A.N. Wilson: Stuart Kelly’s Scott-land: The Man Who Invented a Nation is a very engaging, highly intelligent conversation with its readers about what we owe to Walter Scott. His heritage is found not only in literature, but also in tourism, in the banking crisis (Kelly has some good things to say about The Letters of Malachi Malagrowther and their relevance to the crisis of 2008) and much more. The author is interested in everything, from Balmoral to the Wild West, from films to Hiawatha. I loved this book and heartily recommend it.
To coincide with the anniversary of Tolstoy’s death, Rosamund Bartlett has written Tolstoy: A Russian Life. The extraordinary character of the giant is captured better by Bartlett than by any previous biographer, and this is partly because she knows Russia so well. Her description, for example, of the ‘Green Yuletide’ — Trinity Sunday — when Russians believed that the Holy Spirit descended on nature itself is unforgettable.
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