A particular kind of courage
Writing and releasing a novel into the world is daunting for any writer, whether it is their first…
Short life of Mary mattered
On a Sunday morning in March 1844, Mary Doherty, a 14-year-old servant, was murdered during a robbery at…
Dublin’s street traders come alive, alive-O
For all the recent uproar about the “groping” of the Molly Malone statue in Dublin, it is striking…
Honest coming of age memoir
We’ve all heard the phrase you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but book covers do matter,…
Familiar names in colourful, gritty romp across 1980s New York
Early on in The Gods of New York, Jonathan Mahler’s enthralling overview of the city in the second…
Revealing dive into the ripple effects of Wilde’s scandal
In the opening chapter of After Oscar: The Legacy of Scandal, Merlin Holland, grandson of Oscar Wilde, recounts…
Finger on the pulsing beats
In March 2024, Germany added Berlin’s techno scene to the country’s national registry of ‘intangible culture’ — a…
A brave dissection of terror
Linden MacIntyre’s decision to write a biography of Sir Hugh Tudor was brave and rewarding. Brave because Tudor…
A love letter to more humble beginnings
The final chapter of Mark Ronson’s memoir Night People: How to Be a DJ in 90s New York…
No ignoring of the questions raised
This a hard book to review. Perhaps any book about the Pelicot trial would be the same. Once…
The arc of change — from firebrand unionist to unlikely peacemaker
On becoming first minister of Northern Ireland in 1998, David Trimble appointed a man named Graham Gudgin to…