Reviews I have
written recently, appearing in the Sunday Times.
The Brief Life of Flowers by Fiona Stafford — blossoming with
significance: From daisies and cowslips to rare ghost orchids, a
glowing account of the myths and meanings we impose on flowers (11
November 2018)
Letters Home 1936-1977 by Philip Larkin, edited by James Booth — they
didn’t f*** him up, his mum and dad: Larkin’s previously unpublished
letters to his family leaves us in no doubt that the poet loved his
parents, and that they, in turn, worshipped him (21 October 2018)
I Am Dynamite! A Life of Friedrich Nietzsche by Sue Prideaux — unmasking
philosophy’s superman: An outstanding life reveals the full extent
of Nietzsche’s delusions of grandeur (23 September 2018)
Living with the Gods: On Beliefs and Peoples by Neil MacGregor: A
mind‑expanding history of religion - the author of A History of the
World in 100 Objects examines the role of religion in society since the
Stone Age (16 September 2018)
The Letters of Sylvia Plath: Volume II, 1956-1963, edited by Peter K
Steinberg and Karen V Kukil — dispatches from a heart in agony:
Astonishing in themselves, terrible in their intensity and as raw as
freshly sliced meat, the late letters of Sylvia Plath are unmatched in
literature (9 September 2018)
The Warm South: How the Mediterranean Shaped the British Imagination by
Robert Holland: A fascinating study of how the British passion for
all things Mediterranean has influenced our culture for centuries (12
August 2018)
Gypsies: An English History by David Cressy — an outstanding study of a
much-maligned minority: A social historian, himself with Gypsy
ancestors, has produced a scholarly masterpiece (22 July 2018)
City of Light: The Reinvention of Paris by Rupert Christiansen — how the
city was ruthlessly rebuilt: Vivid, dramatic and tragic: a
first-rate study of how the city was remade (8 July 2018)
Gardens and Gardening in Early Modern England and Wales by Jill Francis
— too posh to weed: The rural country gentry who altered the way
that English gardens were created (1 July 2018)
In Montparnasse: The Emergence of Surrealism in Paris from Duchamp to
Dali by Sue Roe — dancing naked with ocelots: The surrealists
thought they were revealing dark truths — they were wrong (10 June 2018)
Making Oscar Wilde by Michèle Mendelssohn — where he got his wit from:
The nightmarish 1882 US tour that turned Oscar Wilde into a master of
repartee (20 May 2018)
Aristotle’s Way: How Ancient Wisdom Can Change Your Life by Edith Hall —
how to be happy the philosopher’s way: The ancient philosopher
Aristotle is the ideal guide to living better, says this classics
professor (6 May 2018)
Seven Types of Atheism by John Gray — ‘the most depressing book I have
read’: None of our ideas about religion, history and humanity have
any meaning, argues the bracing philosopher John Gray (22 April 2018)
Natural Causes: Life, Death and the Illusion of Control by Barbara
Ehrenreich: Mindfulness and positive thinking are on a par with
‘magic’, claims a forceful study (1 April 2018)
In Byron’s Wake: The Turbulent Lives of Lord Byron’s Wife and Daughter,
Annabella Milbanke & Ada Lovelace by Miranda Seymour: A masterful
portrait looks at the effect Byron had on his wife and daughter (11
March 2018)
Civilisations: How Do We Look? & The Eye of Faith by Mary Beard:
Mary Beard’s view of civilisation is hampered by political correctness (4
March 2018)
Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress
by Steven Pinker: Steven Pinker says we should all just cheer up —
humanity has never had it so good (18 February 2018)
Owl Sense by Miriam Darlington: An obsessive quest to uncover the
owl’s many dark secrets is recounted with sharp-eyed wisdom (11 February 2018)
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein by Fiona
Sampson: If we see another literary biography this year as
perceptive as Fiona Sampson’s account of Mary Shelley and the making of
Frankenstein, we’ll be fortunate (7 January 2018)
Writer’s Luck: A Memoir: 1976-1991 by David Lodge: His novels are
full of wild imaginings, but David Lodge, this memoir reveals, has many
regrets about his own timidity (31 December 2017)
Revenge: A Short Enquiry into Retribution by Stephen Fineman:
‘Getting even is a basic urge, argues this study, but it is too often
ugly and senseless (17 December 2017)
The Uncommon Reader: A Life of Edward Garnett by Helen Smith: ‘He
made me an author,’ Joseph Conrad said of Edward Garnett, one of the
most influential men in modern literature (19 November 2017)
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History by Martin Puchner:
A breathtaking survey of how writing has developed over the past 5,000
years (12 November 2017)
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