Category: Literature
Having your cake and….?

Visiting William Morris’s home, Kelmscott Manor, in high summer it is easy to see why he regarded it as ‘heaven on earth’. Just 3 miles from the town of Lechlade, it seems to be buried deep in the west Oxfordshire countryside. The Manor is only open 3 days a week (Thursday to Saturday) and has […]
Exploring the world of William Morris – Kelmscott Manor 1
Two poems of Cavafy’s
I’ve just translated a couple of Cavafy’s poems, both on historical themes. The first one is a fictional tomb inscription for a young Alexandrian youth called Iasis; Iasis’s tomb Here lie I, Iasis, a youth of this great cityfamed for his beauty.Wise men admired me and also thoughtless,ordinary people. I’m equally glad for both of […]
Two poems of Cavafy’s

Back in May, Faber and Faber reissued Alexander Baron’s brilliant novel The Lowlife, the entertaining, picaresque story of an amiable Jewish charmer trying to get by on his wits in seedy post-war London. The book is a welcome addition to the excellent Faber Editions series, which aims to spotlight rediscovered gems from the publisher’s archive […]
London Novels – ten favourites from my shelves

Anne Frank never wrote in English, yet English became her second voice. Her diary, born in hiding and pain, crossed linguistic boundaries to shape the world’s conscience. It gave English speakers a personal language for trauma, hope, and remembrance—making a Jewish girl’s words a cornerstone of moral imagination across generations.
Anne Frank – A Voice of Conscience in the English Language
