Do not speak ill of the dead: so runs a familiar injunction, often recalled when it is already too late, and ill has been spoken. And sometimes the dead themselves set a terrible example. Consider the

AS TRAVELLERS SEEK ESCAPE AND CONNECTION, A NEW WAVE OF TRIPS IS OFFERING BOOK-THEMED ITINERARIES WITH A SENSE OF PLACE

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

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

Some readers may be aware of the Observer’s literary scoop last summer: Chloe Hadjimatheou’s exposé, that is, about The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. Published in 2018, this memoir tells a tale of homeles

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