What to read in January – our top 5 choices
Our pick of the month is a memoir marking the 100th anniversary of one of our most famous naturalists.
Image credit: Saga Magazine
Our pick of the month is a memoir marking the 100th anniversary of one of our most famous naturalists.
RRP £18.99 (Simon & Schuster)
A move to a new flat was to be a fresh start for Nancy North and her partner. But she’s fragile. She had a breakdown, and when the death of their neighbour Kira is written off as suicide, no one will listen to Nancy’s concerns. After all, what does she know? She met Kira only briefly, once.
Gripping stuff from this husband-and-wife team. You wonder what they talk about over their cornflakes.
RRP £16.99 (Quercus)
When an elderly professor goes missing one night and his body is discovered, soaking wet and in pyjamas, far from home, it’s a fourth case for Thames Valley’s DIs Wilkins and Wilkins – Ray the handsome, cultured, Oxford-educated Nigerian Londoner, and Ryan, the puffa-jacketed, gobby chav, product of a trailer park and the university of life.
A terrific, character-driven read that makes you guess – and guess again.
RRP £20 (Allen & Unwin)
It is 1685 and the people of Dorset await the arrival of James II’s henchman, George (‘Hanging Judge’) Jeffreys, and the ‘Bloody Assizes’, in the wake of the failed Monmouth rebellion. Septuagenarian Lady Jane Harrier and her son, Elias, Duke of Granville (a kind of Scarlet Pimpernel figure) must use all their wiles to save thousands from a hideous execution.
A hair-raising sequel to The Swift and the Harrier.
RRP £22 (Allison & Busby)
Bologna, 1575. Orphan Elena Morandi learned the tailor’s art at her father’s knee, but she can only hope to skivvy for the men in a Bolognese workshop, until a powerful brute from her past swaggers back into her life, and she determines to bring him to book.
An elegant, evocative novel, as beautifully wrought as a sampler, it very justly won the inaugural Jenny Brown Associates Debut Writers Over 50 Award.
RRP £20 (Viking)
Whether writing of the resplendent rainbow backside of a mandrill, playing matchmaker to gorillas, or opening a tortoise village, Gerald Durrell never fails to delight.
He would have been 100 on 7 January, and to mark his centenary, his widow, Lee, has compiled a memoir of his extraordinary life, from his writings published and unpublished, with a foreword from HRH Princess Anne.
It’s a joy, but also a posthumous warning against species loss. So, 30 years after his death, Durrell leaves us with a New Year’s resolution to ‘be grateful for having been born into such a magical world’, and to take care of it.
For a limited time, enjoy 3 issues of Saga Magazine for just £1. Receive the next 3 print editions delivered direct to your door, plus 3 months’ unlimited access to the Saga Magazine app—perfect for reading on the go.
Don’t miss your chance to experience award-winning content at an exceptional price.
.jpg?la=en&h=541&w=1232&hash=68EDA28677DE015BF53916AA57CAD1F7)
For the Bake Off judge, the funniest festive season was the one when the lunch went completely wrong.
Jenni Murray is back behind the microphone as she chats to national treasures and household names.
The UK’s bestselling contemporary poet talks about finding huge success in later life and why Christmas is her lifeline.
The singer-songwriter on being diagnosed with ADHD at 70 and how she’s ageing on her own terms.
This frank documentary about the comedian’s European tour reveals the realities of travelling in your 80s.
The baking queen on celebrating her 90th birthday, her daily indulgence and why her husband Paul thinks “cooking is boring”.
The TV star chats about health, her love of sprouts and why she’s been proven right about the detox diet.
