Best books… Roy Foster The emeritus professor of ...

You wouldn’t guess from the cover design—three songbirds silhouetted over swatches of picturesque Englishness—but Catherine Clarke’s A History of England in 25 Poems hits one of its sweet spots with a

Review of reviews: Books

Catherine Clarke A History of England in 25 Poems400pp. Allen Lane. £25. Mark Forsyth Rhyme and ReasonA short history of poetry and people (forpeople who don’t usually read poetry)368pp. Allen & Unwin

The Highgrove Florilegium is a two-volume publication featuring the work of 72 leading botanical artists, with text compiled by botanists at the Natural History Museum. Watercolours from this work hav

In 1974, I hitchhiked with my girlfriend Lesley from John o’Groats to Land’s End in 10 days. After 46 years of happy marriage, Lesley died from breast cancer in October 2022. Losing the love of my lif