Graphic Jane Austen, Punk Fanzines, and When Books Go Bad: October Books Roundup
Cover Stories by Jamie Kamph
Our ongoing look at new books that have recently caught the eye of our print and online editors this month.
Cover Stories by Jamie Kamph
Another fine volume from Oak Knoll Press, with Kamph looking at over 100 bookbindings and their many and varied designs and techniques, explaining each one's journey.
Facsimile: Making, Likeness, and Medieval Manuscripts by Siân Echard
An intriguing history of medieval manuscript reproduction from the earliest days of copies, through the 18th and 19th centuries, and long distance travel to modern digitization, with a focus on Britain. From the University of Pennsylvania Press
The Master of Contradictions: Thomas Mann and the Making of The Magic Mountain by Morten Høi Jensen
The biography of Thomas Mann's masterpiece, how it evolved from short story to bestselling novel against a backdrop of war and rising right-wing terror. Published by Yale University Press.
When Books Go Bad: Tales of Literary Feuds, Publishing Errors, and Withering Reviews by Alex Johnson
The online editor of Fine Books & Collections takes an often light-hearted look at the darker underbelly of the literary world, the insults, physical blows, snide acknowledgements, and general bad behaviour. Published by the British Library with illustrations by Bill Bragg.
Philip Roth: Stung by Life by Steven J. Zipperstein
A new biography of the Newark-born writer which features the results of more than 100 interviews, including conversations with Philip Roth about his life and work. From Yale University Press.
Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife by Francesca Wade
Using previously unseen interviews, Wade not only focuses on Gertrude Stein as writer but also about the concept of legacy in broader terms. Published by Simon & Schuster.
Back to Font by Anitra Nottingham and Jason Phillips
A jolly look at the stories of 16 famous typefaces from Hachette.
When All the Men Wore Hats: Susan Cheever on the Stories of John Cheever
The writer's eldest daughter tells his story from her personal firsthand experience of everyday life with him, and what went into the construction of John Cheever's awardwinning stories, six of which are included. Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Patchwork: A Graphic Biography of Jane Austen by Kate Evans
We're nearing the end of the 2025 Austenfest celebration but there's still room for a couple more books on the still hugely popular author. This one takes the patchwork quilt made by Austen as a starting point to examine the fabric of her society, all in a graphic format. Published by Verso.
Wild for Austen: A Rebellious, Subversive, and Untamed Jane by Devoney Looser
Meanwhile, this one suggests that Jane Austen was a much wilder spirit than we generally consider her to have been, assessing her writings as well as her views on subjects on the abolitionist movement and women’s suffrage, unmade film adaptations, examples of her novels cited in court, and also looking at her extended family. From St. Martin's Press.
Keep Your Ear to the Ground: A History of Punk Fanzines in Washington, DC by John R. Davis
A richly illustrated landmark history of the fanzines produced by Washington, DC's punk community from the mid-1970s into the 21st century featuring inteviews with those who made them as well as the musicians. From Georgetown University Press.
Adventures of Max Spitzkopf: The Yiddish Sherlock Holmes by Jonas Kreppel
Translated by Mikhl Yashinsky, these are the complete adventures of Viennese private detective Max Spitzkopf, dubbed the Yiddish Sherlock Holmes, 15 stories of Jewish life towards the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. From White Goat Press
Modern Jewish Worldmaking Through Yiddish Children's Literature by Miriam Udel
Udel analyses the stories and poems written for 20th century Yiddish-speaking children, taking in around 1,000 picture books, poetry collections, and chapter books from Europe and the Americas. From Princeton University Press
Why Q Needs U: A history of our letters and how we use them by Danny Bate
A witty guide to the history of every letter in the alphabet, explaining why we may be able to work ot who invented the letter 'G' and why 'Z' is our last letter but the Greek's sixth. Good fun. From Blink Publishing.
The Life of Violet: Three Early Stories by Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf wrote a three-section comic biography of her friend Violet Dickinson in 1907. The 1908 unpublished draft manuscript - held in New York Public Library’s Berg Collection - is now brought into print for the first time, with an analysis of its importance by Woolf scholar Urmila Seshagiri who uncovered the final, revised typescript. From Princeton University Press.
Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré, edited by Federico Varese
Released by Bodleian Library Publishing to co-incide with its exhibition about le Carré's work and working methods by friends and collaborators.
