Five piercingly brilliant essays on stories from the margins, art, Black history, and the crossroads of Africa and Asia as well as with the West. First work of non-fiction by an author much ... read more
Set in 1742, this is a rollicking reworking of Moonfleet in which a wild, cross-dressing teenage girl joins a bloodthirsty gang of smugglers to avenge her father's murder.
The story of PayPal, a Silicon Valley startup with a few scruffy tech-heads at the helm. It is now one of the most successful and ubiquitous companies in the world, whose alumni aren't doing... read more
A fascinating examination of how the prevailing causes of death have changed through history. It is a story of growing medical knowledge and social organisation, and is refreshingly optimist... read more
The spark for this remarkable memoir was a scribbled list of paintings that belonged to the Parisian author's great-grandparents - Degas, Renoir, Monet, Tiepolo etc - of which she knew nothi... read more
Elizabeth Anscombe, Mary Midgley, Iris Murdoch & Philippa Foot: they got to know one another as Oxford students during WW2, and went on to have huge influence on subsequent decades.
A re-issue from 1963 - an adored classic that has been out of print ever since. Two owls share the secret of their happiness with the greedy and squabbling barnyard fowl but to no avail. Mar... read more
Another glorious, imaginative picture book from the Fan brothers: something - who knows what but undoubtedly a treasure - falls from the sky and becomes an object much curiosity to a group o... read more
Finally a new edition of this splendid book, which sheds light on the decadent, complex history of this venerable road. Within years of Wilde praising its 'wonderful possibilities', and Whis... read more
Manon Gropius (1916-1935) was the daughter of Walter and Alma. Her attempts to free herself from maternal expectations and the recurrent image of herself in her stepfather's novels are movin... read more
Elena Zelayeta, a blind chef born in Mexico; Marcella Hazan, whose book on Italian cooking is still monumental; Norma Shirley's take on Jamaican cuisine et al: a joyous celebration of these... read more
Slim but far-reaching memoir of the author's brush with suicide, framed as the consequence of familial trauma and isolation. Superbly written, this bears honourable comparison with William S... read more
A riotous memoir of attempting to mount a Bacon exhibition in the last days of the USSR; apparatchiks, honey-traps, the KGB - has the author's liver ever recovered?
Born in 1799, Atkins was the first person to illustrate a book with photographs. Her cyanotypes - of ferns, algae, parrot feathers, seaweed - are exquisite.
Poems by Li Bai, Du Fu and others from the 'golden age' of Chinese poetry. Li Bai is said to have died by falling from a boat, reaching for the moon's reflection in the water...
The discovery in 1799 of a mysterious ancient Greek vase sets in motion conspiracies, revelations and romance. Atmospheric historical fiction with a delightful heroine.
Founded by mavericks in 1922, it evolved through the war, the invention of television and subsequent massive cultural changes. Whatever its problems, it is an extraordinary institution, and ... read more
Kristeva's most recent book, translated from the French, is a (not surprisingly) complex engagement with the work of Dostoyevsky. Enhanced by a thoughtful foreword by Rowan Williams.
A Sicilian aristocrat and his American wife agree to write their memoirs; sharing them with each other throws up shadows on the wall... This is a clever, funny novel exploring sexuality, lov... read more
The life of Violeta, of her family, friends and lovers, told in letters to a beloved grandson. Born in 1920 and in her hundredth year, Violeta's story encompasses Chile's C20th struggles.
A powerful coming-of-age story - and its consequences for others - by the French-Mauritian writer who won the Prix Femina des Lyceens for The Tropic of Violence.