Nigel Jones
The Most Precocious Premier
SOMETIMES THERE ARE two versions – one sublime, the other ridiculous – of even the most well-witnessed famous last words. Did George V, for example, really enquire about the progress of the Empire as he wheezed his last in 1936, or, more credibly, did he growl a brief nautical riposte – ‘Bugger Bognor!’ – to a courtier’s fawning suggestion that he would soon recover sufficiently to recuperate at the aforesaid Sussex resort?
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
'As readers, we are immersed in Tambu’s self-alienation, at one and the same time reached out to and held at arm’s length.'
@ellekeboehmer weighs up Tsitsi Dangarembga's Booker-shortlisted novel, 'This Mournable Body'.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/what-tambu-did-next
'Trump has done China another favour by manifestly not caring a jot about human rights issues. Win-win, as they often say in Beijing, which is why the Chinese leadership wants this biddable figure to defeat Biden.'
@BurlM11 https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-view-from-beijing
'We are blessed at the moment with an abundance of farmers who have powerful stories to tell.'
@herdyshepherd1's 'English Pastoral' is 'lyrical and passionate', says @CharliePyeSmith.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/peak-soil