Our man on the Mosquito Coast
Mike Jay brings an 18th-century hero to life in The Unfortunate Colonel Despard, says Nicholas Lezard.
An oral history
Edmund White's florid memoirs, My Lives, are a paean to promiscuity, says Peter Conrad.
What a superiority complex
Lewis Lapham's collection of journalism, Theater of War, shows he was right about Bush, the 'war on terror' and Iraq. Being right isn't enough, says Peter Preston.
At least her heroines met their match
Lauren Henderson turns to the wisdom of literature in Jane Austen's Guide to Dating. Has she forgotten it's made up, asks Jane Perry.
Figure in a landscape
Andrew Motion enjoys John McGahern's Memoir, a moving account of his childhood in rural Ireland.
Look back in languor
Edmund White balances painful honesty with humour in his vital and engrossing autobiography, My Lives, says Alan Hollinghurst.
The fabric of mourning
A dark thread of loss runs through Justine Picardie's intriguing examination of clothes, My Mother's Wedding Dress, says Frances Wilson.
Journey to the heart
A trunk full of letters helped Vikram Seth to reconstruct the story of his great-aunt Henny and his great-uncle Shanti. Two Lives is a fitting memorial of an extraordinary couple, says Blake Morrison.
Pride & Prejudice – Jane Austen adaptation canters along like a thoroughbred racehorse
Joe Wright’s film contains an outstanding performance from Keira Knightley as Lizzy Bennet, which lifts the whole movie
Actually, Bridget, there’s another Jones in town
Ursula Kenny is delighted to rediscover Liz Jones's Diary - a witty examination of the complexity of modern relationships.
A lot of good Will
Peter Ackroyd's enthusiastic study of the Bard, Shakespeare, joins a crowded field, says Stanley Wells.
Togetherness, once removed
Forever the child of his extended family, Vikram Seth turns his obsessional eye on his uncle and aunt in his latest book. Does he prefer to describe a long-term closeness than experience it himself?
The luvvies’ luvvy
Ned Sherrin's autobiography is a smorgasbord of splendid word play and well-honed anecdotes, says Stephen Bayley.
The crowned head
Simon Callow admires Terry Coleman's workmanlike life of Laurence Olivier, but feels the actor's heart has been left out.
Lost in music
Charles R Cross reveals the reality of Jimi Hendrix's life in his groundbreaking biography of rock's greatest guitarist, Room Full of Mirrors, says David Sinclair.