The Art Thief
Michael Finkel
Simon & Schuster, £16.99, pp222
If you’re unfamiliar with Stéphane Breitwieser, then Michael Finkel’s gripping and often hilarious book will provide an invaluable insight into the man who was, for around a decade, the most dedicated and prolific art thief in the world. The Frenchman’s motivation was not financial; instead, the self-described “art collector with an unorthodox acquisition style” kept the pictures in his mother’s attic, having removed them from small, inadequately guarded museums with a Swiss army knife. Some may quibble at Finkel’s generous treatment of him here, but this beguiling account earns sympathy for the devil.
The Bookbinder of Jericho
Pip Williams
Chatto & Windus, £16.99, pp448
Pip Williams’s very readable follow-up to her international bestseller The Dictionary of Lost Words cleaves to its setting and themes. As the male staff at Oxford University Press are called up to fight in the first world war, the women in the bookbindery find themselves taking on additional responsibilities. This is welcomed by the story’s protagonist, Peggy, who begins to see a future for herself far from the drudgery to which she has grown accustomed in this enjoyable and richly detailed novel.
‘You Dirty Old Man’: The Authorised Biography of Wilfrid Brambell
David Clayton
The History Press, £12.99, pp192 (paperback)
The life of the actor Wilfrid Brambell – best known for his performance as the cantankerous Albert Steptoe in Steptoe and Son – was a fascinatingly offbeat one, featuring guest appearances by everyone from Frank Zappa to Terence Davies, and a role in the Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night. Disappointingly, he has been less than fortunate in his biographer. While David Clayton offers many informative details, his excitable style soon grates and he never truly gets to grips with Brambell’s sexuality or alcoholism, resulting in a frustratingly superficial account.
• To order The Art Thief, The Bookbinder of Jericho or ‘You Dirty Old Man’ go to guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
