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Literary Review

Archived since 19 October 1979
Complete Archive

529 issues

Founded in Edinburgh in 1979, Literary Review is a trusted independent source for reviews of new books in history, biography, politics, travel and fiction. The monthly publication is well known for its amusing contributions and excellent editorial written by leading authors, journalists and academics, forming a gold mine for research in past and present literature. 

Martin Amis said: "In Literary Review you find something that has almost vanished from the book pages: its contributors are actually interested in Literature."

Latest Issue:

Peter Marshall on Holbein * Joanna Kavenna on Camus * Sophie Oliver on Margaret Atwood * Dorian Lynskey on George Orwell * Daisy Dunn on Clodia of Rome * David Andress on Jean-Paul Marat * John Foot on the Spanish Civil War * Jerry White on high-rise buildings * Edward Shawcross on Mexico * Daniel A Bell on the Chinese examination system * Anna Reid on Russian women * Charles Darwent on Barnett Newman * Robert Crawford on T S Eliot * Ian Sansom on William Golding * Mark Lawson on John Updike * Charles Shaar Murray on musicians * Patrick Porter on NATO * Thomas Morris on Renaissance diagrams * Diane Purkiss on palmistry *  Nigel Andrew on penguins * John Mullan on pedants * Molly Pepper Steemson on Anthony Bourdain * Mark Ford on Helen Vendler * Joseph Williams on Joyce Cary * Zoe Guttenplan on Solvej Balle * Emma Smith on book tokens * and much, much more

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  • First Issue: 19 October 1979
  • Latest Issue: December 2025/January 2026
  • Issue Count: 529