I've written a paean to invitations for The Spectator, in this week's edition. Read it here, and here I'm talking to Mary Killen (her off Gogglebox) about the decline.
Novelist and Reviewer: Author: The Other Book, The Liberators. The Darkening Path Trilogy: The Broken King, vol. 1; The King's Shadow, vol. 2, and The King's Revenge, vol. 3. The Double Axe, a retelling of the Minotaur story, and The Arrow of Apollo. How To Teach Classics to Your Dog published October 2020. Wildlord, publishing October 2021.
Friday 4 October 2024
Notes on... Invitations
Friday 13 September 2024
Saturday 7 September 2024
The Count of Monte Cristo: Rereading for The Times
Sometimes a commission comes along for which I'll drop everything: and quite literally, I did for this one, a re-reading of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, for The Times. I read it in four days flat - an entirely blissful experience which reminded me a bit of being at university and having the leisure to do nothing but read. Here's the piece. There's a small error in it: I've written that Edmond was illiterate; he wasn't, of course; I meant "uncultured" as a contrast to his cultured second self.
Monday 2 September 2024
Sam Leith's THE HAUNTED WOOD: review
I began work at Literary Review as an intern, some twenty years ago; I left in 2008, and continued on as a Contributing Editor. I love the magazine, and thus am entirely delighted that my review of Sam Leith's splendid book on Children's Literature, THE HAUNTED WOOD, is on this month's cover. You can read the review here.
Friday 23 August 2024
DOGS AND MONSTERS by Mark Haddon
My review of Mark Haddon's latest collection of short stories, Dogs and Monsters, is in this week's Spectator. Read it here.