CONTENTS

DAVA SOBEL enjoyed a hu ge success in two continents with h er curio u s biograph y of John H a rri son , the LincoL1shire clockmaker who so lved the probl em of measuring t ime difference on the eart h 's surface. Longitud e (Fo urth Estate) was reviewed in August's Literary R eview by Francis Spufford.

GEOFFREY M OOR.HOUSE has just finished hi s s tud y of medieval Ireland and Celtic spiri tuahty , Th e Sun Dancing , to be published by Weide nfeld in April. It was inspired by the Skellig rocks, ofi the coas t ofKeny.

MARY KE NNY who, to th e Telegraph's sorrow and sh ame, now writes a column in the Daily Express, is publishin g her next book, Goodby e to Catholic lrelar·id , with SinclairStevenso n in M a rch.

TH OMAS P AKEN HAM's Me eti11gs w ith R emarkabl e Tr ees ha s a ppe a red from Weidenfeld to ecstatic reviews from every quarter , not l east from JWM Thompson in O c tober 's Literary R eview.

CoNJ~ BLACK published a book called Duplessis in 1977, about the Canadian statesman of that name, who was Prime Minister of Quebec. H e has a l so written his a utobiography , A Life in Progress, publi s hed in Canada a nd Australia, still eagerly awaited in this co unuy.

RAFFAE LLA BARKER's latest novel , The Hook (Bloomsbmy) , will be coming out in paperback in June.

FROM THE PULPIT

FOREIGN PARTS

1 AUBERON W AUGH

4 GEOFFiliY MOORHOUSE E111pires of th e Mon soo n: A History of th e Indian Ocem1 and Its Peoples R..i c h ard Hall 6 TH OMAS PAKENHAM The Danakil Diary Wilfred Th es ige r 7 SARA WH EELER In Sea rch of Sl~ambhala Elaine Brook 8 FIAMMETTA R..occo Congo j ourney R edmond O 'H anlon 9 T OBIAS ] ONES Moon Country: Further R eports frol/1 l ee /and Sim.on

Armitage and Glyn Ma>..'Well 10 TABASIM H USSA IN Istanbul: Th e I111p eria/ City John Freely 13 J AMES OWEN The Conquest of Assyria: Excavations ir1 a11. Antique

Land 1840-1 860 Mogens Trolle Larse n

FAMILY

14 M ARY KENNY Sons and Mothers (Ed) Vi cto ri a and Matth ew

Glend innin g 15 MINETTE MARR.I N Bom to R ebel : Birth Order, Fa111ily Dyua111ics and Creative Lives Frank J Sullowa y

HISTORY AND MAGIC 16 D AVA SOBEL Astrono111y Bifo re the Telescope (Ed) Christopher

W alker 18 KATH R. YN HUGHES The Witch in Histo1y Di an e Purkiss 18 EusA SEGR.AVE Sisters in Anus: Catholic N uns through Tu1o

Millennia J o Ann Kay M c N am ara

NAPOLEONIANA

MEMOIRS

20 CONR.AD BLACK H ow Far jro 111 Austerlitz? Napoleon 1805-1815

Alista ir Home 22 FRANK M CLYNN Napoleon and His Artists Timothy Wilson-Sm.ith 23 ALI STA IR H ORNE 1815: Th e Roads to Waterloo Gregor Dall as 24 MAX ARTH UR A Thirst for Glory: Th e Life of Admiral Sir Sidney

Smith Tom Po coc k

26 NORMAN SHERRY The E111 igre: A111crical'l Diaries 1939-1 960

Christopher l she rwood (Ed) K ath e rin e Bucknell 27 ToNY P ARSONS R ock Bottom: Dark Mom ents in Music Baby/on

P amela D es Ban·es 28 RA PAGE Angela's A sl1 es : A Me111oir Frank M cCo urt 29 PATR ICIA LEE Fraglll ell.ts: Memoirs of a Childhood 1939-1948

Binjam.in Wilkom.irski 30 T iM ASH LEY This Wild Dark11 ess Harold Brodkey

GREAT AMERICANS 31 RAYM OND SEITZ The Lo11g Affair: ThMNasj rifferson and the

Frmc/1 R evo lution 1785- 1800 Conor Cruise O'Brien 32 BRI AN PHILLIPS Hen11a11 Me/vi/le: A Biography, Volu111e 1: 1819

185 '/ H e rsh e! Parker 34 R oDER ICK GORDON E111erson A 111 ong th e Ecce11trics Carlos Barker

Editor: AUBERON W AUGH Dep uty Editor: N ANCY SLADEK Assistaut Editor: j OANNA CRAVEN Genera l Assistalll: L! SA ALLAR.DICE Busi11ess IV/auager: ISADE LBOOTH BY Ad11ertisi11g Ma11ager: 'CuFF K1MI3 ER

Subscriptions: B EN HOUSE Pub/is/1 er: NAIM ATTALLAH Fotmding Editor: DR ANNE SMITH Co11er illu strat ion by Willia111 R1tshto11

Iss ue 11 0. 222

LITERARY REVIEW De cember 1996