Most Popular Books by Diana Athill

An esteemed memoirist and one of the great editors in British publishing examines aging with the grace of Elegy for Iris and the wry irreverence of I Feel Bad About My Neck.

A classic memoir by the author of the New York Times bestseller Somewhere Towards the End. As a young woman, Diana Athill was engaged to an air force pilot—Instead of a Letter tells how he broke off the engagement, married someone else, and, worst of all, died overseas before she could confront or forgive him. Evoking perfectly the picturesque country setting of her youth, this fearless and profoundly honest story of love and modern womanhood marks the beginning of Athill’s brilliant literary career.

A recently discovered gem from the bestselling author of Somewhere Towards the End, A Florence Diary is the charming and vivacious account of Athill’s travels to post-war Florence. In August 1947, Diana Athill travelled to Florence by the Golden Arrow train for a two-week holiday with her cousin Pen. In this playful diary of that trip, delightfully illustrated with photographs of the period, Athill recorded her observations and adventures — eating with (and paid for by) the hopeful men they meet on their travels, admiring architectural sights, sampling delicious pastries, eking out their budget, and getting into scrapes. Written with an arresting immediacy and infused with an exhilarating joie de vivre, A Florence Diary is a bright, colourful evocation of a time long lost and a vibrant portrait of a city that will be deliciously familiar to any contemporary traveller.

Diana Athill''s Stet is "a beautifully written, hardheaded, and generally insightful look back at the heyday of postwar London publishing by a woman who was at its center for nearly half a century" (The Washington Times). A founding editor of the prestigious publishing house Andre Deutsch, Ltd., Athill takes us on a guided tour through the corridors of literary London, offering a keenly observed, devilishly funny, and always compassionate portrait of the glories and pitfalls of making books. Stet is a must-read for the literarily curious, who will revel in Athill''s portraits of such great literary figures as Jean Rhys, V. S. Naipaul, Norman Mailer, Philip Roth, Mordecai Richler, and others. Spiced with candid observations about the type of people who make brilliant writers and ingenious publishers (and the idiosyncrasies of both), Stet is an invaluable contribution to the literature of literature, and in the words of the Sunday Telegraph, "all would-be authors and editors should have a copy." "Wryly humorous ... notable for its extraordinary lucidity...." -- The New York Times Book Review "A beguiling tonic to book business sob stories... Stet can barely contain Athill''s charm and great big heart." -- Newsday "In addition to telling a good story, Athill writes profoundly about how she is affected by the books she loves." -- The Boston Globe

A remarkable, truthful and vivid recollection of childhood, from the author of Stet, After a Funeral, Don''t Look at Me Like That and Instead of a Letter. Here Athill goes back to the beginning in a sharp evocation of a childhood unfashionably filled with happiness - a Norfolk country house, servants, the pleasures of horses, the unfolding secrets of adults and sex. This is England in the 1920s seen (with a clear and unsentimental eye) from the vantage point of England in 2001. It was a privileged and loving life: but did it equip the author to be happy?

In Make Believe, Diana Athill, acclaimed author of Instead of a Letter and Stet, remembers her turbulent friendship with Hakim Jamal, a young black convert to the teachings of Malcolm X, whom she met in London in the late 1960s. Despite a desperately troubled youth, he became an eloquent spokesman for the black underclass, was Jean Seberg''s lover and published a book about Malcolm X, before descending into a mania that had him believing he was God. A witness to his struggles, Diana Athill writes with her characteristic honesty about her entanglement with Jamal, Jamal''s relationship with the daughter of a British MP, Gail Benson, and Jamal''s, and separately Gail''s, eventual murders.

A candid novel of love, betrayal, and friendship about a young woman who breaks with her peers, moves to London, and begins a shocking affair. “When I was at school I used to think that everyone disliked me, and it wasn’t far from true” confesses Meg Bailey at the start of Don’t Look at Me Like That. Coming of age in the mid-1940s, Meg finds herself to be out of place wherever she finds herself: She is a nonbeliever in her father’s parsonage, an artistic dreamer at her stuffy boarding school, a provincial in the worldly circles frequented by her best friend Roxane and Dick, Roxane’s future husband. It is only when Meg, newly graduated from art school, moves into an untidy London rooming house alive with the sounds of crying children, sparring lovers, and even foreigners, that she begins to feel at home. But ties to the past are not so easily severed, and Meg must disentangle herself from her troubled intimacy with Roxane and Dick before she can begin to start “living in her own way.” Don’t Look at Me Like That is the only novel by the famed memoirist and editor Diana Athill, who died in 2019 at the age of one hundred and one. At once clear-eyed and compassionate, it is a story of making mistakes and making a life.

“An invitation to sit a spell with an intractable and witty friend.” —New York Times Book Review What will you remember if you live to be 100? Diana Athill charmed readers with her prize-winning memoir Somewhere Towards the End, which transformed her into an unexpected literary star. Now, on the eve of her ninety-eighth birthday, Athill has written a sequel every bit as unsentimental, candid, and beguiling as her most beloved work. Writing from her cozy room in Highgate, London, Diana begins to reflect on the things that matter after a lifetime of remarkable experiences, and the memories that have risen to the surface and sustain her in her very old age. “My two valuable lessons are: avoid romanticism and abhor possessiveness,” she writes. In warm, engaging prose she describes the bucolic pleasures of her grandmother’s garden and the wonders of traveling as a young woman in Europe after the end of the Second World War. As her vivid, textured memories range across the decades, she relates with unflinching candor her harrowing experience as an expectant mother in her forties and crafts unforgettable portraits of friends, writers, and lovers. A pure joy to read, Alive, Alive Oh! sparkles with wise and often very funny reflections on the condition of being old. Athill reminds us of the joy and richness of every stage of life—and what it means to live life fully, without regrets.

A classic memoir by the author of the New York Times bestseller Somewhere Towards the End. When Diana Athill met the man she calls Didi, she fell in love instantly and out of love just as fast. Didi’s quirks, which at first appeared so charming and sweet, soon revealed a darker side—he was a gambler, a drinker, and a womanizer, impossible to live with but impossible to ignore. After a Funeral explores the years of their friendship; a period that culminated in Didi’s suicide (in Athill’s apartment). This bravura work “gives a new dimension to honesty, a new comprehension to love” (Vogue).

"I can remember in detail being hit by my first story one January morning in 1958." So begins literary legend Diana Athill in the preface to Midsummer Night in the Workhouse, a long-overdue collection of her short fiction, stories which were originally published in the 1950s to the 1970s. In unsentimental though often touching prose, Athill’s young women anticipate, enjoy, or just miss out on brief sexual encounters with men met on trains, at parties -- just about anywhere they can. A cheating wife, back with her boring husband, is wracked with agonizing love for the unavailable partner of her brief fling; a writer seeks inspiration at a writers’ retreat whilst avoiding the group seducer’s invitation; a wife’s party flirtations propel her possessive husband into another woman’s bed; two fun-loving women face a sinister sexual assault during a Greek holiday; a teenager experiences enraptured detachment during her first kiss. Beautifully written, perceptive, touching, and funny, Midsummer Night in the Workhouse is Diana Athill at her best.

“What a feast. Diana’s work compels me. . . . She’s got her teeth into life!”—Alice Munro Diana Athill is one of our great women of letters. The renowned editor of V. S. Naipaul, Jean Rhys, and many others, she is also a celebrated memoirist whose Somewhere Towards the End was a New York Times bestseller and a National Book Critics Circle Award winner. For thirty years, Athill corresponded with the American poet Edward Field, freely sharing jokes, pleasures, and pains with her old friend. Letters to a Friend is an epistolary memoir that describes a warm, decades-long friendship. Written with intimacy and spontaneity, candor and grace, it is perhaps more revealing than any of her celebrated books. Edited, selected, and introduced by Athill, and annotated with her own delightful notes, this collection—rich with Athill’s characteristic wit, humor, elegance, and honesty—reveals a sharply intelligent woman with a keen eye for the absurd, a brilliant turn of phrase, and a wicked sense of humor. Covering her career as an editor, the adventure of her retirement, her immersion in her own writing, and her reactions to becoming unexpectedly famous in her old age—including gossip about legendary authors and mutual friends, sharp pen-portraits, and uninhibited accounts of her relationships—Letters to a Friend describes a flourishing friendship and offers a portrait of a woman growing older without ever losing her zest for life.

Un testimoni vibrant de la mà de Diana Athill que ens farà una mica més familiar la bella ciutat de Florència. L''agost del 1947, Diana Athill va emprendre un viatge de dues setmanes a Florència amb la seva cosina Pen, amb el tren Golden Arrow. Escrit quan l''autora tenia trenta anys, però publicat quan estava a punt de fer-ne cent, Diari de Florència atresora les aventures i els records d''aquells dies inoblidables. En aquestes pàgines l''autora ens parla de l''admiració que va sentir per l''art i l''arquitectura florentines, del gust per la deliciosa cuina italiana i de l''amistat amb homes d''una bellesa per a ella exòtica. «Divertida, d''una gran intel·ligència, i profundament humana». Herald «L''obra de Diana Athill ens fa recordar la sensació d''estar fent un amic nou». Observer «Una lectura deliciosa; com viatjar en el temps». Gillian Reynolds «Aplega d''una manera immillorable la impresió d''una primera mirada». Christian House

Com és fer-se gran? Als noranta anys, alliberada de les inhibicions de la vida, si és que mai en va tenir cap, l''autora reflexiona sobre el constant comiat que implica el transcórrer del temps, però també les petites victòries que es deriven de la vellesa, l''experiència dels anys, i la fortalesa necessària per afrontar la mort. Amb una escriptura directa, sense floritures, l''autora recorda moments concrets de la seva vida, amants i amics: persones i experiències que l''hi van ensenyar a no penedir-se mai, a resistir i a qüestionar les creences i els costums de la seva generació. Una autobiografia multipremiada: Costa Book Awards for Biography (2008) i National Books Critics Circle Award for Autobiography (2009). «Un llibre honest i clarivident.» The Independent «Una petita joia.» Daily Mail «Una lectura esplèndida, alegre divertida, irònica i sempre d''una intel·ligència superba sobre tots els temes que tracta.» Oldie «Un exuberant retrat de la tercera edat escrit amb una gran tendresa.» The New Yorker

Es una obra lúcida, divertida y humana que atrapa desde las primeras líneas, plagada de anécdotas, sinsabores y sorpresas, siempre desde el punto de vista de una "editora de mesa" - como Dianan Athill se definía -, que ofrece al lector las claves del día a día del trabajo editorial. En estas memorias, cuenta como fueron sus primeros años de aprendizaje en el oficio y los problemas que tuvo que enfrentar - entre ellos la autocrática actitud de André Deutsch, su jefe y compañero-, pese a los cuales siempre amó su trabajo, al que se dedicó con inteligencia y cariño.

Un testimonio vibrante de la mano de Diana Athill que nos hará un poco más familiar la bella ciudad de Florencia. En agosto de 1947, Diana Athill emprendió un viaje de dos semanas a Florencia junto a su prima Pen, a bordo del tren Golden Arrow. Escrito cuando la autora tenía treinta años, pero publicado cuando estaba cerca de cumplir los cien, Diario de Florencia atesora las aventuras y los recuerdos de esos días inolvidables. En él la autora nos habla de la admiración que sintió por el arte y la arquitectura florentinos, del gusto por la deliciosa cocina italiana y de la amistad con hombres de una belleza para ella exótica. «Divertida, de una gran inteligencia, y profundamente humana». The Herald «Hay algo en la obra de Diana Athill que nos recuerda la sensación de estar haciendo un nuevo amigo». The Observer

Un''infanzia privilegiata, nel cuore dell''Inghilterra delle vaste tenute e delle battute di caccia. Un''adolescenza vivace e senza pensieri, tra feste, poesie e fantasticherie romantiche. Poi Oxford, la libertà, l''amicizia, i flirt con il loro strascico di pianti e risate. Fino al grande amore, che ha il volto di un amico di famiglia di qualche anno più grande, un pilota militare bello e sfrontato con cui scoprire il sesso, l''intimità, il piacere di progettare un futuro comune. Questa è stata la giovinezza perfetta di Diana Athill, finché la guerra non è arrivata a macchiare il mondo con la sua plumbea tristezza. Perdere l''amore e la fiducia - in se stessi e negli altri - è sempre un''esperienza devastante. Per la giovane Diana fu la brusca interruzione di un lungo sogno, l''inizio di un inconsapevole, lentissimo percorso di guarigione e rinascita. Nel suo primo memoir, scritto all''età di quarantatré anni, la Athill racconta una storia onesta e coraggiosa, quella del suo amore burrascoso e intenso per la vita

In a celebration of her life and writing, this collection brings together four of Diana Athill''s best-loved memoirs, spanning her very English childhood, her life and loves during World War II, her publishing career at Andre Deutsch, and her reflections on old age."

En New York Times bestselger, ført i pennen av en forfatter på 90 år! Nesten 90 år gammel skrev forfatteren denne betraktingen om tilværelsen hun har levd og fortsatt gleder seg over. Hun har vært forlagsredaktør i London i over 50 år, for noen av verdens mest kjente forfattere. Hun skildrer vennskap, elskere og begivenheter, og reflekterer ærlig over alderdommen. Dette en gammel dames ærlige, kloke og av og til skamløse betraktninger om tilværelsen hun har levd og fortsatt ser frem til. Dette er en livlig beretning om begivenheter, elskere og vennskap; menneskene og opplevelsene som har lært henne å angre på lite, til å bekjempe motløshet og til å stille spørsmål ved hennes egen generasjons tro og skikker. Deilig underholdende og tankevekkende. Diana Athill (født 1917) er vinner av the Costa Prize i Storbritannia og National Book Critics’ Award i USA. I Storbritannia har hun med sin kombinasjon av alder og friskhet i alle ordets betydninger, oppnådd en enestående status.

''"Sono stati scritti libri su libri sulla giovinezza, e ancora di più sulle complesse e ardue esperienze legate alla procreazione, ma non c''è granché sull''invecchiamento. E visto che ho imboccato ormai da un po'' quella strada, mi sono detta: ''Perché non provarci?''. E quindi ecco, ci provo." Non è una persona comune, Diana Athill. Dopo aver speso la vita tra libri e scrittori come editor di una influente casa editrice inglese, si è scoperta lei stessa autrice e a novantun anni, con diversi best seller alle spalle, ha deciso di raccontare, senza falsi pudori, senza veli, senza paure, non tanto cosa c''è stato prima, quanto cosa succede ora. Cosa vuol dire invecchiare? Probabilmente combattere contro una serie di disfunzioni del corpo, non provare più interesse per il sesso o la narrativa, fare un uso più morigerato del rossetto. Ma anche sentirsi infine liberi di essere solo e gloriosamente se stessi, senza più volere o dover rendere conto agli altri. Spensierato, ironico, franco, questo libro affr onta l''ultimo grande tabù dei nostri tempi. E ne esce splendidamente vincitore. ''

"Rimasi perfettamente immobile mentre mi baciava - non ci volle molto - e feci un sacco di cose insieme: pensavo, ricordavo Thomas Hardy, notavo l''albero vestito di lucine, ascoltavo la musica. Poi il bacio finì e rientrammo, come se nulla fosse." Innocenti, sfrontati, teneri o disillusi, i racconti inediti di Diana Athill brillano della stessa arguta intelligenza che anima i suoi memoir, un inconfondibile sguardo sul mondo che l''ha resa, a oltre novant''anni, una delle più apprezzate voci della letteratura inglese. C''è chi insegue un amore ideale e chi il sesso, ci sono donne capaci di affrontare il "pasticcio dell''essere in due", e altre che mal si rassegnano a quella gabbia. Un''avventura extraconiugale riporta il brivido dell''eccitazione nella vita di una casalinga, ma è solo la preziosa illusione di un momento. Una sedicenne romantica riceve il suo primo bacio e non è affatto come se lo aspettava. Un incidente d''auto nella campagna inglese spinge una quarantenne e suo fratello a rivivere la profonda complicità che li legava da bambini. Una coppia condivide un''intensa passione, ma c''è ben poco che li unisca fuori dal letto. Comuni e insieme uniche, cesellate in una prosa misurata e affascinante, queste storie raccontano di noi, di ciò che significa essere imperfetti - e fragili - e ciononostante amare la vita.

È considerata l''editor più rispettato della sua generazione. Una donna che ha trascorso la sua vita personale e professionale accanto a scrittori entrati nella storia della letteratura del Ventesimo e Ventunesimo secolo. In questo libro Diana Athill condivide con l''amico Edward Field ventisei anni di vita quotidiana, con le sue minuzie e le deliziose spigolature di un''esistenza che sarebbe impossibile definire comune: dal pranzo di lavoro con la ex di V.S. Naipaul agli acciacchi della vecchiaia, dalle preoccupazioni per l''amante Barry ai buffi scontri con le nuove tecnologie. Queste lettere intime e brillanti come un''opera narrativa, sono scritte in uno stile straordinariamente vitale ed elegante, e delineano un percorso che va dall''ultimo periodo di lavoro alla pensione, dall''immersione nella scrittura fino alla consacrazione letteraria. Un ritratto d''autore unico nel suo genere, spontaneo, dal piglio inconfondibile.