CONTENTS

THIS MONTH’S PULPITis written by Peter Washington, who is General Editor of Everyman’s Library.

DIARMAIDMACCULLOCHis Fellow of St Cross College and Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University. His last book was Reformation: Europe’s House Divided 1490–1700 (Allen Lane).

KENNETHO MORGANis the author of official biographies of James Callaghan and Michael Foot, and of The People’s Peace: British History since 1945.

MIRANDASEYMOURis the author of In My Father’s House, a memoir that has just been published in the US as Thrumpton Hall.

ANTONLAGUARDIAis the Defence and Security Correspondent of The Economist, and is the author of Holy Land, Unholy War: Israelis and Palestinians(Penguin, Updated 2007).

JONATHANMIRSKYhas never seen a whale, although he would love to. He has swum with many sea turtles.

MICHAEL HOLMAN, former Africa editor of the Financial Times, was brought up in Zimbabwe. His second novel, Fatboy and the Dancing Ladies, is published by Abacus this month.

RICHARDOVERY’s The Morbid Age: Britain and the Crisis of Civilisation 1919–1939will be published by Penguin in the spring.

JANERIDLEYis writing a biography of King Edward VII, to be published by Chatto & Windus.

HARRYMOUNT’s new book, A Lust for Window Sills: A Lover’s Guide to British Buildings from Portcullis to Pebble-Dash, will be published next month by Little, Brown.

PULPIT

HISTORY

BIOGRAPHY

FOREIGN PARTS

THESPIANS

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PETERWASHINGTON

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ANTONLAGUARDIA A Choice of Enemies: America Confronts the Middle East Lawrence Freedman RICHARDOVERY Munich: The 1938 Appeasement Crisis David Faber ALLANMASSIE Resistance: Memoirs of Occupied France Agnes Humbert MAXEGREMONT The White War: Life and Death on the Italian Front 1915–1919 MarkThompson JANERIDLEY The Vertigo Years: Change and Culture in the West 1900–1914 Philipp Blom JONATHANKEATES Wrath of God: The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 Edward Paice DIARMAIDMACCULLOCH Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom Tom Holland

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SIMONHEFFER The House of Wittgenstein: A Family at War Alexander Waugh PETERJONES Attila the Hun: Barbarian Terror and the Fall of the Roman Empire Christopher Kelly LESLIEMITCHELL The Forgotten Prime Minister: The 14th Earl of Derby, Vol II – Achievement, 1851–1869 Angus Hawkins TIMOTHYBROOK Bomb, Book and Compass: Joseph Needham and the Great Secrets of China Simon Winchester FERGUSFLEMING Racing withDeath: Douglas Mawson – Antarctic Explorer Beau Riffenburgh

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DOMINICSANDBROOK The Eagle and the Crown: Americans and the British Monarchy Frank Prochaska In Defence of America Bronwen Maddox MICHAELHOLMAN Africa: Altered States, Ordinary Miracles Richard Dowden JASONBURKE The Forever War: Dispatches from the War on Terror Dexter Filkins MARYKENNY Connemara: The Last Pool of Darkness Tim Robinson

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RUPERTCHRISTIANSEN A Strange and Eventful History: The Dramatic Lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving and Their Remarkable Families Michael Holroyd LOUISBARFE Bounder! The Biography of Terry-Thomas Graham McCann Alastair Sim: The Star of Scrooge and The Belles of St Trinian’s Mark Simpson CHRISTOPHERBRAY Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door David Kaufman Doris Day: Reluctant Star David Bret

Editor: NANCYSLADEK Deputy Editor: TOMFLEMING Editor-at-Large: JEREMYLEWIS Editorial Assistant: JONATHANBECKMAN

Contributing Editors: SEBASTIANSHAKESPEARE, PHILIPWOMACK Advertising Manager: TERRYFINNEGAN Classified Advertising: DAVIDSTURGE Founding Editor: DRANNESMITH Founding Father: AUBERONWAUGH Cover illustration by Chris Riddell Issue no. 358

LITERARY REVIEW September 2008

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BRITAIN

HOUSE & GARDEN

GENERAL

INTERVIEW

FICTION

LETTERS

SILENCED VOICES

CRIME

POETRY COMPETITION

LR CLASSIFIEDS

LR CROSSWORD

LR BOOKSHOP

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KENNETHO MORGAN Downing Street Diary: Volume Two – With James Callaghan in No 10 Bernard Donoughue J WMTHOMPSON Our Times: The Age of Elizabeth II ANWilson AMOL RAJAN Balti Britain: A Journey Through the British Asian Experience Ziauddin Sardar

HARRYMOUNT The English House Clive Aslet TIMRICHARDSON Sissinghurst Adam Nicolson

JONATHANMIRSKY Leviathan, or the Whale Philip Hoare BRENDAMADDOX Oscar’s Books Thomas Wright MIRANDASEYMOUR In Tearing Haste: Letters Between Deborah Devonshire and PatrickLeigh Fermor (Ed) Charlotte Mosley JOHNCORNWELL A Long Retreat Andrew Krivak Prisoner of God Michel Benoîît NIGELJONES Panther Soup: A European Journey in War and Peace JohnGimlette CHRISTOPHERHART The Big Necessity: Adventures in the World of Human Waste Rose George JASONGOODWIN Origins: A Memoir Amin Maalouf

PATRICKO’CONNORTALKS TOFRANCIS WYNDHAM

ELAINESHOWALTER Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories Annie Proulx CAROLINEMOOREHEAD Chicago Alaa Al Aswany SAMLEITH The Act of Love Howard Jacobson DJ TAYLOR The Believers Zoe Heller PAMELANORRIS Home Marilynne Robinson LINDYBURLEIGH The Wasted Vigil Nadeem Aslam SEBASTIANSHAKESPEARE One Morning like a Bird Andrew Miller SIMONBAKER The Gate of Air: A Ghost Story James Buchan RACHELHORE Dreaming Iris John de Falbe THOMAS MARKSONFIRSTNOVELS MATTTHORNEONSHORTSTORIES

LUCYPOPESCU JESSICAMANN

LESLIEMITCHELLis Emeritus Fellow of University College, Oxford. His most recent publications include a life of Bulwer-Lytton and a study of the Whig Party entitled The Whig World.

MAXEGREMONT’s biography of Siegfried Sassoon was published in 2005. He is now working on a book about twentieth-century East Prussia.

TIMOTHY BROOK is the Shaw Professor of Chinese at Oxford University and the author most recently of Vermeer’s Hat (Profile).

JASONBURKEis a foreign correspondent for The Observer. His latest book is On the Road to Kandahar: Travels through Conflict in the Muslim World.

RUPERT CHRISTIANSEN’s most recent work, The Complete Book of Aunts, is published by Faber.

TIMRICHARDSONis the author of Arcadian Friends: Inventing the English Landscape Garden(Bantam).

MARY KENNY’s Crown and Shamrock: Ireland and the British Monarchywill be published later this year.

PAMELANORRIS’s Words of Love is published byHarperCollins.

FERGUS FLEMINGhas written a number of acclaimed histories of exploration. His most recent books include Cassell’s Tales of Endurance and The Explorer’s Eye (co-ed Annabel Merullo).

LOUIS BARFE’s new book, Turned Out Nice Again: The Story of British Light Entertainment, will be published in November by Atlantic.

CHRISTOPHERHARTis theatre critic of the Sunday Times.

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LITERARY REVIEW September 2008