Books

Harrods’ china sale in January 1985 (Image: GETTY) Cast your mind way back to Christmases past. Boxing Day has been and gone. The novelty of those shiny new presents has worn off. The turkey leftovers have all been scoffed and the only enduring remnant of seasonal festivities is a thumping …

As 2023 approaches, so does the 12th year without the publication of The Winds of Winter. It will have been four years since the Game of Thrones TV show ended, which had to rely on plot outlines for the unwritten novel and its follow-up A Dream of Spring. George RR …

Stunning autumn view over Derwentwater and some of its four islands (Image: Getty) It might have started with Kirrin Island and the Famous Five, or perhaps it was Wild Cat isle of Arthur Ransome’s Swallows And Amazons fame, but as a boy reading children’s books about adventurous journeys to such …

Queen’s former chef reveals monarch kept chocolate in her room That chunky chocolate wedge with its thin seam of soft caramel and chewy “mallow” filling contained ingredients whose cost would fluctuate on the international markets: sugar, milk and cocoa. Today, with the official figure hovering around 11 percent but feeling …

Lord Archer’s third and final instalment (Image: Rob Murray) The day started badly for Antonio Rosetti. He was studying the pin board, now covered in photographs with several crosses through them – suspects already cleared, each after confessing to the murder of Cortoglia’s venal and deeply unpopular mayor, Dino Lombardi. …

Paterson Joseph backs Express Give A Book campaign (Image: Faye Thomas) “Can we talk about Peep Show now?” asks the 58-year-old with a relieved baritone laugh, after our lengthy discussion about his experiences as a classically-trained black actor in the entertainment industry and the horrors of Bridgerton, more of which …

Read Lord Archer’s detective thriller (Image: ) After dismissing a false confession by truffle scion Pietro De Rosa the previous day, who claimed to have stabbed mayor Dino Lombardi with his truffle knife, next on Antonio Rosetti’s list of potential suspects was the local olive oil producer Mario Pellegrino. The …

Master storyteller Jeffrey Archer returns with Who Killed The Mayor (Image: Rob Murray) Cortoglia is a picturesque town in the heart of Italy’s Campania region. It rests high on a hill, 40 miles north of Naples, with commanding views towards Monte Taburno to the east, and Vesuvius to the south, …

A ‘superfan’ of writer Evelyn Waugh has vowed to stay living at the author’s family home, even though it has been sold to a mystery bidder for more than £3million.

William’s escapades began in book form but soon turned into radio shows, TV dramas and films (Image: ) Scruffy, mischievous and largely inscrutable, at least as far as adults are concerned, William Brown is one of the best-known and most cherished characters in children’s literature. Created by novelist Richmal Crompton, …