Nigel Richardson (1)

Having just read, and really enjoyed "Breakfast in Brighton" by Nigel Richardson, I went straight back in for a second book by the same author.

Nigel Richardson has imagined a fair amount of this biography of Josh Avery. This technique might not be to everyone's taste but for me works beautifully and is a legitimate way of trying to get to the essence of a biographical subject.

Who was Josh Avery? In a nutshell, he was the stepfather of one of Nigel Richardson's school friends. Richardson was fascinated by the anecdotes he told, many of which centred around the time he spent in London's Soho in the 1950s - an era when the area was renowned for its bohemian characters such as Francis Bacon, Henrietta Moraes, Muriel Belcher, Norman Bowler, Daniel Farson, John Deakin etc. Annoyingly for Nigel Richardson, Josh died shortly after Nigel had resolved to write a biography about him. Using this development to his advantage, Nigel Richardson drew upon a combination of research, interviews and imagination to get to the heart of Josh Avery and his time in Soho.

The book starts in thrall to Josh Avery and 1950s Soho, however as the story progresses, concurrently revealing elements of Nigel Richardson's own background and personal journey, the reader starts to see different aspects to the stories and characters, many of which are dark and disturbing.

I thought "Breakfast in Brighton" was magnificent. This is even better. I have a long standing fascination with London and in particular its twentieth century history, so, to an extent, I was alway likely to enjoy this book. That said, this book is much more than a biography. It both celebrates and debunks the romanticism that surrounds 1950s Soho and reveals some dark truths about sexuality, jealousy, creativity, revenge, status, reinvention, love, self-destruction, obsession, duty and the human condition. It's all here - it's a stunning book.… (meer)

On a slow news day in August 2013, and according to a dubiously credible poll by travel website called Real Holiday Reports, Brighton and Hove was voted Britain's worst holiday resort. Some tourists accusing the city of being "too trendy" and too "full of bohemians and bad art". Yes, exactly! As Nigel Richardson explains with wit, charm and eloquence, it's all part of the myriad, enduring appeal of the city. Always the same, always different.

I adored this book. That said, it ticks all my boxes. History, and plenty of it: local, personal, social, and cultural. And it's mainly focussed on Brighton and Hove, one of my favourite places in the world, and a place I know very well indeed having lived here on and off since the early 1980s.

Nigel Richardson returned to Brighton and Hove after a gap of 20 years and attempted to capture the spirit of the place. He succeeded - and how. Lodging with a theatrical landlady he takes us through the city's mythology, landmarks, pubs, art, communities, murders, literature, diversity, architecture, and history, whilst also introducing us to some of his friends and other local characters. As a reasonably well informed resident, I found this book to be an engaging, meandering trove of triv. I felt sad as I reached the last few pages, wanting the book to last longer.

Nigel Richardson has also written another book about Soho - Dog Days In Soho: One Man's Adventures In Fifties Bohemia. Soho is another part of England for which I hold a long and enduring fascination. I cannot wait to read it.… (meer)

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

THE WRONG HANDS is a thought provoking novel written by Nigel Richardson. Mr. Richardson introduces the reader to fourteen-year-old Graham Sinclair. Like most people, Graham has a secret. His secret involves his hands.

Graham was born with large hands. It wasn't until he was seven that Graham realized how special his hands were. On a family vacation, as he accidentally starts to slide down the side of a cliff, he puts his hands out, and suddenly he's floating in the air. Graham can fly!!

His mother tells him to never tell anyone his secret, not even his father. When Graham was twelve, he made the mistake of telling a classmate. His secret was too much for her to handle, so she creates a lie that follows Graham ever after. His new nickname is now Perv, and the community thinks he's the stalker that's been reported in the woods.

Once summer vacation comes around, his parents send him to London to spend time with his Uncle George. On a fateful day, Graham witnesses a plane crash in the city. In the rubble of a hit building, he hears a crying baby. Without thinking about it, he flies up to the baby to rescue him. Little does he know that a lady has seen everything he has done. At that point, Graham's life gets even more complicated. Pursued by a persistent lady journalist, everything that Graham says and does gets twisted and distorted.

Mr. Richardson lets the reader glimpse Graham's thoughts and the tragic spiraling of misunderstanding that follows him wherever he goes. In London, Graham finally feels like he's normal, even with his deformed hands. But even in London, he can't escape what happens when society attacks those that are different from the norm. Mr. Richardson makes the reader decide which side of the fence they are on with Graham. THE WRONG HANDS is a reminder that what we see in the news isn't always the truth.… (meer)