Most Popular Books by William Boyd

This new collection of eleven stories by the author of The Blue Afternoon takes readers back in time from a contemporary Hollywood film shoot to World War I in Vienna, introducing an unforgettable cast of characters. Artful, witty, moving, The Destiny of Nathalie X is a confirmation of Boyd''s standing as a master storyteller. 208 pp. Author tour. 15,000 print.

From the award-winning author of A Good Man Africa and An Ice-Cream War comes Armadillo, a brilliant satirical noir set in contemporary London. To his colleagues, Lorimer Black, the handsome, mild-mannered insurance adjuster rising through the ranks of his London firm, is known as the guy who has it all: the sleek suits, the enviable status. But when Lorimer arrives at a routine business appointment and finds his client hanging from a water pipe, his life spirals out of control. His company car is blowtorched after he investigates a fire at a luxury hotel. He becomes the fall guy of a new colleague who puts the company in the red and the victim of a vicious attack by the possessive husband of a mysterious actress. As Lorimer becomes increasingly entangled in an apparent conspiracy that involves everyone he knows, his own past comes to light. A brilliant satirical noir, Armadillo confirms Boyd''s place as England''s most versatile, sublime novelist.

One of the most beguiling storytellers on either side of the Atlantic delivers a luminous new collection whose 14 stories are a series of variations on the theme of love–and its shady cousin lust. A film director’s journal becomes an unintended chronicle of his deepening and ruinous obsession with a leading lady (“Notebook No. 9”). While flying business class, a well-behaved English architect feels the chill onset of an otherworldly visitation that will shatter his family and career (“A Haunting”). An unhappy young boy, neglected by both his father and adulterous mother, finds an unexpected friend in an elderly painter (“Varengeville”). Wise, unsettling, humane, and endlessly surprising, Fascination lives up to its title on every page, while confirming William Boyd’s stature as a writer of incandescent talent.

A new "whole life" novel from William Boyd, the author of Any Human Heart.Set in the 19th century, the novel follows the roller-coaster fortunes of a man as he tries to negotiate the random stages, adventures and vicissitudes of his life. He is variously a soldier, a lover, a husband, a father, a friend of famous poets, a writer, a bankrupt, a jailbird, a farmer, an African explorer - and many other manifestations - before, finally, he becomes a minor diplomat, a consul based in Trieste (then in Austria-Hungary) where he thinks he will see out the end of his days in well-deserved tranquillity. This will not come to pass...

Short story. Time Travel. just for fun and not a long read. No grammar police.

The demand for this standard history of education continues throughout the world and gives the opportunity for a new revised edition. For the sixth time the book has been brought up to date by Professor Edmund King, recognised in Europe, America and elsewhere overseas as a leading authority on the history of education. Again he retains the many virtues of Dr. William Boyd''s original text, while making necessary modifications in light of the most recent research and of changing attitudes. The new edition takes into account some of the major events in education and the perspectives that have changed since the 11th edition was published in 1975, including the transformation of many educational systems'' expectations and massive disillusionment with the achievements of those systems during the juvenile phase of education. The book examines the huge growth of post-school education and training, the rise of new variants of "Western Education", and changes effected by such events as the collapse of the U.S.S.R.

Born into Edwardian England, Amory Clay’s first memory is of her father standing on his head. She has memories of him returning on leave during the First World War. But his absences, both actual and emotional, are what she chiefly remembers. It is her photographer uncle Greville who supplies the emotional bond she needs, who, when he gives her a camera and some rudimentary lessons in photography, unleashes a passion that will irrevocably shape her future. A spell at boarding school ends abruptly and Amory begins an apprenticeship with Greville in London, photographing socialites for the magazine Beau Monde. But Amory is hungry for more and her search for life, love and artistic expression will take her to the demi monde of Berlin of the late ’20s, to New York of the ’30s, to the blackshirt riots in London, and to France in the Second World War, where she becomes one of the first women war photographers. Her desire for experience will lead Amory to further wars, to lovers, husbands and children as she continues to pursue her dreams and battle her demons. In this enthralling story of a life fully lived, illustrated with “found” period photographs, William Boyd has created a sweeping panorama of some of the most defining moments of modern history, told through the camera lens of one unforgettable woman, Amory Clay. It is his greatest achievement to date.

Es ist der Sommer 1968: In Paris gehen die Studenten auf die Straße, in Vietnam wütet der Krieg, Martin Luther King wird ermordet. Während die Welt in Aufruhr ist, wird im sonnigen Brighton ein aparter Kinofilm gedreht. Hier kreuzen sich die Wege eines Filmproduzenten, einer Schriftstellerin und einer Schauspielerin. Alle drei führen ein Doppelleben: Elfrida, der keine Zeile mehr einfällt und deren Ehe zerrüttet ist, ertränkt ihren Frust in Wodka. Talbot, der Filmproduzent, hat ein geheimes Hobby und macht gute Miene zum bösen Spiel, denn er weiß, dass sein Geschäftspartner versucht ihn auszubooten. In Anny, die umwerfende Hauptdarstellerin, ist die ganze Welt verliebt, aber ihre Liebschaften bereiten dem Filmstar nur Scherereien: Sie hat eine Affäre mit ihrem Filmpartner, und natürlich taucht ihr Liebhaber, ein Philosoph aus Paris, überraschend am Set auf. Außerdem sitzt Anny ihr Ex-Mann im Nacken – und das FBI. Während die Dreharbeiten bei scheinbar ausgelassener Stimmung voranschreiten, rumort es hinter den Kulissen gewaltig. Die Geheimnisse des Trios drohen aufzufliegen. Wie lange kann jeder seine Rolle spielen? Und wer inszeniert das größte Drama?

FICTION NOVEL