Evelyn Waugh was born in Hampstead in 1903 and educated at Hertford College, Oxford. In 1928 he published his first novel, Decline and Fall, which was soon followed by Vile Bodies (1930), Black Mischief (1932), A Handful of Dust (1934) and Scoop (1938). During these years he also travelled extensively and converted to Catholicism. In 1939 Waugh was commissioned in the Royal Marines and later transferred to the Royal Horse Guards, experiences which informed his Sword of Honour trilogy (1952-61). His most famous novel, Brideshead Revisited (1945), was written while on leave from the army. Waugh died in 1966.

Evelyn Waugh

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Susan Smillie

When Susan set sail from the south-west coast of England on her beloved sailboat, Isean, she was unaware this spontaneous departure would lead to a journey spanning several years and countries across the continent. 
 
Enduring both physical and navigational challenges, the other side of her story reveals a more important change - her inner journey - that took place. This wasn't a challenge or a mid-life adventure; it was much gentler than that, but much greater too. She was seeking nothing less than an entirely different life, having left the land far behind to call the wild, unbiddable sea home.

The Half Bird

Raynor Winn

After a turbulent year, Raynor Winn embarks on the Coast to Coast Walk in winter, unexpectedly alone. Despite 45 years of walking together, setbacks in her husband, Moth's, health have led him to see his decline as inevitable, which Raynor refuses to accept. Feeling trapped, she is drawn north, like a migratory bird, seeking the peace and hope that walking brings her. Navigating harsh weather and tangled emotions, Raynor reflects on the mountains they've climbed. Her journey becomes a meditation on our connection to the land and its power to help us remember, rebuild, and reclaim what is lost.

On Winter Hill

(Raynor Winn, 4)

Ellen MacArthur

In October 2009 Ellen MacArthur, one of the greatest sportswomen in the world, announced her retirement from competitive sailing. Many were in disbelief. How could the woman who had fought so hard to set so many records give up racing? But Ellen had found an even tougher challenge than sailing solo round the globe. 
 
Now Ellen is ready to write about her incredible last ten years, including the trip which changed her life. 
 
She speaks honestly about the trials of fame after coming second in the Vendee Globe in 2001; about her frustrations in missing the record for the West-East transatlantic crossing by just 75 minutes in 2004; the dramatic capsize and dismasting she experienced prior to her record attempt, and then the ultimate triumph of her spectacular, record-breaking, non-stop solo circumnavigation of the globe in 2004-5, sharing every painful and exciting moment of her 71 days alone at sea. 
 
And of course she tells of the fateful trip to South Georgia in 2005 which caused her to decide to leave competitive sailing behind for ever and focus all her ambition and energy towards a new and much bigger race . . . 
 
Ellen's searingly honest story is a story of triumph over incredible adversity and will inspire others to follow in this remarkable woman's wake.

Full Circle

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