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Lincoln Allison, emeritus reader in politics at the University of Warwick, is reading John Julius Norwich¡¯s France: A History: From Gaul to De Gaulle (John Murray, 2018). ¡°This is the last of more than 40 books by Lord Norwich, published in the year of his death. His entr¨¦e into the subject was special because his father, Duff Cooper, was ambassador to France when he was a teenager. John Julius Norwich, as he was normally known, was a ¡®popular¡¯ historian and a frequent television performer. To some degree, that means ¡®lightweight¡¯, because his history often lacks multiple sources and thematic arguments. What he offers in compensation is a breadth of knowledge, a fluency of style, a wealth of anecdote and a ready wit. I have rarely laughed so much while reading history. The book also serves as a good filler of gaps: I was particularly taken by its assessment of the ¡®citizen-king¡¯ Louis-Philippe d¡¯Orl¨¦ans (1830-48), rated as France¡¯s finest ruler given the circumstances he faced.¡±

Maria Delgado, professor and director of research at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, is reading Anne Garc¨ªa-Romero¡¯s The Forn¨¦s Frame: Contemporary Latina Playwrights and the Legacy of Mar¨ªa Irene Forn¨¦s (University of Arizona Press, 2016). ¡°Playwright, translator and critic Anne Garc¨ªa-Romero studied with and then worked for the legendary Cuban-American playwright and director Mar¨ªa Irene Forn¨¦s, who died in October 2018. Her perceptive analysis of five Latina dramatists ¨C Caridad Svich, Quiara Alegr¨ªa Hudes, Karen Zacar¨ªas, Elaine Romero and Cusi Cram ¨C is realised through the lens of Forn¨¦s¡¯ models of writing. This is a valuable study of some key writers whose work is all too rarely seen in the UK; it is also a wonderful reminder of Forn¨¦s¡¯ importance as a teacher of playwriting and poet of the stage. Her artistic vision and legacy ¨C recognised by Tony Kushner, Paula Vogel, Lanford Wilson and Edward Albee ¨C shine through the pages of this inspiring book.¡±

R. C. Richardson, emeritus professor of history at the University of Winchester, is reading A. J. P. Taylor¡¯s A Personal History (Coronet, 1984). ¡°Taylor (1906?90) was surely the most famous British historian of his time; he positively churned out books, some of them blockbusters and classics. Startling events, coincidences and apparent contradictions always fascinated him more than deep-seated underlying trends. Though he did not warm to many aspects of teaching, inspired, off-the-cuff lecturing was his forte and he became a television star. This autobiography displays his usual forceful writing style and skill in holding webs of detail together. Great names such as Sir Lewis Namier and Lord Beaverbrook ¨C both at different times friends ¨C feature here, as do many others from his crowded academic and political circles. Taylor¡¯s acerbic wit is never far from view, and there would obviously have been much more of it if his publisher¡¯s legal team had not pruned the text to avoid the risk of libel actions.¡±