This brilliant biography, winner of the guardian first book award, presents a humbling portrait of homeless life, and is as extraordinary and unexpected as the man it describes. Stuart clive shorter, the subject of this remarkable biography, was a homeless man whom alexander masters, a former physics student, met in. Alexander masters is an author and homeless worker. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and a desperate world few ever see. A life backwards, the new book by alexander masters, deserves every accolade that can be awarded. Hes after a bestseller, like what tom clancy writes.
With a keen writers eye, a gift for narrative and a friendship that lasted only four years, masters recounts the life of stuart clive shorter whose untimely death in 2002 inspired this work. A life backwards by alexander masters in djvu, epub, fb2 download ebook. A life backwards, isbn 9780385341080 buy the simon ebook. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. A gripping whodoneit journey back in time, it begins with masters meeting a drunken stuart lying on a sidewalk in cambridge, england, and. A life backwards tv movie 2007 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. A life discarded by alexander masters the biography of a. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters presents a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and the. Apr 07, 2006 stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. These titles were created a long with animated vignettes throughout this adaptation of alexander masters book. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading stuart. A life backwards is a biography by alexander masters of his friend stuart clive shorter, formerly, at various times, a prisoner and a career criminal.
Jan 02, 2006 stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. Shocking, inspiring, and hilarious by turns, stuart. A life backwards, published in 2005, masters set out to explore the life of a wholly unknown man he had met begging on a street in cambridge. A life backwards was a 2007 bbc film based on the award winning biography, penned by alexander masters, of stuart clive shorter a homeless man living on the streets of cambridge in the year 2000. The titles were designed in the same style as stuart a life backwards titles on vimeo. Nov 23, 2006 the cameras are rolling as filming begins on a production of alexander masters acclaimed cambridgebased novel, stuart. And a lot has gone wrong with stuart s life, from gluesniffing, to drug addiction and alcoholism, from minor crime to car theft, robbery, violence and possible charges of attempted murder. A life backwards, asks you to join him in celebrating an unknown and important life left on the scrap heap.
I dont know, alexander, sometimes it gets so bad you cant think of nothing better to do than make it worse. The first edition of the novel was published in 2005, and was written by alexander masters. A life backwards, was a sunday times bestseller and. A gripping whodoneit journey back in time, it begins with masters meeting a drunken stuart lying on a sidewalk in cambridge, england, and leads through layers of hellback through crimes and misdemeanors, prison and homelessness, suicide. A life backwards by alexander masters available from rakuten kobo. Alongside this alexander looks backwards over stuart s adult life and childhood to try and discover what went wrong with his life. Alexander masters has been portrayed by benedict cumberbatch in stuart. A life backwards, the 2007 bbc dramatization of his biography of stuart shorter.
As the title of both book and film suggests, the book took the unusual approach of detailing stuarts life from his adult life down through to his childhood. Dec 09, 2005 my friend stuart alexander masters has won the guardian first book award for his biography of a psychopathic homeless man. Id seen the film and absolutley loved it thanks to benedict cumberbatch and tom hardy. A life discarded by alexander masters overdrive rakuten. A life backwards 2007, for the people 2018 and zooland. Alexander masters, the bestselling author of stuart. Mar 05, 2014 a writer cumberbatch takes a backwards look at the life of his unlikely friend stuart hardy, a homeless alcoholic who experienced a traumatic event in hi.
Feb, 2014 alexander masters is the author of stuart. The main characters of this non fiction, biography story are. Jan 25, 2011 this website and its content is subject to our terms and conditions. A life backwards by alexander masters in this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait of a troubled man, an unlikely friendship, and a desperate world few ever see. Rachel cooke is unexpectedly bowled over by alexander masterss beautiful, important portrait of an itinerant, stuart. Terrifying because, written backwards as it is, i knew i was coming closer with every page to some kind of explanation for what happened to stuart in his early life. Whether youre looking for a business, life hack, recipe or just the perfect app to use, blogs will always appear to have the answers to. Tes global ltd is registered in england company no 02017289 with its registered office at 26 red lion square london wc1r 4hq. I have rarely been so affected by a book and reading about the life of stuart shorter was a terrifying experience. A life backwards is a writers quest to give voice to a man who, beneath his forbidding exterior, has a message for us all.
Alexander masters tripped over his first book subject on a cambridge sidewalk, and the result was the multiawardwinning bestseller stuart. Told backwards stuart s idea it starts with a deeply troubled thirtytwoyearold and ends with a happy pdfgolucky little boy of twelve. In a life backwards, stuart gradually takes the author alexander masters and the reader back in time and shows how his life experiences as a child and young adult shaped him into becoming the person that alexander sees which is an unstable adult who eventually looses his life. In this extraordinary book, alexander masters has created a moving portrait. Stream and download audiobooks to your computer, tablet or mobile phone. This acclaimed book by alexander masters is available at in several formats for your ereader. In 2001, 148 tattered and moldcovered notebooks were discovered lying among broken bricks in a skip on a building site in cambridge. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 300 pages and is available in hardcover format. A life backwards by alexander masters harpercollins. A life backwards, by alexander masters, a portrait of a. Double bafta awardwinner jack thornes new play tells the story of an unlikely friendship and of stuarts entire life told backwards by.
Stuart by alexander masters paperback harpercollins. Told backwards stuarts idea it starts with a deeply troubled thirtytwoyearold and ends with a happygolucky little boy of twelve. As alexander learns more about stuart s complicated life and traumatic childhood, he asks if he can write his story and stuart advises him to tell the story backwards, so that its more. A life discarded by alexander masters the biography of a nameless person the author of stuart. Alexander masters has won the guardian first book award for his biography of. A life backwards by alexander masters when i found out that this was one of the 25 books i had won from booka i was really excited. Stuart, a life backwards, is the story of a remarkable friendship between a reclusive writer and illustrator a middle class scum ponce, if you want to be honest about it, alexander and a chaotic, knifewielding beggar whom he gets to know during a campaign to release two charity workers from prison. A life backwards ebook by alexander masters rakuten. I feel so strongly about this strange, funny, sad book that i hardly know where to begin. Stuart by alexander masters overdrive rakuten overdrive. Masters, alexander 2011, the genius in my basement, harper collins ome, isbn 9780007445271. A life backwards has been shortlisted for the samuel johnson. A life backwards was given 148 volumes of a diary that had been thrown into a skip. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and violent, living homeless on the streets of cambridge.
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