Stephanie Merritt

Beecher’s beautiful memoir, written partly in response to the death of her brother aged 25, describes in startling detail the highs and lows of existence

An environmental writer returns to her father’s home for his funeral in a family memoir that becomes an examination of Shetland’s crucial role in the energy landscape

The British historian on the drama and resonance of the lives of Richard II and Henry VI, the writers she most admires and the book she wishes she had written

Two important new books find that the choices – and obstacles – facing mothers and would-be mothers have changed little in the past 50 years

Inspired by research for her role in Sex Education, the actor has collected a rich picture of modern women’s sexuality through clandestine contributions

The American author on her rage-filled new novel about the end of a marriage, the extraordinary response to it, and the authors she thinks are most underrated

This lively, accessible insight into four female writers in Elizabethan and Jacobean England explores the complex political, patriarchal and religious backdrop to their lives

In this sequel to The Searcher, the bestselling author picks up with retired Chicago detective Cal Hooper and co in a richly told tale of tangled loyalties

A biracial family in rural Somerset struggle with relationships and identity in a debut novel of subtle originality

This fascinating and richly detailed study of the evolution of magic in the 15th and 16th centuries reveals that accusations of witchcraft rarely stuck to learned men