“A Memoir of My Former Self: A Life in Writing” (John Murray) brings together Hilary Mantel’s book and film reviews, occasional pieces, and lectures that go on to reveal a mind that is at once witty, inquisitive and dazzling.

MAKING IT SO: A MEMOIR
By Patrick Stewart
Gallery
The Shakespearean actor’s candid revelations about his craft — from the stage to Stark Trek stardom — and his life are humorous, reflective and poignant.

IN HER OWN WORDS: LETTERS & INTERVIEWS
By Ismat Chughtai (Translated by Tahira Naqvi)
Women Unlimited
A collection of letters and interviews that offers glimpses of Ismat Chughtai’s razor-sharp critique of her times and her indomitable spirit.

IRU: THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IRAWATI KARVE
By Urmilla Deshpande and Thiago Pinto Barbosa
Speaking Tiger
Part memoir of a grandmother and part biography of a pioneering Indian sociologist that reveals a life spent in scholarly pursuits and building personal bonds.

SHEIKH ABDULLAH: THE CAGED LION OF KASHMIR
By Chitralekha Zutshi
Fourth Estate
Chitralekha Zutshi ably traces the transformation of an icon into a tarnished politician, locating him as a tragic figure trapped by the Valley’s historical fault lines.

RUKHMABAI: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A CHILD BRIDE TURNED REBEL-DOCTOR
By Sudhir Chandra
Macmillan
In his attempt to find the real Rukhmabai Raut, the child bride who became one of India’s first female doctors, Sudhir Chandra dexterously stitches together her myriad life experiences.

EBRAHIM ALKAZI: HOLDING TIME CAPTIVE
By Amal Allana
Vintage
Amal Allana’s biography of a titan of Indian theatre situates his life in a milieu of conflict and rebellion that influenced his works.

LIFE: MY STORY THROUGH HISTORY
By Pope Francis
HarperOne
Shorn of jargon-based theologising, Pope Francis’s memoir projects him as the ‘people’s pope’ committed to building bridges between the Church and its flock.

F.N. SOUZA: THE ARCHETYPAL ARTIST
By Janeita Singh
Niyogi
Indian art’s enfant terrible, F.N. Souza, is a divisive figure. But that does not take away anything from the diversity of his artworks. Janeita Singh focuses on the visceral sensuality of Souza’s creations in this book that is erudite and illuminating.

NAIPAULS OF NEPAUL STREET: A MEMOIR
By Savi Naipaul Akal
Speaking Tiger
The love for the written word runs deep in the Naipaul bloodline. But there was bad blood as well. In this revealing book, Savi Akal unveils the myths that V.S. Naipaul built to secure sympathy for himself.