Letters from Oxford: Hugh Trevor-Roper to Bernard Berenson

Superbly readable and revealing letters, full of malice and gossip, from a master historian

When they met in 1947, Trevor-Roper, a young historian at Christ Church Oxford, was 33. Berenson, the world-famous art critic, was 82, frail but still intensely curious about the world. Trevor-Roper promised to write to him and his letters continued until Berenson's death in 1959.

Elegantly constructed, beautifully and precisely written, they are shot through with high-octane malice, sharp judgements, blistering comments and many wonderfully funny episodes.

Superbly readable and revealing letters from a master historian, covering people such as Evelyn Waugh and Anthony Eden.