It was, one supposes, inevitable. The bicentenary of the fall of Napoleon was simply too tempting a subject for authors and editors alike. I have spent virtually the whole summer wading through a series of new works on the French emperor. Notable among these are Napoleon: Soldier of Destiny, the first volume of a two-part […]
As we approach the two-hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo and the jamboree of commemorations that it will unleash, it is perhaps salutary to ask what it is that we will be celebrating. Waterloo was Napoleon’s last battle, the defeat that condemned him to a second abdication and removal from the European stage. But […]
There was a time when every schoolboy knew the names Wellington and Nelson. Some may even have smiled wryly at the story of Lord Anglesey’s leg or pondered the true meaning of Nelson’s last words. At this most basic level, some contact was made with an extraordinary war that lasted for 22 years at a […]
Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de la Pagerie, the girl who grew up to be the Empress Josephine, had a life more extraordinary than that of any fairy-tale princess. Born into the family of a provincial ne’er-do-well, she survived divorce and the Revolution – she was days from the guillotine when Robespierre fell – to become one of […]
With the bicentenary of Waterloo fast approaching in 2015, it seems a suitable time to reassess the lives and careers of the opposing generals, the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte. These two monster biographies each tell, incredibly, just half their subject’s story. Philip Dwyer’s Citizen Emperor climaxes at Waterloo and is the sequel to […]
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Knowledge of Sufism increased markedly with the publication in 1964 of The Sufis, by Idries Shah. Nowadays his writings, much like his father’s, are dismissed for their Orientalism and inaccuracy.
@fitzmorrissey investigates who the Shahs really were.
Fitzroy Morrissey - Sufism Goes West
Fitzroy Morrissey: Sufism Goes West - Empire’s Son, Empire’s Orphan: The Fantastical Lives of Ikbal and Idries Shah by Nile Green
literaryreview.co.uk
Rats have plagued cities for centuries. But in Baltimore, researchers alighted on one surprising solution to the problem of rat infestation: more rats.
@WillWiles looks at what lessons can be learned from rat ecosystems – for both rats and humans.
Will Wiles - Puss Gets the Boot
Will Wiles: Puss Gets the Boot - Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B ...
literaryreview.co.uk
Twisters features destructive tempests and blockbuster action sequences.
@JonathanRomney asks what the real danger is in Lee Isaac Chung's disaster movie.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/eyes-of-the-storm