More from Books
Songs of murder, rape and desertion
Amy Jeffs rediscovers the disturbing beauty of traditional ballads
The evasions of smalltown Alabama: The Land of Sweet Forever, by Harper Lee, reviewed
Apprentice stories contain much of the raw material for To Kill a Mockingbird, as Lee tries to reconcile love for home with disgust at its prejudices
Rory Stewart’s romantic view of Cumbria is wide of the mark
The former MP for Penrith and the Border prefers to ignore the depleted uplands and poisoned lakes as he rhapsodises about the landscape’s ‘improbable beauty’
Peril in Prague: The Secret of Secrets, by Dan Brown, reviewed
Robert Langdon is pursued by dark forces through labyrinthine alleys as he searches for his abducted girlfriend, who is about to crack the secret of human consciousness
Cosy crime for Christmas: a choice of thrillers
Recent titles reviewed are: The Christmas Clue, by Nicola Upson; Benbecula, by Graeme Macrae Burnet; and Blood Rival, by Jake Arnott
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’
The cartographer’s power to decide the fate of millions
Late one August night in a Pentagon office in 1945, a line scrawled in pencil on a map of the Korean peninsula led to the creation of two countries that are still at war today
The ups and downs of high-rise living
In Britain’s postwar tower blocks, modern amenities and breathtaking views left some residents ecstatic, while others risked disaster at the likes of Canning Town’s Ronan Point
Spot the play title
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How London became the best place in the world to eat out
Atmosphere can be as important as food – and no one knows this better than the capital’s visionary restaurateur Jeremy King, who raises front-of-house to an art form
Football vs opera, and the terror of being considered highbrow
Opera was hugely popular in Victorian Britain, but subsidies have doomed it to charges of ‘foreign elitism’ – as opposed to a ‘national passion, like football’
‘This sweet, delightful book’: The Natural History of Selborne revisited
Quiet days in his garden listening to birdsong and counting his cucumbers gave Gilbert White enough material for one of the most enduring classics of all time
The young Anton Chekhov searches for his voice
In Chekhov’s first stories, rooted in the provincial Russia of the early 1880s, we see various plots and characters take shape that will emerge fully formed in later works
Nostalgia for the 1980s New Romantic scene
Robert Elms recalls the glory days of London’s Blitz Club, where the likes of John Galliano, Boy George and David Bowie danced in outlandish costumes to futuristic electronica
Revenge of the invisible woman: Other People’s Fun, by Harriet Lane, reviewed
Things turn nasty when lonely Ruth finds herself taken advantage of once too often by selfish, glamorous Sookie, a faux friend from distant schooldays
The last straw in Lloyd George’s cash for honours scandal
A peerage for the Randlord Sir Joseph Robinson, convicted of fraud, caused such an outcry in 1922 that even Lloyd George realised it was a step too far
The nearest we’ll ever get to experiencing the horrors of 1914
Robert Cowley’s agonising account of the bloody struggle for Ypres and the stalemate on the Western Front transports us to the very heart of the action
Homage to the herring as king of the fishes
A fascinating compendium of herring-related stories includes the attempted poisoning of St Patrick, the message contained in a Van Gogh still life and the superstitions of Manx mariners
Pride and Prejudice retold in a thousand different ways
Some of the stranger reimaginings involve dragons, zombies, Lydia Bennet as a witch, Lizzy ending up with Charlotte Lucas and the story narrated by Anne de Bourgh
What not to say when visiting Santa’s grotto, and other tips from Ben Schott
Also discussed in the latest miscellany are classic Italian gesticulations, the nuances of graffiti, the hierarchy of Venetian gondoliers and how to deter paparazzi
How Hans Holbein brought portraiture to England
Before Holbein’s arrival in 1526, painting in England tended to be religious in nature. But that soon changed when his portraits spread like an exquisite virus through the country’s elites
China today is following Victorian Britain’s industrial pattern
The relentless pursuit of profit inevitably involves cruel exploitation – whether it’s children in Manchester’s cotton mills or Uighurs in Xinjiang’s industrial plants
An unconventional orphan: Queen Esther, by John Irving, reviewed
At the heart of this vast, sweeping novel is a solitary, determined heroine, who – Jane Eyre-like – is a moral force unbound by conventionalities
Childhood illnesses and instability left Patti Smith yearning for ‘sacred mysteries’
Bedridden for much of her youth, she found consolation in music, and a way ‘into fairyland’ through a treasured poetry anthology
Witches, dragons and the Terrible Deev: a choice of this year’s children’s books
Highlights include boarding school antics, adventures in Persian folklore and a wealth of classic stories – including Hansel and Gretel, retold by Stephen King
