Literary Review
@litreview.bsky.social
Britain's leading monthly literary magazine. For people who devour books. Read our latest: literaryreview.co.uk
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Out now! Literary Review's October 2025 issue, featuring
John Adamson on the origins of news
Ritchie Robertson on Goethe
Stephen Smith on Basquiat
Anna Reid on oil and the First World War
Robert Hazell on constitutional monarchy
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
John Adamson on the origins of news
Ritchie Robertson on Goethe
Stephen Smith on Basquiat
Anna Reid on oil and the First World War
Robert Hazell on constitutional monarchy
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Literary Review is seeking an editorial intern.
October 22, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Literary Review is seeking an editorial intern.
Though Jean-Michel Basquiat was a sensation in his lifetime, it was thirty years after his death that one of his pieces fetched a record price of $110.5 million.
Stephen Smith explores the artist's starry afterlife.
literaryreview.co.uk/paint-fast-d...
Stephen Smith explores the artist's starry afterlife.
literaryreview.co.uk/paint-fast-d...
Stephen Smith - Paint Fast, Die Young
Stephen Smith: Paint Fast, Die Young - Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Making of an Icon by Doug Woodham
literaryreview.co.uk
October 16, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Though Jean-Michel Basquiat was a sensation in his lifetime, it was thirty years after his death that one of his pieces fetched a record price of $110.5 million.
Stephen Smith explores the artist's starry afterlife.
literaryreview.co.uk/paint-fast-d...
Stephen Smith explores the artist's starry afterlife.
literaryreview.co.uk/paint-fast-d...
In the summer of 1918, the Caspian port of Baku played host to a remarkable group of Allied soldiers, sent to defend oil wells against the Ottomans.
Anna Reid recounts their escapades.
literaryreview.co.uk/mission-impo...
Anna Reid recounts their escapades.
literaryreview.co.uk/mission-impo...
Anna Reid - Mission Impossible
Anna Reid: Mission Impossible - Mavericks: Empire, Oil, Revolution and the Forgotten Battle of World War One by Nick Higham
literaryreview.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 3:44 PM
In the summer of 1918, the Caspian port of Baku played host to a remarkable group of Allied soldiers, sent to defend oil wells against the Ottomans.
Anna Reid recounts their escapades.
literaryreview.co.uk/mission-impo...
Anna Reid recounts their escapades.
literaryreview.co.uk/mission-impo...
Reposted by Literary Review
I reviewed Lynda Nead's BRITISH BLONDE: WOMEN, DESIRE AND THE IMAGE IN POST-WAR BRITAIN for the latest issue of Literary Review @litreview.bsky.social Lovely stuff in four chapters, each about a different British Blonde; can you guess who they are? (One is easy!) literaryreview.co.uk/peroxide-pat...
October 1, 2025 at 7:11 PM
I reviewed Lynda Nead's BRITISH BLONDE: WOMEN, DESIRE AND THE IMAGE IN POST-WAR BRITAIN for the latest issue of Literary Review @litreview.bsky.social Lovely stuff in four chapters, each about a different British Blonde; can you guess who they are? (One is easy!) literaryreview.co.uk/peroxide-pat...
Out now! Literary Review's October 2025 issue, featuring
John Adamson on the origins of news
Ritchie Robertson on Goethe
Stephen Smith on Basquiat
Anna Reid on oil and the First World War
Robert Hazell on constitutional monarchy
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
John Adamson on the origins of news
Ritchie Robertson on Goethe
Stephen Smith on Basquiat
Anna Reid on oil and the First World War
Robert Hazell on constitutional monarchy
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
October 1, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Out now! Literary Review's October 2025 issue, featuring
John Adamson on the origins of news
Ritchie Robertson on Goethe
Stephen Smith on Basquiat
Anna Reid on oil and the First World War
Robert Hazell on constitutional monarchy
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
John Adamson on the origins of news
Ritchie Robertson on Goethe
Stephen Smith on Basquiat
Anna Reid on oil and the First World War
Robert Hazell on constitutional monarchy
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Out now! Literary Review's September 2025 issue, featuring
@willtosh.bsky.social on Christopher Marlowe
@claireharman.bsky.social on Muriel Spark
Seamus Perry on Tennyson
Lucy Hughes-Hallett on the stiff upper lip
Patrick Wilcken on Easter Island
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
@willtosh.bsky.social on Christopher Marlowe
@claireharman.bsky.social on Muriel Spark
Seamus Perry on Tennyson
Lucy Hughes-Hallett on the stiff upper lip
Patrick Wilcken on Easter Island
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Literary Review - For People Who Devour Books
In the Current Issue: Will Tosh on Christopher Marlowe * John Banville on Christopher Clarke * Claire Harman on Muriel Spark * Seamus Perry on Tennyson * Lucy Hughes-Hallett on the stiff upper lip * L...
literaryreview.co.uk
September 1, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Out now! Literary Review's September 2025 issue, featuring
@willtosh.bsky.social on Christopher Marlowe
@claireharman.bsky.social on Muriel Spark
Seamus Perry on Tennyson
Lucy Hughes-Hallett on the stiff upper lip
Patrick Wilcken on Easter Island
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
@willtosh.bsky.social on Christopher Marlowe
@claireharman.bsky.social on Muriel Spark
Seamus Perry on Tennyson
Lucy Hughes-Hallett on the stiff upper lip
Patrick Wilcken on Easter Island
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
19th-century America runs through the life and work of Mark Twain, who was a typesetter, a gold rush prospector, a Confederate soldier and more.
Edward Short investigates where Samuel Clemens ends, and Twain begins.
literaryreview.co.uk/in-search-of...
Edward Short investigates where Samuel Clemens ends, and Twain begins.
literaryreview.co.uk/in-search-of...
Edward Short - In Search of Samuel Clemens
Edward Short: In Search of Samuel Clemens - Mark Twain by Ron Chernow
literaryreview.co.uk
August 21, 2025 at 3:26 PM
19th-century America runs through the life and work of Mark Twain, who was a typesetter, a gold rush prospector, a Confederate soldier and more.
Edward Short investigates where Samuel Clemens ends, and Twain begins.
literaryreview.co.uk/in-search-of...
Edward Short investigates where Samuel Clemens ends, and Twain begins.
literaryreview.co.uk/in-search-of...
Like many trains in this country, HS2 has been blighted by delays and rocketing costs.
David Leeder asks who is to blame for the project's failures.
literaryreview.co.uk/one-track-mi...
David Leeder asks who is to blame for the project's failures.
literaryreview.co.uk/one-track-mi...
David Leeder - One-Track Minds
David Leeder: One-Track Minds - Off the Rails: The Inside Story of HS2 by Sally Gimson
literaryreview.co.uk
August 11, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Like many trains in this country, HS2 has been blighted by delays and rocketing costs.
David Leeder asks who is to blame for the project's failures.
literaryreview.co.uk/one-track-mi...
David Leeder asks who is to blame for the project's failures.
literaryreview.co.uk/one-track-mi...
Students of Ancient Rome have long wondered, why would you enjoy watching a man being hacked to death in front of you?
@bijanomrani.bsky.social digs for an answer.
literaryreview.co.uk/colosseum-co...
@bijanomrani.bsky.social digs for an answer.
literaryreview.co.uk/colosseum-co...
Bijan Omrani - Colosseum Confidential
Bijan Omrani: Colosseum Confidential - Those Who Are About to Die: Gladiators and the Roman Mind by Harry Sidebottom
literaryreview.co.uk
August 6, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Students of Ancient Rome have long wondered, why would you enjoy watching a man being hacked to death in front of you?
@bijanomrani.bsky.social digs for an answer.
literaryreview.co.uk/colosseum-co...
@bijanomrani.bsky.social digs for an answer.
literaryreview.co.uk/colosseum-co...
Out now! Literary Review's August 2025 issue, featuring
Edward Short on Mark Twain
Angela Tilby on St Augustine
Mark Ford on James Schuyler
Dmitri Levitin on Albert Einstein
Howard Davies on Trump's tariffs
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Edward Short on Mark Twain
Angela Tilby on St Augustine
Mark Ford on James Schuyler
Dmitri Levitin on Albert Einstein
Howard Davies on Trump's tariffs
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Literary Review - For People Who Devour Books
In the Current Issue: Edward Short on Mark Twain * Mark Ford on James Schuyler * Angela Tilby on St Augustine * Dmitri Levitin on Einstein * Howard Davies on Trump's tariffs * Peter Marshall on James ...
literaryreview.co.uk
August 5, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Out now! Literary Review's August 2025 issue, featuring
Edward Short on Mark Twain
Angela Tilby on St Augustine
Mark Ford on James Schuyler
Dmitri Levitin on Albert Einstein
Howard Davies on Trump's tariffs
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Edward Short on Mark Twain
Angela Tilby on St Augustine
Mark Ford on James Schuyler
Dmitri Levitin on Albert Einstein
Howard Davies on Trump's tariffs
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Giovanni Boccaccio’s life was one of change and reinvention, ranging from banking to studying canon law, and culminating in his eventual exile from Naples.
Alexander Lee explores how these experiences can be found in the poet’s restless work.
literaryreview.co.uk/man-of-glass
Alexander Lee explores how these experiences can be found in the poet’s restless work.
literaryreview.co.uk/man-of-glass
Alexander Lee - Man of Glass
Alexander Lee: Man of Glass - Boccaccio: A Biography by Marco Santagata (Translated from Italian by Emlyn Eisenach)
literaryreview.co.uk
July 15, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Giovanni Boccaccio’s life was one of change and reinvention, ranging from banking to studying canon law, and culminating in his eventual exile from Naples.
Alexander Lee explores how these experiences can be found in the poet’s restless work.
literaryreview.co.uk/man-of-glass
Alexander Lee explores how these experiences can be found in the poet’s restless work.
literaryreview.co.uk/man-of-glass
In the July issue of Literary Review:
@willwiles.bsky.social
on the Frenchman who brought modernism to London
Giles Fraser
on Hitler and the vicar
Also: Rhodes on trial, Boccaccio in love, Plato gets political - and much, much more.
Out now!
literaryreview.co.uk
@willwiles.bsky.social
on the Frenchman who brought modernism to London
Giles Fraser
on Hitler and the vicar
Also: Rhodes on trial, Boccaccio in love, Plato gets political - and much, much more.
Out now!
literaryreview.co.uk
Literary Review - For People Who Devour Books
In the Current Issue: Will Wiles on Purism * Dennis Duncan on ephemera * Alexander Lee on Boccaccio * Allan Massie on Horace * D J Taylor on Lawrence Durrell * Paul Morland on why we need more people ...
literaryreview.co.uk
July 15, 2025 at 1:46 PM
In the July issue of Literary Review:
@willwiles.bsky.social
on the Frenchman who brought modernism to London
Giles Fraser
on Hitler and the vicar
Also: Rhodes on trial, Boccaccio in love, Plato gets political - and much, much more.
Out now!
literaryreview.co.uk
@willwiles.bsky.social
on the Frenchman who brought modernism to London
Giles Fraser
on Hitler and the vicar
Also: Rhodes on trial, Boccaccio in love, Plato gets political - and much, much more.
Out now!
literaryreview.co.uk
Virginia Woolf is the subject of thousands of books, articles and dissertations. Is there anything new to say about her life and work?
Possibly. @zoeguttenplan.bsky.social considers nearly 1,500 previously uncollected letters.
literaryreview.co.uk/to-the-postbox
Possibly. @zoeguttenplan.bsky.social considers nearly 1,500 previously uncollected letters.
literaryreview.co.uk/to-the-postbox
Zoe Guttenplan - To the Postbox
Zoe Guttenplan: To the Postbox - The Uncollected Letters of Virginia Woolf by Stephen Barkway & Stuart N Clarke (edd)
literaryreview.co.uk
June 30, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Virginia Woolf is the subject of thousands of books, articles and dissertations. Is there anything new to say about her life and work?
Possibly. @zoeguttenplan.bsky.social considers nearly 1,500 previously uncollected letters.
literaryreview.co.uk/to-the-postbox
Possibly. @zoeguttenplan.bsky.social considers nearly 1,500 previously uncollected letters.
literaryreview.co.uk/to-the-postbox
It wasn’t until 1825 that Samuel Pepys’s diary became available for the first time. How it was eventually decrypted and published is a story of subterfuge and duplicity.
Kate Loveman tells the tale.
literaryreview.co.uk/publishing-p...
Kate Loveman tells the tale.
literaryreview.co.uk/publishing-p...
Kate Loveman - Publishing Pepys
Kate Loveman: Publishing Pepys
literaryreview.co.uk
June 18, 2025 at 3:47 PM
It wasn’t until 1825 that Samuel Pepys’s diary became available for the first time. How it was eventually decrypted and published is a story of subterfuge and duplicity.
Kate Loveman tells the tale.
literaryreview.co.uk/publishing-p...
Kate Loveman tells the tale.
literaryreview.co.uk/publishing-p...
Arthur Christopher Benson was a pillar of the Edwardian establishment. He was supremely well connected. As his newly published diaries reveal, he was also riotously indiscreet.
Piers Brendon compares Benson’s journals to others from the 20th century.
literaryreview.co.uk/land-of-dope...
Piers Brendon compares Benson’s journals to others from the 20th century.
literaryreview.co.uk/land-of-dope...
Piers Brendon - Land of Dopes & Tories
Piers Brendon: Land of Dopes & Tories - The Benson Diaries: Selections from the Diary of Arthur Christopher Benson by Eamon Duffy & Ronald Hyam (edd)
literaryreview.co.uk
June 17, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Arthur Christopher Benson was a pillar of the Edwardian establishment. He was supremely well connected. As his newly published diaries reveal, he was also riotously indiscreet.
Piers Brendon compares Benson’s journals to others from the 20th century.
literaryreview.co.uk/land-of-dope...
Piers Brendon compares Benson’s journals to others from the 20th century.
literaryreview.co.uk/land-of-dope...
Of the siblings Gwen and Augustus John, it is Augustus who has commanded most attention from collectors and connoisseurs.
Was he really the finer artist, asks Tanya Harrod, or is it time Gwen emerged from her brother’s shadow?
literaryreview.co.uk/cut-from-the...
Was he really the finer artist, asks Tanya Harrod, or is it time Gwen emerged from her brother’s shadow?
literaryreview.co.uk/cut-from-the...
Tanya Harrod - Cut from the Same Canvas
Tanya Harrod: Cut from the Same Canvas - Artists, Siblings, Visionaries: The Lives and Loves of Gwen and Augustus John by Judith Mackrell
literaryreview.co.uk
June 11, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Of the siblings Gwen and Augustus John, it is Augustus who has commanded most attention from collectors and connoisseurs.
Was he really the finer artist, asks Tanya Harrod, or is it time Gwen emerged from her brother’s shadow?
literaryreview.co.uk/cut-from-the...
Was he really the finer artist, asks Tanya Harrod, or is it time Gwen emerged from her brother’s shadow?
literaryreview.co.uk/cut-from-the...
As Apple has grown, one country above all has proved able to supply the skills and capacity it needs: China.
What compromises has Apple made in its pivot east? Carl Miller investigates.
literaryreview.co.uk/return-of-th...
What compromises has Apple made in its pivot east? Carl Miller investigates.
literaryreview.co.uk/return-of-th...
Carl Miller - Return of the Mac
Carl Miller: Return of the Mac - Apple in China: The Capture of the World’s Greatest Company by Patrick McGee
literaryreview.co.uk
June 10, 2025 at 1:08 PM
As Apple has grown, one country above all has proved able to supply the skills and capacity it needs: China.
What compromises has Apple made in its pivot east? Carl Miller investigates.
literaryreview.co.uk/return-of-th...
What compromises has Apple made in its pivot east? Carl Miller investigates.
literaryreview.co.uk/return-of-th...
We are saddened to hear of the death of Edmund White.
We've lifted the paywall on Richard Davenport-Hines's 2014 review of White's Paris memoir.
literaryreview.co.uk/scenes-from-...
We've lifted the paywall on Richard Davenport-Hines's 2014 review of White's Paris memoir.
literaryreview.co.uk/scenes-from-...
Richard Davenport-Hines - Scenes from a Literary Life
Richard Davenport-Hines: Scenes from a Literary Life - Inside a Pearl: My Years in Paris by Edmund White
literaryreview.co.uk
June 4, 2025 at 12:38 PM
We are saddened to hear of the death of Edmund White.
We've lifted the paywall on Richard Davenport-Hines's 2014 review of White's Paris memoir.
literaryreview.co.uk/scenes-from-...
We've lifted the paywall on Richard Davenport-Hines's 2014 review of White's Paris memoir.
literaryreview.co.uk/scenes-from-...
Reposted by Literary Review
I reviewed @wednesdayerskin.bsky.social's terrific, polyphonic debut novel, The Benefactors, in the June issue of @litreview.bsky.social literaryreview.co.uk/trouble-strife
Jude Cook - Trouble & Strife
Jude Cook: Trouble & Strife - The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine
literaryreview.co.uk
June 2, 2025 at 10:06 AM
I reviewed @wednesdayerskin.bsky.social's terrific, polyphonic debut novel, The Benefactors, in the June issue of @litreview.bsky.social literaryreview.co.uk/trouble-strife
Out now! Literary Review's June 2025 issue, featuring
Piers Brendon on A C Benson
Richard V Reeves on the manosphere
@zoeguttenplan.bsky.social on Virginia Woolf
Tanya Harrod on Gwen & Augustus John
Carl Miller on Apple in China
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Piers Brendon on A C Benson
Richard V Reeves on the manosphere
@zoeguttenplan.bsky.social on Virginia Woolf
Tanya Harrod on Gwen & Augustus John
Carl Miller on Apple in China
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Literary Review - For People Who Devour Books
In the Current Issue: Piers Brendon on A C Benson * Richard V Reeves on modern masculinity * Zoe Guttenplan on Virginia Woolf * Tanya Harrod on Gwen and Augustus John * Carl Miller on Apple in China *...
literaryreview.co.uk
June 2, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Out now! Literary Review's June 2025 issue, featuring
Piers Brendon on A C Benson
Richard V Reeves on the manosphere
@zoeguttenplan.bsky.social on Virginia Woolf
Tanya Harrod on Gwen & Augustus John
Carl Miller on Apple in China
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Piers Brendon on A C Benson
Richard V Reeves on the manosphere
@zoeguttenplan.bsky.social on Virginia Woolf
Tanya Harrod on Gwen & Augustus John
Carl Miller on Apple in China
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Johannes Gutenberg cut corners at every turn when putting together his bible. How, then, did his creation achieve such renown?
@josephhone.bsky.social investigates.
literaryreview.co.uk/start-the-pr...
@josephhone.bsky.social investigates.
literaryreview.co.uk/start-the-pr...
Joseph Hone - Start the Presses!
Joseph Hone: Start the Presses! - Johannes Gutenberg: A Biography in Books by Eric Marshall White
literaryreview.co.uk
May 19, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Johannes Gutenberg cut corners at every turn when putting together his bible. How, then, did his creation achieve such renown?
@josephhone.bsky.social investigates.
literaryreview.co.uk/start-the-pr...
@josephhone.bsky.social investigates.
literaryreview.co.uk/start-the-pr...
Convinced of her own brilliance, Gertrude Stein wished to be ‘as popular as Gilbert and Sullivan’ and laboured tirelessly to ensure that her celebrity would outlive her.
Sophie Oliver examines the real Stein.
literaryreview.co.uk/the-once-fut...
Sophie Oliver examines the real Stein.
literaryreview.co.uk/the-once-fut...
Sophie Oliver - The Once & Future Genius
Sophie Oliver: The Once & Future Genius - Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife by Francesca Wade
literaryreview.co.uk
May 16, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Convinced of her own brilliance, Gertrude Stein wished to be ‘as popular as Gilbert and Sullivan’ and laboured tirelessly to ensure that her celebrity would outlive her.
Sophie Oliver examines the real Stein.
literaryreview.co.uk/the-once-fut...
Sophie Oliver examines the real Stein.
literaryreview.co.uk/the-once-fut...
Princess Diana was adored and scorned, idolised, canonised and chastised.
Why, asks Nicola Shulman, was everyone mad about Diana?
literaryreview.co.uk/kind-hearts-...
Why, asks Nicola Shulman, was everyone mad about Diana?
literaryreview.co.uk/kind-hearts-...
Nicola Shulman - Kind Hearts & Coronets
Nicola Shulman: Kind Hearts & Coronets - Dianaworld: An Obsession by Edward White
literaryreview.co.uk
May 7, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Princess Diana was adored and scorned, idolised, canonised and chastised.
Why, asks Nicola Shulman, was everyone mad about Diana?
literaryreview.co.uk/kind-hearts-...
Why, asks Nicola Shulman, was everyone mad about Diana?
literaryreview.co.uk/kind-hearts-...
Reposted by Literary Review
I reviewed Zachary Leader's new book about Richard Ellmann (and Ellmann's Joyce biography) for The Literary Review (@litreview.bsky.social).
literaryreview.co.uk/portrait-of-...
literaryreview.co.uk/portrait-of-...
Rhodri Lewis - Portrait of the Biographer as a Young Man
Rhodri Lewis: Portrait of the Biographer as a Young Man - Ellmann’s Joyce: The Biography of a Masterpiece and Its Maker by Zachary Leader
literaryreview.co.uk
May 1, 2025 at 5:42 PM
I reviewed Zachary Leader's new book about Richard Ellmann (and Ellmann's Joyce biography) for The Literary Review (@litreview.bsky.social).
literaryreview.co.uk/portrait-of-...
literaryreview.co.uk/portrait-of-...
Out now! Literary Review's May 2025 issue, featuring
Nicola Shulman on Princess Diana
Sophie Oliver on Gertrude Stein
Costica Bradatan on Pascal
Howard Davies on the dollar's decline
@josephhone.bsky.social on Gutenberg
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Nicola Shulman on Princess Diana
Sophie Oliver on Gertrude Stein
Costica Bradatan on Pascal
Howard Davies on the dollar's decline
@josephhone.bsky.social on Gutenberg
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Literary Review - For People Who Devour Books
In the Current Issue: Nicola Shulman on Princess Diana * Sophie Oliver on Gertrude Stein * Costica Bradatan on Pascal * Howard Davies on the dollar * Joseph Hone on Gutenberg * Adam Douglas on rare bo...
literaryreview.co.uk
May 6, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Out now! Literary Review's May 2025 issue, featuring
Nicola Shulman on Princess Diana
Sophie Oliver on Gertrude Stein
Costica Bradatan on Pascal
Howard Davies on the dollar's decline
@josephhone.bsky.social on Gutenberg
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk
Nicola Shulman on Princess Diana
Sophie Oliver on Gertrude Stein
Costica Bradatan on Pascal
Howard Davies on the dollar's decline
@josephhone.bsky.social on Gutenberg
and much, much more: literaryreview.co.uk