Books

Noah Gordon is a writer who does not resort to using a flashy literary style or dazzling imagery. His effective but popular books are firmly based on a good story and richly detailed description

The writer's affection for the Islands is not their beauty but the treasure trove of antiquities that she found there

An American art collector ponders the lost treasures of the ill-fated and ruinous monastery of Poblet

The legend of the dragon-slaying saint is known all over the world, but each culture has its own take on the tale

On the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings a new book examines the 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of England's conquest

The imposing rocky landscape of the Priorat region persists as a link between the present and darker remembrances of the volunteers who came to fight in the Civil War

An Irish writer moves off the beaten tourist track only to discover the surprising city of Girona

Gaudí's work was already drawing international acclaim from visitors just two years after the architect's death

A lesbian detective is hired by a glamorous woman, Frankie, who is in fact a transsexual to look for her husband, Ben, who turns out to be a woman. It is (you've guessed right) a comedy about sexual identity

A leading figure in contemporary literature, John Banville –who also writes crime novels under the pseudonym Benjamin Black– delves into the selfish side of love