DIANE WATT argues that while evidence of sex is not there, a 16th‑century lesbian poet could be Scotland’s answer to Gentleman Jack

FIONA O’CONNOR questions the achievement of this year’s Orwell prize winner for political fiction

LEO BOIX reviews two powerful Latin American novels in which myth and crime fiction expose the deadly consequences of patriarchy, clandestine abortion and state violence

GLENN FOSBRAEY recommends a biography worth reading for both existing George Michael fans and those yet to be converted

FRANCIS DEVINE introduces a new collection of essays that draws on Pease McKenna’s example to indicate future paths for the movement

CHRIS SEARLE welcomes a startling vision of contemporary Newport from a veteran photographer of the British working class

IAN SINCLAIR relishes a fantastical globetrotting thriller featuring one of the most memorable characters in contemporary literature

The missing sister, the vengeful WAG, cruise ship claustrophobia, and reanimated Avengers

BRENT CUTLER welcomes a thoughtful analysis of the Erdogan regime, viewed through the evolving history of a neighbourhood in Istanbul

STEVEN ANDREW is fascinated by an account of the many baseless folk tales that evolved to explain the existence of pre-historic stone circles

GORDON PARSONS regrets the price, but is dazzled by an outstandingly ambitious study of the way art restoration in particular, and culture in general was weaponised by the Nazis

DAVID HARVIE recommends a selection of Harry Cleaver’s writing that documents working-class activism and offers a method, and a way of understanding and investigating the world