Showing results by author "Hunter Davies" in All Categories

There's only one book that ever truly got inside the Beatles, and this is it. During 1967 and 1968, Hunter Davies spent 18 months with the Beatles at the peak of their powers as they defined a generation and rewrote popular music. As their only-ever authorised biographer, he had unparalleled access - not just to John, Paul, George, and Ringo, but to friends, family, and colleagues. He collected a wealth of intimate and revealing material that makes this the classic Beatles book - the one all other biographers look to.

The Isle of Wight: in the summers of the 1800s, Queen Victoria holidayed here. At music festivals in the summer of love, hundreds of thousands of people got stoned here. And, in the summer of 2020, Hunter and Claire escaped locked-down North London for a week's holiday here. They fell in love with its sleepy charm – and ended up buying a Grade 2-listed home in the elegant Victorian seaside resort of Ryde. "Love in Old Age" tells the story of their first year on the island. It is a journey of discovery in a forgotten corner of England.

‘Oh, if only I could have a room like this!’ said Flossie Teacake, as she gazed at the wonderful things in her sister Bella’s bedroom. A few minutes later, both Flossie and the most wonderful thing in the room had disappeared down the stairs as Flossie’s dreams began to come true...A magical story about a young girl with an extraordinary fur coat, from best-selling author Hunter Davies.

Flossie Teacake, the youngest member of the family, is back! As always she is clad in her magical fur coat which turns our heroine from a timid ten year old into an extremely exciting 18 year old! Nothing stops Flossie and her helter-skelter life which races along at its usual frantic pace. This time she manages to become a dancing teacher at the Grapefruit Dance Studios in Covent Garden...

Despite the struggle to make ends meet during the tough years of warfare in the 1940s and rationing persisting until the early 1950s, life could still be sweet. Especially if you were a young boy, playing football with your pals, saving up to go to the movies at the weekend, and being captivated by the latest escapade of Dick Barton on the radio. Chocolate might be scarce, and bananas would be a pipe dream, but you could still have fun.

John Lennon was a writer as well as a musician. It was entirely natural for him to put pen to paper whenever he had an idea, a thought, a reaction, or a desire to communicate. He lived - and died - in an age before emails and texts. Pen and ink was what he turned to. John wrote letters and postcards all of his life, most of which were funny, informative, campaigning, wise, mad, poetic, anguished, and sometimes heart-breaking. For the first time, John's widow, Yoko Ono, has given permission to publish a collection of his letters.

Nottingham Bumstead – otherwise known as Snotty – may be small and weedy, but his life is fun because he lives ALONE! Without parents to nag him his house is his own, with a football pitch in the living room and juke boxes in the bedroom.Of course there are one or two hitches – like what to do when the money for milkshakes and pizzas runs out – but as long as he can pay the bills and keep out the neighbours, then he can keep his home just as he likes!

Alfred Wainwright's unique hand-drawn and hand-written Pictorial Guides to the Lakeland Fells have been an inspiration to walkers for over 40 years. Yet despite many bestselling books and three television series, Wainwright remained an intensely private person. With full access to Alfred Wainwright's private letters and unpublished material, Hunter Davies reveals a man more passionate, witty and generous than readers of his guides have come to expect.

When Flossie Teacake tries on her older sister's fur coat she is transformed from a timid ten-year-old into a glamorous 18-year-old. With all her dreams coming true she is determined to have a fantastic time.

Part memoir, part self-help, Happy Old Me is a fitting, heart-felt tribute to the love of his life and a surprisingly amusing and informative book about an age, and stage in life, which we might all reach someday. The third book in Hunter Davies' much-loved memoir series, which includes The Co-Op's Got Bananas and A Life in the Day. 

In this much-anticipated sequel, Hunter looks back across five decades of successful writing to reflect on his colourful memories of the living in London during the height of the Swinging '60s; becoming editor of Britain's first colour weekend supplement The Sunday Times magazine, where he befriended the Beatles; and reporting on (and partying with) some of the biggest names in television, film and theatre of the day.

Ivy, Dulcie, Barbara, Ann, Dorothy and Jean all had different reasons for applying to work at Carr’s biscuits, but once they had put on their overalls and walked through the factory gates they discovered a community full of life, laughter and friendship. To those who didn’t know, the biscuit factory that towered over Carlisle might look like just another slice of the industrial North, a noisy and chaotic place with workers trooping in and out at all hours.

The fourth story featuring the madcap ten-year-old, Flossie Teacake. Her older sister's magic fur coat transforms Flossie into Floz, a teenager who can go anywhere and do anything - including buying a lottery ticket and winning a million pounds.

‘I am fascinated by people turning their daft dreams into a reality. How did they do it and why?’ Driven by his own passion for collecting Hunter Davies has packed his notepad and set off in search of Britain’s maddest museums. As he explores these hidden gems he soon discovers that they are everywhere and that they celebrate just about everything, from lawnmowers in Southport to pencils in Keswick.