Traces Remain, By Charles Nicholls

In these 25 essays written over as many years, Nicholls presents some teasing historical biographies of people and places, and he both fleshes these out and draws our attention to their enduring mysteries.

Subjects range from Christopher Marlowe and Jack the Ripper to 'unknowns' – those whose infamous deeds have long been obscured, from the arrest of a 16th century alchemist and conman to the shame of Shakespeare's former landlord who was dragged to court for his four-in-a-bed in a "naughty house".