22 AUGUST 1998, page 31

Those In Peril On The Sea

Alan Judd THE HUNDRED DAYS by Patrick O'Brian HarperCollins, £16.99, pp. 352 T he creation of a convincing imaginary world, one whose power to convince rests not only on the......

The Sands Of Time

Alain de Botton THE BEACH: THE HISTORY OF PARADISE ON EARTH by Lena Lencek and Gideon Bosker Secker, £15.99, pp. 286 I f you're reading this on the beach stretched out on a......