Books like Conversations with Ian McEwan by Ryan Roberts

The Life of Samuel Johnson is James Boswell’s celebrated 18th‑century biography of the English lexicographer, critic and moralist, renowned for its wit, detail, and lasting influence on biographical writing.

A thoughtful meditation on Annie Dillard’s creative process, woven from anecdotes and vignettes that illuminate her distinctive prose style.

The biography of the controversial, pacifist, and feminist Vera Brittain explores her life and experiences, altering the self-portrait presented in her memoirs.

A reissue of a classic work published in 1934 on writing and the creative process, Becoming a Writer recaptures the excitement of Dorothea Brande's creative writing classroom of the 1920s. Decades before brain research "discovered" the role of the right and left brain in all human endeavor, Dorothea Brande was teaching students how to see again, how to hold their minds still, how to call forth the inner writer.

"Witty, courageous and unconventional, Mary Wollstonecraft was one of the most controversial figures of her day. She published 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman'; travelled to revolutionary France and lived through the Terror and the destruction of the incipient French feminist movement; produced an illegitimate daughter; and married William Godwin before dying in childbed at the age of thirty-eight. Often embattled and bitterly disappointed, she never gave up her radical ideas or her belief that courage and honesty would triumph over convention."--Back cover.

Claire Tomalin's biographical account of the enigmatic English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, focusing on his complex legacy as a progressive thinker and his enduring impact on English literature.

"John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was a brilliant writer who continues to leave his imaginative imprint on the mind and hearts of readers. He was once called the "creative equivalent of a people," and for more than sixty years his Middle-earth tales have captivated and delighted readers of all ages from all over the world. The Hobbit has long been recognized as a children's fantasy classic, and the heroic romance the Lord of the Rings has been called the most influential story of all time. These stories have sold over 150 million copies worldwide and have been translated into over forty languages, and they, along with works such as the Silmarillion and the History of Middle-Earth, have convinced scores of readers and critics that Tolkien is the master writer of fantasy. Whether you've been a fan for years or you've just recently been hooked by the blockbuster Lord of the Rings movies, "I Am in Fact a Hobbit" is an excellent starting point into the life and work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Book jacket."--Jacket.

Jack Slay’s critical study examines Ian McEwan’s fiction, arguing that its stark depictions of ordinary life’s darker edges illuminate contemporary society’s politics and interpersonal dynamics.

Samuel Pepys, a naval administrator and diarist, kept a private diary that captures the turbulent world of Restoration London and explores his inner life of relations with women, fears and ambitions, and political shifts.