The Spectator

Books of the Year | 17 November 2007

A selection of the best and worst books of the year, chosen by some of our regular contributors

issue 17 November 2007

Deborah Devonshire

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (Profile Books, £9.99) is small, short, cheap and perfect. It is a gem among the dross, without a wasted word. It conjures a picture so skilfully that whenever I see the Derbyshire County Library van in the village I see Norman and his employer inside discussing their lists of books to borrow. Several bedside copies have already been taken away by my guests. I don’t blame them.

Black Diamonds by Catherine Bailey (Penguin Viking, £20) proves truth to be stranger than fiction. It tells the history of the Fitzwilliam family, with its convoluted relationships, living in royal style at Wentworth House, the biggest-by-far private house in England.

Their vast fortune came from coal — the richest seams in the country ran under their land. The most fascinating part of the story is the Fitzwilliams’ relationship with the thousands of miners they employed. In spite of their wretched housing and starvation wages, the miners preferred to work for Lord Fitzwilliam than for a faceless corporation.

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