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CONTENTS DAVA SOBEL enjoyed a hu ge success in two continents with h er curio u s biograph y of John H a rri son , the LincoL1shire clockmaker who so lved the probl em of measuring t ime difference on the eart h 's surface. Longitud e (Fo urth Estate) was reviewed in August's Literary R eview by Francis Spufford. GEOFFREY M OOR.HOUSE has just finished hi s s tud y of medieval Ireland and Celtic spiri tuahty , Th e Sun Dancing , to be published by Weide nfeld in April. It was inspired by the Skellig rocks, ofi the coas t ofKeny. MARY KE NNY who, to th e Telegraph's sorrow and sh ame, now writes a column in the Daily Express, is publishin g her next book, Goodby e to Catholic lrelar·id , with SinclairStevenso n in M a rch. TH OMAS P AKEN HAM's Me eti11gs w ith R emarkabl e Tr ees ha s a ppe a red from Weidenfeld to ecstatic reviews from every quarter , not l east from JWM Thompson in O c tober 's Literary R eview. CoNJ~ BLACK published a book called Duplessis in 1977, about the Canadian statesman of that name, who was Prime Minister of Quebec. H e has a l so written his a utobiography , A Life in Progress, publi s hed in Canada a nd Australia, still eagerly awaited in this co unuy. RAFFAE LLA BARKER's latest novel , The Hook (Bloomsbmy) , will be coming out in paperback in June. FROM THE PULPIT FOREIGN PARTS 1 AUBERON W AUGH 4 GEOFFiliY MOORHOUSE E111pires of th e Mon soo n: A History of th e Indian Ocem1 and Its Peoples R..i c h ard Hall 6 TH OMAS PAKENHAM The Danakil Diary Wilfred Th es ige r 7 SARA WH EELER In Sea rch of Sl~ambhala Elaine Brook 8 FIAMMETTA R..occo Congo j ourney R edmond O 'H anlon 9 T OBIAS ] ONES Moon Country: Further R eports frol/1 l ee /and Sim.on Armitage and Glyn Ma>..'Well 10 TABASIM H USSA IN Istanbul: Th e I111p eria/ City John Freely 13 J AMES OWEN The Conquest of Assyria: Excavations ir1 a11. Antique Land 1840-1 860 Mogens Trolle Larse n FAMILY 14 M ARY KENNY Sons and Mothers (Ed) Vi cto ri a and Matth ew Glend innin g 15 MINETTE MARR.I N Bom to R ebel : Birth Order, Fa111ily Dyua111ics and Creative Lives Frank J Sullowa y HISTORY AND MAGIC 16 D AVA SOBEL Astrono111y Bifo re the Telescope (Ed) Christopher W alker 18 KATH R. YN HUGHES The Witch in Histo1y Di an e Purkiss 18 EusA SEGR.AVE Sisters in Anus: Catholic N uns through Tu1o Millennia J o Ann Kay M c N am ara NAPOLEONIANA MEMOIRS 20 CONR.AD BLACK H ow Far jro 111 Austerlitz? Napoleon 1805-1815 Alista ir Home 22 FRANK M CLYNN Napoleon and His Artists Timothy Wilson-Sm.ith 23 ALI STA IR H ORNE 1815: Th e Roads to Waterloo Gregor Dall as 24 MAX ARTH UR A Thirst for Glory: Th e Life of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith Tom Po coc k 26 NORMAN SHERRY The E111 igre: A111crical'l Diaries 1939-1 960 Christopher l she rwood (Ed) K ath e rin e Bucknell 27 ToNY P ARSONS R ock Bottom: Dark Mom ents in Music Baby/on P amela D es Ban·es 28 RA PAGE Angela's A sl1 es : A Me111oir Frank M cCo urt 29 PATR ICIA LEE Fraglll ell.ts: Memoirs of a Childhood 1939-1948 Binjam.in Wilkom.irski 30 T iM ASH LEY This Wild Dark11 ess Harold Brodkey GREAT AMERICANS 31 RAYM OND SEITZ The Lo11g Affair: ThMNasj rifferson and the Frmc/1 R evo lution 1785- 1800 Conor Cruise O'Brien 32 BRI AN PHILLIPS Hen11a11 Me/vi/le: A Biography, Volu111e 1: 1819 185 '/ H e rsh e! Parker 34 R oDER ICK GORDON E111erson A 111 ong th e Ecce11trics Carlos Barker Editor: AUBERON W AUGH Dep uty Editor: N ANCY SLADEK Assistaut Editor: j OANNA CRAVEN Genera l Assistalll: L! SA ALLAR.DICE Busi11ess IV/auager: ISADE LBOOTH BY Ad11ertisi11g Ma11ager: 'CuFF K1MI3 ER Subscriptions: B EN HOUSE Pub/is/1 er: NAIM ATTALLAH Fotmding Editor: DR ANNE SMITH Co11er illu strat ion by Willia111 R1tshto11 Iss ue 11 0. 222 LITERARY REVIEW De cember 1996
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DECEMBER 1996 BAD SEX AWARD COUNTRY LIFE BIOGRAPHY STAGE & FILM GENERAL FICTION CRIME SILENCED VOICES POETRY COMPETITION AND RESULTS 35 REPORT BY AUBERON W AUGH 36 VALER IE PAKEN HAM Life in a11 Irish Co untry H ouse M ark Bence-Jones 3 7 J W M THOMPSO Co u11try Life 1897-1997: Th e E11glish Arcadia Ro y Stro ng 39 PATRICK T AYLOR-MARTI N Wisdom a11d lllllocerr ce: A Life rif C K Chesterton J oseph P ea rce 40 J A R.AMSDE A 11thony Eden: A Life a11d R eputatio11 D av id Dutton 41 LAUS VON BuLOw A Life rif Picasso, Volume !I (1907-191 7) John Richardson Portrait rif Picasso as a Young Man Nom1an M ail er 42 GILIJERT DE B oTTON Frar1cis Bacon: Anatomy of an E11igma Michael P eppiatt Baco n: Portraits and Self-Portraits Introdu c tion by Mil an Kund era 43 RALPH B ERRY Bo lt jroll'l th e Blue Sarah Mil es 44 CLAUS VON BULOW Henrik Ibse11 R obert Ferguso n 4 5 PATP..ICK O 'CON OR The Moving Picture Boy: A n lntematio11al Encyclopedia 1895-1995 John Ho lmstrom 46 SHEP..IDAN M OR LEY My Na 111 e Escapes Me: The Diary rif a R etiring Actor Al ec Guinness 47 J E H OLDEN BFI Modem Classics (Ed) Edward Buscombe and R o b White 48 J OHN KEMP The Faber Book rif Christ111as (Ed) Simon R ae 50 DEBORAH B ULL Th e Nigel Lawso11 Diet Book 51 R AFFAELLA BA RKER Th e Tiger Garden: A Book rif Writ ers' D rea 111 s (Ed) Ni cholas Royle 52 KATE H uBBARD The Enchant111ent of Lily Dahl Siri Hustved 52 CAROLINE U PCHER A Vicious C ircle Amanda C raig 53 J OHN K.EENAN Th e Night in Ques tion Tobi as W o lff 54 CANDIDA CREWE Strange and Well Bred Sophi a W atso n 55 DAM IAN THOMPSON Tropical Dark11ess D avid M cLaurin 56 AN AWORTH I GTON Th e lr111 ocence of R oast Chicke11 J o-Ann e Ri chards 57 LISA HILTON Wild Meat and th e Bully Br,rrgers Lois-Ann Yamanaka 57 PHILIP 0AKES 59 j AKE Kll..EILKAMP 60 ALI STA IR H ORN£ I S curre ntly writing a study of the Fre n c h ca p i t a l , to be called Seven Ages of Paris, His latest book , How Far from Austerlitz ? Na poleo n 1805 1815 is re v iewed on page 23, D EBORAH BuLL, Prin c ip le D a n cer with th e Royal Ball e t since 1992, ca u sed a co nside r able stir ea rli e r thi s yea r when she su ccessfu lly defeated a motion in the Oxford Union: 'This House B e beves the Lottery Gives Too Mu c h Money to th e Ebtist Arts ', l n addition to bein g the nation's Pr i n c ipl e Dan ce r , she i s renowned as it s g r eatest expert on diet and exercise , GILBER.T DE B OTTON, a former Trustee of the Tate Ga ll e ry, is one of th e most fa it h ful supporters of Franci s Bacon 's work. He sponsored, among other events , the Tate Gallery's Fr a ncis Bacon Exhibi ti on in 1985. fiAM METTA R OCCO I S a Con t ributing Editor of Vanity Fair. CAROLINE UP HER is co mmi ss ioning e ditor at Fo urth Estate. H e r novel , Falling for lllfr Wrong, co mes out i n pape rback in M arc h (Orion) . H e r r ev i ew of Amand a Craig's nov e l was written b efo r e it was ac quired by Founh Estate. FRANK M CLYNN's biograph y of N a pol eo n will b e pubbshed by Cape n ext yea r. MAX ARTHUR's lates t book, Th e Tru e G lory: R oya l Navy 1914- 1939, was publish ed by Hodd er a nd Stoughton i n October. T7r e Literary R eview, irrcorporatirrg Quarto , is pub/is/r ed rrr orr tlrly fro rrr: 44 Lexir1gtorr treet, Lorrdorr W1R 3LH Tel: 0171 437 9392 Fax: 0171 73 4 1844 JSSN 0144 4360 © All subscription enq uiries to: Literary R eview Subscriptioi'IS, FREEPOST 39, 45-4 6 Poland Street, Lorrdon W1 V 4A U Tel: o ·17 1 73 4 3555 rax: 0171 287 4767. UK Subscription Rate £22, Europe £28, res t of tir e world air mail orr ly £ 44 USA A irspeed subscriptiorr price is £32 (5 4) fo r '12 iss ues. Periodical pre-paid at South Hackerrsack NJ. Postm aster: serrd address clrarrges to Literary Review, Royal Mail Irrterrratiorral, c/o Yellowstorr e, 2375 Prall 8/vd. , Elk Grove Vi llage IL 60007. All advertisirrg enquiries to: Literary Review Advertisirrg, 44 Lexirrgto11 freer, Lorrdon W1 R 3 LH Tel: 0171 43 7 9392 Fax: 0171 73 4 1844 Prirrted by Sirrrpso rr Drewett & Co Ltd, 70 lr eerr Road, R iclrrrrorrd, Surrey TW9 1UF Tel: 0 '181 940 74 4 'I Fax: 0181 948 8749 Distribrrted to r1 ewsagerrts worldwide by USM Ltd, 1 Be11well Road, Lorrdorr N7 7AX Tel: 0'171 396 8000 Fax: 0171 607 3352 Distributed to books/raps by Cerrt ral Books, 99 Wallis R oad, Lorrdon E9 Tel: 018'1 986 4854 WWW: http: I /www. users. dircou .eo. uk / -lit re v email: litrev@dircou. co .uk LITERARY REVIEW December 1996

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CONTENTS

DAVA SOBEL enjoyed a hu ge success in two continents with h er curio u s biograph y of John H a rri son , the LincoL1shire clockmaker who so lved the probl em of measuring t ime difference on the eart h 's surface. Longitud e (Fo urth Estate) was reviewed in August's Literary R eview by Francis Spufford.

GEOFFREY M OOR.HOUSE has just finished hi s s tud y of medieval Ireland and Celtic spiri tuahty , Th e Sun Dancing , to be published by Weide nfeld in April. It was inspired by the Skellig rocks, ofi the coas t ofKeny.

MARY KE NNY who, to th e Telegraph's sorrow and sh ame, now writes a column in the Daily Express, is publishin g her next book, Goodby e to Catholic lrelar·id , with SinclairStevenso n in M a rch.

TH OMAS P AKEN HAM's Me eti11gs w ith R emarkabl e Tr ees ha s a ppe a red from Weidenfeld to ecstatic reviews from every quarter , not l east from JWM Thompson in O c tober 's Literary R eview.

CoNJ~ BLACK published a book called Duplessis in 1977, about the Canadian statesman of that name, who was Prime Minister of Quebec. H e has a l so written his a utobiography , A Life in Progress, publi s hed in Canada a nd Australia, still eagerly awaited in this co unuy.

RAFFAE LLA BARKER's latest novel , The Hook (Bloomsbmy) , will be coming out in paperback in June.

FROM THE PULPIT

FOREIGN PARTS

1 AUBERON W AUGH

4 GEOFFiliY MOORHOUSE E111pires of th e Mon soo n: A History of th e Indian Ocem1 and Its Peoples R..i c h ard Hall 6 TH OMAS PAKENHAM The Danakil Diary Wilfred Th es ige r 7 SARA WH EELER In Sea rch of Sl~ambhala Elaine Brook 8 FIAMMETTA R..occo Congo j ourney R edmond O 'H anlon 9 T OBIAS ] ONES Moon Country: Further R eports frol/1 l ee /and Sim.on

Armitage and Glyn Ma>..'Well 10 TABASIM H USSA IN Istanbul: Th e I111p eria/ City John Freely 13 J AMES OWEN The Conquest of Assyria: Excavations ir1 a11. Antique

Land 1840-1 860 Mogens Trolle Larse n

FAMILY

14 M ARY KENNY Sons and Mothers (Ed) Vi cto ri a and Matth ew

Glend innin g 15 MINETTE MARR.I N Bom to R ebel : Birth Order, Fa111ily Dyua111ics and Creative Lives Frank J Sullowa y

HISTORY AND MAGIC 16 D AVA SOBEL Astrono111y Bifo re the Telescope (Ed) Christopher

W alker 18 KATH R. YN HUGHES The Witch in Histo1y Di an e Purkiss 18 EusA SEGR.AVE Sisters in Anus: Catholic N uns through Tu1o

Millennia J o Ann Kay M c N am ara

NAPOLEONIANA

MEMOIRS

20 CONR.AD BLACK H ow Far jro 111 Austerlitz? Napoleon 1805-1815

Alista ir Home 22 FRANK M CLYNN Napoleon and His Artists Timothy Wilson-Sm.ith 23 ALI STA IR H ORNE 1815: Th e Roads to Waterloo Gregor Dall as 24 MAX ARTH UR A Thirst for Glory: Th e Life of Admiral Sir Sidney

Smith Tom Po coc k

26 NORMAN SHERRY The E111 igre: A111crical'l Diaries 1939-1 960

Christopher l she rwood (Ed) K ath e rin e Bucknell 27 ToNY P ARSONS R ock Bottom: Dark Mom ents in Music Baby/on

P amela D es Ban·es 28 RA PAGE Angela's A sl1 es : A Me111oir Frank M cCo urt 29 PATR ICIA LEE Fraglll ell.ts: Memoirs of a Childhood 1939-1948

Binjam.in Wilkom.irski 30 T iM ASH LEY This Wild Dark11 ess Harold Brodkey

GREAT AMERICANS 31 RAYM OND SEITZ The Lo11g Affair: ThMNasj rifferson and the

Frmc/1 R evo lution 1785- 1800 Conor Cruise O'Brien 32 BRI AN PHILLIPS Hen11a11 Me/vi/le: A Biography, Volu111e 1: 1819

185 '/ H e rsh e! Parker 34 R oDER ICK GORDON E111erson A 111 ong th e Ecce11trics Carlos Barker

Editor: AUBERON W AUGH Dep uty Editor: N ANCY SLADEK Assistaut Editor: j OANNA CRAVEN Genera l Assistalll: L! SA ALLAR.DICE Busi11ess IV/auager: ISADE LBOOTH BY Ad11ertisi11g Ma11ager: 'CuFF K1MI3 ER

Subscriptions: B EN HOUSE Pub/is/1 er: NAIM ATTALLAH Fotmding Editor: DR ANNE SMITH Co11er illu strat ion by Willia111 R1tshto11

Iss ue 11 0. 222

LITERARY REVIEW De cember 1996

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