We are familiar with Sonia, but Orwell's remarkable first wife is usually overlooked. The author of a poem called 'End of the Century, 1984' (published in 1934), she was with him through the... read more
A memoir of his time at Slough Comprehensive, aka Eton. Okwonga is a writer and journalist now based in Berlin, a city "that leaves you alone" and the location of his recent auto-fiction 'I... read more
The embodiment of mens sana in corpore sano rowed across the Channel, swam the Niagara basin twice and became an MP. He and his wife were intimate with the 'Souls'.
The incomparable Morris of The Lost Words fame has taken the Norwegian tale and retold it, accompanied by masses of her wonderful illustrations. Smallish format, in her 'Tales from the Wild'... read more
Another in Morris's 'Tales from the Wild' series: smallish format, beautifully illustrated of course. This is Morris's retelling of an old story, first collected by the Brothers Grimm and th... read more
An almanac from the Idler Academy founder that is full of ideas to bring on a ruddy glow. Just the thing for those who have fled the cities for the Good Life during the pandemic. It's hard t... read more
A weird banquet of culinary superstitions: throwing salt over your left shoulder after a spill, witches using eggshells as boats, the devil getting the blackberries, etc.
The story of London's notorious drinking den, the realm of the great and foul-mouthed Muriel Belcher. Constructed from interviews with many of its principal players.