The first strand concerns Diego Velázquez, who painted life at the 17th-century Spanish court, culminating in the wonder that is Las Meninas. In shimmering prose fuelled by an intriguing mystery – if Snare’s painting isn’t by Velázquez then whose is it? Another fine original biography appeared from Frances Wilson, whose Guilty Thing (Bloomsbury) matched its voice to that of its subject, the opium-eating Romantic author Thomas De Quincey. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Hisham Matar sets out to discover what happened to his father in Tripoli in The Return. Best book lists of 2016Best fictionBest crime and thrillersBest science fiction and fantasy

Source: The Guardian December 01, 2016 07:31 UTC