Still an enigma
Alice O'Keefe finds a calmer and more sensitive side to Tracey Emin in her autobiography, Strangeland.
Come up and see her
Simon Louvish's sparkling new life of Mae West points up the serious side of the queen of the double entendre, says Philip French.
‘She’s left holding the fort’
Margaret Atwood makes her acting debut tonight in her update of the Odyssey - told from the viewpoint of Odysseus's wife. She and Phyllida Lloyd explain why.
Dishing the dirt – about time too
Duff Cooper's frank and racy diaries are finally out. Robert McCrum on a vivid, fascinating and often distasteful portrait of the early 20th century.
Well, excuse me
Does the decline of decorum leave you wanting a little more respect? Stephen Bayley assesses a crop of books on modern manners.
Man of the moment
There's plenty of sparkle, but Park Honan can't escape the lack of evidence about Christopher Marlowe, says Andrew Dickson.
Northern soul
Caryl Phillips returns to Leeds to see how the city of his youth has changed.
From slave to Slav
Hugh Barnes and Frances Somers Cocks present parallel investigations into Pushkin's African great-grandfather in Gannibal and The Moor of St Petersburg. Philip Marsden is enthralled.
Life studies
Barnaby Rogerson and Rose Baring dispel popular misconceptions about the Islamic world with their timely collection, Meetings With Remarkable Muslims, says Louisa Waugh.
Rules of engagement
Censorship battles once focused on books, but today the performing arts are under attack, especially works that mix drama and documentary. David Edgar argues that free speech must be preserved if artists are to be protected from a witchhunt.
Look this way
Geoff Dyer might not own a camera, but he reveals a keen understanding of photographers and their portraiture in The Ongoing Moment, says Sean O'Hagan.
Unfinished sympathy
John Peel's wife Sheila Ravenscroft completed Margrave of the Marshes after he died - and has produced an immensely compelling portrait, says Simon Garfield.
Imagine? Not here
Cynthia Lennon's biography of her ex-husband John is long on angst, short on insight, says Andrew Anthony.
One from the heart
Chris Patten argues eloquently for our place as part of Europe in Not Quite the Diplomat, says Ian Black.
Modern verse/ just gets worse/ … and worse
The actor and writer Stephen Fry has turned his considerable firepower on contemporary poetry. Now in his own 'how-to' guide he calls for a return to the traditional world of stanza and metre. David Smith reports.