History & Classics
Blood on the River
Marjoleine Kars
A breathtakingly original history of the slave rebellion that almost changed the face of the Americas
Fabric
Victoria Finlay
A magnificent work of original research, unwinding history through cloth – how we make it, use it and what it means to us
A Brief History of Pasta
Luca Cesari
Filled with mouth-watering recipes and engrossing tales, this is the story of Italy in ten dishes.
Astonish Me!
Dominic Dromgoole
A book about sensation in the arts by the long-term Globe Theatre artistic director
The BBC
David Hendy
A monumental work of popular history, making the case that the Beeb is as much of a National Treasure as the NHS
The Book of Phobias and Manias
Kate Summerscale
A captivating A-Z compendium of our fears and obsessions by the bestselling author of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
The Wordhord
Hana Videen
An entertaining and illuminating collection of weird, wonderful and downright baffling words from the origins of English
The Library
Arthur der Weduwen
Princes, collectors, bookworms and thieves: the extraordinary story of the library, from Alexandria to the age of Google
The Aeneid
Shadi Bartsch
A fresh new translation of Vergil's Aeneid by a renowned classicist and scholar of Latin literature
Dante
Alessandro Barbero
A new biography of Dante from award-winning historian Alessandro Barbero and translator Allan Cameron
Russia
Rodric Braithwaite
A short and pithy introduction to the history of Russia as we know it today
Something Out of Place
Eimear McBride
A blistering, galvanising essay from Eimear McBride, award-winning author of A Girl is a Half-formed Thing
The Rule of Laws
Fernanda Pirie
From ancient Mesopotamia to today, the epic story of how humans have used laws to forge civilizations
Brainwashed
Daniel Pick
A brilliant and mind-bending exploration of brainwashing and thought control
Confronting Leviathan
David Runciman
A primer on political theory from bestselling author and host of Talking Politics David Runciman
The Black Book
Sybil Oldfield
Discover the stories of the heroic individuals singled out for death by the Nazis' plan to invade Britain