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''Stimulating and provocative'' The TimesThe once-dominant philosophy of the West, defined by free expression, equal treatment of individuals, national solidarity and scientific rationality, is under threat. ‘Cultural socialism’ – which advocates harsh restrictions on free speech, due process and national symbols in order to reduce psychological harm and bolster the esteem of formerly marginalized groups – is on the rise.Rather than focusing on Marxist revolutionaries or equality law, Eric Kaufmann concentrates on well-meaning left-liberals. He argues that the genesis of ‘woke’ cultural socialism emerged from liberal taboos around race that arose in the 1960s and came to be weaponised and extended to other areas, such as gender. Using extensive survey data, he shows that this process is driven mainly by values, not fear, and is only going to accelerate as culturally leftist generations enter the workforce and electorate. Its rise suppresses the open debate that makes effective policy-making possible, harming the minorities cultural socialists purport to help. Only if we shift from encouraging minority fragility to building minority resilience, using state power to check institutional illiberalism, can we resist cultural socialism and restore cultural flourishing.This is the authoritative study of the radical shift in values that has turbo-charged the culture wars of our time. No-one concerned with the cultural and political conflicts of our times can afford to miss it.

''Not since Joan Didion in her prime has a writer reported from inside inside a system gone mad with this much style, intelligence and wit ... A perfect book'' Caitlin FlanaganFrom former New York Times reporter Nellie Bowles comes an irreverent romp through the sacred spaces of the new left.?As a Hillary voter, a New York Times reporter, and a frequent attendee at her local gay bars, Nellie Bowles fit right in with her San Francisco neighbors and friends - until she started questioning whether the progressive movement she knew and loved was actually helping people.When her colleagues suggested that asking these questions meant she was ''on the wrong side of history,'' Bowles did what any reporter worth her salt would do: she started investigating for herself. The answers she found were stranger - and funnier - than she’d expected.In Morning After the Revolution, Bowles gives readers a front-row seat to the absurd drama of a political movement gone mad. With irreverent accounts of attending a multi-day course on ''The Toxic Trends of Whiteness,'' following the social justice activists who run ''Abolitionist Entertainment, LLC,'' and trying to please the New York Times''s ''disinformation czar,'' she deftly exposes the more comic excesses of a movement that went from a sideshow to the very centre of Western life.Deliciously funny and painfully insightful, Morning After the Revolution is a moment of collective psychosis preserved in amber.

‘In her debut novel, a historian of Vichy France tackles her family''s real-life collaboration during the Second World War’ New Yorker Best Books of the Year''Full of so many secrets that it''s a wonder she managed to write it all'' New York Times''Shows why historical fiction matters, how stories breathe life into forgotten moments ... Haunting'' Cara Black, author of Three Hours in ParisIn a grand Paris apartment, a young girl attends gatherings regularly organised by her mother. They talk about clothes and exchange the day''s gossip, but the mood grows dark when they start to talk about her past, and the great love she is said to have known during the Second World War.When the girl grows up, she looks into the enigmatic figures in and around her family. Who was the man her mother fell in love with before the war? Why did they zealously collaborate with the Nazi occupiers of France? And why did they remain for decades afterwards obsessive devotees of that lost cause?In The Propagandist, a historian of Vichy France investigates the secrets, lies and omissions in her own family in the way she has investigated those of France itself. It is a masterpiece of psychological insight, revealing how people can spend a lifetime deceiving themselves, rather than confront their own past.READER REVIEWS''A brilliant piece of fiction that unequivocally deserves five stars''''Beautifully written''''Nearly impossible to set down''''Fascinating and complex''

''Allows us to understand the profound, and often profoundly beneficial, impact of Christianity'' Anthony SeldonChristianity in England is in decline. Congregations are dwindling and ever fewer young people believe. Should we merely shrug our shoulders and accept this as inevitable and even healthy, or is something important being lost?Bijan Omrani argues that this decline is the most momentous change to occur in English history. He shows how a religion that has been part of our national story for over 1700 years was instrumental in the creation and development of the English nation, its codes of law and morality, and its structures of government and kingship. He demonstrates its profound cultural impact, in areas ranging from architecture and literature to our very landscape and the structure of our everyday life and language. Its influence, he contends, has been enormous, largely benign, and shouldn’t be lightly abandoned.Ending with a rousing call to retain Christianity, rightly understood, as a way of dealing with both the eternal questions of the human condition, as well as the malaises of modernity, this is an erudite and tender tribute to our Christian history and heritage.

''Satisfyingly violent'' The Times, Best Crime Fiction of 2025 So Far''Sprightly and elegantly written mystery'' The Daily Telegraph''A marvellous literary thriller'' Clare Chase''A clever and refreshing take on the mystery novel'' Jo Silva?In post-war Oxford, secrets lie behind every door.In 1947, with rationing still biting and the black market thriving, university don C.S. ‘Jack’ Lewis finds himself pulled into a mystery straight from one of his friend Dorothy Sayers’ novels. Susan Temple, his brightest student, has hidden herself away at Rake Hall — a hostel for unmarried, outcast mothers – and hasn’t been heard from since.With no experience beyond catching the occasional student plagiarist, Lewis is hardly a detective. But when Susan’s absence continues to haunt him, he teams up with her concerned friend Lucy and together they delve into the disturbing rumours of a nasty racket at Rake Hall. Can Lewis’s nose for the truth separate fact from fiction?In The Mystery at Rake Hall, Maureen Paton – whose mother lived at the real-life Rake Hall while pregnant with Maureen – brilliantly recreates a post-war Oxford world, as well as imagining an alternative life for one of its most famous residents.RAVE READER REVIEWS''An homage to post war Oxford ... an entertaining read with a mystery to solve''''Blends historical authenticity with a compelling "whodunit"''''Very easy to read, a page-turner and a real sense of Oxford''''I loved this mystery .. the author brought to life the time beautifully … I cannot wait to see what she offers for her second book but this one will be hard to top''''An enjoyable, atmospheric and very cosy read''''A famous real-life writer solving a mystery … I really enjoyed it''

''At least that post-Reformation sovereignty of the word still yields novels as richly imagined and skilfully crafted as this'' The SpectatorLonglisted for the 2025 Walter Scott Prize for Historical FictionLonglisted in the 2024 HWA Crown AwardsANNO DOMINI 1546.In a manor house in England a young woman feels the walls are closing around her, while her dying husband is obsessed by his vision of a chapel where prayers will be said for his immortal soul. As the days go by and the chapel takes shape, the outside world starts to intrude. But as the old ways are replaced by the new, the people of the village sense a dangerous freedom …Reader Reviews‘A must read … Characters that one cares about, beautifully structured, a real page turner’‘A jewel of a book’‘Beautifully written’‘Atmospheric and compelling''

?What does it mean to be a lesbian now? Has the quest for lesbian liberation stalled, and if so, why? Part-memoir, part frontline reportage and part cultural commentary, Julie Bindel examines what defines lesbian culture, love, friendship and happiness today. She distinguishes the particular challenges facing lesbians from the very different experiences of gay men, and asks: why do lesbians so often seem to face particular hostility? Comparing past attitudes to today, she argues that lesbians continue to suffer from bigotry and discrimination because sexism and enforced gendered roles are still left unchallenged. She explores why many of the biggest assaults on lesbian freedom and wellbeing around the world now come, not just from conservatives, but also from so-called progressives, who are often antagonistic to lesbians organising and socialising autonomously. Rooted in her own remarkable story, this personal and passionate book is both an investigation into the obstacles to lesbian flourishing, and a testament to the particular delights of being a lesbian.

‘An informative and thought-provoking history’ The TelegraphIn 1664, England decided to invade the Dutch-controlled city of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island. Charles II and his brother, the Duke of York, had dreams of empire, and their arch-rivals, the Dutch, were in the way. But Richard Nicolls, who led the English flotilla bent on destruction, changed his strategy once he began parleying with Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch leader on Manhattan.Bristling with vibrant characters, Taking Manhattan reveals the founding of New York to be an invention: the result not of a violent English takeover, but of clever negotiations that led to the fusing of the multiethnic, capitalistic society the Dutch had pioneered to the power of the rising English empire. But the birth of what might be termed the first modern city is also a story of the brutal dispossession of Native Americans and of the roots of American slavery.Based on newly translated sources, Taking Manhattan shows how the paradox of New York’s origins — boundless opportunity coupled with subjugation and displacement — reflect America’s promise and failure to this day.

''Compelling'' Guardian''Eloquent and comprehensive'' Financial Times''Excellent'' The Telegraph''Astonishing'' The Times''An eye-opener'' Gavin EslerUntil recently, Germany appeared to be a paragon of economic and political success. But recent events – from Germany’s dependence on Russian gas to its car industry’s delays in the race to electric – have undermined this view.In Kaput, Wolfgang Münchau argues that the weaknesses of Germany’s economy have, in fact, been brewing for decades. The close connections between the country’s industrial and political elite have left Germany technologically behind, over-reliant on authoritarian Russia and China, and with little sign of being able to adapt to the digital realities of the twenty-first century. It is an essential read for anyone interested in the future of Europe’s most important economy.

THE TIMES BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2025''Stephen May has a nose for fascinating historical events'' The Times''Very fine and fun novel'' The Spectator''The spry, sardonic voice of the new historical fiction'' Hilary Mantel''Vivid and wholly credible recreation of post-Great War London'' Robert Edric''Intrigue, betrayal, redemption'' Rachel SeiffertDavid Lloyd George is at Chequers for the weekend with his mistress Frances Stevenson, fretting about the fact that his involvement in selling public honours is about to be revealed by one Victor Grayson. Victor is a bisexual hedonist and former firebrand socialist MP turned secret-service informant. Intent on rebuilding his profile as the leader of the revolutionary Left, he doesn’t know exactly how much of a hornet’s nest he’s stirred up. Doesn’t know that this is, in fact, his last day.No one really knows what happened to Victor Grayson – he vanished one night in late September 1920, having threatened to reveal all he knew about the prime minister’s involvement in selling honours. Was he murdered by the British government? By enemies in the socialist movement (who he had betrayed in the war)? Did he fall in the Thames drunk? Did he vanish to save his own life, and become an antiques dealer in Kent?Whatever the truth, Green Ink imagines what might have been with brio, humour and humanity; and is a reminder that the past was once as alive as we are today.

‘A deeply satisfying novel. Incisive, inventive, frequently very funny’ Guardian‘Historical facts furnish May with a cast of legends to bring to life, and he does it with verve and humour’ The Times‘Original, adept and confident ... I wish I had written it myself’ Hilary MantelWhen it’s time to hang the capitalists, they will sell us the rope.May 1907. Young Stalin – poet, bank-robber, spy – is in London for the 5th Congress of the Russian Communist Party. As he builds his power base in the party, Stalin manipulates alliances with Lenin, Trotsky and Rosa Luxemburg under the eyes of the Czar’s secret police. Meanwhile, he is drawn to the fiery Finnish activist Elli Vuokko – and risks everything in a relationship as complicated as it is dangerous.

''Highly readable ... Everything we need to know on this subject'' Financial TimesA population calamity is unfolding before our eyes. It started in parts of the developed world and is spreading to the four corners of the globe. There are just too few babies being born for humanity to replace itself.Leading demographer Paul Morland argues that the consequences of this promise to be calamitous. Labour shortages, pensions crises and ballooning debt threaten to engulf us all, and sooner than we think. Unless we radically change our attitudes towards parenthood and embrace a new progressive pro-natalism, argues Morland, we face disaster.

''Exceptionally vivid and intense'' Sunday Times''A marvellously dark yarn'' The Spectator''A swaggering debut'' Daily MailEveryone expects at least a little bit of deception...Alex is a motherless stockboy in 1830s Montreal, waiting desperately for his father to return from France. Serge, a drunken fur trader, promises food and safety in return for friendship, but an expedition into the forest quickly goes awry...The Voyageur is a brilliantly realised novel set on the margins of British North America, where kindness is costly and the real wilderness may not be in the landscape but in the desperate hearts of men.

From the author of Irreversible Damage, an investigation into how mental health overdiagnosis is harming, not helping, children''A pacy, no-holds barred attack on mental health professionals and parenting experts ... thought-provoking'' Financial Times''A message that parents, teachers, mental health professionals and policymakers need to hear'' New StatesmanIn virtually every way that can be measured, Gen Z’s mental health is worse than that of previous generations. What’s gone wrong?In Bad Therapy, Abigail Shrier argues that the problem isn’t the kids – it’s the mental-health experts. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with child psychologists, parents, teachers and young people themselves, she reveals that most of the therapeutic approaches have serious side effects and few proven benefits: for instance, talk therapy can induce rumination, trapping children in cycles of anxiety and depression; while ‘gentle parenting’ can encourage emotional turbulence in children as they lash out, desperate for an adult to be in charge. Bad Therapy is a must-read for anyone questioning why our efforts to support our kids have backfired.

''A moving, courageous voice ... Muslims and others alike need to listen to him’ ObserverLudovic-Mohamed Zahed is an imam and Koranic scholar. He is also gay.In this memoir, he explains the journey he has taken to be both the founder of a mosque in Paris and to be openly gay, after a troubled childhood in Algeria in poverty and living with an aggressive and often violent father. Having found it impossible in that society to be both religious and true to himself, and being abandoned by a fellow school pupil with whom he was in love, he lost his faith.Trained as an imam, though, he became an accomplished Koranic scholar. He concluded that there was nothing in the Koran that condemned same-sex attraction or committed same-sex relationships. Finally, during a pilgrimage to Mecca, he understood that he could be fully himself and practise his religion with sincerity and commitment. The Koran and the Flesh tackles these subjects with originality and is a book of real bravery, that shows how it is possible to reconcile homosexuality and religion.

Shortlisted for the National Book AwardA story of forbidden love and fugitive faith in the nineteenth century Arctic Circle''Transports readers deep into an unfamiliar world, yet with familiar conflicts and desires. I was absorbed and changed. Absolutely beautiful'' Tracy Chevalier, bestselling author of Girl With a Pearl EarringIn 1851, at a remote village in the Scandinavian tundra, a Lutheran minister known as Mad Lasse tries in vain to convert the native Sámi reindeer herders to his faith. But when one of the most respected herders has a dramatic awakening and dedicates his life to the church, his impetuous son, Ivvár, is left to guard their diminishing herd alone. By chance, he meets Mad Lasse’s daughter Willa, and their blossoming infatuation grows into something that ultimately crosses borders?of cultures, of beliefs, and of political divides?as Willa follows the herders on their arduous annual migration north to the sea.Gorgeously written and sweeping in scope, Hanna Pylväinen’s The End of Drum-Time immerses readers in a world lit by the northern lights, steeped in age-old rituals, and guided by passions that transcend place and time.