13 h. ago Inside the Salt Path controversy: ‘Scandal has stalked memoir since the genre was invented’

Raynor Winn’s bestselling book is far from the first time a true story has been called into question after publication. But how does it happen? And should readers really feel betrayed?“The Salt Path is an unflinchingly honest, inspiring and life-affirming true story,” reads the description of Raynor Winn’s bestselling memoir on its publisher Penguin Random House’s website.Which is unfortunate wording if accusations made at the weekend turn out to be true: an investigation by the Observer alleged that the 2018 book – which has recently been adapted into a film starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs – is not all that it seems. Winn writes in The Salt Path that she and her husband, Moth, had their home repossessed due to an investment in a friend’s company that went on to fail. With nowhere to live, as she tells it, the couple decided to walk the length of the South West Coast Path, wild camping along the way and relying on the kindness of strangers. The Observer piece suggests Win...

Politics

53 h. ago How The Salt Path dissolved into allegations of lies, theft and betrayal

The bestselling memoir was hailed as a moving true story of love resilience and the healing power of nature. But now its author Raynor Winn faces extraordinary allegations – raising doubts over whether the heartwarming journey was too good to be true after all, writes Maira Butt

Politics

56 h. ago Is Possession about a harrowing divorce or a woman with an octopus kink? Why not both?

Sam Neill barely made it out alive. Isabelle Adjani was left ‘bruised, inside out’. It might be puzzling, it might be brilliant, and it will never leave youGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAndrzej Żuławski’s Possession is genuinely unhinged and utterly unforgettable. Żuławski called it “a very true-to-life autobiographical story”, which it is: when he made it in 1981, his own marriage had just collapsed, and as portraits of divorce go, Possession is a pretty spectacular one. But Żuławski also once described Possession as a film about a woman who “fucks with an octopus”, which it is too.A co-production between France and West Germany that was shot in West Berlin by a Polish director, Possession opens as Mark (Sam Neill), a spy, returns home and finds that his wife, Anna (Isabelle Adjani), wants a divorce. She’s having an affair, she reveals, ostensibly with Heinrich (Heinz Bennent) – exactly the kind of lofty weirdo you’d hate your wife to dump you for. Mark reluctantly tur...

Politics

58 h. ago Whatever the truth of The Salt Path, I know why people wanted to believe it | Gaby Hinsliff

As questions are asked about the bestselling memoir, is the demand for hope-over-hardship stories outstripping reality?Was the story always, in hindsight, just a little too good to be true? A middle-aged couple, brutally down on their luck after bankruptcy and a terminal diagnosis, escape their troubles on an epic walk round the South West Coast Path, finding comfort along the way in the kindness of strangers. Billed as an “honest and life-affirming” story of prevailing against the odds, The Salt Path became first a bestseller and then a blockbuster film, starring a windswept Gillian Anderson. Though it was never really my thing, I knew plenty of people for whom The Salt Path genuinely resonated, with its romantic central theme of being (as the film’s director, Marianne Elliott, put it) “reformed by the elements” of a blustery English seascape.If it seemed a bit unlikely that a dying man could be rejuvenated by a strenuous trek involving wild camping in all weathers – well, getting ...

Politics

62 h. ago Netflix comedy 'cinematic equivalent of comfort food' with feelgood true story

Netflix's newest comedy drama Nonnas has been praised by critics and audiences alike for its moving true story - with one audience member saying it had them 'bawling in the first 10 minutes'

Culture

3 d. ago ‘Remarkable’ true story of Oasis dog on band’s concert graphics revealed

‘If you are wondering why there is a dog on Oasis screens, now you know’

Culture

3 d. ago The 'screaming ghost' photo still haunts police. I consider it proof of the afterlife... and what people see in their final moments

John Boulware's life was snatched from him in a grisly car wreck when he was just 16-years-old. A mysterious photo taken after the crash has convinced even skeptics that life after death exists.

Events

6 d. ago Emma Stone and Steve Carell 'incredible' in true story tennis film hailed 'must see'

Battle of the Sexes, co-directed by Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, spotlights the 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, with Emma Stone and Steve Carell in lead roles

Politics

7 d. ago The true story behind Netflix's Attack on London Hunting the 7/7 Bombers

It's been 20 years since Dan Biddle fatefully missed his stop on the Circle Line train. Twenty years since Mohammad Sidique Khan looked him in the eye and reached inside his backpack. And 20 years since Dan's cosy happy life was, quite literally, blown apart.

Events

7 d. ago Just days left to watch 'perfect' movie based on true story on BBC iPlayer

BlacKkKlansman, which is available to watch on BBC iPlayer, tells the unbelievable true story of Ron Stallworth, the first African-American detective to serve in Colorado Springs

Sport

8 d. ago Carlos Alcaraz shows true colours with Wimbledon charm offensive despite ending British underdog story

Qualifier Ollie Tarvet saw his SW19 journey ended by the World No.2 who said all the right things after his second round triumph

Politics

9 d. ago The True Story Behind Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers

The True Story Behind Attack on London: Hunting the 7/7 Bombers  Time Magazine

Events

1 week ago 'Must watch' film based on bizarre true story is a movie 'like no other'

Fans think it was worthy of an Oscar

Culture

1 week ago Meet the fugitive who secretly lived in a TOYS R US store for SIX MONTHS and is now being played by a Hollywood A

In his hideout, stuck Star Wars and Super Man posters on the walls, made a bed with Spider-Man sheets, lined up toy models of Yoda and put a basketball hoop on the wall.

Society

1 week ago Incredible true story of fugitive who hid for SIX MONTHS in a TOYS R US store and will now be played by a Hollywood A

Jeffrey Manchester escaped from prison and evaded the law by brazenly hiding out in a den built under a stairwell in the Toys 'R' Us store.

Politics

1 week ago Incredible true story of the escaped felon who hid out in a Toys 'R' Us store for months... and inspired Channing Tatum's latest blockbuster

Jeffrey Manchester escaped from prison and evaded the law by brazenly hiding out in a den built under a stairwell in the Toys 'R' Us store.

Politics

1 week ago War film based on true story hailed as 'an absolute masterpiece' and the 'best ever made' is finally free to stream

The movie first hit screens back in 1981 and has previously been regarded as one of the greatest war films ever made.

Sport

2 w. ago Taron Egerton knew he just had to play 'fascinating' and 'disturbing' new TV role

Taron Egerton stars as an arson investigator in the new Apple TV+ series, Smoke, which is inspired by the true crime story of a serial arsonist who set fire to businesses in Southern California

Politics

2 w. ago An underrated true crime thriller starring Keira Knightley is airing on TV tonight

It is based on the true story of a serial killer who murdered 13 women in the 1960s

Events

2 w. ago Overlooked Netflix war film hailed as 'natural crowd pleaser' telling 'ignored' story

Kerry Washington stars in The Six Triple Eight, which is a historical war drama that tells the remarkable true story of the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion

Events