Books published by Vintage Publishing

In What Is the Grass, Doty - a poet, a lover of men, a New Yorker, and an American - keeps company with Whitman and his mutable, landmark work, Leaves of Grass, tracing the resonances between his own experience and the legendary poet's life and work. What is it, then, between us? Whitman asks.

This outstanding collection of short stories showcases all the writing skill that has made Jo Nesbo the undisputed 'king of all crime writers' (Daily Express) and a repeat Sunday Times #1 bestseller.

A major new biography of Charles Dickens, tracing the year that would transform his life and times*BY THE AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR OF BECOMING DICKENS AND THE STORY OF ALICE*'It is hard to imagine a better book on Dickens' NEW STATESMANThe year is 1851.

A NEW TRANSLATION BY ADAM THORPE A great novel that is also an inexhaustible pleasure to read' GuardianEmma Bovary is an avid reader of sentimental novels; brought up on a Normandy farm and convent-educated, she longs for romance. At first, Emma pins her hopes on marriage, but life with her well-meaning husband in the provinces leaves her bored and dissatisfied. She seeks escape through extravagant spending sprees and, eventually, adultery. As Emma pursues her impossible reverie she seals her own ruin. Madame Bovary is one of the greatest, most beguiling novels ever written. Thorpe's new translation is stunning and heartily recommendedScotsman Thorpe's new translation is to die for Independent [Thorpe s] hard work has yielded beauty. The rhythms are perfectly judged, unexpected enough to make the reader attend to every word Robert Chandler, TLS

*A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021*'Raw, tender and urgent' Jessica Andrews, author of Saltwater'Irreducible. Once read, it will never be forgotten' Helen Mort, author of Division StreetThis is the story of an abortion. The days and hours before the first visit to the clinic and the weeks and months after.The pregnancy was a mistake and the narrator immediately arranges a termination. But a gulf yawns between politics and personal experience. The polarised public debate and the broader cultural silence did not prepare her for the physical event or the emotional aftermath. She finds herself compulsively telling people about the abortion (and counting those who know), struggling at work and researching the procedure. She feels alone in her pain and confusion.Part diary, part prose poem, part literary collage, Larger than an Orange is an uncompromising, intimate and original memoir. With raw precision and determined honesty, Lucy Burns carves out a new space for complexity, ambivalence and individual experience.'Lucy Burns' writing on choice and its aftermath is boldly innovative, achingly human, and powerfully vulnerable' Dr Elinor Cleghorn, author of Unwell Women'Rapturous, engrossing and beautifully impossible' Holly Pester, author of Comic Timing

The astonishing feats of Sir Jack Hobbs continue to resonate more than a century after he first played Test cricket.

**A RICHARD AND JUDY AUTUMN BOOK CLUB PICK AND THE MOST POWERFUL BOOK YOU'LL READ THIS YEAR** 'Poignant and bittersweet, this novel is a joy' Richard & JudyYoung and confident, with a swagger in her step, Sugar arrives in the southern town of Bigelow hoping to start over. Soon Bigelow is alight with gossip and suspicion, and Sugar fears her past is catching up with her. Then she meets Pearl, a woman trying to forget her own traumas. As these next-door neighbours become unlikely friends, they wonder if their lives could finally be changing for the better. But small towns have long memories...Perfect for fans of The Vanishing Half and Where the Crawdads Sing, Sugar is a classic waiting to be rediscovered.Reviewers adore Sugar: 'A page-turning novel guaranteed to be looked back on as a timeless classic' INDEPENDENT 'This book is so engaging and beautiful and intriguing and satisfying that I could not put it down' ELLE 'Riveting... Searing and expertly imagined' TONI MORRISON on Bernice L. McFadden Readers are falling for Sugar 'Such an enjoyable read... beautifully written, raw and impactful' 'Riveting, heart-breaking' 'Very powerful, poignant' 'Beautifully written... brutal and moving... a must read book' 'Well-written with rich characters and many twists and turns' 'So descriptive yet easy to read, and it made me fall in love with all the characters'

*Longlisted for the US National Book Award in Translated Literature*An addictive novel about contemporary parenthood and modern family life.

Islands of Mercy is a novel that ignites the senses, and is a bold exploration of the human urge to seek places of sanctuary in a pitiless world. 'One of our most accomplished novelists' Observer'I loved it, and the images continue to haunt me months later.

This novel explores one of the most astonishing stories in the whole history of twentieth century terrorism. The Dancer Upstairs is a story reminiscent of Graham Greene and John le Carre - tense, intricate and heartbreaking.

Now adapted for young readers, Vice President Kamala Harris's empowering memoir about the values and inspirations that guided her life.With her election to the vice presidency, her election to the U.S. Senate, and her position as attorney general of California, Kamala Harris has blazed trails throughout her entire political career. But how did she achieve her goals? What values and influences guided and inspired her along the way?In this young readers edition of Kamala Harris's memoir, we learn about the impact that her family and community had on her life, and see what led her to discover her own sense of self and purpose. The Truths We Hold traces her journey as she explored the values she holds most dear-those of community, equality, and justice. An inspiring and empowering memoir, this book challenges us to become leaders in our own lives and shows us that with determination and perseverance all dreams are possible.

An exhilarating journey into the unfathomable depths of the human mind, from the acclaimed author of Let Me Not Be Mad.What does it take to care for a stranger? Really care.The Case for Love is a reflection on a career treating patients with brain trauma - people whose thoughts and feelings are largely unknowable - and how and why those treatments failed.It is a reconstruction of three haunting cases in which the patients were tragically misunderstood - and an attempt through the power of the imagination to understand and make amends.It then describes the author's abandonment of his career and his tumultuous quest for healing and redemption.It is also a story of intimate relationships, pets, fatherhood and heartbreak, culminating in a moment of psychedelic transcendence and rebirth.It is about the overpowering need for connection - and how, increasingly, we are trapped in ourselves.It is a meditation on empathy and an act of atonement.It is a unique, hybrid work of clinical case study and pure invention that destroys the boundary between fact and fiction in order to bring us face-to-face with the shocking, liberating truth.__________Praise for Let Me Not Be Mad'Imagine a gonzo Oliver Sacks communing with Edward St Aubyn's Patrick Melrose, R.D. Laing and the spirit of Kafka's 'The Country Doctor', and you still won't quite have the flavour of this wild and strikingly original book' William Fiennes'Stunning: clever, troubling, restless, honest, dishonest; one of the best portraits of madness and clinical practice I've read' Olivia Laing'A perfectly extraordinary - not to mention extraordinarily perfect - tense Hitchcockian psychodrama. I have rarely read a more haunting and enthralling account of a descent into madness. An important, profound and fascinating book' Stephen Fry'Blackly comic, warmly compassionate, a unique take on the human mind offering uncomfortable universal truths' Stewart Lee'A slow-burn belter of a book ... terrific ... so finely described, the result has the terse force of a classic short story' Roddy Doyle'Exhilarating ... dazzling ... a miraculous feat' Guardian

A=-A is a beautiful, dark and surreal story, about a man called Alpha whose world is quite literally turned upside down for a day. And if we stop craving certainty - and entertain doubt - what new possibilities become available to us?'Gloriously odd, deeply moving .

'A masterpiece of hurt' The New York TimesSet in the Eastern Caribbean at the beginning of the twentieth century, No Pain Like this Body describes the perilous existence of a poor rice-growing family during the August rainy season.

"Great, beautiful little studies of unspoken fear and longing and love, told with a sure-footed delicacy rare in a debut" Sarah Moss, Irish Times"An exciting, original, and very welcome new voice" Donal Ryan"These are startling, adventurous and often wonderful stories. I loved this collection" Roddy DoyleA sharp and insightful debut short story collection about the pitfalls of ordinary life A wife yearns to escape the tight-fisted confines of a package holiday. A boy dreams of footballing greatness as his mother mourns a loss. A man tries to assemble an absent child''s playhouse, with impossible instructions and too much beer. A woman seeks clarity from automated voices. A father is distracted from Christmas tree shopping with his son by the looming pressure of quarterly sales targets.Shine/Variance captures the tiny crises and wonders of daily life with warmth, wit and decisive clarity. Ordinary people - commuters, call centre workers, children and parents - struggle for stability while craving more, and the schism between expectation and reality is only rarely bridged. Yet, amidst the faltering, recognition and bright moments of hope still illuminate their days.Fresh, tender and darkly funny, these stories are a window into the longings, frustrations and painfully human connections of ordinary life from a remarkable new voice in fiction."The most powerful new collection I''ve read in some years" John Boyne"Brilliantly bats, staggeringly compelling, and ferociously funny. Stephen Walsh rips the concreteness of reality straight from us and reflects back a more wobbly version of our turbulent lives... Completely unique" June Caldwell"Full of assured originality and freshness - a new writer much to be welcomed" Bernard MacLaverty

The enthralling story of an eighteenth-century family and their extraordinary achievements.Four brothers, three sisters. Brought up in a Northumberland rectory and in the close of Durham Cathedral, the Sharps would achieve exalted positions at the heart of British society. In 1781, the celebrated painter Johan Zoffany put the final brush strokes on the luminous portrait that immortalised the siblings¿ rise, and their remarkable unity and passion for life. Ambitious, free-thinking and courageous, the Sharps were pioneers in the major movements that defined the eighteenth century ¿ from political reform and philanthropy to medicine and industry. John, an eminent priest, established a model welfare state at Bamburgh Castle and commissioned the world¿s first lifeboat; William became surgeon to George III; while James was a visionary inventor, canal promoter and engineer. Most famously of all, Granville, the youngest son, battled tirelessly as Britain¿s first great campaigner for the abolition of the slave trade. Despite the social strictures of their day, Elizabeth, Judith and Frances claimed significant independence, and played key roles in hosting the Sharps¿ famous musical parties on barges on the Thames.In this vivid, moving biography, Hester Grant charts the siblings¿ shared journey to prominence, and explores the values and enduring bonds that inspired their success. The Good Sharps brings to life not just these men and women who realised that the future could be different, but also the new world they created.

The SS Officer's Armchair is the story of what happened next, as Daniel Lee follows the trail of cold calls, documents, coincidences and family secrets, to uncover the life of one Dr Robert Griesinger from Stuttgart.

'It isn't often that one encounters a sensibility so interested in our world - and so compelling in its powers of attentiveness. Leo Boix's poetry has a wide tilt and scope. It sings the doors open' Ilya Kaminsky, author of Deaf Republic'They are sailors from another century, stalwart / captured on daguerrotype, casually masculine, tender of heart.'In the middle of the last century, the SS General Pueyrredón from Buenos Aires deposits Leo Boix's paternal grandfather on English soil for the first time. In the two years he spends there, he acquires a taste for his new homeland: from taking his tea white - muy blanco - to plunging into unfamiliar sensual worlds.So begins the poet's own journey, arriving in the United Kingdom as a young queer man. Ballad of a Happy Immigrant tells of the life he makes there: a dazzling collection of what it means to live, love and write between two cultures and traditions. Effortlessly moving between the English imagination and Spanish language, it is a boundless exploration of otherness and home, and the personal transformation that follows between 'loss / and a life / that starts anew.'*A Poetry Book Society Wild Card Choice*

One of the most acclaimed writers of our day, award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken is an undisputed virtuoso of the short story, and this new collection features her most vibrant and heartrending work to date. In these stories, the mysterious bonds of family are tested, transformed, fractured, and fortified.