bully at sixteen it seemed that trouble and turmoil would always stalk her. Having finally escaped her violent marriage, Crissy began to turn her life around. Having firmly established herself on the comedy circuit she was then cast in Ladybird Ladybird for which she won Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. This is one of the most astonishing books you will ever read.

Price : £ 5.59

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With prose that is every bit as raw, intense and bitingly honest as the world it depicts, Barry Hines’ “A Kestrel for a Knave” contains a new afterword by the author in “Penguin Modern Classics”. Life is tough and cheerless for Billy Casper, a troubled teenager growing up in the small Yorkshire mining town of Barnsley. Treated as a failure at school, and unhappy at home, Billy discovers a new passion in life when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk. Billy identifies with her silent strength and she inspires in him the trust and love that nothing else can, discovering through her the passion missing from his life. Barry Hines’ acclaimed novel continues to reach new generations of teenagers and adults with its powerful story of survival in a tough, joyless world. Ken Loach’s renowned film adaptation, “Kes”, has achieved cult status and in his new afterword Barry Hines discusses his work to adapt the novel into a screenplay, and reappraises the legacy of a book that has become a popular classic. Barry Hines (b. 1939) was born in the mining village of Hoyland Common, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire.Leaving Ecclesfield Grammar School without any qualifications, Hines worked as an apprentice mining surveyor for the National Coal Board before entering Loughborough Training College to study Physical Education. Working as a teacher in Hoyland Common, he wrote novels in the school library after work, later turning to writing full-time. If you enjoyed “A Kestrel for a Knave”, you might like “The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Other Stories” by Jack London, published in “Penguin Classics”.

Price : £ 6.29

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Best known for her role in cult comedy TV hit, Benidorm and for playing Maggie Conlon in Ken Loach’s remarkable film Ladybird Ladybird, Crissy Rock is a hugely popular actress and comedienne. But Crissy’s path to success was far from easy and her life has been plagued by trauma and turmoil. Never has there been a more honest and disturbing biography ever written; never has there been so much to tell. Crissy Rock’s poor but idyllic young life was plunged into darkness at the age of eight, when her grandfather began to abuse her both physically and sexually. Pregnant and married to a violent bully at sixteen it seemed that trouble and turmoil would always stalk her. Having finally escaped her violent marriage, Crissy began to turn her life around. Having firmly established herself on the comedy circuit she was then cast in Ladybird Ladybird for which she won Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. This is one of the most astonishing books you will ever read.

Price : £ 5.19

Read more…