It takes courage to create a “portrait” of a people; national environments and outlooks change so rapidly that a judicious portrait too easily becomes dismissed as merely judgmental. Paxman had the courage to depict his... Read More

He was descended from the blackamoor of Peter the Great, loved the bar and bordello, fought duels and debts, had “a proper monkey’s face” and was five feet tall. Yet this same imp married a girl of renowned beauty and wrote... Read More