Blogs in January 2016

The Gilded Chalet 14th January 2016

Rainy summer of 1816. Paparazzi train their telescopes across Lake Geneva on the hanky-panky of Byron, Shelley and their womenfolk. Mary Shelley is inspired to write Frankenstein. Byron diets and dashes off The Prisoner of Chillon while his doctor, ‘Pollydolly’, gives birth...

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City of Lies: Love, Sex, Death and the Search for Truth in Tehran 25th November 2015

Welcome to Tehran, a city where survival depends on a network of subterfuge. Here is a place where mullahs visit prostitutes, drug kingpins run crystal meth kitchens, surgeons restore girls’ virginity and homemade porn is sold in the sprawling...

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Bedouin 6th November 2015

Bedouin is a unique and beautiful portrait of the Arab nomad’s life, rich in colour and culture. It uncovers the mystery that surrounds an ancient tribe and their struggle to survive in hostile conditions, barren lands and the threat...

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The Nomad 6th November 2015

Born to Russian emigres and brought up in an atmosphere of intellectual and aristocratic anachism, in her short life Isabelle Eberhardt (1877-1904) came to be known as the ultimate enigma and a representative of everything that seemed dangerous in...

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Letters From Burma 6th October 2015

In these astonishing letters, Aung San Suu Kyi reaches out beyond Burma’s borders to paint for her readers a vivid and poignant picture of her native land. Here she celebrates the courageous army officers, academics, actors and everyday people...

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