Literarv Review FEBRUARY 2002 U

THE POWER OF CULTURE John Adamson grapples with the Eighteenth Century

Pamela Norris toasts Thomas and Jane Carlyle

Alistair Horne takes the Road to Verdun

Paul Johnson tackles the Vatican American Colonies * Argentinian Criminals

Islam's Black Slaves Byron's Women * Barker's Woes The Serious Steinbeck * The Melancholy McCullers

The Unfortunate Isadora * The Waspish Walton

Why do Hermits go to ground? Unearthed: a Hungarian Masterpiece Julian Barnes in France * Diana Athill at Home

FICTION:Frayn, Schlink, Franzen, Hope, Waugh, McGahern, Trollope...