Just 28 when he found Nineveh, Layard later witnessed the Charge of the Light Brigade and reported on the Indian Mutiny: his life was action-packed. This new biog argues that he was deeply r... read more
Especially from the mountainous region of Northern Macedonia. Nitsou is Macedonian-Canadian, and grew up cooking with three generations of her family before Cordon Bleu training etc.
Beautifully attuned to her subject, CA unravels Sebald's work from his life with subtlety and sympathy. She has previously written a marvellous biography of Primo Levi.
How to keep chickens, make soap, create a kitchen garden, dip candles, tie knots, and a lot more. This might well take the place of the old 'Weekend Books' in an era of lockdowns.
His mistakes as well as his achievements, and a fascinating post- Brexit look at our history since WW2, in which our leaders still vye for Churchill's mythic mantle to legitimize their polit... read more
A biography of the Swiss tennis divinity, champion of sweetie-coloured blazers, master of self-possession, likened by fellow tennis players to Michelangelo for his skill.
A cultural history through seven coloured lenses. Its broad frame of reference encompasses Shakespeare, Goldfinger (first name Auric), Goethe, Roman marbles, Bronze Age gold, Mayan jade... C... read more
Off-kilter, strange and funny short stories by the wonderful Russian writer and playwright. Her other works published in English (and here we raise our chapka to Pushkin Press) have been one... read more
Translated from the Italian, this biography marks the 700th anniversary of Dante's death. It brings to life the context in which he wrote. (Barbero's book on Waterloo was excellent.)
In this new book Sinclair has abandoned London for Peru, in an attempt to understand his great-grandfather's colonial career. The narrative Sinclair grew up with ends up as self-serving flot... read more