Queen James: The Life and Loves of Britain’s First King
Gareth Russell
William Collins, pp496, £25
Russell’s superb biography of James I comes shortly after Lucy Hughes-Hallett’s The Scapegoat, which covered much of the same ground. Russell’s account, however, stands apart in its mixture of acute psychological insight and intricate research, as he brings the backbiting and power struggles of the Jacobean court to life with wit and vigour. His greatest achievement here is to redefine James as one of Britain’s few queer kings, and he dispenses with the euphemisms and evasiveness of other historians in this stirring account of the man who would be queen.
The Paris Dancer
Nicola Rayner
Aria, £9.99, pp368
This is a successful departure for Rayner, previously best known for her carefully observed psychological thrillers. The novel alternates between two intertwined timeframes, one in modern-day New York and one in 1940s Paris, and focuses on a damaged young woman’s exploration of her Jewish great-aunt’s diaries, through which she discovers an adoration of the eponymous ballet dancer turned resistance fighter. This beautifully written tale, based on a true story, will appeal to fans of Elizabeth Gilbert, as it brings the worlds of dance and wartime France alike vividly to life.
Melting Point: Family, Memory and the Search for a Promised Land
Rachel Cockerell
Wildfire, £12.99, pp416 (paperback)
Cockerell’s much-praised debut is a family memoir with a thrilling difference. It explores the life of her great-grandfather David Jochelman, a “businessman” who helped thousands of Russian Jews emigrate from their home country to Texas, and the lasting impact that this would have on her own relatives. The focus soon broadens out to encompass many figures – some famous, some unknown – and Cockerell’s innovative flourish is to piece together their voices as a collage of diaries, letters and interviews. Fascinating, funny and fierce, this is how personal history should be written.
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