Books

CHARLIE CONNELLY on a page-turner which brings to vivid, often gruesome, life one of the most violent periods in the history of Britain

The little-known writer was responsible for one of literature's truly great landmarks.

Even the greatest writers have had to get used to having their work turned down.

A beautiful book about an extraordinary obsession with a piece of used chewing gum

WILL SELF on educating ourselves from past and present literature

Albania's experience under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha has received less attention than other repressive regimes. A new book provides a timely and truly chilling spotlight.

Two writers with strikingly different reputations, whose long-lost work has recently been unearthed.

Fancy a trip to the continent now the pandemic is easing? JOHN RAIN looks back at some exotic European locations James Bond has been to, and who he killed there

Having stayed afloat during the pandemic, the books industry now faces two major threats, including a Brexit-related change which risks the livelihoods of many writers, says CHARLIE CONNELLY

As his new book of celebrity encounters is launched, TIM WALKER remembers some memorable interviews with those on both sides of the EU divide

The superstar novelist has had some very searching write-ups over her wary approach to her own fame. CHARLIE CONNELLY explains why authors often make such uncomfortable celebrities

One writer not only pioneered satire, but also the literary feud, writes CHARLIE CONNELLY

The celebrated explorer and historian Christoph Baumer’s History of the Caucasus: Volume 1: At the Crossroads of Empires is released at a moment of crisis for the region, as tensions rise on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. Here, he sets the scene for the current problems while sharing images from his sweeping, beautifully illustrated new book.

CHARLIE CONNELLY on the mysterious 14th century Arthurian epic poem behind a now delayed blockbuster movie

CHARLIE CONNELLY on an British master of travel writing, exploring memories of the Spanish Civil War by following the route of the memorable 1941 Vuelta a Espana bicycle race

The threat from 21st century fascism is not of a modern day March on Rome or a beerhall putsch. It's far more insidious. By PAUL MASON, the broadcaster and author of a new book on the subject

As two new books and an artist’s opera project revisit the enigmatic Maria Callas, the best way to understand her is by focusing on the most obvious place.. the stage.

CHARLIE CONNELLY on three new books of poetry on strikingly different themes: a sixth century saint, an endangered species and the everyday episodes which take place in a supermarket

With a new dating show based on the Jane Austen book, perhaps there's a truth to be acknowledged that every literary classic is in need of a reality TV format. By CHARLIE CONNELLY

Charlie Connelly offers his selection of perfect holiday reading, from the latest new European paperbacks

The buildings and monuments of Antwerp can still take your breath away. But in a long-ago golden age, it was the centre of Europe

The roots of author J R R Tolkien’s name are almost as tangled as his fantasy fiction.

In his younger days, Billy Wilder was a journalist in Europe. A new book of his writings doesn’t give much of a glimpse of the continent, but does provide insights into his later career

CHARLIE CONNELLY on what we can expect from Boris Johnson's much-discussed and long-delayed book on William Shakespeare

CHARLIE CONNELLY on a new book which offers a many-layered commentary on modern France and explores the malevolence that can lurk deep within communities  Sometimes it’s the tiny details that really get to you. A passing mention, an aside, something that should seem practically irrelevant but, wham, hits you right in the heart. In Samira Sedira’s […]

The fate of a Dublin building which was the setting for a James Joyce story raises interesting questions about property closely associated with literature There are few cities that come to literary life in the manner of Dublin on Bloomsday. June 16 every year, the date in 1904 on which the events of James Joyce’s Ulysses unfold, […]

Writers have long been drawn to islands. Few have managed to express – and satisfy – that yearning like Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins  “If I could wish something good for someone, I would wish for them an island with no address.” When Tove Jansson wrote those words sitting in her Helsinki apartment in 1962, the tiny cottage on […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on an award for translated fiction that is gradually growing in stature, and its very worthy winner While most of the annual book award talk is naturally focused on the Booker Prize for Fiction there are other gongs whose gentler tones occasionally penetrate the literary din. The Women’s Prize for Fiction grows in […]

A marketing invention of the publishing industry or a genuine opportunity to broaden horizons? CHARLIE CONNELLY on the phenomenon of beach books Now that the sun’s been out for longer than 20 minutes it won’t be long before we’re bombarded with recommendations for this year’s holiday reading. As ever these will take two forms: a […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on a truly epic novel which pays fitting tribute to the female pioneers of aviation One of my favourite historic photographs was taken 99 years ago. It’s of a young woman, wrapped up in a heavy coat and headscarf against a cold wind coming in off the sea, standing alone in a field […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on the woman behind an 80-year-old masterpiece, one of the most important books about Europe of the last century A couple of weeks ago a tweet by the American novelist Jake Wolff made me laugh out loud. It read, “Creative nonfiction writers be like: I first ate a hotdog when I was six […]

The Foghorn’s Lament focuses on an unusual subject that inspires a spellbinding book One of my earliest memories is of foghorns. It’s of my sister and I being wrapped in warm clothing and lifted into wellington boots, sleep-dozy because it’s nearly midnight, and taken by our parents out of the front door of our house […]