His books are so intensely imagined and freshly observed, with a startling image or insight on every page, that story almost ceases Benjamin Black, Author, John Banville, Author, Timothy Dalton ...

John Banville is a novelist. His most recent book is The Lock-Up (Faber & Faber). In Napoleon Symphony, the life of the French statesman was transformed into a virtuoso romp that still dazzles 50 ...