In “a junkyard of surrealistic mayhem”: Adele Bertei ...

In 1943, Hollywood star Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977) sent a radio message back to the people of Lambeth – his “fellow Lambethians”, as he called them – remembering the “hard streets” that shaped him, a

Review of reviews: Books

In 1966, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO brought together the worlds of avant-garde art, European cool and downtown rock’n’roll in one explosive package. Sixty years on, the survivors share tales of drugs, breakdowns, burnouts, blocked toilets and hospital beds – and, of course, the creation of some of the most important music ever made. “We only did things our way,” learns Tom Pinnock . “We were arrogant, perhaps, in thinking we knew best. We were also right. We did know best…”

THE WINNING STORY

Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz Berlin ShuffleTranslated by Philip Boehm256pp. Pushkin. £18.99. The exhumation of Alexander Boschwitz (1915–42) is one of the more pleasing literary stories of recent times.