Biography
A most unreliable culture warrior
Not reactionary, just drawn that way
The Dresser Undressed
The delicate process of writing the biography of a wary Sir Ronald Harwood
Rumours of a crime
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was a flawed man, but he should be allowed to be condemned by his words
Lessons from life
How the facts of Hannah Arendt’s life read like fiction
Was he pushed?
Robert Maxwell’s last two days are covered in great detail in this new book
Scapegoat of a paranoid era
Anne Sebba’s book on Ethel Rosenberg is a towering memorial
Is biography having its very own reckoning?
Blake Bailey has become the latest figure to allegedly fall foul of the uncompromising moral standards of American publishing
Deeply flawed life of Cap’n Bob
Christopher Silvester reveals how this biography of Robert Maxwell is a skilfully constructed page-turner
Arthur Bryant’s floating doters
W. Sydney Robinson, the historian’s latest biographer, discovered that his subject was without scruple in matters of the heart
A kind of loving
Lincoln Allison is moved by a cache of his father’s wartime love letters and what they reveal about conflict, his parents’ relationship — and a huge generational chasm