John Sandoe Books

Simard is a genius of modern forest ecology. Her first book, Finding the Mother Tree, was at the vanguard of humanity’s understanding of the interconnectedness of trees and we were honoured that she could come to Sandoe’s to talk to us on our podcast. In this second book, When the Forest Breathes, published in March this year, the Canadian scientist recounts her ongoing research, with profound lessons on environmental degradation and methods of restoration. Once again, her narrative is both compelling and moving. 

Suzanne has kindly signed copies of her book; please email or call to reserve one. 

Interviewed by Arabella Friesen 

Edited by Magnus Rena

Our first podcast for 2026 is with Jane Rogoyska, the author of Hotel Exile: Paris in the Shadow of War. Divided into three parts, it tells the story of the influx of mostly German refugees into Paris following the rise of the Nazis, and how the Hotel Lutetia, a grand hotel on the Left Bank, became a focus for them in organizing some kind of resistance to the regime at home. After the German Occupation, the same hotel became the headquarters of Military Intelligence, the Abwehr; and then, after the Liberation, the hotel mutated into a reception centre for deportees returning from the concentration camps. The book has received superb reviews across the media and is immensely readable. 

 

The book is available now at £25 and Jane has kindly signed copies for us. Email, call or order online if you would like a copy. 

 

Interviewed by Johnny de Falbe 

 

Edited by Magnus Rena

We are delighted to have Juliet back on our podcast. Her books have been regular bestsellers at Sandoe’s: The Perfect Summer, A House Full of Daughters, Frostquake, which she spoke about on the podcast in 2020. Her new book looks at the dynamics of corrosive secrets that women have been obliged to keep, how those secrets fit into a broader social context and how exposing them has been a release for many. Her own family is the starting point for her investigation; numerous case studies follow. 

Interviewed by Johnny de Falbe 

Edited by Magnus Rena

A mentor to Le Corbusier, Ozenfant was an artist and critic who ran art schools in Paris and London in the 1920s and ’30s. Highly regarded, he knew everyone; Leonora Carrington was a student, Henry Moore worked for him, Paolozzi admired him. Despite his connections, energy and talent, his star dimmed and he passed into obscurity. This short, beautifully written book is a superb resuscitation of a fascinating individual whose influence was – and is – far-reaching. Johnny speaks to its author, Charles Darwent — art critic and reviewer. 

Photo: Ozenfant (left) and Le Corbusier launching their new magazine, L'Esprit nouveau, in 1920, from a fake hot air balloon. 

Interviewed by Johnny de Falbe 

Edited by Magnus Rena

We are delighted to bring you a new episode of our podcast: a conversation with Jonas Hassen Khemiri. He is a Swedish novelist and playwright, a teacher on the creative writing course at NYU and a finalist for the National Book Award. His writing is warm and playful, often concerned with his own Swedish-Tunisian heritage and with the joys and exasperations of being a writer, a father and a partner — rarely in that order. The Sisters is his latest novel, and his first to be written originally in English. It’s a wonderful, expansive book set between Tunis, Stockholm, Paris, Berlin and New York, beginning in 1999 and ending several decades later, the three sisters of the title having grown from adolescence into middle age. 

He spoke to Magnus about his approach to fiction, about place, ambition, migration and home, as well as David Foster Wallace, the Rockefeller Building, IKEA bags and the strange relief that comes from writing your own family into a novel. 

Interviewed and edited by Magnus Rena