Riveting stories of projects that killed their architect, from a spire in C17th France to a theatre in 1920s' Washington. A marvellously Goreyesque subject.
A cerebral and determined young woman at Harvard vigorously explores the gaps between life and art: an entertaining and lively sequel to Batuman's wonderful The Idiot.
A retired Vietnam veteran receives a package in the post that shows him that he has more to do before he is done with the past. A desert crossing blurs with his inner journey - a very fine n... read more
Today's pre-eminent author for children is a Fellow of All Souls. Now she turns her scholarly attention to the religious outsider, social disaster, celebrity preacher, establishment darling,... read more
A second novel from the author of Preparation for the Next Life, in which a young man confronts his estranged father and protects his ailing mother. Lish's writing is spare but precise, wit... read more
A midnight phone call precipitates an aging, embittered agent into a dash to Iran to find his son and do battle with competing international interests.
A beguiling work of auto-fiction - a juggling act that Carrère refined in Limonov, The Kingdom etc. He begins a ten-day retreat, lit by the sun of literary success, but desperate matters in... read more
This marvellous memoir of her youth in Tottenham ends when her theatrical career takes off: forthright, transparent, dry, funny - there is nothing remotely precious about Dame Eileen's accou... read more
She grew up in Chelsea (indeed her father was a John Sandoe customer); she was a deb in 1958. Then she devoted herself to the IRA and became a terrorist.
A marvellous dose of black humour: an atheist is murdered, only to discover that not only is there an afterlife but also his widow is getting a bit too close to his killer.
From the author of Self-Portrait, her book about Lucian Freud, comes a collection of remarkable, imagined letters with Gwen John, an artist with whom Paul has always felt a close connection.
A rollocking historical novel set in Renaissance Venice: an artist sets his heart on a miraculous new pigment, only to find himself caught up in conspiracies, a love affair, violence, obsess... read more
In 2015, as war raged in Syria, Lowe set off on an 11,000 kilometre journey through Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, the Gulf and finally to Iran. Full of humour, anecdote and the abun... read more