PICTURE THIS  PAUL  by Harry Benson (Taschen £50, 172pp) PAUL by Harry Benson (Taschen £50, 172pp). Harry Benson’s new book is a look through the life of Paul McCartney  Harry Benson was initially unhappy when his photo editor sent him to shoot The Beatles in Paris, because he saw himself as a ‘serious photojournalist’.  But as he says now: ‘Thank God I […]

CLASSIC CRIME TO KILL A TROUBADOUR by Martin Walker (Quercus £20, 352pp) TO KILL A TROUBADOUR by Martin Walker (Quercus £20, 352pp)  A policeman’s lot in rural France is no doddle. Bruno Courreges enjoys the good life with fabulous food and wine, and time out to exercise the horses. But crime on a mega-scale is never far away.  For his […]

Written by Leila Mottley This week’s book of the week is Nightcrawling by 19-year-old Leila Mottley, the debut writer from California causing a literary sensation the world over. In this extract, the novel’s young protagonist, Kiara, has a disturbing encounter with a policeman.   Strut, fly, gallop. There are so many ways to walk a street, but none of them will […]

House of the Dragon: Matt Smith stars in HBO series trailer We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Over a decade on since A Dance with Dragons […]

LITERARY FICTION VLADIMIR by Julia May Jonas (Picador £14.99, 256pp) VLADIMIR by Julia May Jonas (Picador £14.99, 256pp) This slippery debut challenges to often electrifying effect the moral pieties concerning women, sex and power that have sprung up in the wake of #MeToo.  Our narrator is a 58-year-old English professor at an American university who is astonished to be asked […]

WHAT BOOK would booker-longlisted author Nathan Harris take to a desert island? Nathan Harris is currently reading Deacon King Kong by James McBride Booker-longlisted author would take Tolstoy’s War And Peace to a desert island The ‘beautiful prose’ of The Great Fire, by Shirley Hazzard left him feeling cold Are you reading now?  Deacon King Kong by James McBride. Rare […]

How Winkie the pigeon rescued an RAF crew: New book reveals the important role birds played in WWII Nearly 250,000 pigeons served with various British Forces during World War II  In December 1943, a medal was awarded to a the pigeon for rescuing an air crew  Nicholas Milton’s new book explores the impact that pigeons had in the war   HISTORY […]

Written by Ione Gamble This week’s book of the week is Poor Little Sick Girls by Ione Gamble, which explores the reality of being diagnosed with an incurable illness in the time of the productivity-obsessed ‘girl boss’. Read an extract from the first chapter below.  I’ve always had a complicated relationship with the void. Defined by Oxford languages as: noun: a […]

Nobody understands romance like Marguerite Kaye – who has penned 60 historical novels and novellas for Mills and Boon – her latest, Her Heart for a Compass, written alongside Sarah, Duchess of York. So can anyone write a bestselling romance? Here, Marguerite, 40, shares her secrets of success… Never give up I still have my first rejection letter from Mills […]

CONTEMPORARY SEDATING ELAINE by Dawn Winter (Fleet £14.99, 272pp) SEDATING ELAINE  by Dawn Winter (Fleet £14.99, 272pp)  I loved this clever, funny and slightly mad debut about love, sex, grief and guilt. It’s a black comedy about Frances, a fabulous anti-heroine whose life is a mess.  Heartbroken after a nasty split with her ex, Frances is not looking for a […]