The Latest Breaking News from Mary Beard

We’ve read the entire Booker Prize shortlist – here are the books worth picking up

Before the winner is announced on 9 November, here’s what to read

The Independent UK · 13h ago

Mary Beard suggests ‘tweaks’ to British Museum’s handling of queues to see Bayeux tapestry

Classicist and museum trustee visited the line after people complained of waiting for hours, with some turned away

The Guardian - UK · Oct 5

Marlon James and Douglas Stuart have chance to become 5th multiple winner of Booker Prize book award

Marlon James and Douglas Stuart can become the fifth author to win the Booker Prize twice after both were shortlisted for arguably the U.K.’s most prestigious fiction accolade

The Independent UK · Sep 22

Marlon James, Douglas Stuart and Elizabeth Strout are among Booker Prize semifinalists

Booker Prize winners Marlon James and Douglas Stuart are in the running for the 2026 edition of the prestigious fiction award

The Independent UK · Jul 28

The Booker Prize shortlist 2026: Full list of six books and where to buy them

The long-awaited Booker shortlist has been announced – here’s what novels have made the coveted list and what they are about

Evening Standard · Jul 28

Previous winners Douglas Stuart and Marlon James lead Booker prize longlist

Chair of judges Mary Beard said each of the 13 books in contention for the £50,000 award ‘takes the reader to new places’

The Guardian - UK · Jul 28

Booker Prize longlist 2026: Douglas Stuart and Elizabeth Strout lead nominees

The 13 books selected for the longlist features authors representing England, Ireland, Scotland, Jamaica, Mexico, Turkey and America

The Independent UK · Jul 28

‘A masterpiece in every way’: The Odyssey earns near universal acclaim as full reviews published

Christopher Nolan’s epic was given five stars by the Guardian, Independent and Telegraph, while the New York Times called it a ‘monumental adaptation’

The Guardian - UK · Jul 16

A voyage of discovery: an idiot’s guide to reading The Odyssey

Christopher Nolan’s film adaptation of the ancient Greek epic has sparked a new appetite for an old classic. Here are the translations, podcasts and audiobooks that make the Homeric world more approachable

The Guardian - UK · Jul 16

‘More postmodern than ancient’: why the Odyssey is everywhere, from Oz to Westeros

Christopher Nolan’s take on the Odyssey is set to break box-office records. What made the director so determined to adapt the ancient Greek epic? And why does a poem from 600BC hold a vice-like grip on pop culture?

The Guardian - UK · Jul 12