A foolproof way of predicting the future
Nostradamus’s prophecies are so poetic that they can be taken to foretell almost anything, while the American clairvoyant Jeane Dixon also managed to cover every possibility
Adventures in the City of Light: Rousseau’s Lost Children, by Gavin McCrea, reviewed
An academic specialising in Jean-Jacques Rousseau slips back in time to 1777 to accompany his hero on long philosophical rambles around Paris
The little imps who pretended to be poltergeists
While investigating paranormal activity in postwar Britain, Tony Cornell found mischievous, attention-seeking children to be responsible for some of the more sensational ‘disturbances’
Why would your dead daughter climb out of her grave to harm you?
John Blair investigates the bizarre phenomenon of ‘corpse-killing’, and the fear in 19th-century New England that children, post mortem, were under demonic control
The grooming of teenaged Linn Ullmann
Ignoring her mother Liv Ullmann’s advice, 16-year-old Linn accepted the offer of a photo shoot in Paris in 1983 – and has been haunted by the experience ever since
A gloom-laden tale: The Foot on the Crown, by Christopher Fowler reviewed
Returning to his roots in horror fiction, Fowler portrays Londinium as a dismal citadel, ruled by an enfeebled dynasty clinging to pointless rituals
The strange potency of cheap perfume
Adelle Stripe has constructed a memoir around 18 key fragrances, but it is the Body Shop’s cheery Dewberry that evokes her worst teenage experience
Out of the depths: Dante’s Purgatorio, by Philip Terry, reviewed
Having toured the infernal campus of the University of Essex, Terry arrives at the coast, to be confronted by a strange artificial mountain which he now must climb
An otherworldly London: The Great When, by Alan Moore, reviewed
Is occult knowledge even possible in the age of the internet? If a recondite author obsessed you back in the…
Small mercies: Dead-End Memories, by Banana Yoshimoto, reviewed
Rape, poisoning, child abuse and betrayal feature in Yoshimoto’s dramatic stories – but gratitude and forgiveness run alongside sadness, stitched in the same cloth
Mother of mysteries: Rosarita, by Anita Desai, reviewed
On a break in Mexico, a young Indian woman is regaled with stories of her mother’s past by a total stranger. But is it all a con?
Visitants from the past: The Ministry of Time, by Kaliane Bradley, reviewed
An experimental project transports people across centuries. Lieutenant Graham Gore, an Arctic explorer whisked from the 1840s to present-day London, is not overly impressed
The slave’s story: James, by Percival Everett, reviewed
A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the voice of Huck’s companion the runaway slave changes the nature of the pair’s relationship – not always for the better
A free spirit: Clairmont, by Lesley McDowell, reviewed
Even by the Villa Diodati’s standards, Claire Clairmont was unconventional, seducing Byron when she was 18, and giving birth to their child after a possible affair with Shelley
Why were masters of the occult respected but witches burnt?
Anthony Grafton discusses five celebrated scholars, beginning with Dr Faustus, who separated ‘good’ magic from ‘bad’ in their studies of alchemy, astrology and conjuration
Abiding charms
We seem just as captivated by magic today as our Sumerian ancestors ever were, says Suzi Feay
A born rebel
Four days after she last saw her, Natasha Walter’s mother Ruth took her own life. The loss throws Natasha into a desperate search for meaning by examining Ruth’s peace-activist past and beyond
Disappointed youth
The singer-songwriter deserved to be far better known in his lifetime – but reticence and mental illness contributed to his tragically early death in 1974
A wilderness of mirrors
A young stage illusionist is recruited by the British secret service to extract a list of double agents concealed in a Russian magician’s stage prop
Strange noises from upstairs
Trapped abroad during lockdown, a lackadaisical reviewer is spurred to investigate the mysterious noises coming from the floor above his hotel suite
Ruthless efficiency
George Saunders’s handbook published last year, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, gave masterclasses on seven short stories…
Man of many parts
William Boyd taps into the classical novel tradition with this sweeping tale of one man’s century-spanning life, even to the…
Hysterical accusations
‘Witch-hunt’ has become a handy metaphor for online persecutions, especially of women, though these days it is reputations that go…
Witchy women
I would guess that contemporary pagans have a love-hate relationship with Ronald Hutton. With books such as The Triumph of…
Smoking muskets and flashing daggers
The atmospheric medieval town of Rye on the south coast still celebrates being a former haunt of smugglers, and on…
