New Statesman's Books of the Year

On the brink of the Second World War, before the bombers came over, the poltergeists of Britain were smashing glass and breaking the furniture. None was more tricksy than the “Croydon Poltergeist”, whose case is explored in The Haunting of Alma Fielding (Bloomsbury Circus): Kate Summerscale’s well-researched book brings insight and sensitivity to material darker than is usually admitted. On a sweeter note, the most enjoyable book I’ve read this year is Ferdinand Mount’s elegant and funny Kiss Myself Goodbye: The Many Lives of Aunt Munca (Bloomsbury Continuum). All family memoirs promise secrets – but, I swear, this socialite’s secrets are jaw-dropping.