Books by Nicholas Shakespeare
Nicholas Shakespeare is a British novelist and biographer. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was literary editor of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph. His books include Bruce Chatwin, a biography, and a collection of Bruce Chatwin’s letters, Under the Sun. He is also the author of several novels
Ian Fleming: The Complete Man
by Nicholas Shakespeare
Ian Fleming: The Complete Man, by biographer and novelist Nicholas Shakespeare, is now out in the US. It's the first authorized biography of Fleming since 1966, lengthy (800+ pages) but very readable. If you're curious about the man who created James Bond, this is the biography to read about him. Fleming served in naval intelligence during World War II, lived life to the full on all fronts, and died at age 56 of a heart attack.
Interviews with Nicholas Shakespeare
Bruce Chatwin: Books that Influenced Him, recommended by Nicholas Shakespeare
With his books In Patagonia and The Songlines, Bruce Chatwin (1940-1989) reinvented travel literature. Nicholas Shakespeare, his biographer, lifts the lid on a complex life and selects five books that influenced Chatwin’s work.
Interviews where books by Nicholas Shakespeare were recommended
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1
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
by Stephen Greenblatt -
2
The Colonialist: The Vision of Cecil Rhodes
by William Kelleher Storey -
3
Fulvia: The Woman Who Broke All the Rules in Ancient Rome
by Jane Draycott -
4
The Traitors Circle: The True Story of a Secret Resistance Network in Nazi Germany and the Spy Who Betrayed Them
by Jonathan Freedland -
5
Baldwin: A Love Story
by Nicholas Boggs -
6
True Nature: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen
by Lance Richardson
New Biographies
New Biographies
Among the new biographies coming out in 2025, the lives of literary figures have been particularly prominent, including new books about Robert Louis Stevenson, the Scottish adventure writer, and Shakespeare’s rival Christopher Marlowe, who was stabbed to death aged 29. Also popular are reconstructions of lives from the distant past that we know little about, including the first King of England and Fulvia, the first wife of Mark Antony.
The Best Ian Fleming Books, recommended by Charlie Higson
Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond novels late in his life, before dying of a heart attack at the age of just 56. Charlie Higson, author of the Young Bond series and a novella, On His Majesty’s Secret Service, introduces us to the man and his life and talks us through his five favourite Bond books.
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1
Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
by Tom Holland -
2
Vergil: The Poet's Life
by Sarah Ruden -
3
Ian Fleming: The Complete Man
by Nicholas Shakespeare -
4
The Secret Lives of Numbers: A Global History of Mathematics & its Unsung Trailblazers
by Kate Kitagawa & Timothy Revell -
5
The Chile Project: The Story of the Chicago Boys and the Downfall of Neoliberalism
by Sebastian Edwards
Notable Nonfiction of Fall 2023, recommended by Sophie Roell
Notable Nonfiction of Fall 2023, recommended by Sophie Roell
As summer collapses into fall across the northern hemisphere, Five Books editor Sophie Roell takes a look at the nonfiction books that have been published over the last three months. Reading serious nonfiction books remains the easiest way to get up to speed on not only things you’re already interested in, but lots of things you didn’t know you didn’t know.
