The Maverick: George Weidenfeld and the Golden Age of Publishing
Thomas Harding
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £25, pp336
George Weidenfeld, the co-founder of Weidenfeld & Nicolson (full disclosure: my own publisher), is regarded by posterity as a mixture of literary pioneer, publishing the likes of Lolita and Mary McCarthy’s The Group, and buccaneer whose ability to network at all levels of society (albeit usually high) was only matched by a colourful and eventful personal life. Thomas Harding’s admirably even-handed and readable biography places Weidenfeld in both his social and cultural contexts, never excusing his more dubious actions, but also celebrating his undeniable pizzazz, application and drive.
North Woods
Daniel Mason
John Murray, £16.99, pp384
Daniel Mason’s latest novel is one of those rare books that truly deserves the description “spellbinding”. Its location is a house in the woods of New England, and Mason follows an eclectic cast of characters over four centuries, including painters, poets, psychiatrists, sensational journalists and big-game hunters, and makes their stories both fascinating on their own terms and part of a grander and satisfying picture. There are well-judged observations on colonialism, largely illustrated through the character of the British émigré and farmer Charles Osgood, and Mason’s twist-laden narrative enthrals throughout.
Ready for Absolutely Nothing
Susannah Constantine
Michael Joseph, £10.99, pp353 (paperback)
One of those who have praised Susannah Constantine’s memoir is none other than Lady Glenconner, and there are certain similarities between this book and the wildly bestselling Lady in Waiting. Both depict an eccentrically moneyed milieu where the wealthy do exactly as they want, and both feature appearances from Princess Margaret behaving in the most imperious of fashions. And Constantine mixes uproarious black humour, often scatological in nature, with poignancy when it comes to the way she was written off early in life, only to confound her detractors with her subsequent success.
• To order The Maverick, North Woods or Ready for Absolutely Nothing go to guardianbookshop.com. Delivery charges may apply
