25 FEBRUARY 2006, page 41

A Far From Plodding Pedestrian

Simon Courtauld W ILFRED T HESIGER : T HE L IFE OF THE G REAT EXPLORER by Alexander Maitland HarperCollins, £25, pp. 528, ISBN 0002556081 ✆ £20 (plus £2.45 p&p) 0870 429 6655 H......

A Glorious Road To Ruin

Jonathan Sumption T HE P ERFECT K ING : T HE L IFE OF E DWARD III, F ATHER OF THE E NGLISH N ATION by Ian Mortimer Cape, £20, pp. 560, ISBN 022407301X ✆ £16 (plus £2.45 p&p)......