The Weekly Review

Author Erik Larson is confident the biography is far from extinction after local bookshops reported five biographies as their bestselling sales over the Christmas period.

From the time they were children, England’s Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha were targeted as a potential marriage match.

A couple of weeks ago, a local book group held its Christmas break-up in our shop and, over a glass of wine, we discussed what makes a bestseller.

In recent months there has been a boom in history books, with many local and international publishers backing their historians’ investigations with an elegantly designed product.

This Christmas, there are plenty of loud and articulate voices beckoning from our bookshop’s shelves.