Books
What do Oscar Wilde, Gwen John and Evelyn Waugh have in common?
They converted to Catholicism in the past century and are among 12 notable ‘defectors to Rome’ examined by Melanie McDonagh
Escape from investment banking to the open road – a biking odyssey
Miles Morland notches up 50,000 miles on his BMW 1000 with trips through Europe, Argentina, Japan, Australia and the United States – without a single accident
A satirical portrait of village life: Love Divine, by Ysenda Maxtone Graham, reviewed
Within a bourgeois Church of England milieu of round-robins and parish chit-chat lurk rumours of sabotage and clandestine love affairs
The inspiration for David Lynch’s mysterious, disquieting world
A bizarre experience in the filmmaker’s adolescence involving a woman’s escape from domestic violence seems to have left an indelible mark
What hope is there for Syria today?
After two brutal regimes and a devastating civil war, there’s fear of renewed corruption under President Ahmed al Sharaa, a former al Qaeda terrorist
From the wilds of Kyrgyzstan to the Victorian nursery – a choice of art books
Subjects include ancient rock carvings, portraiture, images of lost London and the illustrations of Walter Crane
Laughing at Putin is a powerful form of protest
A constant round of fines, surveillance and detention is alleviated by jokes, mischief and a joyous love affair for Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina
Philosophy’s greatest pessimist wasn’t so miserable after all
Arthur Schopenhauer’s luminous prose, savage wit and commitment to thinking for oneself make reading him an exhilarating, even life-affirming experience
In Putin’s Russia, feminism is an ugly word
The trad wife, happy to defer to her husband in all matters, is today’s ideal – a far cry from the female snipers and fighter pilots of the Leninist era
The simple flatbread that conquered the world
Luca Cesari describes pizza’s journey from the poor man’s staple of 18th-century Naples to today’s global favourite, worth billions
The furious tug of war between 18th-century Whigs and Tories
George Owers evokes the seismic cultural divisions between the parties – with different coffee houses attended, wines drunk, doctors consulted and fashions preferred
The making of William Golding as a writer
Letters between Golding and Faber’s Charles Monteith reveal just how much the author owed to his editor – not least in the choice of book titles
The reluctant spy: The Predicament, by William Boyd, reviewed
Sucked further into the quicksand of 1960s espionage, Gabriel Dax is sent to Guatemala, and then on to West Berlin, where he uncovers a plot to assassinate President Kennedy
A feast for quiz-lovers: Christmas gift books
Delightful oddities include: foreign equivalents of ‘Joe Bloggs’; alternatives to the word ‘Hello’; and El Greco’s offer to repaint the Sistine Chapel
Serenity and splendour: a choice of gardening books
Recommendations include: Melbourne Hall Garden, by Jodie Jones; The English Landscape Garden, by Tim Richardson; and Diary of a Keen Gardener, by Mary Keen
Faith – and why mountains move us
The French writer Sylvain Tesson feels anxiety lift, bitterness vanish and travel transform into prayer in the course of a ski journey across the Alps, spread over four winters
‘I could turn very nasty – I was an egotistical brute’, says Anthony Hopkins
Judging by his autobiography, it’s no wonder the actor was in such demand to play devils, killers, bullies, werewolves and ruthless kings
Books of the Year II – further recommendations from our regular reviewers
Popular choices include: Look Closer, by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst; Clown Town, by Mick Herron; The Finest Hotel in Kabul, by Lyse Doucet
Abbott delves into Down Under
‘He who controls the past, controls the future’ wrote George Orwell in his classic work, 1984. This is something Tony…
Beaujolais – a refuge for impecunious wine lovers
With burgundy prices going through the roof, enthusiasts are flocking to the neighbouring region, which few have taken seriously until now
The Belgian resistance finally gets its due
Helen Fry’s account of the men and women who risked all to provide intelligence about their German occupiers in both world wars makes for a gripping tale of courage, ingenuity and sacrifice
Even as literate adults, we need to learn how to read
Robert Douglas-Fairhurst shows us the rewards of reading slowly and attentively – and making connections between seemingly disparate things
How the terrorists of the 1970s held the world to ransom
It is remarkable how few people it took – only around 100 – to cause carnage over four different continents, says Jason Burke
Unhappy band of brothers: the Beach Boys’ story
The quintessential Californian band who sang of sun, sand and surfing had, like the Golden State itself, a dark side as well as light
What drove the German housewife to vote for Hitler?
Focusing on the top echelons of Weimar politics, Volker Ullrich barely considers what options ordinary people had, crushed by hyperinflation in the 1920s Republic
