3 MAY 1997, page 37

The Grave, With Gravity

Hilary Corke THE UNDERTAKING by Thomas Lynch Cape, £9.99, pp. 226 THE CHANGING FACE OF DEATH edited by Peter C. Jupp and Glennys Howarth Macmillan, £40, pp. 202 E liot was......

The Pleasure As Well As The Pain

Andro Linklater LORD HIGH EXECUTIONER: AN UNASHAMED LOOK AT HANGMEN, HEADSMEN AND THEIR KIND by Howard Engel Robson, £16.99, pp. 256 F ollowing the gory death of Pedro Med- ina......

You're Only Middle-aged Once

Thomas Blaikie MID LIFE: NOTES FROM THE HALFWAY MARK by Elizabeth Kaye Fourth Estate, £12, pp. 186 A reluctant 39-year-old like myself is not well placed to respond reasonably......