For those of us who love reading fiction of any kind, there is really nothing like the pleasure of literary anticipation, the knowledge that one of our favourite writers is about to publish another book. This is even more true when the new title is an addition to an existing series. I feel that way […]
Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand
Green jade, glistening pearls, beryls, garnets, spinels, blood-red rubies, emeralds fine as water, and diamonds flashing fires of rainbows – this is a treasure trove of a book, a book of wonders, the story of the most famous diamond in the world, the Koh-i-Noor which now glitters in the crown of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen-mother. […]
Dunstan by Conn Iggulden
For fans of early medieval history, a book about a major tenth century figure is an exciting prospect. Conn Iggulden’s Dunstan – a leading churchman and statesman of his time – is in the form of an autobiography. This is a tale of the struggle for power in insecure times and the inevitable interaction with […]
The Beguiled
The Beguiled is Sofia Coppola’s take on the 1966 novel by Thomas P. Cullinan, and an earlier film adaptation by Don Siegal, starring Clint Eastwood. Coppola has a history of exploring female sexuality and power in works like The Virgin Suicides and Marie Antoinette. Now she adds another clever and complex study – one with […]
City of Masks by S D Sykes
City of Masks is the third outing for medieval crime-solving Lord of the Manor Oswald de Lacy and an excellent addition to a thoroughly enjoyable series. As one would expect from a writer of Sykes’ calibre, the novel works perfectly well as a stand-alone but I would recommend reading them in order if only for the […]
Prague Nights by Benjamin Black
Fans of Benjamin Black’s detective novels featuring the 1950s Dublin pathologist Quirke might find themselves a tad disorientated if they’re expecting more of the same in the author’s latest novel, Prague Nights – unless they’ve read the blurb, that is. For the anguished, lugubrious Quirke has not suddenly decided to go on holiday to Prague. […]
Crimson and Bone by Marina Fiorato
Crimson is blood and white is bone. This is the defining image of the claustrophobic relationship between Pre-Raphaelite painter Francis Maybrick Gill and the prostitute Annie Stride whom Francis saves from a suicide attempt at Waterloo Bridge. Annie is in despair after the suicide of her friend, Mary-Anne. Mary-Anne’s voice is heard in flash-back at […]
Hokusai: Beyond The Great Wave
Lesley Downer visits the new Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum. The British Museum Hokusai exhibition is full of dazzling works yet The Great Wave still leaps out. Its strong, rhythmic, instantly recognisable lines have made it quite simply iconic. The froth of the waves, as Vincent Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo, is […]