Faber & Faber

A redemptive, myth-shattering biography of one of the twentieth century's most underestimated creative and artistic forces.

'Here is the Odyssey of Nico . . . a scholarly and detailed chronicle of this brilliant artist, who was spurned and tortured for her trouble.'
IGGY POP

'At last, a comprehensive and compelling book about Nico.'
VIV ALBERTINE

The real story of Nico is one of determination, self-destruction and belief in one’s artistic vision, at any cost.

Nico was an ever-evolving myth, an enigma that escaped definition.

Born Christa Päffgen, Nico grew up in war-torn Berlin before being scouted by a fashion photographer in her early teens. At age twenty-seven, she became Andy Warhol’s newest Superstar, securing the position of chanteuse for the Velvet Underground. Though she is primarily remembered for contributions to their seminal debut album – and her relationships with Brian Jones, Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison – her own artistry and influence have often been overlooked.

Nico spent most of her career as a solo artist on the road, enduring empty concert halls, abusive fans and the perilous reality of being a drug addict. Yet beneath the superficial denigrations and one-dimensional myths was a complicated visionary determined to make art that was truly her own.

In You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone, defying the sexist casting of her life as the tragedy of a beautiful woman losing her looks, youth and fame, Jennifer Otter Bickerdike cements Nico’s legacy as one of the most vital artists of her time, inspiring a generation of luminaries including Björk, Morrissey and Iggy Pop.

Containing over a hundred new interviews and rare archival material, this is an empowering reappraisal of an underappreciated icon.

'Shines a bright new light on this saturnine priestess . . . riveting.'
BARNEY HOSKYNS

'Extraordinary . . . finally, that iconic inamorta Nico gets the serious biography she deserves.'
GILLIAN McCAIN

'This vivid, moving, unsetlling story re-evaluates Nico's life and legacy with fresh insight.'
LUCY O'BRIEN

'What a treasure this book is. I thought I had known Nico so well until now . . .'
DANNY FIELDS

'Exceptional.' VAL McDERMID
'Gripping . . . and ultimately enlightening.' PHILIPPE SANDS
'Extraordinary.' SEBASTIAN FAULKS
'Fascinating, erudite and beautifully written.' CHRISTIE WATSON

A perspective-shattering work into the minds of violent criminals that reveals profound consequences for human nature and society at large.

A BBC RADIO 4 and OBSERVER BOOK OF THE WEEK

'Effortlessly readable and deeply moving.' JOANNA CANNON, GUARDIAN
'Brilliant . . . a powerful myth buster.' SUNDAY TIMES
'Unmissable.' OBSERVER
'Leaves the reader with a nuanced, subtle understanding of “evil”.' HERALD
'Shocking and unflinching.' i
'Compulsive reading.' MIRROR

Serial homicide. Stalking. Arson. Gang crime. Who are the people behind these acts of terrible violence? What are their stories? And what is it like to sit opposite them?

Dr Gwen Adshead is one of Britain’s leading forensic psychiatrists, and she has spent thirty years providing therapy inside secure hospitals and prisons. Whatever her patient’s crime she aims to help them to better know their minds by helping them to articulate their life experience.

Through a collaboration with co-author Eileen Horne, Adshead brings her work to life in these fascinating, unflinching portraits of individuals who newspaper headlines, TV dramas and crime fiction label ‘monsters’. Case by case, Adshead takes us into the treatment room and reveals these men and women in all their complexity and vulnerability. She sheds new light on the unpredictable nature of the therapeutic process as doctor and patient try to find words for the unspeakable. These are stories of cruelty and despair but also of change and recovery.

In a time of increasing polarisation, in the face of overcrowded prisons and devastating cuts to mental health care, Adshead speaks to our shared humanity and makes the case for compassion over condemnation, empathy over fear. The Devil You Know challenges what we think we know about evil. It is a rare book that has the power to change minds.

'Urgent and invaluable.' DAVID LAMMY
'Remarkable . . . suffused with extraordinary compassion.' GAVIN FRANCIS
'Compelling . . . stories don't come any richer.' SARAH DUNANT
'Meticulous, elegant, provoking.' MARINA CANTACUZINO

'Order her book. That’s an order.' Miranda Hart

'Brimming with wit and honesty’ Nina Stibbe
‘Fantastically entertaining’ Marina Hyde
‘A book that keeps you laughing, even when it breaks your heart’ Sara Pascoe
One of Stylist's Best Memoirs for Summer 2021

Multi-award-winning television writer and producer Georgia Pritchett knows a thing or two about anxiety.

From worrying about the monsters under her bed as a child (Were they comfy enough?), to embracing womanhood, (One way of knowing you have crossed from girlhood to womanhood is that men stop furtively masturbating at you from bushes and start shouting things at you from cars. It’s a beautiful moment) worry has accompanied her at every turn.

This memoir is a joyful reflection on just how to live – and sometimes even thrive (sometimes not) – with anxiety.

'Incredbly funny - if you're a super-sensitive, anxious person, you will relate HARD. Whilst laughing hysterically.' Caitlin Moran

‘I am SO excited about this book!’ Richard Osman

‘Georgia Pritchett is a singularly hilarious person. Her book is a delightful and perfect reflection of her. It's tenderness sneaks up on you and really packs a punch. What a magnificent read!'’ Julia Louis Dreyfus

One of Stylist's Best Memoirs for Summer 2021

'Unlike anything I've read . . . Remarkable.' Roxane Gay

'A thing of great beauty.' Paris Review

In letters addressed to their friends, to members of their family – both biological and chosen - and to fellow storytellers, Akwaeke describes the shape of a life lived in overlapping realities. Through heartbreak, chronic pain, intimacy with death, becoming a beast, this is embodiment as a nonhuman: outside the boundaries imposed by expectations and legibility. This book is an account of the grueling work of realignment and remaking necessary to carve out a future for oneself.

The result is a Black spirit memoir: a powerful, raw unfolding of identity.

'An audacious sojourn through the terror and beauty of refusing to explain yourself. ' New York Times