Charles Dickens Pictures from Italy 384pp. Oxford University Press. £176 (US $230). In November 1843, burnt out and living beyond his means, Charles Dickens resolved on a year-long sabbatical in Europ

Dan Sperrin State of Ridicule A history of satire in English literature 816pp. Princeton University Press. £38 (US $45). In State of Ridicule: A history of satire in English literature, Dan Sperrin ha

Enrique Vila-Matas Montevideo Translated by Sophie Hughes and Annie McDermott 240pp. Yale University Press. £14.99 (US $27). “Words are poor mountaineers and poor miners”, lamented the young Franz Kaf

Blinding: The Left Wing Mircea Cǎrtǎrescu, trans. by ...

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.

David Farrier Nature’s Genius Evolution’s lessons for a changing planet 288pp. Canongate. £20. In David Farrier’s latest book, he warns us that humanity is endangering every facet of life on Earth thr