The man who brought Scotland's beavers back: 10 books to read next

Parallel lines
Edward St Aubyn
Jonathan Cape, £20
From the author of the acclaimed Patrick Melrose novels, a novel about dysfunctional families and the reverberations of fateful decisions. It opens in a psychiatric hospital where Sebastian is recovering from a break-down. His therapist also has problems, including the behaviour of his adopted daughter Olivia, who turns out to be Sebastian's sister. A poignant, unsettling exploration of unexpected consequences and connections.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Patrick Melrose, in the TV adaptation of the series of novels written by Edward St. Aubyn (Image: Showtime/Sky) Ingrained
Callum Robinson
Penguin, £10.99
A one-off memoir, with a unique charm, now available in paperback. As a boy, Robinson learned how to work with wood from his father, but it was not until he was a young man that his extraordinary talent emerged. Not that this made for an easy life. Revealing the personal struggle behind his professional success – and the perpetual dread of failure – Ingrained is a hymn to wood, to craftsmanship, and to the joy of making things that people and their descendants will cherish.
The Propagandist
Cécile Desprairies, trans Natasha Lehrer
Swift, £14.99
A disturbing autobiographical novel from a respected French historian. The story of a child whose family's war-time collaboration turns the house into a nest of lies and unspoken fears, it is a truly shocking portrait of eager - in some cases fanatical – collaboration. The narrator's mother, the propagandist of the title, was so skilfully manipulative, she was nicknamed the Leni Riefenstahl of the poster. Despriaries' unflinching account makes uncomfortable reading especially, one suspects, for a nation that has still fully to address the whitewashing of many who were ideologically aligned with their Nazi occupiers.
Germans parade on the Champs-Elyses in Paris, during the Occupation. (Photo by Albert Harlingue/) (Image:) Is a River Alive?
Robert Macfarlane
Hamish Hamilton, £25
This lyrical and mystical exploration of the river suggests that rivers are alive in the same sense as we are - an idea that raises serious legal and political questions. This provocative book, Macfarlane writes, has been 'co-authored' by the rivers he discusses, rivers he calls 'who' not 'which'. Showcasing endangered examples on different continents – Ecuador, south-eastern India and Canada - Is a River Alive? is an urgent call to raise awareness of the dangers facing the world's rivers, and an attempt to encourage us to view them as sentient entities worthy of care and protection.
The Book of Records
Madeleine Thien
Granta, £20
Canadian-born novelist Madeleine Thien admits that her latest book is 'a strange work'. It is also beautifully written. It opens with a Chinese father and his young daughter, Lina, finding themselves in a place known as The Sea. A ramshackle assortment of buildings, The Sea is where migrants and the displaced pause before continuing on their way. There is a peculiar feeling about this community, because it is made up of different times, with a 17th-century Dutch academic and a 1930s German philosopher living as neighbours. Lina's father knows he does not have long to live, and tries to prepare his daughter for her future. A beguiling novel about how to live a good life, and the role of history in our everyday.
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Mona Acts Out
Mischa Berlinski
Summit Books, £16.99
A witty but insightful day-in-the-life story of an actor in crisis. Mona is having trouble with her doctor husband, and her irksome in-laws have colonised their Manhattan apartment. In a few weeks she'll be giving the performance of her life as Shakespeare's Cleopatra, a terrifying prospect for a woman of such fragile self-confidence. On impulse, she heads out, ostensibly for shopping, to visit her old acting mentor. Mona Acts Out describes that brief but transformative escape. An engaging, bittersweet novel.
Foreign Fruit, A Personal History of the Orange
Katie Goh,
Canongate, £16.99
By tracing the history of the orange, which first was grown in China, Katie Goh also explores her own origins. Raised in Northern Ireland, and now living in Edinburgh, her family roots lie in China and Malaysia. Her search to understand her identity moves in tandem with this intriguing account of the orange and its cultural and economic significance down the millennia. An emotionally honest memoir that embraces colonialism, migration and capitalism and much else.
Albion by Anna Hope (Image: free) Albion
Anna Hope
Fig Tree, £16.99
On the death of Philip, the patriarch of the Brookes family, the ancestral 18th-century pile will be passed on to his heirs. After half a century of miserable married life, Philip's widow can't wait to leave, but for their children prospect of inhering the house and its enormous estate is tantalising. One is keen to rewild, another hopes it will become the crucible for a new ruling class, while for a third it represents a chance to reunite with a childhood love. A sensitively-written family saga that encapsulates the state of society today.
The Search for Othella Savage
Foday Mannah
Quercus, 16.99
Foday Mannah's debut novel is a crime story, based on a real case, in which women from the Sierra Leone community in Edinburgh go missing or are found murdered. When Othella Savage, the best friend of politics student Hawa, disappears, Hawa suspects the Lion Mountain Church they attend in Leith holds the answer. From the start, its pastor has made her uneasy. Set between Scotland and Sierra Leone, and recounted in a breezy style, despite its dark and dramatic plot, The Search for Othella Savage illuminates a different Edinburgh from that usually found in the city's detective fiction.

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Charles Dickens's ‘sliding doors' moment: how a cold turned an aspiring thespian into a writer

As a sliding doors moment, it leads to arguably one of the greatest 'what if?' questions in literary history. Passionate about the theatre, Charles Dickens, then just 20, wrote to the famous Covent Garden theatre actor-manager George Bartley seeking an audition, saying he believed he 'had a strong perception of character and oddity, and a natural power of reproducing in my own person what I observed in others'. Bartley responded saying they were producing 'the Hunchback' and arranging an appointment. Dickens planned to take his sister, Fanny, to accompany him singing on the piano. Then Dickens fell ill 'with a terrible bad cold' and missed the audition. By the time the next season came around he had embarked on the parliamentary reporter job that would firmly set him on his path to novelist. Would the world have been deprived of his literary canon but for the timing of that cold? Yet Dickens never abandoned his love of theatre, which is examined in detail in a new exhibition, 'Showtime!', opening on 23 July at the Charles Dickens Museum in London, highlighting his fondness of drama and the dramatic impact of his works. It was evident in how he constructed stories, published as weekly serials with a cliffhanger. In public readings he would physically act out episodes on tours around Britain and America. His most famous one, of the gruesome murder of Nancy by Bill Sykes in Oliver Twist, was so intense it is said it contributed to his death, aged 58, in 1870. The dramatic quality of his stories has lent them easily to innumerable adaptations over two centuries, from those brazenly pirated by the Victorian dramatist Edward Stirling at the Adelphi in London during Dickens's lifetime to The Muppets Christmas Carol in 1992. The actor Simon Callow, who has played many Dickensian characters on stage and screen, said: 'Performing was central to Dickens's life from a very early age. His father used to take him as a five-year-old to the local pub where he would recite and sing. 'Perhaps the pivotal moment of his life was his cancellation because of illness of an audition with the greatest actor-manager of his day. Instead he took a job as a parliamentary reporter and then the course of his life was set.' But Dickens never stopped writing, directing and performing plays, said Callow, a patron of the museum. 'All this came to a head in the public readings, which he performed for massive and astounded audiences on both sides of the Atlantic.' One such astounded spectator was Mark Twain, who wrote of one Dickens reading of a 'spry, (if I may say it,) thin-legged old gentleman, gotten up regardless of expense, especially as to shirt-front and diamonds … the very Dickens came! He did not emerge upon the stage – that is rather too deliberate a word – he strode.' Emma Harper, the exhibition's curator, said: 'I don't think many are aware of the extent of Dickens's theatricality. And particularly that 'sliding doors' moment. I don't know had he gone into acting as his main career whether writing would have been that side hustle for him. It's a great 'what if?'.' Dickens wrote to his friend John Forster of the missed audition: 'See how near I may have been, to another sort of life.' He said he still thought of the theatre. 'I begin to be once more of opinion that nature intended me for the Lessee of a National Theatre – and that pen ink and paper have spoiled a (Theatre) Manager.' Harper said: 'His drama comes through. We have his reading copies where he is taking his own work, he's editing it, he's striking through on the book, glueing pages together, highlighting, writing in his own stage directions to make it as dramatic as possible.' He said Dickens's daughter Mamie, telling of watching him work, 'describes how he jumps up from his desk, goes towards the nearest mirror and he acts out what he's just written; he does all the faces, the voices and then he rushes back to the desk to write it back down again, so to check that his description matches what he wants his audience to experience.' The exhibition, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, explores 200 years of performances of Dickens's stories, from his own edited reading copies to letters, posters, playbills, programmes, photographs and props. Yes, and even including from the Muppets. 'Can't do this without the Muppets!' said Harper. Showtime! is on 23 July 2025 – 18 January 2026 at the Charles Dickens Museum at 48 Doughty Street, Holborn, London.

Edinburgh Live

16 hours ago

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Antiques Roadshow guests 'not allowed' to do one thing which could ruin the show

Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info An Antiques Roadshow participant was taken aback by a strict rule on set, and the valuations of her items also left her surprised. The moment occurred during the filming of the American version of the popular BBC programme. Journalist Jennifer Kopf had the opportunity to participate in the forthcoming series filmed at Grant's Farm in St. Louis. The Country Living writer brought along a framed silhouette and blue glass lamps, keen to learn their value. She explained that depending on the category of your item, you end up consulting with an expert appraiser from that field in a designated area 'spread out all across the grounds'. To prevent any spoilers from leaking, she disclosed that there was one rule she had to adhere to while on set. Jennifer penned for the magazine: "Set up in between were three different filming 'studios' with those famous tables arranged for the big-time appraisals." (Image: Anna Gordon/BBC/PA Wire) I wasn't allowed to tape anything happening on set so as not to take away anything from the big reveals come air time. "Unfortunately, her items didn't fetch the price she had hoped for, with her framed silhouette fetching a modest $25 to $ what really stung was the disappointing valuation of the lamps. Jennifer admitted: "$15 a piece. I have to admit, this hurt a little. But I still love my lamps and will find a perfect spot for them soon". (Image: BBC) This follows another Antiques Roadshow episode where a guest was left astounded after a family ring, long assumed to be inexpensive costume jewellery, turned out to be rare and valuable. An emerald piece has fetched a price far beyond its anticipated value. The astonishing discovery was made during an episode first aired in October 2022 and rebroadcast on Sunday, 15 June. Expert John Benjamin left one family utterly gobsmacked. The guests, two cousins, brought along a trove of inherited heirlooms passed down through the generations. Among the items were a gold novelty pencil, a decorative brooch featuring a fly on a flower, and the green stone ring that became the focus of attention. Discussing the provenance of the pieces, the guests disclosed that many belonged to their great-great-great grandmother, born in 1858. One item, a pencil shaped like a mountaineer's ice pick, bore the names of French mountains. The most startling revelation concerned the green stone ring, which the family had always believed to be costume jewellery. Benjamin valued the ring at a staggering £4,000. In total, the collection was estimated to fetch around £7,000 at auction. Antiques Roadshow can be viewed on BBC One and iPlayer.

Daily Mirror

16 hours ago

• Daily Mirror

Dame Deborah James' husband 'finds love' three years after her death

Dame Deborah James' husband Sebastien Bowen has reportedly found love with a mystery woman, three years after the campaigner's tragic death from bowel cancer Dame Deborah James' widower is said to have found love again, three years after the death of his wife. Prior to her sad death in June 2022, the podcast host and campaigner had encouraged Sebastien Bowen to "move on." Now, it's claimed that he has found love with a mystery woman and was seen enjoying a loved-up date in the scorching weather as the UK experienced a heatwave, with temperatures hitting over 30 degrees. Deborah, who was just 40 at the time of her death from incurable bowel cancer, made it no secret that she wanted her husband to start dating again. ‌ Sebastian was seen last week walking hand in hand with a mystery woman along the River Thames in London. The pair are said to have dined at The River Cafe in the swanky area of Hammersmith, west London, during their romantic day out. ‌ As the temperatures across the country reached new highs, Sebastian kept his look very casual in a blue shirt, with his top buttons undone, while rocking a pair of chino trousers and trainers. Meanwhile, his new love interest looked sensational in a striking red dress, which was cut off above the knee. Her brunette hair flowed freely in the gentle waterfront breeze as she wore a pair of sunglasses to protect her eyes from the blistering sun. The pair were seen walking with their arms wrapped around one another while gazing lovingly at each other. "They looked like they were very much in love," a source told the Daily Mail. They went on to add: "It was very sweet. For anyone who was inspired by Dame Deborah's attitude to life, it was really heartening to see her husband looking happy again." Last year, it was reported that Sebastian had started looking for love again, with sources saying he was taking things "very slowly." An insider went on to say: "Deborah is going to be a tough act to follow, as they had a fantastic marriage and made a great couple. But Seb feels the time has come for him to move on, as Deborah wanted him to." ‌ Deborah, who was known to millions as Bowelbabe on social media, raised over £11million for cancer research and documented her journey with her online followers. The campaigner, who was known for her honesty while battling the heartbreaking disease, spoke openly about her husband moving on. Speaking on the BBC Radio 5 Live show, You, Me And The Big C, she described her widower as a "very eligible bachelor" and knew he would have attention from other women following her death. "I have given him strict instructions," Dame Deborah said. She went on to add: "I want him to move on. He's a handsome man, I'm like, 'Don't be taken for a ride, don't marry a bimbo, find someone else who can make you laugh like we did." But Dame Deborah also joked that she had a list of people she didn't want Sebastian to date. "I would do my damned hardest to haunt him," she joked. Sebastian and Deborah met in 2005 before going on to marry three years later in 2008 and welcomed two children. And it appears that he has the blessing from her family when it comes to finding love again. "Deborah will be a hard act to follow but he has our blessing," her mum Heather said in 2023.