Welcome to the website for Tara Hanks, author of The Mmm Girl and Wicked Baby.
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The Round House is the latest novel by one of my favourite American authors, Louise Erdrich. You can read my review at For Books’ Sake.
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Posted in Books, Fiction | Tagged Crime Fiction, For Books' Sake, Louise Erdrich, Native American Literature, The Round House | Leave a Comment »

Assia Wevill, born on this day in 1927, is perhaps best-known as the woman who came between the most celebrated literary couple of the twentieth century, Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. I explore her extraordinary life – and tragic death – over at For Books’ Sake.
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Posted in Books, Poetry | Tagged Assia Wevill, For Books' Sake, Sylvia Plath | 1 Comment »
John Profumo, Secretary for War, resigned on May 5th, 1963, after admitting he lied about his affair with Christine Keeler. Here’s how it unfolded, from my novella, Wicked Baby: Continue Reading »
Posted in Books, History, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby | Tagged Christine Keeler, John Profumo, Profumo Affair, Wicked Baby | Leave a Comment »
Driving out of London, the clubs that stank of beer and sweat. London in July was hot and heavy as a rush-hour ride on the tube. They swept past the airport, on the road to Maidenhead. Christine’s hairdo tangled in the breeze.
“A party in the country is just the ticket, little baby.”
Stephen pulled over at a bus stop where a young girl waited.
“Aren’t you the baker’s daughter? Hop in. We’re off to Cliveden, don’t you know. We’ll sneak you in for a sherry, if you promise to behave yourself.”
This pastel sketch – by Stephen Ward – is of the unidentified girl who attended the infamous 1961 party at Cliveden, where Christine Keeler first met John Profumo. It was found on the reverse of Ward’s portrait of Keeler, which can be seen on the cover of my 2004 novella, Wicked Baby (soon to be reissued via Kindle.)
This discovery was made by the curators at London’s National Portrait Gallery, while preparing their new display, Scandal ’63, which I hope to review. Writing for the Telegraph, Richard Davenport-Hines – author of An English Affair - suggests the model could be none other than ‘Miss X‘, later a witness in Ward’s ill-fated trial.
Posted in Art and Photography, Profumo Affair, Updates, Wicked Baby | Tagged Christine Keeler, Cliveden, Miss X, National Portrait Gallery, Profumo Affair, Richard Davenport-Hines, Scandal 63, Stephen Ward, Wicked Baby | Leave a Comment »

My review of The Book of Fate - the spellbinding first novel from Iranian author Parinoush Saniee – is posted today at For Books Sake.
Posted in Books, Fiction | Tagged For Books' Sake, Iran, Parinoush Saniee, The Book of Fate | Leave a Comment »
The recent death of Margaret Thatcher – who dominated British politics during my formative years – has inspired a new blog, Life Under Thatcher, in which contributors share memories of how Thatcherism affected their lives.
My personal post can be read here. If you would like to write for this blog, submit via Tumblr or email info@compassonline.org.uk.
Posted in History | Tagged Compass, Life Under Thatcher, Margaret Thatcher, Thatcherism | 1 Comment »
A few years ago, I made a list of all the books owned or read by Marilyn Monroe (some 436 at last count) for my sister blog, ES Updates. At the time, I wondered if anyone else would be interested.
In recent weeks, my list has been picked up by the New Yorker, Yahoo, and many other websites, after first being spotted by Dan Colman over at Open Culture.
I’m glad to have played a small part in widening public knowledge of Marilyn, and hope that more people will now discover that for her, reading was much more than an intellectual pose.
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Posted in Books, Marilyn Monroe, Updates | Tagged Dan Colman, ES Updates, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn's Library, Open Culture | 2 Comments »