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

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

PHOTOGRAPHS: FABIEN MONTIQUE, ALANA O’HERLIHY THE POET MAYA ...

Review of reviews: Books

Judy Blume’s Superfudge was in our tiny school library, and I wolfed it down at the age of eight. From then, I was side-by-side with all of Judy’s kids, right the way up to 17-year-old Katherine in Fo

IT MAY BE 2026, BUT MANY HARD-WON RIGHTS FOR WOMEN ARE UNDER THREAT. WE ASK GROUNDBREAKING ACTIVISTS, STORYTELLERS AND A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE WINNER HOW TO MAINTAIN HOPE AND EFFECT CHANGE, EVEN WHEN THE WAY FORWARD IS UNCLEAR