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

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John Blair Killing the Dead Vampire epidemics from Mesopotamia to the New World 536pp. Princeton University Press. £30 (US $35). A dead body, as anyone who has sat with one will know, is an unsettling

FROM temples and mausoleums to castles and memorials, some of the world’s most enduring monuments are dedicated to love. Roman emperor Hadrian went further than most and built a city – Antinoöpolis –

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

Artist Elaine Murray, 55, from Lyme Regis, shares how creating memorial art has helped people reconnect with those they’ve lost