Spider, By Katarzyna and Sergiusz Michalski
In phobia terms, Reaktion's terrific animal series has reached the king of beasts. Arachnophobia, the Miss Muffet syndrome, is "now counted among the most interesting human neuroses".
Not everyone has this antipathy to the 400 different types of spider. In his memoirs, the 12th Duke of Bedford wrote a chapter called Spiders I Have Known – one favourite enjoyed a daily meal of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
In this enjoyable (at least for some of us) monograph, the reader learns something new about this extraordinary creature. The authors explore how spiders inspired Rubens, Rowlandson, Louise Bourgeois, but sadly omit Harold Wilson's self-description as "a big fat spider sitting in the corner of the room."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies