VENICE CITY OF PICTURES by Martin Gayford (Thames & Hudson). Tourists have always loved Venice. She may be drowning but she is still here, old, picturesque, the same Venice Canaletto saw, constantly reinventing herself. 500 years of history are viewed by Bellini, Titian, Guardi, Turner, Manet and so many more. The book is a delight for those who love Venice and love art.
LOST CITIES OF THE ANCIENT WORLD by Philip Matyszak (Thames & Hudson). An absolutely fascinating list of abandoned cities from the Neolithic era up to the late Roman Empire, some of which have been located whilst others have never been found. Written with an informative yet light and accessible touch, it whets the appetite for travel.
SHAKESPEARE THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT by Judi Dench (Michael Joseph). It’s a joy to read what a great actor has to say about the roles she has acted in Shakespeare’s plays. Dench has played so many with such freshness and given so much pleasure. Her passion, knowledge, interpretation and humour are invaluable.
PRU & TIM A LOVE STORY by Timothy West (Michael Joseph). Prunella Scales and Timothy West, married for sixty years, have had distinguished stage and television careers, embracing not only Fawlty Towers, Edward VII and Brass, but modern and classical works. Today they are best known for the hugely successful series, Great Canal Journeys. West movingly charts Pru’s gentle struggle with dementia.
EARTHLY DELIGHTS A HISTORY OF THE RENASSANCE by Jonathan Jones (Thames & Hudson). Jones makes it all so easy. He is very readable. Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Bruegel, Van Eyck, Durer, Michelangelo, it’s great to look at the works of these artists through his eyes. Here is the Renaissance in all its nakedness. Whose hell would you prefer Hieronymus Bosch’s or Hans Memling’s?
ART UNPACKED by Matthew Wilson (Thames & Hudson). Aimed at the general reader as well as the educator. Wilson takes a fresh and absorbing look at 50 works of art. Paintings and sculptures are deconstructed in order to reveal the elements that make a masterpiece.
LOOKING AT PICASSO by Pepe Karmel (Thames & Hudson). A critical summary of his artistic achievements in paintings, sculptures, drawings and prints. What sets Picasso apart is his gift for continual reinvention: he liberated modern art from the conventions of the Renaissance.
THE CINEMA OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER edited by Nathalie Morris and Claire Smith (BFI) Their fame rests on The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), I Know Where I Am Going (1945), A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Black Narcissus (1947) and The Red Shoes (1948). Watch the films first. The essays offer a fresh perspective and are lavishly illustrated.
THE BRITISH MUSEUM PUZZLE BOOK by Dr Gareth Moore (Thames & Hudson). The museum’s extraordinary collection provides word games and mathematical riddles for puzzle enthusiasts and armchair historians. You don’t have to have specialist knowledge to succeed.
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