Recommended - Books - Arts & Entertainment - The Independent

A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton, Doubleday £14.99. A chilling courtroom drama, threaded with a sense of farmers waiting for the cows to come home. Review by Natasha Walter, 7 January.

William Morris: A Life by Fiona MacCarthy, Faber £25. Engaging portrait of the great designer and social thinker. Review by Claire Tomalin, 3 December

Shaka's Children by Stephen Taylor, HarperCollins £18. An impressive history of the Zulu nation, which takes a cool, humane look at a story full of both grandeur and savagery. Review by Jan Morris, 7 January

Biographical Dictionary of Film by David Thomson, Andr Deutsch £25. Passionate, idiosyncratic, and far more than a mere reference book. Review by Anthony Quinn, 7 January

The Prince of West End Avenue by Alan Isler, Jonathan Cape £9.99. An intricate tragi-comedy in which the residents of a Manhattan retirement home grapple with Hamlet. Review by Hugo Barnacle, 28 January

Journals 1982-1986 by Anthony Powell, Heinemann £20. Engaging set of jottings that describe an archetypal life in English letters. Review by Godfrey Hodgson, 28 January.

Christina Stead: A Biography by Hazel Rowley, Secker £12.99. A fine account of a complex writer, full of the smells of old Australia. Review by Doris Lessing, 4 February.

Owen Howells: From the UK to Australia and back again (and again!)

Owen Howells is a DJ/producer who grew up in Australia but was born in the UK. He came back to the U...

Brighton Fringe 2013 – Is everyone sitting uncomfortably?

Fancy seeing a play about serial killers? How about inviting a funeral director into your home for a...

The Fall ‘Darkness Visible’ – Series 1, episode 2

There are a good many moments in the second episode of this psychological thriller that deserve refl...

Most Viewed
Most Shared
Most Commented

SPONSORED FEATURES

Get your summer started with British Military Fitness

BMF is the UK’s biggest and best loved outdoor fitness classes

Visit York Nook Get reading

Prizes & offers Business videos

Visit York

Find out what The Independent's resident travel expert has to say about one of the most beautiful small cities in the world

Military Fitness Nook Get reading

Prizes & offers Business videos

Making reading fun for kids

Nook is donating eReaders to volunteers at high-need schools and participating in exclusive events throughout the campaign.

Military Fitness Visit York Get reading

Prizes & offers Business videos

Introducing the 'Get Reading' campaign

Get the latest on The Evening Standard's campaign to get London's children reading.

Military Fitness Visit York Nook

Prizes & offers Business videos

Enter the latest Independent competitions

Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.

Military Fitness Visit York Nook

Get reading Business videos

Business videos from commercial thought leaders

Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.

Military Fitness Visit York Nook

Get reading Prizes & offers

James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany

Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy

Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats

Giro d'Italia: The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

As the Giro d'Italia tackles the brutal climb, Simon Usborne takes on the snow and switchbacks – and soon realises what the fuss is about

National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication

Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness

British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff

James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again