Our regular reviewers were asked to name the books they’d most enjoyed reading this year. More choices next week
• A.N. Wilson
Rachel Campbell-Johnson’s Mysterious Wisdom: The Life and Work of Samuel Palmer (Bloomsbury, £25) is one of those rare biographies which is a work of literature: beautifully written, overwhelmingly moving. A great art critic, with an understanding of the human heart has produced this masterpiece. It is one of the best biographies I have ever read of anyone: it captures the tragedy of Palmer’s life, and brings out the shimmering glory, the iridescent secrets of his Shoreham phase.
Matthew Sturgis’s When in Rome: 2,000 Years of Roman Sightseeing (Frances Lincoln, £20) is a totally original way of writing about the inexhaustible subject of Rome. Each chapter represents a different era of taste, from ancient to modern times: which artefacts and great sites were most popular in which era. Sturgis is a wonderful guide, the writing is always sprightly, and even if you think you know Rome and its history backwards, here is a book which will contain a surprise on every page.
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