Writing here (18 November), Anita Brookner described Joseph Roth's reports from France 1925-39, The White Cities, as 'her best read of the year'. I've had a copy for several months now, and I keep dipping into it and always finding something new, surprising and delightful. The rediscovery of Roth has been one of the happiest things in recent ...

A new perfume has been invented. Ageless Fantasy by Harvey Prince is the first "anti-age" perfume: a "fragrance elixir [that] defies your skin's natural age-revealing scent". It's for women, of course. It smells of various fruits, cherry blossom, musk and vanilla, and if you douse yourself in it, men will come sniffing around and think you're at ...