Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion by Alain de Botton - Alain de Botton thinks religion can still teach us a thing or two. But his plans for sceptics are both eccentric and alarming... (22 January 2012)

Titanic Lives by Richard Davenport-Hines - Some people behaved appallingly when the Titanic sank, finds this compelling account — but others displayed breathtaking heroism... (8 January 2012)

Jane Austen’s Letters edited by Deirdre Le Faye - Don’t be fooled by the gossipy reputation of Jane Austen — her letters show her to have been much more cynical than she seems... (18 December 2011)

PG Wodehouse: A Life in Letters edited by Sophie Ratcliffe - PG Wodehouse’s correspondence reveals the extent to which the master stylist was divorced from reality... (13 November 2011)

West End Front by Matthew Sweet - While most Londoners were suffering during the war, others were living high on the hog in the West End’s plushest hotels... (30 October 2011)

Ben Jonson: A Life by Ian Donaldson - Jealous, quarrelsome and violent, the pugnacious playwright Ben Jonson was forever getting into trouble... (16 October 2011)

Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin Becoming Dickens by Robert Douglas Bairhurst -Two fascinating biographies complement one another in their study of the immortal and inexhaustible Charles Dickens... (2 October 2011)

Soldiers: Army Lives and Loyalties from Redcoats to Dusty Warriors by Richard Holmes - One theme runs through this fine account of the British Army – that the country has always treated its servicemen shamefully... (11 September 2011)

The Last Pre-Raphaelite by Fiona MacCarthy - A richly anecdotal life unpeels the affairs, social climbing and penchant for young girls of pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones (28 August 2011)

The Spade as Mighty as the Sword by Daniel Smith - The Dig for Victory campaign didn’t just unite the British in cultivating their own food — it transformed the health of the wartime population... (7 August 2011)

Now All Roads Lead to France by Matthew Hollis - Edward Thomas packed a lifetime of creativity into two short years. This biography reveals the meeting that triggered his extraordinary outpouring... (31 July 2011)

Vauxhall Gardens by David Coke and Alan Borg - With 100,000 visitors per summer, open-air dining and blazing fireworks, Vauxhall Gardens was the biggest attraction of its day (17 July 2011)