Named

Name: Named
Price: 22.99 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9781835010730

A Story of Names and Reclaiming Who We Are

Camilla Balshaw

$22.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We will update you on expected arrival time to us. If this delay is too long, please let us know within 2 business days and we can give you options regarding cancelling or adjusting your order. More details on cancelling your order can be found in our Terms of Trade.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Bedford Square Publishers
12 March 2026

Memoirs; Philosophy of language; Sociolinguistics; Social & cultural history; Society & culture: general

'Gutsy, entertaining and thought-provoking...

A marvellous book.' Diana Evans

What's in a name? Everything we carry, and everything we are.

Our names are a shadow we carry around with us. They are part of who we are. Our names are a marker of our self-identity and our sense of self. Our names have the power to shock. They have the power to heal, and they have the power to trigger conversations around race, class, social mobility and belonging. But what is a name? What do our names tell us about ourselves? And why do they matter?

Named is a fascinating exploration of names, global naming conventions and identity politics woven into a moving, personal narrative about the finding of family and self. At the intersection of memoir and social and cultural history it is a truly fascinating book about the seemingly ordinary and every day.

The author's own narrative about her estrangement from her Nigerian father, the grapples with her Jamaican mother and her journey towards identity is woven through the chapters making it an engaging and intimate investigation of what makes us who we are.

By: Camilla Balshaw
Imprint: Bedford Square Publishers
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
ISBN: 9781835010730
ISBN 10: 1835010733
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 12 March 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Camilla Balshaw grew up in Luton. Her work has been published in the Observer and the Guardian. She has an MA in Creative & Life Writing from Goldsmiths and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham.

Reviews for Named: A Story of Names and Reclaiming Who We Are

'Utterly fascinating, insightful and meaningful. Balshaw has sensitively unpicked the loaded act of naming and carrying a name through her own story. Named is non-fiction for people who think they don’t like non-fiction.' Bonnie Burke-Patel, author of I Died at Fallow Hall