Summer books of 2019: Literary non-fiction

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, by Casey Cep, William Heinemann, RRP£20/Knopf, RRP$26.95

The Reverend Willie Maxwell was a larger-than-life figure in 1970s Alabama accused of multiple murders. This stunning debut sets out to tell the interwoven stories of the Reverend, his lawyer and the famous, reclusive author of To Kill A Mockingbird and the mystery of a book that may still lie hidden in Harper Lee’s papers.

Underland: A Deep Time Journey, by Robert Macfarlane, Hamish Hamilton, RRP£20/WW Norton, RRP$27.95

The nature writer ventures into the depths of the earth in this absorbing meditation on the layers of history that lie beneath our feet. From cave art and burial mounds to Greenland’s melting glaciers, Macfarlane explores our impact on the planet.

L.E.L.: The Lost Life and Scandalous Death of Letitia Elizabeth Landon, the Celebrated ‘Female Byron’, by Lucasta Miller, Jonathan Cape, RRP£25/Knopf, RRP$30

Letitia Landon or LEL as she styled herself, was a literary celebrity now largely forgotten. Expecting to find little, Miller delved into her life only to discover a fascinating figure who is both a product of her age and a recognisably Postmodern creation and who bridged the gap between the Romantics and the Victorians.

A Mouth Full of Blood: Essays, Speeches, Meditations, by Toni Morrison, Chatto & Windus, RRP£20/ (as The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations), Knopf, RRP$28.95

Morrison’s latest collection of non-fiction gathers together essays, criticism, speeches and more, divided into three enlightening themes: The Foreigner’s Home, Black Matter(s), and God’s Language. The result is a startlingly relevant collection that speaks to now.

The Library Book , by Susan Orlean, Atlantic Books, RRP£20/Simon & Schuster, RRP$28

Orlean, author of the bestselling The Orchid Thief, tells the story of the Los Angeles Public Library and the fire that destroyed it in 1986. But the book is more than just a brilliantly written account of the building and the inferno that engulfed it. As the FT’s reviewer notes: it “invites the reader to recollect (if they have by any chance forgotten) what extraordinary institutions libraries are”.

The Man Who Wrote the Perfect Novel: John Williams, Stoner, and the Writing Life, by Charles J Shields, University of Texas Press, RRP£23.99/$29.95

The book of 2013 was Stoner, a 1965 novel by US writer John Williams that had all but disappeared until it unexpectedly became a word-of-mouth bestseller half a century later. Charles Shields’ biography tells the story behind the enigmatic Williams’ posthumous success.

For a look at the best summer books across genres, go to ft.com/summerbooks2019

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