Hot stuff

YOU have got to hand it to those people at Walker Books. They have certainly managed to trump everyone else in the race to produce this year's most romantic Valentine's Day publication.

Despite the fact that it is nominally aimed at children of eight and above, Michael Rosen and Jane Ray's 'presentation' of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet (Walker Books, £12.99) beats the opposition by a good old-fashioned country mile.

It is not so much Michael Rosen's text as Jane Ray's delightful watercolour and ink illustrations that do the trick.

As you would expect from a book aimed at children, Rosen has retold the story in simple, everyday English. This is fine, but for the fact that in place of his own dialogue, he uses Romeo and Juliet's speeches from the play.

To an adult eye the contrast between Rosen's flat prose and Shakespeare's glorious poetry is too jarring.

Jane Ray's wonderful, lush, detailed illustrations, however - and in particular her pair of impossibly beautiful, dark-eyed young lovers - will appeal to the romantic in all of us. A delightful book.

If Shakespeare's not your thing, however, there are plenty of other good reads to get you in the mood for love.

Here is just a selection:

Quirky modern 'romcom'

Sorry, Walter, by Judi Curtin (Pan, £6.99)

Cork schoolteacher Maeve is stuck in a rut. When she's not trying to keep six-year-olds from killing each other, her colleagues are boring her with tales of domestic bliss.

Determined she is not going to be all washed up at 34, Maeve ups sticks, leaves her yellow wellies behind, and heads across the pond to Canada.

Once there, she learns to live on the wild side. There's the edible Wes for a start, with his blond hair and toothpaste smile. And there's someone else....

Romance with a hint of sepia

A Scent Of Lavender by Elizabeth Elgin (HarperCollins, £6.99)

It is 1940, and the threat of German invasion hangs over the country. In the isolated hamlet of Nun Aisty, however, it is the arrival of the Army that turns things upside down - especially for two young women. Lorna Hatherwood is trapped in a dull marriage to a man ten years older. Then she volunteers to read to blind soldiers... and everything changes. Meanwhile land gGirl Ness Nightingale, who is trying hard to forget a disastrous love affair, has to remind herself she has vowed never to trust a man again when she meets conscientious objector Mick Hardie.

Child Of Sorrow by Una Horne (Piatkus, £5.99)

Born on the day of the great mining disaster at Jane Pit, Merry Trent is brought up by her only surviving relative, grandmother Peggy. Pretty and bright, she begins to train as a nurse, where she attracts the attention of dashing young doctor Tom Gallagher. But when she falls pregnant, her future looks bleak and she faces a tough choice: a marriage of convenience, or destitution and the workhouse.

A Kiss From Maddalena by Christopher Castellani (Orion hardback, £12.99)

Italy, 1943. In the small village of Santa Cecilia, only the women remain because most of the young men have gone to war. Young Vito Leonie, still a few months too young to be drafted, has fallen in love with Maddalena Piccinelli, the beautiful daughter of the village's most powerful family. But then the Italians surrender to the Allies - and the Germans invade Santa Cecilia. A "tender, heart-breaking tale of young love pitched against the fates" is actress and author Carol Drinkwater's verdict.

Epic romance

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (Sceptre, £6.99)

If you have seen the movie, why not try the book, which is out now in paperback. If you haven't seen the film, don't miss the chance to read this epic romance set in the American Civil War.

Tatiana & Alexander, by Paulina Simons (HarperCollins, £6.99)

Tatiana is 16, pregnant and already widowed when she escapes war-torn Leningrad to find a new life in America. But the ghosts of her past do not rest easily. She becomes obsessed with the belief that her husband, Red Army Major Alexander Belov, is still alive and needs her...

The literary romance

The Calligrapher by Edward Docx (Fourth Estate, £7.99).

Jasper thinks he has found the perfect life. A world-class calligrapher and serial seducer, he is happily transcribing the songs and sonnets of John Donne for his wealthy patron when a shameless infidelity catches up with him and his life begins to unravel. "A romantic comedy of unusual depth and darkness", says the Independent on Sunday.

Continental Drift by Libby Purves (Flame, £6.99)

Henry is a radio DJ, hip, young and single; Philip an ex-MP ruined by scandal and Diana, is a long-suffering wife, a woman struggling to find a life of her own. Marianne is three stone overweight, while Lizzie is battling with illness and trying not to think about it. Into their lives comes Eva, a nave and happy Polish backpacker working her way around Europe. This offers comedy, tragedy and romance at bewildering speed.

COMPETITION

The Evening Press has three copies of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet for readers to win, courtesy of Walker Books.

Question: who drew the illustrations for Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet?

Details of how to enter are on page 15 of tonight's Evening Press (11/02/04)

Updated: 09:16 Wednesday, February 11, 2004