Václav Havel: the compulsion of a dissident, Prospect, 20 December 2011

Truth and dare, a sketch of Norman Lewis as adapter of reality, Condé Nast Traveller, July 2008

Companion volume, a tribute to Gerald Brenan, Daily Telegraph, 10 March 2008

A man apart, portrait of Imre Kertész, appeared in the Guardian, 22/04/2006

Living with ghosts, portrait of Ismail Kadare, Guardian, 17/09/2005

“His voice is unique”, sketch of the first Man Booker International prize winner Ismail Kadare, Guardian,  3 June 2005

Chekhov’s last hours, an investigation into the writer’s death in 1904, Daily Telegraph, June 2004

Close to the heart of the matter, a memoir of Yvonne Cloetta, Guardian, March 2004

Witness to the world, a short essay on Norman Lewis, Prospect, October 2003

The militant magician, portrait of José Saramago, Guardian, December 2002

The faces behind the mask, the last interview with Eric Ambler, Guardian, January 1997

Journey to the centre of the psyche, interview with Oliver Sacks, Guardian, October 1996

The happy wanderer, interview with Norman Lewis, Guardian, May 1996

The heart of the matter, interview with Yvonne Cloetta, Guardian, September 1994

Anna and I, a portrait of Lydia Chukovskaya’s friendship with Anna Akhmatova, Guardian, June 1994

Constantinople on foot, Antibes in a Jaguar, interview with Patrick Leigh Fermor, Guardian, October 1992