Northbank non-fiction upcoming titles

It’s a fantastic year ahead for Northbank’s non-fiction authors, with several major publications that are set to make headlines and set the national conversation on important topics. Here are some highlights.

The remarkable true story of Britain’s first Labour Government – and the ‘wild men’ who nearly brought down the Establishment. Blending biography and history into a compelling narrative full of fascinating insight, David Torrance reassesses the UK’s first Labour government and shines a light on an amazing period in British political history.

Sex, Spies and Scandal by Alex Grant is the story of John Vassall, a civil servant who was unmasked as a Soviet spy in 1962. Including atmospheric detail on Dolphin Square in the 1950s and ’60s – a hotbed of political intrigue but also a safe haven for members of the LGBT community – this is an explosive tale of sexual violence, betrayal, cover-up, homophobia and hypocrisy that blows open some of the British establishment’s darkest secrets.

‘Alex Grant understands John Vassall better than he ever did himself.’ – Richard Davenport-Hines, author of An English Affair: Sex, Class and Power in the Age of Profumo 

‘Alex Grant’s biography is a detailed and gripping account of a man forced into treachery and a must-read for those interested in the Cold War.’ – Duncan Lustig-Prean, former Royal Navy Commodore and LGBT+ campaigner

The stomach is notoriously outspoken. It growls, gurgles and grumbles while other organs remain silent, inconspicuous and content. For centuries humans have puzzled over this rowdy, often overzealous organ, deliberating on the extent of its influence over cognition, mental wellbeing and emotions, and wondering how the gut became so central to our sense of self.

Travelling from Ancient Greece to Victorian England, eighteenth-century France to modern America, cultural historian Dr Elsa Richardson leads us on a lively tour of the gut, exploring all the ways that we have imagined, theorised and probed the mysteries of the gastroenterological system.

Johnson at 10, an instant Sunday Times bestseller, is a gripping work of contemporary history on Boris Johnson’s time in office based on over 200 interviews with key aides, allies and insiders, and the seventh book in the critically acclaimed Prime Ministers at 10 series. Published in paperback from Atlantic Books on 4 April 2024.

Authors Sir Anthony Seldon and Raymond Newell leverage their unparalleled access to deliver a fast-paced narrative full of penetrating insights into the decisive moments that shaped Johnson as Prime Minister.

‘Excellent… first-class… a very good insight into what was going on behind the door of No. 10… fair and damning… a convincing account and a full description of a man almost impossible to pin down’ – The Times

This rich and enjoyable book by the acclaimed author of Japan Story explores the many ways in which Asia has influenced Europe and North America over centuries of tangled, dynamic encounters. 

From the time of the ancient Greeks onwards, the West’s relationship with Asia consisted for the most part of outrageous tales of strange beasts and monsters, of silk and spices shipped over vast distances and an uneasy sense of unknowable empires fantastically far away. By the twentieth century much of Asia might have come under Western rule after centuries of warfare, but its intellectual, artistic and spiritual influence was fighting back.

Christopher Harding’s captivating gallery of people and places celebrates Asia’s impact on the West in all its variety.