‘Beautifully written account of adventure’: the best non-fiction out now in paperback –
Maurice and Maralyn by Sophie Elmhirst (Vintage £10.99, 272 pp)
When Maurice Bailey married Maralyn Harrison, the couple seemed destined for a quiet life in the Derby suburbs. But Maralyn had an idea: why didn’t they sell their house, buy a yacht and sail it to New Zealand?
In June 1972, they set off aboard the Auralyn without a radio transmitter, so as to feel truly alone. But in the mid-Pacific, a whale smashed into them. The yacht sank in minutes, leaving them adrift in a rubber raft.
For the next 118 days they survived on raw fish and seabirds. At last, emaciated and near death, they were rescued by a Korean fishing vessel.
This beautifully written account of Maurice and Maralyn’s adventure is also a touching portrait of their marriage.
Hardy Women by Paula Byrne (William Collins £12.99, 656pp)
From vulnerable Tess of the D’Urbervilles to spirited Bathsheba Everdene, novelist Thomas Hardy wrote about women with a tender empathy that rarely featured in his own romantic relationships.
This revealing study chronicles the women in Hardy’s life from childhood to his complicated marriages and emotional entanglements. He was very close to his strong-minded mother, Jemima, and his sisters. But he drove his first wife, Emma, to near-madness by moving her rival, Florence, into their household as his secretary.
No sooner had Emma died and he wed Florence than Hardy began writing sad poems about Emma, while falling in love with actress Gertrude Bugler.
A fascinating study of the troubled real-life relationships that inspired Hardy’s unforgettable fictional heroines.
Jack and Eve by Wendy Moore (Atlantic Books £10.99, 400pp)
In ordinary times, the Honourable Evelina Haverfield and Vera Holme would probably never have met.
Eve was a twice-married Scottish aristocrat, while Vera, known as Jack, was an actress.
But both were strong, independent women who joined the Suffragettes, and their initial meeting blossomed into lifelong love.
On the outbreak of the First World War, Jack and Eve volunteered for the Scottish Women’s Hospital service and went to Serbia, where Jack drove ambulances and Eve ran hospitals for wounded serviceman.
They endured appalling conditions, but when the war was over they continued their aid work in Serbia, where Eva died and is still remembered.
An inspiring story of two brave women who lived life on their own terms.