Boris Johnson is writing a memoir. Will we be able to trust it?
The problem with prime ministers’ autobiographies. Plus: self-indulgent podcasts, perfect pianos and the genius of Vermeer.
ByBiographies
Read all the latest reviews from New Statesman writers of biographies and memoirs.
Prince Harry’s Spare breaks UK non-fiction book sales records
The memoir appears to have beaten growing “Harry fatigue”.
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What Norman Mailer can teach us
It is right to condemn the writer’s violent chauvinism – but a literature that has lost the power to challenge is…
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Prince Harry’s Spare is a deeply uncomfortable read
Throughout the book’s 400 pages runs a single theme: the need for closure after a lifetime of repressed trauma.
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The secret lives of Katherine Mansfield
A century after the writer’s death, a new biography shows how she withstood colonial prejudice and terminal illness to produce…
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The Year of the Cat: feline fellowship and the meaning of life
Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett’s memoir of adopting a kitten doubles as a study of anxiety, parenthood and purpose.
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The meaning of Tyson Fury
He survived addiction and a suicide attempt to return to victory in the ring. Now the philosopher-fighter considers the “void”…
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Books of the year 2022
New Statesman writers and guests choose their favourite reading of the year.
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How David Milch reinvented TV drama
The memoir of the American creator of NYPD Blue and Deadwood is a rich story of drink, drugs and creative…
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The Light We Carry: Michelle Obama’s self-help slogans
In converting her life story into self-empowering bromides, the former first lady has exposed the limits of her politics.
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Mary Lou McDonald: behind the respectable face of Sinn Féin
A new biography charts the rapid political rise – and moral compromises – of Sinn Féin’s leader.
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Why DH Lawrence still gets under our skin
His vexatious, evolving style demonstrates a capacity to face the world as sensitively and honestly as possible.
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The vision of Ralph Vaughan Williams
In reviving local and popular musical traditions, the composer found haunting new expressions of Englishness.
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What Harold Wilson can teach Keir Starmer
A new biography shows how one of Labour’s most successful leaders kept the party united at all costs.
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From Jim Crace to Cosey Fanni Tutti: recent books reviewed in short
Also featuring titles by Lawrence Osborne and Matthew Yeomans.
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Agatha Christie’s secret worlds
After her infamous 11-day disappearance in 1926, the author retreated from public view. Lucy Worsley’s new biography claims to solve…
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The 15 best books for summer
The New Statesman’s selection of essential recent releases.
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A life without peace
A new collection of autobiographical prose reveals the turbulent inner life of the celebrated poet Robert Lowell.
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Nora Ephron and the art of self-narrative
The writer and film-maker poured her life into her journalism and romcoms. What can a new biography tell us that…
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The lying life of Emmanuel Carrère
In his new book, Yoga, the French literary star is fixated on truth – so why does he play fast…
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