Several Strangers is an acclaimed literary collection by bestselling author Claire Tomalin

From the celebrated biographer of Charles Dickens: A Life and The Invisible Woman, Several Strangers collects together the best of Claire Tomalin's literary pieces over a period of thirty years - including reviews of books on Freud, Katherine Mansfield, Mary Wollstonecraft, Elizabeth Gaskell, Christina Rossetti and Virginia Woolf. Through three long, splendidly written 'introductions' - the book also tells of the author's own involvement in literary journalism during that time. The result is a fascinating account of how a woman was able to survive in the male world of books and newspapers. Along the way there are brilliant portraits of Martin Amis, Andrew Neill and Julian Barnes amongst others.

Claire Tomalin is the award-winning author of eight highly acclaimed biographies, including: The Life and Death of Mary Wollstonecraft; Shelley and His World; Katherine Mansfield: A Secret Life; The Invisible Woman: The Story of Nelly Ternan and Charles Dickens; Mrs Jordan's Profession; Jane Austen: A Life; Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self; Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man and, most recently, Charles Dickens: A Life. A former literary editor of the New Statesman and the Sunday Times, she is married to the playwright and novelist Michael Frayn.