Books

From Dracula to The Haunting of Hill House, it all leads back to The Castle of Otranto

The New World’s witch trials are infamous. But the most brutal outbreaks of Satanic panic took place in what is now southern Germany

The messages inside secondhand books are captivating mysteries all of their own

The stripped-down prose and raw honesty of Nobel prize for literature winner Annie Ernaux

One hundred years ago, a malign figure took power in Rome and led a country to disgrace and destruction

Denmark’s biggest literary celebrity returns to the remote peninsula where she grew up

Like so many passionate contemporary ethical conflicts, a row in the publishing world is really about a narcissism of extremely small differences indeed

The late Hilary Mantel’s connection with Europe brought controversy – and some of her best work

At the centre of Samantha Morton’s new series about the Medicis is a maligned queen whose character remains a mystery

Technophobe and literary rover Javier Marías managed to live a life as extraordinary as his work

The French Resistance has often been portrayed in a less than serious light, but that could not be further from the truth, as the memoirs of Marie Chamming’s illustrate

Hamnet’s Maggie O’Farrell creates another major work from one of history’s minor characters

The ‘cli-fi’ genre looks set to play an important role in raising awareness of the environment emergency

Former home secretary Alan Johnson returns with a new novel and some dissenting thoughts on Brexit, Corbyn and Starmer

Venice has produced few major writers – yet few places have inspired so many authors

Authors and readers love live events. But will they survive the attack on Salman Rushdie?

Ten days before Hitler’s suicide, Felix Hartlaub disappeared. But his notebooks live on

This attack is what free speech is all about - not the ravings of Nadine Dorries

A stunning new novel captures the weight of history on a country rinsed with regrets

In spite of human rights and its ongoing threat to Taiwan, Brexit and concerns over the union could soon force us to align with the communist state

HV Morton was a pioneering travel writer of genius.. and also a philandering, racist snob

With Nineteen Eighty-Four more relevant than ever, a group of Orwell enthusiasts – in special company – visits the remote house on the Inner Hebridean island of Jura where he wrote his dystopian masterpiece

As the country faces its greatest crisis, a writer has delivered one of its greatest novels

For many of us, holidays offer a chance to catch up on our reading and in our post-Covid, post-Brexit world, so too does tortuous travel. CHARLIE CONNELLY has you covered

There is a link between UK foreign policy and recent global traumas. So what is our place in the world, and what kind of country do we want to be?

Unless we change our thinking, we will never achieve a revolution in our understanding of reality. We need to shed our ignorance

My books pledge and hope that while they have your attention you will not be alone, and that the same will be true when you are finished

Two centuries since his dramatic death at sea, the legacy of Percy Bysshe Shelley lives on

A remarkable account of illegal travels through the deserted villages and towns near Chernobyl

He wrote fantasy, horror and crime, invented music criticism.. and had time for a day job too

A newly translated novel portrays Europe as a dilapidated hotel that’s wallowing in nostalgia

Once colonised and abandoned, Ireland's capital is buzzy and booming. But whether it is truly European remains unresolved