22 JANUARY 1994, page 27

Tales Of Daring Capture And Escapism

Barry Unsworth THE FORTUNES OF CASANOVA AND OTHER STORIES by Rafael Sabatini OUP, £15.95, pp. 283 I first read Rafael Sabatini's historical novels at the age of 14. My father......

Disappearing In A Puff Of Smoke

Nigel Spivey CIGARETTES ARE SUBLIME by Richard Klein Duke University Press, £19.95, pp. 210 H ypocrisy, and in particular American political hypocrisy, is rightfully exposed by......

Sometime After Dinosaurs, God Created Woman

Julie Burchill DISCLOSURE by Michael Crichton Century, X14.99, pp. 397 N ovelisation — of a film, or of a popu- lar television serial — has always been a moderately quick way to......