Alice Wilde Popular Books
Alice Wilde Biography & Facts
Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo artist. In 1986, she had a UK No. 2 hit with a reworked version of the Supremes' song "You Keep Me Hangin' On", which also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Between 1981 and 1996, she had 25 singles that charted within the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. Her other hits include "Chequered Love" (1981), "You Came" (1988), and "Never Trust a Stranger" (1988). In 2003, she collaborated with Nena on the song "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime", which topped the Dutch and Austrian charts. She holds the record for being the most-charted British female solo act of the 1980s, with seventeen UK Top 40 hit singles. Starting in 1998, while still active in music, she has branched into an alternative career as a landscape gardener, which has included presenting gardening shows on the BBC and Channel 4. In 2005, she won a Gold award for her courtyard garden at the Royal Horticultural Society's Chelsea Flower Show. Early life She was born as Kim Smith in the West London suburb of Chiswick, the eldest child of 1950s rock and roller Marty Wilde (birth name Reginald Smith) and Joyce Baker, who had been a member of the singing and dancing group the Vernons Girls. She attended Oakfield Preparatory School, in the Southeast London area of Dulwich. When she was nine, the family moved to Hertfordshire, where she was educated at Tewin and later Presdales School. In 1980, at age 20, she completed a foundation course at St Albans College of Art & Design. As Kim Wilde, she was signed to RAK Records by Mickie Most. Music career The RAK years Wilde's father Marty and brother, Ricky, were responsible for writing virtually all of her material in the early-to-mid 1980s. Key influences on the songwriting process included Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Ultravox, John Foxx, Gary Numan, Skids, Sex Pistols, the Clash, Kraftwerk and the Stranglers. Wilde released her debut single "Kids in America" in January 1981. An instant success, it reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart and scaled the Top 5 in other countries such as Germany, France and Australia. Although it achieved only moderate success in the US, peaking at No. 25 when released in 1982, it is often regarded today as Wilde's signature song. Her debut studio album Kim Wilde (1981) repeated the success of the single, spawning two further hits in "Chequered Love" (Top 5 in the UK, France, Australia and Germany) and the UK-only single "Water on Glass" (UK No. 11). Wilde's follow-up album was 1982's Select, led by the hit singles "Cambodia" and "View from a Bridge". Both were No. 1 hits in France and reached Top 10 positions in Germany and Australia. At the time, there was some controversy about Wilde's hesitation to do live concerts. Her first concerts in September 1982 took place in Denmark, before embarking on a UK-wide tour in October. Wilde's third studio album, Catch as Catch Can (1983) was a relative commercial failure. The first single from the album, "Love Blonde", was another success in France and Scandinavia, but failed to have major success in other countries. The failure of the album led to her leaving RAK and signing with MCA Records in the summer of 1984. The MCA years Wilde's first album for MCA Teases & Dares (1984) was again overlooked in her home country, but fared better in Germany, France and Scandinavia as well as scoring another German Top 10 single with "The Second Time" (which was Top 30 in the UK). The video for this song appeared in an episode of the 1980s TV hit Knight Rider in 1985. The second single, "The Touch", was not a commercial success, but the third single, the rockabilly "Rage to Love", made the UK top 20 in 1985. On Teases & Dares, Wilde made her first songwriting contributions, penning two songs. Meanwhile, she had embarked on three European concert tours (1983, 1985 and 1986). On her fifth studio album, 1986's Another Step, Wilde wrote or co-wrote most of the songs. The album's lead single "Schoolgirl" flopped in Europe and Australia, but Wilde's fortunes improved in spectacular fashion with the album's second single, a Hi-NRG remake of the Supremes classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On". After topping the charts in Australia and Canada and peaking at No. 2 in the UK, it became a US No. 1 single in 1987. With that hit, she became the fifth UK female solo artist ever to top the US Hot 100, following Petula Clark, Lulu, Sheena Easton, and Bonnie Tyler. Her popularity, especially in her native UK, was revitalised and she scored further Top 10 hits in 1987 with "Another Step (Closer to You)" (recorded with Junior) and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (a Comic Relief charity single, recorded with comedian Mel Smith). In 1988, Wilde released her biggest selling album to date, Close, which returned her to the UK top 10 and spent almost eight months on the UK album chart. It produced four major European hits: "Hey Mister Heartache", "You Came", "Never Trust a Stranger" and "Four Letter Word" (the last 3 were Top 10 hits in the UK). The release of the album coincided with a tour of Europe, where she was the opening act for Michael Jackson's Bad World Tour. Wilde released her next studio album, Love Moves, in 1990. The album barely made the UK Top 40, and, although it was a Top 10 success in Scandinavian countries, it failed to sell as well as its predecessor and only spawned two minor hits, "It's Here" a Top 20 success in Middle and Northern Europe as well as "Can't Get Enough (Of Your Love)", her last Top 20 hit in France. She toured Europe again, this time opening for fellow Briton David Bowie. A collaboration with Rick Nowels, who had produced hits for Stevie Nicks and Belinda Carlisle, resulted in the guitar-driven pop of the single "Love Is Holy" and the album Love Is (1992). The album's success was again limited to a small number of countries, though the single became another Top 20 hit in the UK, and the second single ("Heart over Mind") also made the Top 40. In 1993, she released her first official compilation album The Singles Collection 1981–1993, which was a success throughout Europe and Australia and the dancefloor-influenced single "If I Can't Have You" (a cover of the Yvonne Elliman song from the film Saturday Night Fever that was penned by the Bee Gees), became her last UK Top 20 Hit as well as a No. 3 hit in Australia. Wilde embarked on a huge "Greatest Hits" concert tour through Europe in 1994 and also toured Australia and Japan for the first time in six years. Her next studio album, Now & Forever (1995), was a commercial failure worldwide. Her single "Breakin' Away", however, was a minor hit, and the follow-up, "This I Swear", was also a minor hit in Europe. She released the single "Shame" in 1996, an Evelyn "Champagne" King cover. Fro.... Discover the Alice Wilde popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Alice Wilde books.
Best Seller Alice Wilde Books of 2024
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Hell Screen
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa & Jay RubinIntroducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the awardwinning Coralie Bi...
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The Beast in the Jungle
Henry James'Something or other lay in wait for him, amid the twists and turns of the months and the years, like a crouching beast in the jungle.'Henry James's devastating and profoundly movin...
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The Penguin Book of Elegy
Prof Stephen Regan & Andrew Motion'A tremendous sentimental education of a book ... a literary adventure ... chosen with a scholarly discernment mixed with a wildcard flair ... fascinating and unignorable' Kate Kel...
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Complete Romance of Alice Hegan Rice
Alice Hegan RiceAn American novelist. She wrote over two dozen books, the most famous of which is Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. The book was a best seller in 1902 and is set in Louisville, Kent...
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Wild Places
Katherine MansfieldA beautiful new hardback edition of Katherine Mansfield's most vivid and distinctive stories.Katherine Mansfield was the only writer Virginia Woolf envied. Mansfield transformed th...
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Wicked Sexy Liar
Christina LaurenWhen three college besties meet three hot guys in Vegas, anything canand doeshappen. Book Four in the New York Times Wild Seasons series that began with Sweet Filthy Boy, Dirty Row...
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The Summer Sister
Muna Shehadi'A wonderful read with evocative descriptions and enough family secrets to create a gripping journey of discovery' Woman'One of those books that makes you cancel everything so you ...
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Sweet Filthy Boy
Christina LaurenWhen three besties meet three hot guys in Vegas anything canand doeshappen. Book one of the New York Times bestselling Wild Seasons series from the author of the Beautiful series.O...
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The First Wife
Muna ShehadiAt the heart of a great love lies a devastating secret . . . Fans of Lucinda Riley, Santa Montefiore and Louise Douglas will be gripped by Muna Shehadi's stunning new novel of twis...
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Passing
Nella LarsenClare Kendry has severed all ties to her past. Elegant, fairskinned and ambitious, she is married to a white man who is unaware of her AfricanAmerican heritage. When she renews her...
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Dark Wild Night
Christina LaurenBook three in the sexy, fun New York Times bestselling Wild Seasons series that began with Sweet Filthy Boy (the Romantic Times Book of the Year) and Dirty Rowdy Thing.Lola and Oli...
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The Lagoon
Joseph ConradIntroducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the awardwinning Coralie Bi...
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My 1001 Nights
Alice MorrisonTV presenter, writer and adventurer Alice Morrison gives her own unique and personal insight into Morocco, her home for 1001 nights. When Alice Morrison headed out to Morocco, it w...
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The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works
A. SpearingContains The Cloud of Unknowing, The Mystical Theology of Saint Denis, The Book of Privy Counselling, and An Epistle on Prayer. Against a tradition of devotional writings which fo...
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East of Alice
Annie SeatonA gemfossicking discovery echoes through time and leads to a dangerous journey through the red dust outback. A gripping mystery from Australian author Annie Seaton.Gemma Hayden has...
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The Year We Left Home
Jean ThompsonA New York Times bestseller, The Year We Left Home is National Book Award finalist Jean Thompson’s mesmerizing, decadesspanning saga of one ordinary American family that captures t...
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White House Wild Child
Shelley Fraser MickleThe fascinating historical biography of America’s most memorable first daughter, Alice Roosevelt, whose free spirit and status made her the Princess Diana and Jackie O of the early...
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The Prophet
Kahlil GibranA hugely influential philosophical work of prose poetry, Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet is an inspirational, allegorical guide to living, and this Penguin Modern Classics edition incl...
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A Greener Life
Jack Wallington'This is a clearly presented work, with accessible topic headings and plenty of good advice sprinkled with engaging personal anecdotes. The message at the book's heart is to adopt ...
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The Winter Sister
Muna Shehadi'The story telling in this book is right up there with Nora Roberts, who is an expert at drawing you into a story' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review'To say I loved reading this book would be...
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Bel-ami
Guy de Maupassant & Douglas ParmeeYoung, attractive and very ambitious, George Duroy, known to his friends as BelAmi, is offered a job as a journalist on La Vie francaise and soon makes a great success of his new c...
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Little Monsters
Adrienne BrodeurA National Bestseller!“Juicy…simmers with tension as secrets explode out into the open.” The Washington Post “So alluring…I raced happily through the pages.” The New York Times Bo...
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Dogs of the Deadlands
Anthony McGowan‘It broke my heart and then splinted it back together again... Magnificent.’ Hannah Gold, bestselling author of The Last Bear ‘A dog’s eye perspective that’s so vivid you can almos...
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27 Popular Children Books
Lewis Carroll, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Washington Irving, John Ruskin, Kenneth Grahame, Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin, Arthur Conan Doyle & H. Rider HaggardThese classics include books of adventure, animals, family life, fantasy and science fiction, coming of age, and romance. This is a perfect collection for a long journey, rainy day...
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Street Haunting
Virginia WoolfLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the awardwinning Coralie BickfordSmith....
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Beautiful Secret
Christina LaurenNew York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author Christina Lauren’s Beautiful and Wild Seasons series hook up in Beautiful Secret for an erotic intercontinental romp that c...
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The Gift of the Magi
O. HenryLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the awardwinning Coralie BickfordSmith....
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Tales of the Pacific
Jack LondonIf you know London primarily through novels like WHITE FANG, these stories will provide a new perspective. Full of intriguing characters and snippets of pidgin, they also highlight...
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The Greatest Fairytales Of All Time
Hans Christian Andersen, The Brothers Grimm, Andrew Lang, James Matthew Barrie, Lewis Carroll, George MacDonald, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Sharp, Maurice Maeterlinck, Georgette Leblanc, John Ruskin, Carl Sandburg, Marion St. John Webb, Mary Louisa Molesworth, Johnny Gruelle, R. Nisbet Bain, W. R. S. Ralston, Arthur Ransome & L. Frank Baumeartnow presents to you this meticulously edited collection of the mostcelebrated and bestloved fairy tales of all time: Complete Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen Complete Fa...
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The Wings of the Dove
Henry James & John BayleyBeautiful Kate Croy may have been left penniless by her relatives, but her bold, ambitious nature ensures she will not succumb meekly to a life of poverty. If the financial circums...
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The Wild Date Palm
Diane ArmstrongFrom a bestselling Australian author comes a gripping novel of espionage, passion and sacrifice set in the Middle East during World War I. Based on an astonishing true story, it as...
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White Nights
Fyodor Dostoyevsky & Ronald Meyer'My God! A whole minute of bliss! Is that really so little for the whole of a man's life?'A poignant tale of love and loneliness from Russia's foremost writer.One of 46 new books i...
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Alice Wilde
Metta Victoria Fuller VictorWith centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...
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The Spring Sister
Muna Shehadi'The author's writing style is similar to that of Santa Montefiore whom I love, so this book really pulled me in' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader reviewWhat happens when you discover that your gl...
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The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
Arthur Conan DoyleLittle Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the awardwinning Coralie BickfordSmith....
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A Shropshire Lad and Other Poems
Nick Laird & A.E. HousmanA. E. Housman was one of the bestloved poets of his day, whose poems conjure up a potent and idyllic rural world imbued with a poignant sense of loss. They are expressed in simple ...
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Dirty Rowdy Thing
Christina LaurenThe sequel to Sweet Filthy Boy, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners, a story of friends, love, and lust. Despite their rowdy hookups, Harlow and Finn d...
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100 Places That Made Britain
Dave MusgroveIn 100, carefully selected places, BBC History Magazine editor Dave Musgrove takes us on an unforgettable historical tour through British history, from the Roman invasion to 1960s ...