A new translation of the fundamental text of Daoism, much more dynamic than the comfortably gnomic ones of the past. Ziporyn restores its strangeness and philosophical challenges.
Like a detective novel of the time, the story of two booksellers who uncovered the forgeries of a pompous bastion of the literary scene in 1930s' London.
Several of the principal compilers of the OED have already been sung - not least the editor James Murray, who took over two decades to reach the letter 'T'. It is his newly-discovered addres... read more
Any book from SB is always eagerly awaited, this one no less than its marvellous predecessors How to Live: A Life of Montaigne and At The Existentialist Caf?.
A superb anthology of poems and prose based around the isles of Britain and Ireland, derived from the literary magazine Archipelago. Contributions from luminaries such as Heaney, Oswald, Lo... read more
Explores the history of the translation of classical Greek literature into Latin. Far from being inevitable, as it seems seen from the C21st, the Roman adoption of Hellenic classics was an e... read more
Looks back to a group of brave women in the later C18th and onwards - at a time when women had no property and no rights: Elizabeth Montagu, who took on Voltaire and won; Catherine Macauley,... read more
Abdurraqib's meditation on Black music and performance, A Little Devil in America, was inspired. This new book, a literary memoir about basketball and what it takes to be successful, what it... read more
Essays, some illustrations, and an alluring index: in 'B' alone you'll find Charles Babbage, Pauline Baynes, burial chamber (neolithic), blue colour, brightness, Louise Bourgeois, boredom, b... read more
The Firebird, Baba Yaga and their cohorts of human, divine and supernatural beings: an enjoyable mix of stories from the Carpathians with analysis of their traditional context. Illustrated ... read more
It's un-British to doubt the Bard these days: historical truth and myth-making catch the light in this scintillating study of our attitudes towards our unifying national treasure.
Looks at the lives of Ryle, Austin, Anscombe and Murdoch and how they transformed moral philosophy in C20th Britain. No rose-tinted specs here, just the plainest tortoise-shell frames...
Scholarly but accessible approach to Thor, Odin et alia, the green myth of Yggdrasil and the darker one of Ragnarok, and the way these have been recast repeatedly. Some illustrations. A comp... read more
A magnificent book by Chaucer's biographer: the forthright, funny, dynamic character from the Canterbury Tales is compared with some real medieval women, and is also traced in the work of la... read more
Carey has been chief reviewer at the Sunday Times for over forty years. This new book is his own selection of his favourite books from the 1000+ that he has reviewed so far.
A first collection of essays and journalism from the novelist best known for We Need to Talk About Kevin. Free speech, identity politics and intellectual imprisonment are all grist to Shrive... read more
Argues that the physical form of books makes them distinctive, and sometimes dangerous, quite as much as their content. (John Morgan’s recent, limited edition Usylessly, with its beautiful... read more
A study of that curious phenomenon: the deification of explorers, politicians, rulers and mavericks, from Columbus to Prince Philip, the late volcano god. A smart take on empire too; provoca... read more
Athena, Circe, Penelope, Helen et al.: female characters and narrators are given centre stage in this fine reworking of the familiar. By the author of Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman ... read more
A fascinating look at landscape from the aftermath of the Great War to the present, with a showstopping essay by Macfarlane. Unquiet nature, absence and presence, glimpses, tremors, unease a... read more
An entertaining history of literary London during the Second World War focusing on Peter Watson & Cyril Connolly's Horizon magazine, but also including the Woolfs, Dylan Thomas, Julian McLar... read more
As well as a bestselling novelist, Hustvedt has lectured on neuroscience, psychoanalysis and philosophy at scientific conferences across the world. This new essay collection draws both on he... read more
OL gets under the skin of a dozen glamorous but stifled figures: Susan Sontag, Christopher Isherwood, Nina Simone... With a sympathetic eye, she explores the conditions needed to cultivate... read more
An understanding and enquiring look at the demon drink and what it enables certain writers to achieve, and at what cost: Patrick Hamilton, Jean Rhys, Charles Jackson, Malcolm Lowry, Dylan Th... read more