{"product_id":"9781526680914","title":"A Life and a Half: The Unexpected Making of a Politician","description":"Author: Bryant, Chris\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 9781526680914\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: Bloomsbury\u003cbr\u003eYear first published: 02 Dec 2025\u003cbr\u003ePages: 336\u003cbr\u003eFormat: Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWINNER OF BEST BIOGRAPHY BY A PARLIAMENTARIAN, WESTMINSTER BOOK AWARDS 2026\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe gripping, remarkably candid story of one man's unorthodox life before politics, from Labour minister and \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e-bestselling author Chris Bryant\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e'Charming, unexpected, honest' \u003cb\u003eRORY STEWART\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'One of the handful of sitting MPs who can genuinely write . . . A terrific book, funny, frank and moving in equal measure' \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eFINANCIAL TIMES\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBefore he was a politician, Chris Bryant was an Anglican priest, baptising babies and holding the hands of the dying. Before that, he manned the barricades in Latin America, and before that, he was the scared son of an alcoholic mother and an estranged father.\u003cbr\u003e This is a no-holds-barred account of a minister's truly unconventional life before politics     one that has left Bryant equally at home behind the altar, in sweaty gay clubs, on the hustings or the stage. With characteristic frankness, he recounts growing up in General Franco's Spain, acting alongside some of the most talented names of the day as a teenager, and caring for his brother and mother as she descended into addiction. He ran the family home from sixteen, became ordained at twenty-four and came out as gay shortly after. And that's just the early years.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Life and a Half\u003c\/i\u003e tells a gripping story of bishops and actors, drag queens and pushy candidates, stuffed with moments of joy and hilarity and sorrow and abuse. All while tracking the landscape of late-twentieth-century British politics, from Thatcher to the birth of New Labour. It is a memoir like no other.","brand":"Ships in 10 to 15 days","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47509053669534,"sku":"UBD-9781526680914","price":44.78,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/9043\/5742\/files\/9781526680914.jpg?v=1780640660","url":"https:\/\/classicbargains.com.au\/products\/9781526680914","provider":"Classic Bargains Australia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}