{"title":"Fiona MacCarthy","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore the captivating works of \u003cem\u003eFiona MacCarthy\u003c\/em\u003e, a distinguished author renowned for her compelling biographies and memoirs that bring historical figures to life with vivid detail and rich narrative. With an adept ability to blend meticulous research with engaging storytelling, MacCarthy has crafted insightful accounts that delve into the lives and times of some of history's most intriguing personalities.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDive into the world of the Romantic poet in \u003cstrong\u003eByron\u003c\/strong\u003e, where MacCarthy paints a vivid portrait of Lord Byron's complex character and turbulent life. Her book provides an intimate glimpse into the poet's adventures, relationships, and the cultural landscape of his era.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003cstrong\u003eLast Curtsey\u003c\/strong\u003e, MacCarthy captures the waning days of the debutante era in Britain, reflecting on a tradition that signalled the end of an era in British society. This memoir not only shares personal experiences but also sheds light on a pivotal moment in social history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWilliam Morris: A Life for Our Time\u003c\/strong\u003e explores the multifaceted life of William Morris, an influential figure in the arts and crafts movement. MacCarthy brilliantly articulates Morris's impact on art, design, and politics, making this biography a must-read for those interested in cultural history.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFiona MacCarthy's works are essential reads for anyone passionate about historical biographies and memoirs, offering a window into the past through eloquent prose and profound insights.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"byron-by-fiona-maccarthy-9781444799866","title":"Byron","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFiona MacCarthy makes a breakthrough in interpreting Byron's life and poetry, drawing on John Murray's world-famous archive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShe brings a fresh eye to his early years: his childhood in Scotland, embattled relations with his mother, and the effect of his deformed foot on his development. She traces his early travels in the Mediterranean and the East, illuminating his relationships with adolescent boys—a hidden subject in earlier biographies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile paying due attention to the compelling tragicomedy of Byron's marriage, his incestuous love for his half-sister Augusta, and the clamorous attention of his female fans, she also gives new importance to his close male friendships, particularly with his publisher John Murray. She tells the full story of their famous disagreement, which ended in a rift as Byron's poetry became more recklessly controversial.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eByron was a celebrity in his own lifetime, becoming a 'superstar' in 1812 after the publication of \u003ci\u003eChilde Harold\u003c\/i\u003e. The Byron legend grew to unprecedented proportions after his death in the Greek War of Independence at the age of thirty-six. The challenge for a biographer is sifting the truth from the sentimental, the self-serving, and the spurious. Fiona MacCarthy has overcome this to produce an immaculately researched biography, which is also her refreshing personal view.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46800179560684,"sku":"9781444799866","price":46.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781444799866.jpg?v=1757275004"},{"product_id":"last-curtsey-by-fiona-maccarthy-9780571228607","title":"Last Curtsey","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce upon a time, the well-bred daughters of Britain's aristocracy took part in a female rite of passage: curtseying to the Queen. But in 1958, this ritual was coming to an end. Under pressure to shine — not least from their mothers — the girls became the focus for newspaper diarists and society photographers in a party season that stretched for months among the great houses of England, Ireland, and Scotland.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFiona MacCarthy traces the stories of the girls who curtseyed that year in \u003cem\u003eLast Curtsey\u003c\/em\u003e, and shows how their lives were to open out in often very unexpected ways. Britain itself changed irreversibly during the 1960s, and the certainties of the old order came to an end.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46844345843948,"sku":"9780571228607","price":36.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9962183482391.jpg?v=1758837365"},{"product_id":"william-morris-a-life-for-our-time-by-fiona-maccarthy-9780571255597","title":"William Morris: A Life for Our Time","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince his death in 1896, William Morris has come to be regarded as one of the giants of the nineteenth century. But his genius was so many-sided and so profound that its full extent has rarely been grasped. Many people may find it hard to believe that the greatest English designer of his time, possibly of all time, could also be internationally renowned as a founder of the socialist movement, and could have been ranked as a poet together with Tennyson and Browning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith penetrating insight, Fiona MacCarthy has managed to encompass all the different facets of Morris's complex character, shedding light on his immense creative powers as artist and designer of furniture, fabrics, wallpaper, stained glass, tapestry and books, and as a poet, novelist and translator. She explores his psychology and his emotional life, his frenetic activities as polemicist and reformer, and his remarkable circle of friends, literary, artistic, and political.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Allen \u0026 Unwin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46847321768172,"sku":"9780571255597","price":110.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/3890b2ccc494c5c3a4727234b196375a.jpg?v=1758964064"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/fiona-maccarthy.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}