THE BEST PAPERBACKS

Blue Dog Louis de Bernières Vintage €11.20

Left desolate by the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent breakdown, 12-year-old Mick is sent to live with his grandfather at a cattle station in the Australian outback. His new life is tough, but when Mick rescues a drowning puppy everything is transformed. Although this novel is aimed at youngsters, it’s so delightful that adults will love it too.

See What I Have Done Sarah Schmidt Tinder Press €12.59

You may remember the rhyme that begins ‘Lizzie Borden took an axe...’ but did you know that it’s based on a true-life murder story? Schmidt’s classy debut thriller takes us inside the head of Lizzie, who was tried but acquitted of hacking her father and stepmother to death.

Scenes And Apparitions: The Roy Strong Diaries 1988-2003 W&N €18.19

This volume of Strong’s diaries begins just after he had relinquished his job as head of the V&A, though its shadow hangs over much of what follows. Strong is a sharp, sometimes waspish social and cultural commentator, but he can also be very touching.

Isabella Of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen Giles Tremlett Bloomsbury €18.19

The reign of Isabella of Castile and her partnership with Ferdinand of Aragon saw the beginning of the transformation of Spain into a major global power. Tremlett offers a detailed assessment of a woman who, to her supporters, was a great Christian monarch, but to her detractors was a fanatical tyrant.