Polly Toynbee: what my privileged start in life taught me about the British class system

It wasn’t just luck that steered the Guardian columnist to Oxford and into a media career ... She reflects on the subtle mechanics of class (and an early encounter with a naked future PM)Children know. They breathe it in early, for there’s no unknowing the difference between nannies, cleaners, below-stairs people and the family upstairs. Children are the go-betweens, one foot in each world, and yet they know very well from the earliest age where they belong, where their destiny lies or, to put it crudely, who pays whom. Tiny hands are steeped young in the essence of class and caste. In nursery school, in reception they see the Harry Potter sorting hat at work. They know. And all through school those fine gradations grow clearer, more precise, more consciously knowing, more shaming, more frightening. Good liberal parents teach their children to check their privilege – useful modern phrase – but it swells up like a bubo on the nose. There’s no hiding it.I can summon up the childhood shame at class embarrassments. Aged seven like me, Maureen, with her hair pinned sideways in a pink slide, lived in a pebble-dashed council house by the water tower. They were at the other end of Lindsey, more hamlet than village, half a mile down the road from my father’s pink thatched cottage set in the flat prairie lands of Suffolk, where I spent half my time, the other half in London, shuttling between divorced parents. I envied Maureen for what looked to me like a cheerful large family... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2023-05-20 12:00:56 UTC ]
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ACE and British Library to feature in Reading Together Day

Arts Council England and the British Library are among collaborators participating in Reading Together Day, scheduled to take place on 16th July.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-06 10:30:56 UTC ]
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Rethinking on (not) publishing class

In Bluemoose Books' first online deli a couple of weeks ago, writer Heidi James revealed some uncomfortable truths. She’d been told early on by a supervisor that "the novel was for the middle classes" and that her work was "too shouty" for the typical novel reader. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-05 20:33:30 UTC ]
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A Cartoonist’s Life: PW Speaks with Adrian Tomine

Adrian Tomine's new graphic memoir 'The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist,' dissects authorial insecurity and self-doubt with a series of alternately hilarious and painful true-life anecdotes. The book will be published this month by D&Q. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-30 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Evaristo and Carty-Williams become first black authors to win top British Book awards

Candice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo take book of the year and author of the year categories, as publishers face criticism for treatment of black authorsCandice Carty-Williams and Bernardine Evaristo have become the first black authors to win the top prizes at the British Book awards,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-29 17:45:42 UTC ]
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British Book Awards: Online and Upbeat, a Busy Round of the Nibbies

The 2020 British Book Awards are announcing prize winners in two parts online, the industry awards first, followed by the book awards. The post British Book Awards: Online and Upbeat, a Busy Round of the Nibbies appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-06-29 16:44:39 UTC ]
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Carty-Williams' Queenie wins Book of the Year at British Book Awards

Candice Carty-Williams has become the first black female writer to win Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-29 15:02:06 UTC ]
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Pan Mac and Waterstones triumph at British Book Awards 2020

Pan Macmillan has been named Publisher of the Year, while Waterstones has claimed Book Retailer of the Year, at the British Book Awards 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-29 14:20:04 UTC ]
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Star guests to join British Book Awards virtual ceremony today

The best authors, publishers and retailers will be crowned at the British Book Awards in a virtual ceremony today. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-28 17:13:02 UTC ]
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How To Start An Online Book Club From The Library

Steps for starting an online library book club, or converting an existing one that’s been on hiatus, while we wait for the ability to meet in person again. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-26 10:39:54 UTC ]
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Faber scoops Wyatt and Benge's 'life's work'

Faber is to publish a work showcasing the lyrics, poems and drawings of musician Robert Wyatt and his creative partner and wife, painter and songwriter Alfie Benge. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-24 16:51:44 UTC ]
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‘Shadowplay’ imagines Bram Stoker’s inner life and his path to ‘Dracula’

Joseph O’Connor, author of “Star of the Sea,” has written another gorgeous historical novel. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-24 15:59:05 UTC ]
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Clare Chambers | 'I won’t start anything until I’m absolutely driven'

Clare Chambers’ latest novel, set in England in the 1950s, centres on a young woman’s mysterious claim of a ‘virgin birth’ Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-24 15:23:06 UTC ]
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Trade challenged to reach out beyond white, middle-class 'Susans'

Long-held assumptions held by the trade about writers of colour must be challenged and a concerted effort made to reach new and diverse audiences, the industry heard tuning into a webinar launching the Rethinking ‘Diversity’ in Publishing report.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-23 18:37:47 UTC ]
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In “All My Mother’s Lovers,” a Mother’s Secret Letters Reveal Her Secret Life

Not to sound like an assistant district attorney from SVU, but it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that acclaimed essayist and book critic Ilana Masad has carved a prominent space for herself in the realm of mother-daughter literature with her debut novel, All My Mother’s Lovers. It sits upon a... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2020-06-22 11:00:00 UTC ]
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Nibbies on the Ether: The British Book Awards Online at 30

The next awards program to move online is the 'Nibbies,' set for June 29 with access available to readers as well as to book business players. The post Nibbies on the Ether: The British Book Awards Online at 30 appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2020-06-22 09:40:01 UTC ]
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HarperCollins bags Smith's Not a Life Coach

HarperNonFiction has bagged Not a Life Coach, the second book from online personal training star James Smith. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-19 10:39:22 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics by Tom Scioli

In the new graphic biography, 'Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics', comics artist and biographer Tom Scioli pays tribute to Kirby, arguably the greatest superhero comic book artist of all time. In this 11-page excerpt Scioli depicts Kirby’s life on the Lower East Side and the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Reni Eddo-Lodge becomes first black British author to top UK book charts

Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race wins landmark ranking in the wake of worldwide Black Lives Matter protestsReni Eddo-Lodge has become the first black British author to take the overall No 1 spot in the UK’s official book charts.Eddo-Lodge’s Why I’m No Longer Talking to White... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-06-16 14:00:03 UTC ]
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‘Miss Iceland’ is an exquisitely detailed portrait of mid-century life in Iceland

Audur Ava Olafsdottir does a brilliant job of conveying Icelandic life — its harshness, its connection to the land and to history, and its amusing qualities. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-06-16 08:29:45 UTC ]
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To Change How You Publish in the Digital Age, Start with a Question

Publishers considering transforming their businesses from print first or print-centric to digital first or digital-centric should begin by asking lots of people a simple question: what would you like to be able to do that you can’t do now? Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-12 04:00:00 UTC ]
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