World Book Cafe: Paris

Harriett Gilbert welcomes John Connolly to World Book Club to answer your question on his beautiful, but twisted fairy tale - The Book of Lost Things. Set in the Second World War. The novel tells the tale of twelve-year-old David, who mourns the death of his mother while shut up ...  Show more

Octavia Bright talks to Ragnar Jónasson about his shocking thriller, The Darkness.When Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdóttir is unceremoniously told she is being forced into early retirement, she is given the chance to work on one last Cold Case, anything she likes. The case s ...  Show more

100 years ago English PEN was founded to create a “common meeting ground in every country for all writers.” and it quickly grew into an international organisation. The organisation has long campaigned for Freedom of Expression for writers. To mark the centenary, in a special edit ...  Show more

Can France be fixed? The beleaguered nation faces crumbling institutions, civil strife and economic stagnation. But despite deep political divisions, the French public still seem to agree on one thing at least: something has gone very wrong. In her new book, “Fixing France: Ho ...

Elle est mince, blanche, hétéro, jeune, riche et en bonne santé. Elle est belle au naturel, sexy sans en avoir l’air, mère parfaite, à la silhouette chic et au caractère snob. C’est ainsi que la femme française est souvent résumée – à tord – dans les médias et ...

On vante souvent la laïcité ou la sécularisation comme des spécificités occidentales, voire françaises. Elles renverraient à un affranchissement des principes religieux, et permettraient de mieux entériner les principes de la République dans notre société. Or ...