Are young people’s attention spans really shrinking? It’s more complex than you might think

Distractions long predated today’s fast-moving online world, says culture and technology professor Marion Thain

‘Still so relatable’: how teenage discovery of the Brontës fostered career in literature

Lucy Powrie was 15 when she read Agnes Grey. Ten years on she is chair of the Brontë Parsonage Museum

Charles Dickens Museum showcases its collections to celebrate centenary

Items in special exhibition displayed for first time include copy of David Copperfield taken by Scott to Antarctica

Newly uncovered sites reveal true power of great Viking army in Britain

Previously unseen artefacts show invading forces included communities of men, women, children, craftworkers and merchants

Booksellers predict Orbital by Samantha Harvey will be UK No 1 bestselling book

The Booksellers Association spoke to staff who also highlighted James by Percival Everett, and everything from Chris Hoy’s autobiography to a book about fishing by a dog

Tintin and the terrific tomb: Essex heritage listing is thrill for Hergé fans

Rare stone chest linked to comic-book hero joins church above supermarket under Historic England’s protection

The Philosopher Fish wins oddest book title prize

Richard Adams Carey’s study of the caviar industry scores a narrow victory over How to Dungeon Master Parenting

Historic Thomas Hardy building in Dorchester damaged by fire

Property in Dorset town, known as Casterbridge in Hardy’s novels, was where he was apprenticed to an architect

Is there anything more condescending than being called ‘buddy’?

Far from being friendly, like ‘love’, ‘duck’ and ‘hen’, the term is faux-matey with an edge of covert aggression, writes Emma Beddington

Unmasking Lucy Letby by Jonathan Coffey and Judith Moritz review – reasonable doubt

A forensic study of the Lucy Letby case leaves many questions unanswered

‘It’s like they were smoking something potent’: the ‘bizarre’ Paul McCartney alien musical that never was

Former Beatle’s treatment for the film – and an expanded version by sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov – unearthed in the US

Smashed Ebenezer Scrooge gravestone swiftly repaired free of charge

Vicar praises stonemasons’ rapid restoration of fictional gravesite, seen in 1984 adaption of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

Retro restaurant was note-perfect

In London’s Yellow Bittern, bookings are taken by telephone only and payment is in cash – and the food is worth every penny

Aspiring UK author shoots up bestseller lists after viral social media post

Vicky Ball expressed delight on X at selling two novels at an event – then catapulted up Amazon’s book charts

‘I’m writing a memoir. It’s a pack of lies’: John Banville on a lifetime in books, bereavement, and the Irish love of words

The acclaimed novelist thought he had finished with ‘serious’ books. But now, at 78 and still grieving the loss of his wife, he has a new project on the go