How Goethe sold his soul to Faust
A new biography by AN Wilson shows how the playwright, poet, scientist and statesman poured himself into his greatest work.
ByBook reviews
Read all the latest book reviews from the New Statesman and discover the best novels, non-fiction, essays and biographies. If you’re looking for something more specific, explore our sections dedicated to politics books and history books.
From Dan Jones to William Boyd: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Warsaw Tales by Antonia Lloyd Jones and Emperor of the Seas by Jack Weatherford.
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What Hillary Clinton knows
Despite moments of frustrating caution, her memoir Something Lost, Something Gained is revealing about Bill and exhilarating on her feminist…
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Who are Britain’s new aristocrats?
An elite by inheritance still holds sway but it has been joined by an elite of grafters.
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From Andrea di Robilant to Simon Morrison: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Turning to Stone by Marcia Bjornerud and True Love by Paddy Crewe.
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Inside the court of Adolf Hitler
Richard J Evans’s group biography of the Third Reich’s enforcers provides a revelatory account of the Nazi mind.
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Elif Shafak’s warning from history
There Are Rivers in the Sky is the Turkish novelist at her ambitious and empathetic best.
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The best children’s books for summer 2024
Find dreams of better worlds in new books for young readers.
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Britain’s justice system is still failing women
A former judge reveals how the law is loaded against victims of rape and domestic violence.
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From Lore Segal to Steve Tibble: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring The Boundless River by Mathijs Deen and Systemic by Layal Liverpool.
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The men who made Labour
A remarkable new novel tells the story of Victor Grayson, the rock star of Victorian socialism.
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Back to the American future
Caught at a violent turning point in history, the United States is struggling to find a path forward.
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Inside the teenage mind
Why understanding the wild and fragile world of adolescence helps us better know ourselves.
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From Simon Kuper to Stephen Alford: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring Anima: A Wild Pastoral by Kapka Kassabova and Sick of It by Sophie Harman.
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Shakespeare’s guide to living
A Freudian reading of the comedies and tragedies reveals how we can embrace life’s failures and reversals.
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Pop’s gay revolution
How stars from Little Richard to David Bowie used their sexuality to set popular culture free.
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From Neil Jordan to Lara Maiklem: new books reviewed in short
Also featuring The Singularity by Dino Buzzati and The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma.
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The young prole rebels of Dexys Midnight Runners
Denied an audience with frontman Kevin Rowland, the author Nige Tassell asks the band’s army of musicians to tell its…
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Left-behind Britain
Paul Collier’s new book reveals how worship of the market made the UK one of the most unequal countries in…
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The vexed history of British feminism
A century ago women activists worked together despite their political differences. Can they do so again?
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