An irresistible treasure-trove ... The way these gossipy little rhymes give us a snapshot of everyday life in centuries gone by is enchanting. You'll never look at nursery rhymes again in the same way

The history behind nursery rhymes is not only highly specific but often splendidly grim. This book is a reminder of the riches below the surface: characters, jokes, events and stories

In a hugely readable and well researched biography, Findlay paints a triple portrait of her ancestor – as a devoted family man, homosexual Catholic and cultivated spy – who turns out to be a far more engaging and fascinating subject than one would ever have imagined

The final revelation of Findlay’s book is that Moncrieff was far from the perfect Proustian of our imagination. Moncrieff is a lot more fun to be around than his careful sentences might suggest

A fascinating read

Passionate, risk-taking, aesthetically conservative: a compendious biography of Proust's great interpreter reveals the paradoxes of his varied career

Jean Findlay... has at last given us a full portrait of this admirable man

Findlay assembles a fascinating man from a strange collection of fragments with style, fittingly enough, and wit

Eager, conscientious, affectionate… Endearingly old-fashioned in its family piety, protective partisanship and unembellished decency… A work that murmurs and sidles in a self-effacing tone… A likeable, informative and poignant book that Findlay is uniquely suited to have written

There is a tenderness with which [Findlay] cherishes even the most inconsequential events… Fitting tribute

Entertaining

Findlay’s welcome biography reveals him to be a fascinating character… Admirably and engagingly fulfils its brief

A revealing portrait of an extraordinary man

Findlay ably amplifies her portrait with family history and evocations of the Edwardian literary scene

Respectful and sympathetic

Compelling

A colourful treatment of a colourful life

Personal and affectionate tribute

Affectionate, familial tribute to this many-sided man.