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Ukrainian Lessons
  • Published: 20 September 2026
  • ISBN: 9781787335974
  • Imprint: Jonathan Cape
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $59.99
Categories:

Ukrainian Lessons

Art in a Time of War

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A deeply personal, first-hand account of art, survival and resistance in wartime Ukraine


Charlotte Higgins never imagined she would report on a war. But in the autumn of 2022, seven months into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she travelled there to cover a literary festival. The experience would change her life.


In a war fuelled by the attempted erasure of Ukrainian culture – one that has killed countless artists and created countless more – art has become a matter of life and death. In times of war, art and literature are where difficulty and complexity survive: where the most painful, unspeakable truths can still be faced.


Drawing on two decades of cultural journalism, three years of reporting trips to Ukraine, and her training as a classicist, Ukrainian Lessons explores the profound connections between war, art and life. It is a searing, urgent and unforgettable book about what artists are prepared to risk – and why culture remains worth fighting for.
  • Published: 20 September 2026
  • ISBN: 9781787335974
  • Imprint: Jonathan Cape
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 272
  • RRP: $59.99
Categories:

About the author

Charlotte Higgins

Charlotte Higgins is the acclaimed author of Under Another Sky, which was shortlisted for awards including the Samuel Johnson (now Baillie Gifford) Prize for non-fiction, Red Thread, which was a Radio 4 Book of the Week and won the Arnold Bennett Prize, and Greek Myths, which was shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year. She is chief culture writer of the Guardian, a past winner of the Classical Association prize, and a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. She lives in London.
CH

Also by Charlotte Higgins

Greek Myths
Red Thread
Under Another Sky
See all

Praise for Ukrainian Lessons

A beautiful, erudite, heartbreaking book. Charlotte Higgins conveys a deep understanding of the centrality of culture to the Ukrainian cause, as she examines whether art can have redemptive power in a time of war. But it is the quality of her prose that sets this book apart. I loved it.

Lindsey Hilsum

Miraculous reading; a book that blows your heart open to the atrocities of invasion and the rich wonders of Ukrainian art. Never has a work of non-fiction so inspired and moved me. Charlotte Higgins leaves you galvanised and furious.

Fiona Benson

This is the most beautifully written, moving book I can ever remember reading. There is so much love in it.

Philippa Perry

An excellent book. A moving testament to the horror of the war in Ukraine and the vital role of culture in fighting it.

Henry Marsh