I have the problem with bookcases that everyone has, namely their failure to expand indefinitely to accommodate the permanent leakage of books from the outside world into my house. When I downsized to

Michael Henderson on Radio SWIFT PRESS; RADIO 4; ...

A Queer Inheritance: Alternative Histories in the National ...

In my current project, I don’t quite know what I’m doing, though I’m hoping to strike lucky. As with metal detectorists and those who browse the shelves of charity shops for Ming vases, my hope is alw

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

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