BOTM: H. Nicolson, Diaries (ed. N. Nicolson, 2004)
J. Dench, Shakespeare: the man who pays the rent (2023)
H. Mantel, A change of climate (1994)
E. Morris, Colonel Roosevelt (2010)
C. Van Tulleken, Ultra-processed people (2023)
J. Waine, A company of slayers (2023)
I really struggled to get momentum this month, hence only six books. I blame Anna for going away for a fortnight to work. Children are time consuming. Lots of value though. It didn't come off in Tulleken, which was disappointing because of embarrassing overreach. Fascinating on the nutrition; absolute woo woo on everything else. (Sample quotation: 'I see the avoidance of tax as part of ultra-processing'). No such issues elsewhere. Colonel Roosevelt is a very good end to the biographical trilogy, and really frames that tragic final act for Roosevelt. Mantel's novel also very good. Dench was great on Shakespeare and on how little time she has for many people. I liked it a lot.
Dench is an actress of the highest quality; Harold Nicolson is not an author of comparable standing. I've read one of his novels and it was fine; I suspect there's a reason why we don't read them now. I get the feeling that his political career was similar. However, as a diarist, he is superb. Fortunately, he is also at the thick of things during the war, even if he is slightly detached. My father bought them for me because he loved them, and so did I.
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