An intimate portrait of Patrick O’Brian, written by his stepson Nikolai Tolstoy. Patrick O’Brian was one of the greatest British novelists of the twentieth century, securing his place in literary history with the bestselling Aubrey–Maturin series, books that have sold millions of copies worldwide and been hailed as the best historical fiction of all time. An exquisite novelist, translator and biographer, O’Brian moved in 1949 to Collioure in the south of France, where he led a secluded life with his wife Mary and wrote all his major works. The twenty books that make up the beloved Aubrey–Maturin series earned O’Brian the epithet ‘Jane Austen at sea’ for their authentic depiction of Nelson’s navy, and the relationship between Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend and ship’s surgeon Stephen Maturin. Outside his triumphant popularity in fiction, O’Brian also wrote erudite biographies of both Pablo Picasso and Joseph Banks, as well as publishing translations of Simone de Beauvoir and Henri Charrière. In A Very Private Life, Nikolai Tolstoy draws upon his close relationship with his stepfather, as well as his notebooks, letters and photographs, to capture a highly researched but intimate account of those fifty years in Collioure that were the richest of O’Brian’s writing life. With warm and honest reflection, this biography gives insight into the genius of the little-known man behind the much-loved writing. Tolstoy also tells how, through a sad irony, unjust attacks on O’Brian’s private life destroyed much of the happiness he had gained from his achievement just as his literary career attained greater acclaim.
Poster of Brian O'Driscoll during the RBS Six Nations Championship match between England & Ireland
All Terrie ever wanted was to be part of a normal family. Instead, her earliest memories are of her father abusing her. But when he died and her mother's mental illness made it impossible for her to care for her daughter, Terrie went to live with a family friend. Things seemed perfect at first, but the biggest betrayal was yet to come. Her babysitter, a man in his thirties, knew exactly how to exploit Terrie's need for kindness. Pushed into sleeping with him from the age of ten, it wasn't long before Terrie fell pregnant and was forced to have an abortion. Frightened into continuing the relationship with this manipulative paedophile, she fell pregnant again at thirteen. Desperately wanting to have someone to love, she decided to keep her baby, but sadly she was too young to cope on her own and, heartbroken, she gave her little girl up for adoption. Over the years she had begged social services for help but they had failed to protect her from this evil man. But eventually, at the age of sixteen, her life changed forever when she found the courage to go to the police... Written with total honesty, this is the inspiring story of a remarkable young woman who not only fought for justice but who found the strength to break free from her abusive past, to marry and create a happy, loving family of her own.
Nathalie Joachim is a musician whose work spans across cultures, merging modern American and traditional Haitian modes of expression.
"When you first came to CTU, I never thought it was gonna be you that was gonna cover my back all those years. And I know that everything that you did today was to try and protect me, I know that. Thank you." — Jack Bauer, "Day 8: 3:00pm-4:00pm" Chloe O'Brian was a senior intelligence analyst with the Los Angeles Counter Terrorist Unit. She also served as Internet Protocol Manager at that unit, and later assumed a major role at the agency's reopened New York office. As one of Jack Bauer's closes