the winding stair book review

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THE WINDING STAIR

Francis bacon, his rise and fall.

by Daphne du Maurier ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 21, 1976

Du Maurier began this story with Golden Lads (1975), a study of the young Bacon and his beloved older brother Anthony, ending with Anthony's death in 1601. The present volume follows the mature lawyer, politician, and thinker through the remaining 25 years of his astonishing life. High office had eluded Bacon under Elizabeth; with the accession of James I in 1603 he began his gradual ascent to the Lord Chancellor's woolsack through a succession of lofty legal posts anti convenient friendships with important persons. His rise was curiously intertwined with the ominous issue of royal prerogative and the career of its most stalwart judicial opponent, Bacon's inveterate rival Sir Edward Coke. Attorney-General Bacon and the great Chief Justice of Common Pleas (once rivals for the hand of the same woman) took up opposing—and prophetic—lines of argument as to how far the common law and the judiciary should be servants to the Crown. During the same crowded decades this frail hypochondriac was writing legal works of some importance, revising and expanding his Essays in successive editions, drawing up white papers and propositions for legal reform, and publishing various parts of the encyclopedic scheme he was devising for the restructuring of "philosophy" (i.e., higher learning) in accordance with something like empirical methods. Du Maurier narrates this prodigious career smoothly but glibly, leaving us rather at a loss to account for the Lord Chancellor's stunning (and still controversial) 1621 confession to charges of receiving bribes. Most legal and intellectual issues are digested into trivial pablum, and the frequent coy references to the Shakespearean-authorship question do nothing to reassure anyone of Du Maurier's scholarly judgment. Catherine Drinker Bowen's The Lion and The Throne (1956; a biography of Coke) and Francis Bacon: The Temper of A Man (1963) remain the layman's guides par excellence to this material.

Pub Date: Jan. 21, 1976

ISBN: 1844080749

Page Count: 320

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: March 28, 2012

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1976

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | HISTORICAL & MILITARY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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BOOK REVIEW

by Daphne du Maurier

by Daphne du Maurier edited by Piers Dudgeon

by Elie Wiesel & translated by Marion Wiesel ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2006

The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the...

Elie Wiesel spent his early years in a small Transylvanian town as one of four children. 

He was the only one of the family to survive what Francois Maurois, in his introduction, calls the "human holocaust" of the persecution of the Jews, which began with the restrictions, the singularization of the yellow star, the enclosure within the ghetto, and went on to the mass deportations to the ovens of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions. 

Pub Date: Jan. 16, 2006

ISBN: 0374500010

Page Count: 120

Publisher: Hill & Wang

Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2006

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | HOLOCAUST | HISTORY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | GENERAL HISTORY

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by Elie Wiesel ; edited by Alan Rosen

by Elie Wiesel ; illustrated by Mark Podwal

by Elie Wiesel ; translated by Marion Wiesel

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INTO THE WILD

by Jon Krakauer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1996

A wonderful page-turner written with humility, immediacy, and great style. Nothing came cheap and easy to McCandless, nor...

The excruciating story of a young man on a quest for knowledge and experience, a search that eventually cooked his goose, told with the flair of a seasoned investigative reporter by Outside magazine contributing editor Krakauer (Eiger Dreams, 1990). 

Chris McCandless loved the road, the unadorned life, the Tolstoyan call to asceticism. After graduating college, he took off on another of his long destinationless journeys, this time cutting all contact with his family and changing his name to Alex Supertramp. He was a gent of strong opinions, and he shared them with those he met: "You must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life''; "be nomadic.'' Ultimately, in 1992, his terms got him into mortal trouble when he ran up against something—the Alaskan wild—that didn't give a hoot about Supertramp's worldview; his decomposed corpse was found 16 weeks after he entered the bush. Many people felt McCandless was just a hubris-laden jerk with a death wish (he had discarded his map before going into the wild and brought no food but a bag of rice). Krakauer thought not. Admitting an interest that bordered on obsession, he dug deep into McCandless's life. He found a willful, reckless, moody boyhood; an ugly little secret that sundered the relationship between father and son; a moral absolutism that agitated the young man's soul and drove him to extremes; but he was no more a nutcase than other pilgrims. Writing in supple, electric prose, Krakauer tries to make sense of McCandless (while scrupulously avoiding off-the-rack psychoanalysis): his risky behavior and the rites associated with it, his asceticism, his love of wide open spaces, the flights of his soul.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1996

ISBN: 0-679-42850-X

Publisher: Villard

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1995

GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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by Jon Krakauer

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Bribery and betrayal in Stuart England: The Winding Stair, by Jesse Norman, reviewed

The philosopher and statesman francis bacon is portrayed as a vicar of bray figure, all too ready to change allegiances in one of the most volatile periods of english history.

• From magazine issue: 14 October 2023

Brian Martin

The Winding Stair

Jesse Norman

Biteback, pp. 480, £20

The philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon wrote: ‘All rising to great place is by a winding stair.’ This historical novel is about him and his use of it. The way up is long, intricate and difficult; downwards there is nothing to ‘slow his fall’. His antagonist in his ascent to worldly power was the lawyer Edward Coke. Bacon rose to be lord chancellor of Great Britain. Coke became attorney general under James I. Both fell from grace.

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It is a political story. Judging from what has been happening recently, nothing has changed. Ambition, ruthless achievement, favour, bribery, corruption and betrayal are the features of the political world. Jesse Norman’s novel is about Bacon’s political career, not about him as a natural philosopher. He is portrayed as a Vicar of Bray figure. The Earl of Essex is the patron to whom he is entirely loyal until (to quote one of President Nasser’s generals) ‘the time for treachery arises’. Bacon is instrumental in the prosecution, trial and execution of Essex. Royal interests are paramount. 

Coke regarded himself as the superior jurist, and the two lawyers took opposing sides over the issue of prerogative. Bacon, with his view always to advancement, adhered to the royal prerogative. Coke was the proponent of parliamentary prerogative. The argument eventually led to the English Civil War. 

The narrative, constantly changing between past and present tense, is reminiscent of Hilary Mantel’s storytelling. Norman creates a similar historical atmosphere from meticulous research. He commands masses of detail about Elizabethan and Jacobean government and law, using idioms and expressions appropriate to the time: ‘I am like a hawk, that bates, when I see occasion of service, but cannot fly because I am tied to another’s fist.’ King James is concerned about ‘thefteous stealing’ and Bacon ‘can turn a sentence as can few others’. That is also true of the author, in this tale of ‘power and purpose’.

Norman is a man of many parts – classicist, philosopher, academic and government minister under both Theresa May and Liz Truss – to which now must be added novelist. He writes with a deep knowledge of parliament – ‘the happenings, the plots and counterplots, the subterfuges and stratagems’. This tour de force reflects his direct experience of the winding stair. 

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Literary Review

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Minoo Dinshaw

Syracuse by shannon, vinyl frontier, the philosopher & the pygmy, the winding stair, by jesse norman, biteback 464pp £20.

It’s small wonder that The Winding Stair , the first novel by the Conservative MP Jesse Norman, about Francis Bacon, eventually a 17th-century Lord Chancellor but more famous for almost everything else in his life, savours distinctly of authorial identification. Like his protagonist, Norman, who recently resigned as a junior minister, has endured long, agonising years of immaculately connected impotence.  

It is not necessary to have read Norman’s widely praised works on Michael Oakeshott, Edmund Burke and Adam Smith to know that he can write. One only has to glance at his letter on the occasion of a previous resignation, from the government of Boris Johnson: ‘you are simply seeking to campaign, to keep changing the subject and to create political and cultural dividing lines mainly for your advantage.’ Its continuing salience perhaps explains Norman’s scant attainment of favour under Rishi Sunak.

Early in The Winding Stair , Francis’s amiable father, Sir Nicholas Bacon, reminisces about ‘the time of Lord Cromwell’: ‘Now that was a man of power, Frank! … I recall he had a painting by Master Holbein at his house that caught his strength, but I never much liked it.’ Norman here surely alludes, with respectful dissent, to his new genre’s

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The Winding Stair

By Jesse Norman

WINNER OF THE 2023 PARLIAMENTARY BOOK AWARDS

NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE WEEK

Power is shifting. Queen Elizabeth I is dying, James waiting to become King. Everywhere, there is opportunity to ascend.

But who will thrive, and who will fail, under the new King? Will it be the scholar Francis Bacon, whose brilliant mind is the envy of the royal court? Or his hated rival the attorney Edward Coke, already acclaimed as the greatest lawyer of his generation?

The Winding Stair tells the gripping story of these two founders of our modern world and their battle for power, pre-eminence – and the hand of the most eligible woman in the realm. Combining humour, wit and imagination with deep research, this novel is a dazzling synthesis of history and fiction that takes the genre to new places. It is an epic tale of jealousy and intrigue in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, which, in its lowest moments, holds a darkened mirror to our own contemporary politics.

“The narrative, constantly changing between past and present tense, is reminiscent of Hilary Mantel’s storytelling. Norman creates a similar historical atmosphere from meticulous research… Norman is a man of many parts … to which now must be added novelist. He writes with a deep knowledge of parliament – ‘the happenings, the plots and counterplots, the subterfuges and stratagems’. This tour de force reflects his direct experience of the winding stair.” The Spectator

“I read two books this year that were impressive and enjoyable: both qualities equally important to me – as what is the point of being impressed if you don’t enjoy yourself? One was a historical novel by Jesse Norman,  The Winding Stair  (Biteback). The story of Francis Bacon, it fairly whizzed along and left me feeling happy but as though I had rushed up and down many Tudor and Stuart staircases in my turn ... With both these stout, well-written books to hand, you could escape any family Christmas for an hour or two daily, going back in time and being utterly engrossed.” BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 Antonia Fraser, The New Statesman

“Go to  The Winding Stair  for superb exercises in pseudo-golden-age English prose, for ingenious historical and political analysis of a significant rivalry in a fascinating period and, of course, for insights into the mind of one of the few remaining Conservative MPs to add more lustre than disgrace to the whip he takes.” The Literary Review

“Masterly … I loved every page. The perfect sequel to Wolf Hall .” Andrew Roberts

“An absolutely thrilling read. How does someone of deep intelligence, integrity and thoughtfulness navigate the corruptions, ambitions and duplicity of a parliament crammed with nothing but sycophants, place-servers and creeps? This is an engrossing and compelling blend of political thriller and pitch-perfect historical novel.” Stephen Fry

“An Elizabethan House of Cards .” Michael Dobbs

“Extremely impressive … The portraits of Bacon and Coke, the subtle but deadly clash of characters, the minefield of royal favouritism, the elegant corruption, the whole conveyed in the beautiful language of the era, brings that world to life in an extraordinary way.” Antony Beevor

“A pacy retelling of the story.” Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch FBA

“A remarkable tour de force which perfectly captures the essence of the story with uncommon ingenuity. Can there be a more fascinating tale in the whole of English history?” Professor John Baker FBA

“This immensely clever, elegant and captivating novel shows just how closely fiction can align with history. It breathes the air of the late Elizabethan and Jacobean court and takes us utterly into their world. One might even suggest that Jesse Norman is the true inheritor of Hilary’s mantle.” Suzannah Lipscomb

“Richly informed by historical research, The Winding Stair expertly captures the bitter rivalries of court politics and the ugly reality of political power.” Ruth Scurr

“That rare thing: a historical novel that feels true to the period yet never slavish to its sources. Norman is a fine writer who will take you to the very edge of the action and hold you there, utterly transfixed.” Daisy Dunn

“ The Winding Stair is a masterly study in ambition, intrigue and revenge that breathes new life into historical fiction … It has all the page-turning urgency and intensity of Wolf Hall but (with respect to the latter’s late author) is both better researched and better written. Above all, it is more original.” The Critic

“If good history requires imaginative sympathy, Jesse Norman must be reckoned a first-rate historian … Norman almost certainly comes closer to the truth than a conventional biographer would have done … It is a serious book for grown-up readers. The reward is a brilliant disquisition on how our legal and political systems came into existence.” Daniel Hannan, ConservativeHome

“A dynamic political thriller and an evocative character study.” History Revealed

“Norman understands the interplay of power and influence innately.” Alexander Larman, The Observer

“A dazzlingly learned meditation on English law and political philosophy at the turn of the 17th century, disguised as a gripping thriller about the feud between two deadly rivals … The Winding Stair is not only a brilliantly unsparing portrait of political ambition but also a fascinating account of the emergence of the law as a brake on the power of the executive … Gloriously clever [and] a delight to read.” Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times Book of the Week

“It is with an eye fixed firmly on the present that Norman takes readers through this tale of Machiavellian chicanery, legal quandary and political crisis.” Financial Times

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• Paperback, 496 pages
• ISBN: 9781785908606
• 11 June 2024

• Hardback, 480 pages
• ISBN: 9781785907920
• 1 June 2023
• ISBN: 9781785908026

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Biteback Publishing has scooped  The Winding Stair , a “dazzling” fiction début from MP Jesse Norman. 

James Stephens, publisher, acquired UK Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Caroline Michel at PFD. The novel will be published in May 2023 and be supported by a “major” publicity campaign. All the author proceeds will be donated to NMITE, the new specialist technology and engineering university in Hereford. 

The Winding Stair  is a “gripping” story of ambition and revenge set in the courts of Elizabethan and Jacobean England. The narrative follows Francis Bacon and his rival Edward Coke – “the greatest lawyer of his generation” – as they struggle for power and influence. 

Norman said: “The 17th century is history, life and politics with the gloves off. The people are bigger, the stakes are higher, the plotting more devious and cut-throat. So it is with this book. Much of it is invented; almost all of it is true.”

Stephens added: “Jesse is a wonderful writer with an extraordinary imagination. In The Winding Stair , he combines profound scholarly research with an ingenious narrative sweep to create a tour de force of historical worldbuilding. It will appeal to fans of the very finest examples of the genre while offering dark echoes of our current political climate.” 

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The Winding Stair Is Now Open 7 Days

T he Winding Stair Bookshop & Café became a famous Dublin landmark in the 1970s and 1980s. Named after the Yeats poem, and in honour of its winding staircase, it is perfectly located, overlooking the river Liffey, with an iconic view of the Ha'penny bridge. As a popular meeting place for writers, musicians and artists, it was a well known hub for debate and creativity with many poems written, novels penned and movies shot within its walls. When its closure was announced in 2005, there were mutterings about the end of an era, but in 2006, Elaine Murphy brought this much-loved spot back to life as a restaurant, championing seasonal, Irish produce. The bookshop, located on the ground floor, was retained, as were many of the old bookshelves, photos and memories. The room retains its timeless charm with stripped wood tables and floors, and Bentwood café chairs. The old girders give a nod to its past as a tweed loom and the view remains as quintessentially Dublin as ever.

The food is good, old-fashioned home cooking, with produce sourced from artisans within the island. The beer list focuses on local and international micro breweries with an emphasis on good food, matched beers and ales. The wine list is extensive and also aims to showcase some of the new and emerging stellar boutique wine makers from the new and old worlds. We aim to be a restaurant devoid of bells and whistles, with food cooked by chefs devoid of ego and served by warm, friendly professionals with a passion for their business. We hope we have succeeded!

À La Carte

Pre-theatre, christmas group menus, new year's eve.

• Grilled Kinsealy asparagus, lemon and parsley crumb whipped Dublin Hills Goats cheese, preserved lemon, walnuts, €17
• The Wooded Pig Irish charcuterie board with house-cured vegetables and breads, good for sharing, €20
• Warm chorizo and Kinsealy heirloom tomato salad with basil and Macroom ricotta toast, pumpkin seeds and sherry vinaigrette, €16
• Potted Dingle Bay crab with pickled cucumber, toasted soda bread and organic leaves, €18
• Soup of the day, homemade treacle bread, €9
• Garryhinch Wood king oyster mushroom, cashew labneh, green sauce, €16
• Winding Stair Fish Plate: Burren Smokehouse, Goatsbridge Farm smoked fish, home-made smoked fish paté, chive crème fraîche, treacle bread, cornichons and caperberries, good for sharing, €25

SNACKS & SIDES

• Piggy Scotch Egg with bacon dust mayo, €9
• Veggie Scotch Egg with confit garlic mayo, €9
• Mixed house marinated olives, €7
• Legal Eagle homemade crisps with bacon dust, €7
• Gold River Farm green salad €7
• Homemade chips with garlic aioli €7
• Buttery Mash €7
• Green Beans €7
• Doyle's hand-smoked haddock, poached in milk with onions and white Cheddar mash, €32
• Pigs on the Green pork cutlet, shave fennel and apple salad, fennel chutney and potato rosti, €29
• Young's 9 oz Black Angus Irish striploin, homemade chips, Gold River Farm green salad and garlic herb butter, €42
• Roasted cauliflower, grilled Kinsealy courgette, romesco, roasted red onions, tabbouleh and toasted almonds, €26
• Irish Waters cod, broad beans, asparagus, pea and herb gnocchi, sauce gribiche, €30
• Wicklow lamb rump with Mark McCann Farm baby gem lettuce, Pink Fir potatoes, spring greens and watercress pesto, €36
• The Proper Dairy Halloumi, roasted sweet potato, pickled onion, chilli feta dip and our own Open Hive honey, €27

AFTER DINNER

• Irish Cheese board with homemade this month's chutney and crackers, €16
• Irish rhubarb and Chantilly cream with caramelised orange crunch, €10
• Chocolate cheesecake with Wicklow strawberries, €10
• Winding Stair Bread and Butter pudding, whiskey sauce, €10
• Lemon tart with pistachio praline and raspberry, €10
• Grown-up Affogato
• Scúp Sea Salt Caramel and ice-cream, espresso and Lustau San Emilio Pedro Ximenez €12
• Scúp Wexford vanilla Ice cream, espresso and Killahora Apple Port €12
• Scúp Wexford Sea Salt ice-cream, espresso and Coole Swan €12
• Scúp Wexford vanilla ice cream and double espresso €8
• Allergen List, 1a Wheat, 2 Crustaceans, 3 Eggs, 4 Fish, 5, Peanuts, 6 Soybeans, 7 Milk, 8a Almond, 8b Hazelnuts, 8c Walnuts, 8g Chestnut, 8i Cashew 9 Celery, 10 Mustard, 11 Sesame, 12 Sulphites, 13 Lupin, 14 Molluscs, 15 Sesame
• All our beef products are sourced in Ireland
• A 12.5% service charge, paid directly to staff, will be added to parties of five or more
• Pigs on the Green piggy Scotch egg with bacon dust mayo €9
• Veggie Scotch egg with confit garlic mayo, €9
• Today's soup, €9
• The Wooded Pig Irish charcuterie board with house-cured vegetables and breads, €20
• Winding Stair Fish Plate: Belvelly, Goatsbridge Farm and home-made smoked fish paté, chive crème fraîche, treacle bread, cornichons and caper berries, good for sharing, €25
• Irish Waters hake, broad beans, asparagus, pea and herb gnocchi, sauce gribiche, €30
• Youngs' 9 oz Black Angus Irish striploin, homemade chips, steamed greens and garlic herb butter €42
• Legal Eagle homemade crisps with salt and vinegar €7
• Steamed greens €7
• Mixed green leaves €7
• Irish spud buttery mash €7
• Today's soup
• Potted Dingle Bay crab with pickled cucumber, toasted soda bread and organic leaves
• Garryhinch Wood king oyster mushroom, cashew labneh, green sauce
• Warm chorizo and Kinsealy heirloom tomato salad with basil and Macroom ricotta toast, pumpkin seeds and sherry vinaigrette
• Grilled Kinsealy asparagus, lemon and parsley crumb whipped Dublin Hills Goats cheese, preserved lemon, walnuts
• Doyle's hand-smoked haddock, poached in milk with onions and white Cheddar mash
• Youngs 9oz Black Angus striploin, homemade chips, Gold River Farm green salad and garlic herb butter
• Irish Waters hake, broad beans, asparagus, pea and herb gnocchi, sauce gribiche
• Roasted cauliflower, grilled Kinsealy courgette, romesco, roasted red onions, tabbouleh and toasted almonds
• Pigs on the Green pork cutlet, shave fennel and apple salad, fennel chutney and potato rosti
• Irish rhubarb and Chantilly cream with caramelised orange crunch
• Chocolate cheesecake with Wicklow citrus strawberries
• Irish Cheese Board with homemade chutney and crackers
• The Winding Stair Bread and Butter pudding with whiskey sauce
• Pigs on the Green pork cutlet, shaved fennel and apple salad, fennel chutney and potato rosti

SAMPLE CHRISTMAS LUNCH

• Roasted Irish celeriac, chestnut and truffle soup
• Macroom Dairies' burrata, roasted Kinsealy onion squash, cranberry, spiced hazelnuts and roasted red onion
• McCarthy's black pudding croquette, Young Buck blue cheese and beer dressing, fennel and apple salad
• Wild Irish Game Guinea Fowl, Pigs on the Green sausage stuffing , bacon sprouts, roasted Irish baby potatoes, gravy and cranberry relish
• Youngs 9oz Black Angus striploin, homemade chips, steamed greens and garlic herb butter
• Irish Waters' cod, fondant spud, saffron and mussel butter, samphire and spinach
• Salt-baked celeriac, shaved brussel sprout salad, Butternut squash purée, pickled cranberry and mixed seeds
• Treacle tart with boozy clementines
• Dark chocolate mousse, slow cooked winter berries
• Christmas pudding with Boulabán gingerbread ice-cream and brandy sauce

SAMPLE CHRISTMAS DINNER

• McCarthy's black pudding croquette, Young Buck blue cheese and beer dressing , fennel and apple salad
• Roasted Kinsealy aubergine with Mandi ( spiced cinnamon, coriander and tomato jam), chilli oil and coconut yogurt
• Wild Irish Game Venison rump, candied beet, roasted parsnip, chestnut croquette, juices
• Salt-baked celeriac, shaved brussel sprout salad, butternut squash purée, pickled cranberry and mixed seeds
• White chocolate brioche bread pudding, Boulabán mascarpone ice cream caramel sauce

SAMPLE VEGAN CHRISTMAS DINNER

• Roasted celeriac, hazelnut and truffle soup (8b,9)
• Irish whiskey barbecue tofu skewer with rainbow root slaw, Levant-spiced cauliflower and vegan ranch dip, (8a, 10, 12)
• Vegan Christmas pud with Nobu ice-cream and pumpkin seed (1a,3,7,12,8a)

Beer & Soft Drinks

• Manzanilla, Callejuela 750ml Palomino Jerez Spain 45 7.00
• Fino, Jarana, Lustau Palomino Jerez Spain 30 7.00
• Amontillado, Monteagudo, Zuleta Palomino Jerez Spain 35 8.00
• Oloroso, Don Nuno, Lustau, 37.5cl Palomino Jerez Spain 36 8.50

SPARKLING & CHAMPAGNE

• Prosecco, La Jara Veneto Italy €39.00 €8.00
• Cava, Maria Casanovas NV Macabeo, Xarel.lo, Parellada Penedes Spain 55.00
• Gran Reserva, Maria Casanovas, Cava NV Chardonnay, Macabeo, PN Penedes Spain 75
• Jean-Charles Boisset, Brut Crémant NV Chardonnay Burgundy France 65
• Henriot NV PN, Chard Reims France 70
• Bellavista, Brut Rosé 2017 PN, Chard Franciacorta Italy 150
• Charles Heidsieck, Brut Réserve NV PN, PM, Chard Reims France 160

LIGHT, REFRESHING & CRISP WHITES

• Canforrales, 'Lucía' 2022 Airén La Mancha Spain 29
• Borgo Selene 2022 Cataratto, Inzolia Sicily Italy 34
• Monrouby 201 Chardonnay Languedoc France 32
• Badajo 2021 Verdejo Rueda Spain 32
• Vinho Verdhe, Azevedo 2021 Loureiro, Alvarhino Vinho Verde Portugal 38
• 16 Stops 2021 Chardonnay McLaren Vale Australia 37
• Simone Joseph 2021 Chardonnay Languedoc France 41
• Ponte Del Diavolo 2021 Pinot Grigio Friuli Italy 40
• Venture 2021 Riesling Rheingau Germany 47
• St. Clair 2022 Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough NZ 49
• Gavi di Gavi, La Giustiniana 2021 Cortese Piedmont Italy 54
• DeMorgenzon DMZ 2021 Chenin Blanc Stellenbosch S. Africa 55
• Pouilly-Fumé, Dom Masson-Blondelet 201 Sauvignon Blanc Loire France 62
• Sancerre, Domaine des Brosses 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Loire France 70

MINERALLY, FLORAL, STONE FRUIT WHITES

• Monte Zovo 'Soave' 2022 Garganega Veneto Italy 35
• Blanco de Hornillos, Callejuela 2018 Palomino Fino Andalucia Spain 38
• Touraine, Thierry Delaunay 2021 Sauvignon Blanc Loire France 40
• Castro Valdez 2022 Albariño Rias Baixas Spain 43
• Picpoul de Pinet, La Croix Gratiot 2022 Piquepoul Languedoc France 43
• Jurançon Sec, Clos Lapeyre 2020 Gros Manseng Sud-Ouest France 45
• Domaene Gobelsburg 2021 Grüner Veltliner Kamptal Austria 47
• Xisto Limitado Branco 2021 Rabigato, Codega, Gouveio Duoro Portugal 55
• Louro do Bolo, Rafael Palacios 2021 Godello Valdeorras Spain 63
• Chablis 1er Cru, 'Montmains', Denis Race 2020 Chardonnay Burgundy France 69
• Zobing Schloss Gobelsburg 2020 Rielsing Kamptal Austria 72
• Calvarino Pieropan 2020 Garganega, Trebbiano Soave Italy 80
• Allobroges IGP, St Pierre de Soucy,'Argile', Dom des Ardoisiéres 2019 Jacquère, Chardonnay Savoie France 85

CONCENTRATED, ROUND & AROMATIC WHITES

• Edalo 2021 Zalema Andalucia Sp Spain 34
• Baron de Badassiere 2021 Viognier Languedoc France 34
• Les Granges 2021 Chardonnay, Sauvignon Languedoc France 35
• Lyrarakis 'Vóila' 2021 Assyrtiko Crete Greece 40
• Entre-Deux-Mers, Vielles Vignes, Chateau Sainte-Marie 2022 Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc Bordeaux France 39
• Weingut Geil 2021 Pinot Blanc Rheinhessen Germany 49
• Txomin Etxaniz 2022 Hondarrabi Zuri/Beltza Getariaco Spain 50
• Specogna, Rocca Bernarda 2020 Friulano Friuli Italy 56
• Bordeaux Blanc Sec, 'Le G', Chateau Guiraud 2019 Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon Bordeaux France 62
• S.C. Pannell Fi Fi Fiano 2022 Fiano McLaren Vale Australia 65
• Poggio Al Tesoro 2020 Vermentino Bolgheri Italy 69
• Côtes Catalanes Blanc IGP, Domaine Gauby, 'Jasse' * Orange Wine 2018 Muscat à Petit Grains Roussillon France 69
• Ca dei Frati, Pratto 2020 Turbiana, Sauvignon Blanc Garda Italy 75
• Mount Horrocks Watervale 2021 Semillon Clare Valley Australia 75
• Savennièrres, Domaine des Baumard, 'Clos St Ives' 2018 Chenin Blanc Loire France 80
• Leirana, Genoveva 2019 Albariño Rias Baixas Spain 87
• Condrieu, Stephane Montez, 'Les Grandes Chailées' 2020 Viognier Nth Rhone France 120

FRESH, FRUITY, ZIPPY & OFF-DRY WHITES

• Max Ferd Richter, 'Zeppelin' 2021 Riesling Mosel Germany 45
• Domaine Sipp Mack, 'Tradition' 2018 Riesling Alsace France 47
• Tokaji Dry, Chateau Dereszla 2021 Furmint, Harslevelu, Muskotaly Tokaj Hungary 48
• Wild Earth 2018 Riesling North Otago Germany NZ 53
• Cave de Hunawihr Grand Cru 'Rosacker' 2020 Rielsing Alsace France 53
• Kilikanoon, 'Mort's Block' 2014 Riesling Clare Valley Australia 54
• Domaine Sipp Mack, 'Tradition' 2019 Pinot Gris Alsace France 55
• Sipp Mack 'Vieilles Vignes' 2018 Gewurztraminer Alsace France 62
• Pikes, 'The Merle', Polish Hill River 2017 Riesling Clare Valley Australia 70
• Georg Breuer, 'Berg Rottland' 2016 Riesling Rheingau Germany 85

OAK AGED, RICH & BUTTERY WHITES

• Mâcon-Villages, Domaine Perraud 2021 Chardonnay Burgundy France 51
• Ata Rangi, 'Craighall' 2016 Chardonnay Martinborough NZ 110
• Saint-Romain, Maison Róisín Curley 2018 Chardonnay Burgundy France 110
• Isole e Olena, 'Collezione Privata' 2019 Chardonnay Tuscany Italy 115
• Cullen, 'Kevin John' 2017 Chardonnay Margaret River Australia 150
• Puligny-Montrachet, 'Les Enseignéres,' RandH Chavy-Chouet 2021 Chardonnay Burgundy France 140
• Chateau Montelena 2014 Chardonnay California USA 170
• Meursault Albert Bichot 2019 Chardonnay Burgundy France 180

BLUSH, CORAL & DRY ROSÉ

• Chateau Beaulieu, 'Cuveé Alexandre' 2020 Grenache, Cabernet, Syrah Provence France 50
• Blanville 2021 Grenache, Cinsault Pays d'Oc France 36

FULL FRUITY ROSÉ

• Montesierra Rosado 2021 Cabernet, Merlot Somontano Spain 34

INTENSELY FRUITY, SLIGHTLY SWEET FRUIT WINE

• Móinéir Strawberry Wine NV Strawberry Wicklow Ireland 54

LIGHT, ELEGANT & RED-BERRIED REDS

• Borgo Selene 2021 Nero d'Avola, Nerello Mascalese Sicily Italy 34
• Ca di Alte 2021 Pinot Nero Veneto Italy 34
• Beaujolais Villages, Dom de Nugues 2020 Gamay Beaujolais France 44
• Tschuppen 2019 Spätburgunder Baden Germany 64
• Dorli Muhr Prellenkirchen 2018 Blaufrankisch Carnuntum Austria 68
• Allobroges IGP, St Pierre de Soucy, 'Argile', Dom des Ardoisières 2019 Gamay, Persan Savoie France 70
• Sancerre Rouge,'La Croix du Roy,' Lucien Crochet 2016 Pinot Noir Loire France 72
• Rua 2021 Pinot Noir Central Otago NZ 75
• De Loach, Russian River 2019 Pinot Noir California USA 80
• Arbois Trousseau Vieilles Vignes, 'Singulier', Dom. MandA Tissot 2018 Trousseau Jura France 90
• Domaine Adelie Mercurey 1er Cru Champs Martin 2019 Pinot Noir Côte Chalonnaise France 105
• Vosne-Romanée, 'Les Chalandins', Domaine J. Cacheux 2017 Pinot Noir Burgundy France 125
• Nuits St Georges Chateau Gris 2017 Pinot Noir Burgundy France 200

ROUNDED & SUPPLE REDS

• Canforrales 2022 Tempranillo La Mancha Spain 29
• La Tribuna, Bodega el Angosto 2021 Monastrell, Syrah Valencia Spain 33
• Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, Il Faggio 2021 Montepulciano Abruzzo Italy 35
• Montes 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley Chile 37
• Chateau Los Boldos, Tradition Réserve 2022 Carménère Cachapoal Chile 38
• Domaine de la Provenquière 2020 Merlot Languedoc France 36
• Viñedos Viejos, Vino de Montaña 2020 Garnacha, Rufete, Piñuela Sierra de Gredos Spain 41
• Cantina Dei Nizza 'LePole' Barbera d'Asti 2021 Barbera Piedmont Italy 42
• Cabriz 2018 Touriga Nacional, Arrogonez Dao Portugal 43
• La Nave, Villa de Albares 2020 Mencia Bierzo Spain 43
• El Secreto de la Garnacha 2021 Garnacha Madrid Spain 44
• Azamor 2019 Syrah, Touriga Franca,Merlot Alentejo Portugal 46
• Les Deux Cols, Côtes du Rhône 2020 Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault Southern Rhône France 50
• Rioja, 'Pies Negros', Artuke 2020 Tempranillo, Graciano Rioja Spain Spain 52
• Campagne de Centeilles,' Clos Centeilles 2017 Minervois Languedoc France 58
• Hobo, Camp, Sonoma 2018 Merlot California USA 65
• Saint-Joseph, 'Les Challeys', Delas Frères 2020 Syrah Nth Rhone France 67

MEDIUM BODIED, MEATY, STRUCTURED REDS

• Montesierra 2021 Cab Sauv, Merlot, Tempranillo Somontano Spain 29
• El Bon Homme 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon, Monastrell Valencia Spain 36
• Casa Ferreirinha, Papa Figos 2020 Vinhno Tinto Douro Portugal 42
• A Mano 2021 Primitivo Puglia Italy 44
• Lussac-Saint-Emilion, Ch. Lagrange 2020 Merlot, CS, CF Bordeaux France 46
• Torre del Falasco Valpolicella Superiore Ripasso 2019 Corvina Veneto Italy 48
• Chateau La Croix 2017 CS, Merlot, CF Saint Estephe France France 48
• Chanti Classico, 'Berardenga', Fattoria Felsina 2019 Sangiovese Tuscany Italy 69
• Langhe Nebbiolo Giulia Negri 2020 Nebbiolo Piedmont Italy 74
• Chanti Classico, Fontodi 2019 Sangiovese Tuscany Italy 75
• VdP des Collines Rhodaniennes, 'La Rosine', Michel et Stephane Ogier 2019 Syrah Nth Rhone France 75
• La Guiva, Il Rientro 2018 Corvina Veneto Italy 80
• Mullineux, Swartland 2019 Syrah Swartland Sth Africa 90
• Château Angludet La Dame d'Angludet Margaux 2019 CS,M,PV Bordeaux France 95
• Saint Emillion Grand Cru, Chateau Gros Caillou 2015 M, CF, CS Bordeaux France 95

DARING, ROBUST & BOLD REDS

• Kaiken Clásico 2020 Malbec Mendoza Argentina 36
• 16 Stops 2020 Shiraz McLaren Vale Australia 37
• L'Amourier, Domaine Luc Lapeyre 2020 Grenache, Mourvèdre, Syrah Minervois France 42
• Willunga 100 2021 Grenache Mclaren Vale Australia 46
• Akutain Crianza 2018 Tempranilla, Garnacha, Viura Rioja Spain 55
• Mitolo, Jester 2019 Shiraz Mclaren Vale Australia 58
• Gigondas, Domaine La Bouïssiere 2019 Syrah,Grenache, Mourvèdre Sth Rhone France 78
• Bruno Rocca 2020 Barbera d'Asti Piedmont Italy 80
• Balnaves Coonawarra 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Coonawarra Australia 95
• Chateauneuf du Pape, Domaine Mas Saint-Louis 2017 Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault Sth Rhone France 100
• Matthiasson, Napa Valley 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon California USA 125
• Côte-Rôtie, 'Le Village', MandS Ogier 2017 Syrah, Viognier Nth Rhone France 140
• Allegrini, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2017 Corvina Veneto Italy 180

FINE, AGED & AUSTERE REDS

• Château Musar, Gaston Hochar 2016 CS, Carignan, Cinsault Bekaa Lebanon 95
• Rioja Reserva, Viña Tondonia 2010 Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha Rioja Spain 98
• Barolo, Massolino 2019 Nebbiolo Piedmont Italy 110
• Priorat, 'Clos Mogador', René Barbier 2019 G,CS,S,PN,Mouv,M Priorat Spain 115
• Isole e Olena, 'Collezione Privata' 2015 Syrah Tuscany Italy 120
• Toscano IGT, Tenuta Tignanello, Antinori 2019 Sangiovese, CS, CF Bolgheri Italy 120
• Rioja Gran Reserva, La Rioja Alta 904 2009 Tempranillo, Graciano Rioja Spain 140
• Saint-Estèphe, Château Phélan Ségur 2017 Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux France 150
• Brunello di Montalcino, Conti Costanti 2014 Sangiovese Tuscany Italy 170
• Poggio Al Tesoro, 2015 Cabernet Franc Bolgheri Italy 195
• Flaccianello della Pieve, Fontodi 2019 Sangiovese Tuscany Italy 195

VOLUPTUOUS, LUSH & DECADENT REDS

• Bodegas Ponce, 'Depaula' 2021 Monastrell Tierra de Castilla Spain 37
• Lusca, David Llewellyn 2012 Merlot, Cabernet Dublin Ireland 55
• Abadia de Acon, Crianza 2018 Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) Ribera Del Duero Spain 56
• Priorat, 'Negre de Negres', Portal del Priorat 2018 Garnacha, Carinena, Syrah Priorat Spain 72
• Carmignano, 'Villa di Capezzana' 2018 Sangiovese, Cabernet Tuscany Italy 78
• Craiglee 2011 Shiraz Victoria Australia 80
• Seghesio, 'Old Vines', Sonoma 2016 Zinfandel California USA 115
• Clonakilla, Canberra District 2013 Shiraz, Viognier Canberra Australia 160

SWEET UNCTUOUS & STICKY WINES

• Sainte-Croix du Mont, Chateau des Arrocats 750ml 2021 Semillon, Sauvignon Bordeaux France 49 7
• Teasuro, Recioto della Valpolicella 2019 Corvina Valpolicella Italy 60 9
• Pineau des Charentes, Chateau d'Orignac NV Cognac, Cabbernet, Merlot Cognac France 77 9.5
• Mount Horrocks, 'Cordon Cut' 375ml 2022 Riesling Clare Valley Australia 47.5 12
• Sauternes, Chateau Leville 750ml 2016 Semillon Bordeaux France 80 10
• Sauternes, Petit Guiraud, Chateau Guiraud, 375 ml 2017 Semillon Bordeaux France 41
• Les Temps des Vignes 2006 Chenin Provence France 45 9
• Hans Lang, Beerenauslese 375 ml 2005 Riesling Rheingau Germany 50
• Domaine Les Grandes Vignes 2001 Chenin Blanc Loire France 60
• Vin Santo, Fattoria San Michele A Torri 500ml 2001 Trebbiano, Colombana Nero Tuscany Italy 80
• Chateau Tirecul-la-Graviere Cuvee Madame 500ml 1998 Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion Monbazillac France 300
• Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2002 Muscat de Frontignan Constantia Sth Africa 500

PORTS & FORTIFIED WINES

• San Emilio, Pedro Ximenez, Lustau 375ml Jerez Spain 38 7.5
• Niepoort, The Senior, Tawny Reserve Port 750ml Porto Portugal 60 8
• Barão de Vilar, LBV 750ml 2017 Porto Portugal 60 8

BITS & BOBS WHITE

• Donnhoff Spatlese 2005 Riesling Mosel Germany €50.00

BITS & BOBS RED

• Columnella 2003 Syrah, Mouvedre Swartland S.Africa €60.00
• Craigies Dalliance Vintage Cider 2019 €7.95 Ireland
• Rascals Jailbreak Lager €6.95 Ireland
• Weihenstephaner Original Helles €7.80 Germany
• Bernard Gluten Free Lager €6.95 Czech Republic
• Früh Kölsch €7.95 Germany
• Porterhouse Red Ale €7.00 Ireland
• Dot Brew Session Rye Ale €7.50 Ireland
• O Brother The Chancer Pale Ale €7.50 Ireland
• Trouble Brewing Graffiti Session Ale €7.50 Ireland
• Kinnegar Scraggy Bay IPA €7.95 Ireland
• Larkins Pale Ale €7.95 Ireland
• Duvel Belgian Golden Ale €7.70 Belgium
• Hofbräu Weisse €7.50 Germany
• Mescan Special Reserve Strong Dark €8.50 Ireland
• Porterhouse Oyster Stout €7.00 Ireland
• Trouble Brewing Dark Arts Porter €7.50 Ireland
• Früh Kölsch Non-Alcoholic €6.50 Germany

MINERAL WATER

• Pellegrino Sparkling €3.95 Italy
• Panna Still €3.95 Italy
• Irish "Ice" Sparkling / Still €3.50 Ireland

SOFT DRINKS

• Whole Earth Organic Lemonade €3.25 England
• Whole Earth Organic Cola €3.25 England
• Whole Earth Organic Elderflower €3.25 England
• Whole Earth Ginger Beer €3.25 England
• David Llewelyn Apple Juice €3.65 Ireland

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Stephen Sedley

Stephen Sedley is a former appeal court judge and visiting professor at Oxford.

• All (105)
• From The Paper (78)
• From The Blog (1)
• Letters (26)

Boil the cook: Treasonable Acts

Stephen sedley, 18 july 2024.

A ccording to ​ the Great Statute of Treasons, 1352, which is still on the statute book, treason consists of ‘Compassing the Death of the King, Queen, or their eldest Son; violating the Queen, or the King’s eldest Daughter unmarried, or his eldest Son’s Wife; levying War; adhering to the King’s Enemies; killing the Chancellor, Treasurer, or Judges in Execution of their...

The predicate of any modern treason law, even in a constitutional monarchy, has to be a mutual obligation of loyalty between citizen and state, not a fealty owed by the individual to the crown.

D-Day Dodgers

8 february 2024.

Coke v. Bacon

Stephen sedley, 27 july 2023.

‘T hat wonderful Edward Coke,’ wrote the great Maitland, ‘masterful, masterless man.’ Others prefer the judgment of the Australian judge and historian James Spigelman: Coke’s mind ‘was so narrow and unsubtle, so incapable of jettisoning detail, so often inconsistent, that no one has ever speculated that he wrote the works of Shakespeare’. That perverse...

Both sides of Edward Coke’s reputation have endured. Not long ago the benchers of the Inner Temple refused to name a new building after him because of his brutal prosecution of Walter Raleigh. Yet Coke’s law reports, many of them his own cases, continue to be uniquely relevant to the modern law governing the use and extent of prerogative powers and much else beside. Francis Bacon is a more elusive character.

Cloudy Horizon: Constitutional Business

Stephen sedley, 13 april 2023.

If constitutions are to represent a fresh start for a society, they cannot simply be adopted. They require a wide but intangible impetus – what is sometimes called a constitutional moment – that cannot be willed or voted into being.

It would be naive to ignore the vulnerability of an organic constitution such as the UK’s to capture or erosion from within, when government contempt for both constitutional propriety and legality is barely disguised.

For Entertainment Only

3 november 2022, pieces about stephen sedley in the lrb, here come the judges: the constitution, conor gearty, 4 june 1998.

At Sunday mass in my North London parish there was recently imposed a ‘New People’s Mass’. It came suddenly and without warning. One week, we were all enjoying versions of the...

In a narrow pass

Derek hirst, 19 november 1992.

Stephen Sedley and Lawrence Kaplan seek to map a new course for the post-socialist Left, and to turn attention away from that beguiling but now exploded theme, egalitarianism. The long fixation...

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The Winding Stair

Jesse norman.

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From the publisher

SUNDAY TIMES  BOOK OF THE WEEK

Of all revenge, the greatest is this: that which cometh suddenly, without expectation.

AMBITION REVENGE

Power is shifting. Queen Elizabeth I is dying, James waiting to become King. Everywhere, there is opportunity to ascend.

But who will thrive, and who will fail, under the new King? Will it be the scholar Francis Bacon, whose brilliant mind is the envy of the royal court? Or his hated rival the attorney Edward Coke, already acclaimed as the greatest lawyer of his generation?

The Winding Stair  tells the gripping story of these two founders of our modern world and their battle for power, pre-eminence – and the hand of the most eligible woman in the realm. Combining humour, wit and imagination with deep research, this novel is a dazzling synthesis of history and fiction that takes the genre to new places. It is an epic tale of jealousy and intrigue in Elizabethan and Jacobean England, which, in its lowest moments, holds a darkened mirror to our own contemporary politics.

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