Books published by Notting Hill Editions

As autobiography, Brainard's method was brilliantly simple: to set down specific memories ('everything is interesting, sooner or later') as they rose to the surface of his consciousness, each prefaced by the refrain 'I remember.'

For fans of Oliver Sacks and Henry Marsh, a glimpse into the fascinating world of modern neurology by a leading expert in the field.As a trainee doctor, A. J. Lees was enthralled by his mentors: esteemed neurologists who combined the precision of mathematicians, the scrupulosity of entomologists, and the solemnity of undertakers in their diagnoses and treatments. For them, there was no such thing as an unexplained symptom or psychosomatic problem—no difficult cases, just interesting ones—and it was only a matter of time before all disorders of the brain would be understood in terms of anatomical, electrical, and chemical connections.Today, this kind of “holistic neurology” is on the brink of extinction as a slavish adherence to protocols and algorithms—plus a worship of machines—runs the risk of destroying the key foundational clinical skills of listening, observation, and imagination that have been at the heart of the discipline for more than 150 years.In this series of brilliant, insightful, and autobiographical essays, Lees takes us on a kind of Sherlock Holmes tour of neurology, giving the reader insight into—and a defense of—the deep analytical tools that the best neurologists still rely on to diagnose patients: to heal minds and to fix brains.

Introduced and edited by broadcaster Stephen Johnson, a curated selection of chilling ghost stories from world literature.Why do people love ghost stories, even if they don’t believe (or say they don’t believe) in ghosts? Is it simply the adrenaline rush that comes from being mesmerized and terrified by a great storyteller, or do these tales yield deeper meanings—telling us things about our own inner shadows? Stephen Johnson brings together some of the most memorable encounters with ghosts in world literature, from Europe, Russia, the United States, and China. Recurring themes and imagery are noted, interpretations suggested—but only suggested, since ambiguity and resistance to rational interpretation are key elements in the best ghost stories. As the writer Robert Aickman observed, often the decisive moment comes when someone, somehow, makes a “wrong turning”—literally, perhaps, but at the same time psychologically, even morally—and some mysterious nemesis takes over.Old favorites by M. R. James, Ambrose Bierce, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman are interlaced with extracts from longer works by Emily Brontë, Henry James, and Alexander Pushkin,, along with slightly left-field apparitions from Tove Jansson and Flann O’Brien. With such expert guides, who knows what we will be led to encounter in the haunted chambers of our minds?

This entertaining anthology offers an array of writers past and present expressing their thoughts about dogs. The writers and poets collected within this anthology reflect on the joys and pitfalls of dog ownership with brilliant wit, insight, and affection. Introduced by internationally acclaimed actor and producer Tracey Ullman.

"Children are a miracle, and everyone has an opinion on how we should raise them. From novelists to paediatricians; from Enlightenment philosophers to experimental psychologists; from parenting 'experts' to people whose expertise is simply - and powerfully - being a parent, Tiny Feet is the first anthology of its kind, showcasing a range of influential writing about children over the past four hundred years. Introduced by Lauren Child, and with contributions from Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Maria Montessori, Dr. Spock, D. W. Winnicott, Toni Morrison and many more, this ideal gift book for soon-to-be parents shows the extent to which some of our attitudes have changed while others remain absolute, and reminds us of the joy that children bring to our lives"--

A radical new take on one of humanity's most misunderstood periods of transition: the midlife crisis.

For centuries, cats have been worshipped, adored and mistrusted in equal measure. This beautiful gift book contains a selection of essays, stories, and poems on cats by writers from across the ages.In these pages, writers reflect on the curious feline qualities that inspire such devotion in their owners, even when it seems one-sided. Cats’ affections are hard-won and often fickle. Freud considered his cat an embodiment of true egoism; Hilaire Belloc found peace in his feline companion’s complacency; and Hemingway—a famous cat-lover—wrote of drinking with his eleven cats and the pleasant distraction they gave him.Edward Gorey can’t turn down a stray despite the trouble they cause him, and admits he has no idea what they’re thinking about; Muriel Spark gives practical advice on how to teach a cat to play ping-pong; Nikola Tesla, who helped design the modern electricity supply system, describes a seminal experience with a cat that first sparked his fascination with electricity; and Caitlin Moran considers the unexpected feelings of loss after the death of her family cat.These writers, and many others (including Mary Gaitskill, Alice Walker, Ursula K. Le Guin, John Keats, James Bowen, Lynne Truss, and more), paint a joyful portrait of cats and their mysterious and loveable ways. As Hemingway wrote, “one cat leads to another.” The book features six black-and-white cat portraits by photographer Elliot Ross.

A revised edition of the Notting Hill Editions essay collection by the late Sir Roger Scruton with a new introduction by Douglas Murray.Confessions of a Heretic is a collection of provocative essays by the influential social commentator and polemicist Roger Scruton. Each “confession” reveals aspects of the author’s thinking that his critics would probably have advised him to keep to himself. In this selection, covering subjects from art and architecture to politics and nature conservation, Scruton challenges popular opinion on key aspects of our culture: What can we do to protect Western values against Islamist extremism? How can we nurture real friendship through social media? Why is the nation-state worth preserving? How should we achieve a timely death against the advances of modern medicine? This provocative collection seeks to answer the most pressing problems of our age.In his introduction, the bestselling author and commentator Douglas Murray writes of what it cost Scruton to express views considered unpalatable, and of the importance of these ideas after Scruton’s death.

This latest collection of walking literature from Notting Hill Editions celebrates the allure of the Continent.On foot the world comes our way. We get close to the Continent’s alpine ranges, arterial rivers, expansive coastlines. Close to its ancient cities and mysterious thoroughfares; and close to the walkers themselves—the Grand Tourers and explorers, strollers and saunterers, on their hikes and quests, parades and urban drifts.Sauntering features sixty walker-writers—classic and current—who roam Europe by foot. Twenty-two countries are traversed. We join Henriette d’Angeville, the second woman to climb Mont Blanc; Nellie Bly roaming the trenches of the First World War; Werner Herzog on a personal pilgrimage through Germany; Hans Christian Andersen in quarantine; Joseph Conrad in Cracow; Rebecca Solnit reimagining change on the streets of Prague; and Robert Macfarlane dropping deep into underground Paris.Contributors include: Patrick Leigh Fermor; John Hillaby; Robert Walser; Henriette d’Angeville; Joseph Roth; Joanna Kavenna; Richard Wright; Werner Herzog; Robert Antelme; George Sand; Rainer Maria Rilke; Robert Macfarlane; Rebecca Solnit; Kate Humble; Nicholas Luard; Edith Wharton; Elizabeth von Armin; Joseph Conrad; D. H. Lawrence; Vernon Lee; Guy Debord, Mark Twain, Thomas Coryat, and more.

Eminent neurologist A.J. Lees travels in the footsteps of his childhood hero, the Victorian explorer Colonel Fawcett, who disappeared in 1925 whilst searching for a lost city in the Amazon. Part travelogue, part memoir, Lees paints a portrait of an elusive Brazil, and a flawed explorer whose doomed mission ruined lives.

This humorous collection of quotations draws on plays, books, newspapers and tabletalk, with pages full of wit and wisdom. Wherever you start, you just won't be able to stop, as one brilliant line after another tumbles off the page. This unusual and varied anthology is the perfect gift for theatre lovers.

'Forget "bones". Forget "structure". Forget trees, shrubs, and perennials. This is not a book about big projects. It is about thinking your way towards an essential flower garden, by the most traditional of routes: planting some seeds and seeing how they grow.'

The best fishing writing is never only about fishing, and the writers collected in this anthology use angling as a way to write about love, loss, faith, and obsession. Read it and be hooked. Includes contributions from Virginia Woolf, Charles Dickens, Oto Pavel, Arthur Ransome, George Orwell and dozens more.

Walking and writing have always gone together. Think of the poets who walk out a rhythm for their lines and the novelists who put their characters on a path. But the best insights, the deepest and most joyous examinations of this simple activity are to be found in non-fiction - in essays, travelogues and memoir.

Music broadcaster and composer Stephen Johnson explores how Shostakovich's music took shape under Stalin's reign of terror, and how it gave form to the hopes of an oppressed people. Johnson writes of the healing effect of music on sufferers of mental illness and tells of how Shostakovich's music lent him unexpected strength in his struggle with bipolar disorder.

A delightful selection of articles by the ever-popular A.A. Milne, many of which haven't been in print for decades. Introduced by the prize-winning children's author Frank Cottrell Boyce. A treasure of a book.

A seasonal anthology of Christmas-themed writings to savour during the highs and lows of Christmas Day. This delightful book offers a diverse array of classic and contemporary writers who have expressed their thoughts about Christmas over the centuries - with joy, nostalgia and dazzling wit.

In this haunting memoir, Alison gives a luminous account of key moments in her life that brought her to be the writer she is: her early activism; her descent into alcoholism; her recovery; her discovery of the power of writing to give a shape and meaning to a life. Found and Lost is both a tender memorial to the extraordinary people in her life.

Richard Sennett has spent an intellectual lifetime exploring how humans live in cities. In this pair of essays he visits two of the world's greatest cities at crucial moments in their history to meditate on the condition of exile in both geographical and psychic space: the Jewish Ghetto of Renaissance Venice,; and nineteenth-century Paris.

A new anthology of Dostoevsky's remarkable work 'A Writer's Diary'. A voluminous and variegated miscellany in which the celebrated author spoke to his readers about issues concerning Russia, it is a work as eerily prescient of global preoccupations in the twenty-first century as it is frequently overlooked.

A compelling portrait of the Age of Discovery that uncovers some surprising truths about the Tudor navigators - and asks why and how these facts have been submerged for centuries.

Following the success of Cataract, John Berger, one of the great soothsayers of seeing, joins forces again with Turkish illustrator Selcuk Demirel. This charming pictorial essay reflects on the cultural implications of smoking. A subtle and beautifully illustrated prose poem, Smoke lingers in the mind.