Including Clive James's most memorable pieces - his 'Postcard from Rome', his observations on Margaret Thatcher, his insights into Heaney, Larkin and Orwell - this book also contains brilliantly funny examinations of characters like Barry Humphries, as well as showcasing James's more thoughtful, analytical side.

From Germaine Greer to Marilyn Monroe, from the nature of celebrity to German culpability for the Holocaust, Reliable Essays is an unmissable collection from one of the best writers of our time.