How Jack Kerouac’s dreams of being the American Proust were ruined by liquor
In 1946, Kerouac met Neal Cassady, a young ex-convict (“burning shuddering frightful”) and they began making a series of orgiastic, melancholic, beatific road trips across America. Five…
Hunt for the book thief: The inside story of the mystery that baffled the literary world
Hundreds of editors, authors, agents and literary scouts all over the world had already been duped into emailing hundreds of other advance manuscripts, generally in the form…
Hunt for the book thief: The inside story of the mystery that baffled the literary world
Hundreds of editors, authors, agents and literary scouts all over the world had already been duped into emailing hundreds of other advance manuscripts, generally in the form…
The Great Cookbook Challenge with Jamie Oliver, review: dinner-time Dragons’ Den cuts out the middle man
There is a Dragons’ Den feel as the hopefuls try to sell their idea. Trainee surgeon Patrick wants to write a book in which all the meals…
In these Covid times, it’s Dostoevsky that is resonating with readers
Fyodor Dostoevsky once wrote of “the pleasure of despair”, and book sales reveal British readers are buying into his brand of agreeable anguish. The Russian writer’s existentialist…
Five festive books (for perfect last-minute gifts)
This treasure trove of recipes and ideas will take you through all your Christmas prep. Making ‘glutney’ and cherry vodka will get you in the festive mood,…
The new gift books and stocking-fillers to buy for Christmas 2021
“As you grow older you will find that good books can be some of your best friends,” wrote Charles Phillipson to his son, Michael, in 1947. Letters…