6 DECEMBER 2003, page 47

The Emperor Who Made His Horse Consul

Barry Unsworth CALIGULA by Allan Massie Sceptre, £17.99, pp. 279, ISBN 0340823135 T he field is crowded, but among cruel and wicked dynasties the Julio-Clauclians must take......

Laughter Laced With Pain

Michael Horowitz THE BEST LOVED POEMS OF JOHN BETJEMAN John Murray, £8.99, pp. 112. ISBN 0719565456 I n Against Oblivion: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Poets, Ian Hamilton......