Biography & Memoir

The Folio Society presents an exquisite gold-and-leather hardback of Essays by Renaissance nobleman and thinker Michel de Montaigne.

Night is one of the first and one of the greatest Holocaust memoirs. The new Folio Society edition is illustrated with art by survivors and witnesses and is published alongside Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

The Folio Society’s three-volume set of the journals of Captain Cook from 1768–1779, published to mark the first voyage’s 250th anniversary, is accompanied by a chart of the voyages bound in cloth.

Homage to Catalonia is George Orwell’s brutally honest account of his experience as a militiaman during the Spanish Civil War. The Folio Society edition is illustrated with 35 black and white photographs sourced from Magnum and Catalan archives.

Blending investigative journalism with the personal approach of a writer both fascinated and appalled by her subject, this is an award-winning portrait of life under ‘one of the most savage surveillance regimes ever known’. With previously unpublished photographs by the author.

The life of Thomas More was one marked by political intrigue, religious unrest and a great shifting of ideologies. In this masterful biography, Peter Ackroyd not only reveals the truth behind history's great ‘man for all seasons’, but also paints a fascinating portrait of an age that saw cataclysmic change.

Nepotism, murder and debauchery abound in this gripping portrait of a family that bribed their way to power in Renaissance Italy. The first illustrated edition, this is designed in series with Hibbert's The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici.

One of the most fascinating women in history, brilliantly re-examined in a stellar biography.

Unique to Folio, this collection explores the genesis of Heart of Darkness, and features an introduction by Conrad expert J. H. Stape and contemporary photographs.

Paul Brickhill’s account of 617 Squadron's legendary bombing raid is an exhilarating read, showcased in a suitably dramatic red and black binding.

An exquisite edition of Dorothy Wordsworth's journal, famous for its nature writing and invaluable insight into the lives of the Romantic poets.

The food memoir that inspired a new way of thinking about what we eat and how we live. Illustrated with 12 pages of black and white photographs chronicling the author's remarkable life.

Written before he became prime minister, Churchill’s canny and witty insights on the great figures of the day remain entertaining and illuminating.

An inspired biography of the great naturalist and explorer, by the author of the much-loved Aubrey-Maturin novels.

Compiled by award-winning biographer Fred Kaplan, this collection, unique to Folio, brings together the best of Abraham Lincoln’s speeches, letters and articles to give the reader intimate insight into the particular nature of his political and literary genius.

Eric Newby’s story of escape and evasion, dedicated to the ordinary Italian people who saved his life, remains funny, vivid and deeply moving.

These autobiographical essays by physicist Richard Feynman show us the formation of a genius. Introduced by Brian Cox.

Chateaubriand requested that his memoirs remain unpublished until after his death lest he be forced to be ‘less frank and truthful’. The result is a hugely entertaining autobiography, providing a vivid picture of France during the most tumultuous period of her history.

Now reissued in series with our Austen collection, this biography is an affectionate portrait of one of our best-loved writers, and the time in which she wrote.

A magnificent, spirited portrait of life as a secret agent in occupied France.

Described by the Guardian as ‘the book that redefined travel writing’, Chatwin's idiosyncratic account of Patagonia thrums with surprising details and literary finesse. Featuring 22 photographs by the author, 9 of which are previously unpublished.

In a newly revised edition, Seward’s riveting biography breathes new life into one of English history’s most divisive and infamous figures.

Novelist and linguist Anthony Burgess's study paints a fascinating portrait of a man who is both one of history's most famous figures, and one of its biggest mysteries.

The first illustrated edition of Steinbeck's absorbing dispatches for the New York Herald Tribune.

A charming account of Stevenson’s adventure in the wilds of southern France, accompanied only by his stubborn but loveable donkey.

A captivating memoir of the early days of flight, by the author of The Little Prince, with an introduction by Cecil Lewis.

My Family and Other Animals is Gerald Durrell’s hilarious memoir of his unconventional 1930s Corfu childhood, enriched with illustrations by Paul Cox and an introduction by Michael Morpurgo.

The captivating memoir of an unusual 19th-century childhood from pioneering wood engraver, and Charles Darwin’s granddaughter, Gwen Raverat.