like an artist stepping back from a canvas

They navigate the labyrinths of history

For centuries

Wendy Cope offers reflections on love and life

the 367 copperplate engravings by Basilius Besler (1561–1629) capture the spectacular diversity of the palatial gardens of Prince-Bishop Johann Konrad von Gemmingen (1593/95–1612) in Eichstätt

The New Dress like an artist stepping backWaking, I cry Oh, is this your buried treasure? The light in the heart. In these exquisite stories from the genius of English modernism, everyday objects acquire profound significance: a lump of buried green glass leads to a lifetime of obsession; a mark on the wall prompts a questioning of reality itself; a pale yellow silk dress provokes a painful self reckoning. Beautiful, strange and pioneering, each piece is a small precious stone to be held to