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A knight of the realm who turned traitor, and was hanged
Roger Casement rejected the Empire, allied with Germany and, as Roland Philipps’s superb study Broken Archangel shows, paid dearly
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Donna Ashworth: ‘I write for the masses – you can’t criticise me for that’
It’s rare for poets to make money from their work, but one – who went viral during lockdown – has bucked the trend
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Ken Follett: Our English teacher was great – he taught us Shakespeare is full of dirty jokes
The Welsh author remembers his school days – and recalls the time he rocked the moves like Jagger and discovered the Bard’s greatest secrets
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The chilling truth about Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken, America’s favourite poem
150 years after his birth, Frost’s poetry has brought comfort to millions. But have we all been missing its true meaning?
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The best graphic novels of 2023, from broken families to a duckling called Norbert
Who said comics have to be comic? This year’s crop gave us haunted spas, apocalyptic visions – and the beauty of pastoral France
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The best children’s books of 2023, from the King to a Spartan princess
This Christmas, young readers can look forward to tales of His Majesty, three wily monkeys and a sumptuous reimagining of Peter Pan
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The best music books of 2023, from Bob Dylan to Britney Spears
Looking for a Christmas present for the music-lover in your life? Try Johnny Cash's lyrics, Sly Stone's memoir or Paul McCartney's snapshots
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The best science books of 2023: from the human battery to what’s inside a black hole
Our top thinkers turned the quest for hard truths into a mind-blowing funride
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The best Ukraine books of 2023, from histories to pictures of carnage
Year two of the war produced breathless tales of resistance, rebuttals to Russian propaganda, and the death of a promising young writer
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The best biographies of 2023, from Burton and Taylor to Mrs Orwell
This year, marriage went under the microscope in engrossing tales of mutual obsession, catastrophic union and doublethink
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The best (and worst) politics books of 2023, from Dorries to DeSantis
The Tory meltdown was a sign of the fractious spirit of the times. But consensus is possible – here are our politics picks of the year
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The best poetry books of 2023: from Homer to the apocalypse
In the 16 best poetry books of the year, readers meet Shakespeare's wife and Chekhov's sisters, a French comte and a wild London hyena
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Useless builders, brazen prostitutes – welcome to real life in ancient Rome
Guy de la Bédoyère’s rollicking new book, Populus, sweeps away the lofty and imperial, and revels in the mundane and absurd
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This viral young writer can be funny – does he need to make things up?
In Four Stars, Joel Golby narrates his life via a string of reviews. It’s often sharp and affecting, but there are questions for the editors
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The violent fall of a great American sports star
Our Fight, the second memoir by former MMA champion Ronda Rousey, is a tale of industry norms that range from sad to frightening
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Was Queen Victoria a political genius – or just a ‘spoilt child?’
Anne Somerset’s fascinating new book, Queen Victoria and the Prime Ministers, shows how the monarch clashed with successive governments
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Ken Follett: Our English teacher was great – he taught us Shakespeare is full of dirty jokes
The Welsh author remembers his school days – and recalls the time he rocked the moves like Jagger and discovered the Bard’s greatest secrets
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A novel that turns a gardener’s gossip into an artform
In Jonathan Buckley’s wonderful 12th novel, Tell, a man’s life, times and bedroom antics are related by one garrulous member of his staff
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Neel Mukherjee: ‘Young people end up clamouring for a new conservatism’
The Booker shortlistee’s new novel delves into our moral choices. But, as he has found on campus, moralising is more in vogue today
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A debut novel about boxing? It’s an absolute knockout
Rita Bullwinkel’s Headshot follows teenage girls competing in a tournament, and its visceral, skilful prose grips from first to last
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A heartbreaking story to help tell your children about the Holocaust
What Rosa Brought, which Jacob Sager Weinstein based on his mother’s childhood, is hauntingly told and sharply illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
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An enchanting final novel from a tragic giant of children’s literature
The late Kate Saunders, it transpires, left behind A Drop of Golden Sun, a multi-layered story of children working on a war film
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Jacqueline Wilson has written another gem – but this time something’s different
The Girl Who Wasn’t There is typically chatty and humorous, and led by a young heroine who sees what adults don’t
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Is it time World Book Day ditched fancy dress?
On Thursday some schools are opting out of the tradition of children dressing up because of the stress and cost for parents
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A bold tale of piracy and villainy for Young Adult readers
Compass and Blade, by Rachel Greenlaw, follows a teenage girl who must save her ‘wrecker’ father from brutal officialdom
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This graphic detective story will keep children riveted
Miss Cat, a sleuthing tale by Joëlle Jolivet and Jean-Luc Fromental, blends an old-fashioned crime caper with a wonderfully eccentric mood
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Want your child to paint or draw? This book will teach them how
If you’re strapped for half-term fun, take some cues from Van Gogh and Hokusai, via Ruth Millington’s This Book Will Make You an Artist
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Dave Eggers’s whale story is more didactic than children deserve
Soren’s Seventh Song, the latest children’s book by the American novelist, is engaging and chatty, but about as subtle as its protagonist
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One man tackles the entirety of classical poetry – and triumphs
Christopher Childers has spent 10 years on The Penguin Book of Greek and Latin Lyric Verse – and his translations sing from the page
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The best poetry books of 2024 so far
Our Poetry Book of the Month choices for 2024 include a verse novel about talking dolls and the latest genre-busting book from Anne Carson
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Saved from the bin: the secrets of Austen, Beckett and Larkin’s scribbled first drafts
From Raymond Chandler's slippery similes to a scene Austen hid, a new exhibition reveals great writers' early drafts and discarded ideas
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Imelda May interview: 'I don’t think women have support within the arts'
As the Irish singer champions The Forgotten Yeats Sisters for Sky Arts, she talks about women in history and the thrill of rock'n'roll
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