Contributors

Hugh Lasgarn was a veterinarian in Wales during the 1950s.

Laura Lau is a second-generation Chinese American writer. Her books include Best-Loved Chinese Proverbs, Wedding Feng Shui, and the Handbook of Chinese Horoscopes – now available in its 40th anniversary edition. She has written for Refinery29, Wedding Channel, The Knot, and Net-a-Porter Magazine among others. She lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Nella Larsen was born in Chicago in 1893 of a Danish mother and a West Indian father. She began writing during the Harlem Renaissance, a period during which black artists, writers, and musicians were prominent in the New York art scene. The success of Quicksand and Passing made Nella Larsen one of the most fêted woman writers of her generation. She died in 1963 in obscurity. Now her 'lost' work is being rediscovered and celebrated.

Alessandro Lanteri is Professor of Strategy at ESCP Business School and teaches executive education programs for Said Business School and London Business School. He is the author of CLEVER: The Six Strategic Drivers for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Nick Lane is a biochemist in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London. 'Like his forebears in that same department – Steve Jones, JBS Haldane – he's that rare species, a scientist who can illuminate the bewildering complexities of biology with clear, luminous words' (Observer). His research focuses on the role of bioenergetics in the origin of life and the evolution of cells. Nick was awarded the 2015 Biochemical Society Award for his outstanding contribution to the molecular life sciences. He has published four critically acclaimed books, which have been translated into 20 languages. Life Ascending won the 2010 Royal Society Prize for Science Books. The Independent described him as 'one of the most exciting science writers of our time.'

David Lane has written for the Guardian and the Financial Times, and since 1994 has been The Economist's Business and Finance Correspondent for Italy. His last book was the highly regardedBerlusconi's Shadow (2004). He has lived in Rome since 1972.

Gavin Lambert was born in England but lived for much of his life in Hollywood. He was the author of several novels (The Slide Area, Inside Daisy Clover, The Goodbye People), non-fiction (including On Cukor, The Dangerous Edge) and screenplays (Sons and Lovers, for which he gained an Academy Award nomination, and Inside Daisy Clover). Gavin Lambert also wrote biographies of Hollywood stars, including Norma Shearer, Lindsay Anderson and Natalie Wood. He died in 2005.

Malcolm Lambert was formerly Reader in Medieval History at the University of Bristol. Of his book Medieval Heresy (now in its third edition), the American medieval historian, Norman F. Cantor, wrote: 'A masterpiece of learning, thought, and insight. No serious student of the Middle Ages will fail to read and indeed reread this seminal work. I regard it as one of the finest and most important books on medieval history ever written.' His other books include The Cathars (1998) and Christians and Pagans: The Conversion of Britain from Alban to Bede (2000). He lives in Worthing.

Max Landsberg is an internationally recognised authority on executive coaching, development and leadership. His books on coaching, motivation and leadership have sold more than 250,000 copies in fifteen languages. Max combines the strategic perspectives of having been a partner at McKinsey & Company with the developmental insights learned and refined as a senior partner at Heidrick & Struggles, and currently at Korn Ferry. Previous books include: The Tao of Coaching, The Tao of Motivation, The Tools of Leadership.

Lola Lafon is a writer and musician. Born in France, Lafon grew up in Sofia and Bucharest, and now lives in Paris. The Little Communist Who Never Smiled is Lafon's fourth novel; it has been translated into eleven languages and won ten literary prizes in France, including the Prix Ouest-France Etonnants Voyageurs, the Prix Jules Rimet and the Prix Version Femina.