Books by Helen Garner
“Helen Garner went to the trial of a man in Australia who stood accused of murdering his sons by driving his car into a dam. He claimed he’d blacked out and that it was an accident, but he was charged with having deliberately killed his children in an act of anger and revenge. Garner documents the trial in great detail, but she’s also documenting the shifting currents of her own feelings about the case, about the man on trial, about his family, his marriage. She seems to almost uncannily intuit the changing moods in the courtroom. It’s very rigorous and very moving.” Read more...
The Best Historical Nonfiction Books
Kate Summerscale, Journalist
Interviews where books by Helen Garner were recommended
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1
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote -
2
A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention, and Murder
by Mark O'Connell -
3
This House of Grief: The Story of a Murder Trial
by Helen Garner -
4
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
by David Grann -
5
Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone
by Richard Lloyd Parry
The Best Historical Nonfiction Books, recommended by Kate Summerscale
The Best Historical Nonfiction Books, recommended by Kate Summerscale
British author Kate Summerscale has mastered the art of writing historical nonfiction books that are real page-turners. Here, she shares some of her own favorites, from the murder of a family in 1959 Kansas to the tragedy of Japan after the 2011 tsunami.
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1
The Revolutionists: The Story of the Extremists Who Hijacked the 1970s
by Jason Burke -
2
How to End a Story: Collected Diaries
by Helen Garner -
3
The Boundless Deep: Young Tennyson, Science and the Crisis of Belief
by Richard Holmes -
4
Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World
by Justin Marozzi -
5
Lone Wolf: Walking the Faultlines of Europe
by Adam Weymouth -
6
Electric Spark: The Enigma of Muriel Spark
by Frances Wilson
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist, recommended by Robbie Millen
The Best Nonfiction Books: The 2025 Baillie Gifford Prize Shortlist, recommended by Robbie Millen
From the terrorists who came up with the idea of hijacking planes to get attention to a biography of the Scottish novelist Muriel Spark, the books in the running for this year’s Baillie Gifford Prize, as always, display a wonderful breadth. Robbie Millen, literary editor of the Times and chair of the 2025 judging panel, talks us through the shortlist of the UK’s most prestigious nonfiction book prize.
