20 FEBRUARY 1993, page 35

Failure Is Relative

Erica Wagner MERMAIDS IN THE BASEMENT by Marina Warner Chatto, f9.99, Indigo, L5.99, pp. 228 I n her new collection of short stories, Marina Warner has set herself a difficult......

Whom Reason Hath Equalled, Force Hath Made Supreme

Raymond Carr THE BATTLE OF POLTAVA: THE BIRTH OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE by Peter Englund Gollancz, £20, pp.287 I t is hard to imgine the Sweden we know — resolutely neutral,......