Lead book review
An accidental hero
Ferdinand Magellan’s fame was largely undeserved. Horatio Clare sees the explorer cut down to size
Dons and rebels
Paula Byrne describes life at Oxford University in its eccentric heyday
From the Gauls to the Gilets Jaunes
Philip Hensher is enthralled by Graham Robb’s evocative new history of France
The caring doctress
Mary Seacole may not have qualified as a nurse in the modern sense, but British troops benefited greatly from her healing skills, says Andrew Lycett
Truly magnificent
Suleiman I richly deserved his epithet, as this vivid account of his early years illustrates, says Jason Burke
‘The Rothschilds of the East’
David Abulafia admires the shrewdness, generosity and panache of the Sassoons over many generations
Force of nature
Philip Hensher describes how John Constable’s energy and imagination freed British art from the constraints of the past
Man and superman
The creation of a master race is an ancient idea which, thankfully, can never work, says Sam Leith
The heart of the matter
Kathleen Stock describes how four women undergraduates in 1940s Oxford challenged an arid, modish philosophy
Born tough
Elaine Showalter celebrates the grit and wisdom of Elizabeth Hardwick
Once upon a time, long, long ago
Philip Hensher explores the origins of fairy tales
The year of living dangerously
Atrocities, assassinations and spectacular accidents were just some of the horrors that marked 1922, says Richard Davenport-Hines
Selling the dream
Love her or loathe her, Enid Blyton and the safe, sunny world she cleverly marketed will remain a publishing phenomenon, says Sam Leith
This rough game
Through her diaries and notebooks we finally catch a glimpse of the real Patricia Highsmith, says Christopher Priest
The bourgeois surrealist
René Magritte’s life, so outwardly respectable, was as full of surprises as his art, says Philip Hensher
Books of the year II
A further selection of the books enjoyed by some of our regular reviewers in 2021
BOOKS OF THE YEAR I
Reviewers choose the books they have most enjoyed reading in 2021 — and a few that have disappointed them
A man in a hurry
After a wretched childhood, H.G. Wells was ruthless in making up for lost time, says Frances Wilson
Double vision
Charlotte Hobson describes the complicated relationship of two artists who championed simplicity
A passionate patriot
Americans regard George III as a power-crazed petty tyrant – but he was the very opposite, says Kate Maltby
Let there be life
Philip Hensher finds this year’s Booker shortlist more concerned with serious world issues than vivid characterisation
The full spectrum
Honor Clerk explores the history of the world through colour, from the Stone Age to orbiting the Moon
Smudged with human stories
Nothing captures medieval life more vividly than a manuscript that has passed through many hands, says Jonathan Sumption
Weapons of mass indoctrination
Peter Pomeranzev describes the refinement of thought-control techniques over the past century – and the worldwide competition to employ them
The Bible retold
Robert Alter 18 December 2021 9:00 am
Robert Alter is both exasperated and beguiled by Roberto Calasso’s intellectual potpourri