British urban history takes a new slant in Judith Walkowitz’s scholarly study of life in Soho in the first half of the 20th century. Sarah Churchwell explores the lasting effects on London — high life, Italian food, nude revues . . . and all kinds of mixing.

Terry Castle’s frank, forthright and cutting style shines through her new collection of essays about how life as a book-obsessed lesbian informs her work as a literary critic.

Neither Fred Inglis’s scholarly study of celebrity nor Andrew Morton’s breathless unauthorised biography gets us any closer to understanding exactly what fascinates us about Angelina Jolie.

It’s disturbing how easily Hollywood overlooks violence against women.