Books

The cruelty of H is for Hawk

H is for Hawk is an adaptation of the bestselling memoir by Helen Macdonald who, following the sudden death of her beloved father, channels her grief through the training of a goshawk, Mabel. The film stars Claire Foy, who is superb, as is the nature photography, but is it right, keeping a wild animal captive, and depriving it of its natural behaviours because it helps you in some way? What’s in it for this gorgeous bird, I kept wondering. The cruelty is never addressed. This is solely about human need. We’re not even told who plays Mabel, so I can’t say what she has been in before or whether she

How Queen Camilla is spreading the joy of reading

Queen Camilla loves a book. Almost any book will do. “There’s something so tactile about a book,” she says. “I like the smell of the pages when you open the cover. I like turning the pages and folding down a corner ready for next time…” The Queen, 78, has loved books for as long as she can remember. She says her father, Bruce Shand, inspired this lifelong passion: “He read to us as children. He chose the books, and we listened. He was probably the best-read man I’ve come across anywhere. He devoured books.” Bruce Shand was a soldier. His father was a writer, about architecture, food and wine. His