Thinking Again Jan Morris Faber £16.99 Rating: Back in 2001, Jan Morris, then aged 74, announced that she had just written her final book. Oh yes? By my calculation, she has produced another six books since then – or seven if you include this new one. She has never been a slave to consistency. Whenever … Read more
Cheryl Cole’s great-grandfather’s heroic First World War exploits are amongst the millions of digital records by the National Archives that will be made free to access for Britons amid the coronavirus lockdown. Alongside the diary of Joseph Wilson Ridley, who was part of Durham Light Infantry’s 11th Battalion, archives also include the Earl of Stafford’s … Read more
MEMOIR RESCUING MY FATHER by Susanna Johnston (Zuleika £10, 128pp) Doting elder sister of the late Spectator editor Alexander Chancellor, slightly less adoring daughter of the late-lamented (and late-demented, poor man) former Reuters chairman Sir Christopher Chancellor, the writer Susanna Johnston has collated this charming, witty selection of vignettes and diaries from her well-connected life. … Read more
Getting engaged, saying yes to the dress and to him, was a fantasy Grrrr!!! Gahhhaaahhha! David went to see the flat in Notting Hill that I was thinking of renting, but not with any good grace, viz: ‘I will view it for you, given you say I have no job.’ He sent some photos. ‘Is … Read more