Today’s authors’ pick has been chosen by Adèle Geras. 

I read much more fiction than non-fiction but this book was a memorably brilliant highlight of 2015.

It’s the story of a most unusual artist called John Craske and I’ve written about it in a post I put up on the HISTORY GIRLS blog.  The link to that article is here.

The best thing about this book is that it’s as much  a story about the writer as about the subject she’s writing about. Julia Blackburn is a poet and she follows all kinds of fascinating trails to discover the truth about this man. So: a very interesting and unusual subject, a marvellous writer to tell his story and very importantly, too, an absolutely beautiful piece of publishing for which Jonathan Cape are to be congratulated. If ever a book had to be bought in its paper version rather than as a e-book, this is it. It would make a most magnificent Christmas present!

Adèle Geras has written over a hundred books, most of them for children and young adults. Her 6th adult novel, LOVE OR NEAREST OFFER will be published by Quercus in 2016.