Essays, some illustrations, and an alluring index: in 'B' alone you'll find Charles Babbage, Pauline Baynes, burial chamber (neolithic), blue colour, brightness, Louise Bourgeois, boredom, b... read more
The Firebird, Baba Yaga and their cohorts of human, divine and supernatural beings: an enjoyable mix of stories from the Carpathians with analysis of their traditional context. Illustrated ... read more
It's un-British to doubt the Bard these days: historical truth and myth-making catch the light in this scintillating study of our attitudes towards our unifying national treasure.
Looks at the lives of Ryle, Austin, Anscombe and Murdoch and how they transformed moral philosophy in C20th Britain. No rose-tinted specs here, just the plainest tortoise-shell frames...
Scholarly but accessible approach to Thor, Odin et alia, the green myth of Yggdrasil and the darker one of Ragnarok, and the way these have been recast repeatedly. Some illustrations. A comp... read more
A magnificent book by Chaucer's biographer: the forthright, funny, dynamic character from the Canterbury Tales is compared with some real medieval women, and is also traced in the work of la... read more
Carey has been chief reviewer at the Sunday Times for over forty years. This new book is his own selection of his favourite books from the 1000+ that he has reviewed so far.
A first collection of essays and journalism from the novelist best known for We Need to Talk About Kevin. Free speech, identity politics and intellectual imprisonment are all grist to Shrive... read more
Argues that the physical form of books makes them distinctive, and sometimes dangerous, quite as much as their content. (John Morgan’s recent, limited edition Usylessly, with its beautiful... read more
A study of that curious phenomenon: the deification of explorers, politicians, rulers and mavericks, from Columbus to Prince Philip, the late volcano god. A smart take on empire too; provoca... read more
Athena, Circe, Penelope, Helen et al.: female characters and narrators are given centre stage in this fine reworking of the familiar. By the author of Under Another Sky: Journeys in Roman ... read more
A fascinating look at landscape from the aftermath of the Great War to the present, with a showstopping essay by Macfarlane. Unquiet nature, absence and presence, glimpses, tremors, unease a... read more