A Piece of Work

Simon Russell Beale
Abacus, £25, pp339

Simon Russell Beale is one of Britain’s most respected Shakespearean actors, and his first book – part memoir, part incisive study of the challenging roles that he has performed – is as intelligent and thoughtful as his acclaimed stage work. Light on showbiz gossip but full of insight into Shakespearean performance and the life of a working actor, this refreshingly modest account offers fascinating pen-portraits of greats Beale has worked with and known, from Sam Mendes to Lauren Bacall, and vividly conveys the excitement of live theatre.

The Mighty Red

Louise Erdrich
Corsair, £20, pp384

A new novel from Louise Erdrich, the Pulitzer prize-winning author of the excellent The Night Watchman, is always a literary event, and her latest continues one of American literature’s most remarkable winning streaks. Touching on everything from the climate crisis to the way in which familial dynasties visit their failings and foibles on each generation, Erdrich’s account of a love triangle between the prosperous Gary, the aptly named Kismet and the dashing Hugo is rich in carefully drawn detail, and the narrative grips and haunts by turns.

Jerusalem

Simon Sebag Montefiore
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £14.99, pp848 (paperback)

When it was first published in 2011, Simon Sebag Montefiore’s epic history of Jerusalem was met with the kind of rapturous acclaim that any writer would die for. Nearly a decade and a half later, Sebag Montefiore has revisited his book for this newly updated and revised edition. It retains all the strengths of the painstakingly researched and authoritatively written original, but adds some carefully nuanced and finely judged political observations that take this most fractious and endlessly eventful of narratives right up to the present day.

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