Throughout his career, our columnist has relied on the music of poetry to provide grace, wisdom and even a distraction from the sounds of war

What revealed the magic of books for me was The Wind in the Willows. When I was five, I contracted measles, which meant I had to spend my days in bed in a darkened room. My mother sat outside my bedro

Actor, presenter and writer Sir Tony Robinson shares his love of words and the books that have moved and entertained him

Did you know that Thomas Müntzer, leader of the German Peasants’ War in 1525, used a rainbow flag to rally his followers? It’s an aptly exuberant image for the radical charisma of Müntzer, and for the

My love of stories came before my love of reading. I rarely slept as a baby, so my poor mum often soothed me at nights by reading to me. As a small child I listened to Storyteller tapes all night – au

COUNTRY LIFE reviewers reveal the works that impressed and absorbed them in 2025