5 DECEMBER 1998, page 47

The Very Model Of A Modern Monarch

Julian Mitchell A SPIRIT UNDAUNTED: THE POLITICAL ROLE OF GEORGE VI by Robert Rhodes James Little, Brown, £22.50, pp. 368 What does it take to be a good King? You must be a......

Punishingly Funny Wordplay

Benjamin Yarde-Buller ALTAR EGO by Kathy Lette Picador, E12.99, pp. 353 A ltar Ego should, one gathers from the blurb, be approached with some cau- tion; Kathy Lette's novels......