Ukrainian Lessons

LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2026
A spellbinding first-hand account of art, survival and resistance in wartime Ukraine
'The most beautifully written, moving book I can ever remember reading' PHILIPPA PERRY
'A book for our times' PHILIPPE SANDS
'A brilliant and unforgettable book' EDMUND DE WAAL
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 find out how artists and writers were reflecting the devastating events in their work. The experience would change her life.
In a war fuelled by the attempted erasure of Ukrainian culture - a war 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 is worth fighting for.
'An excellent book' HENRY MARSH
'A survival manual for our blood-stricken times' JACQUELINE ROSE
'Beautiful, erudite, heart-breaking' LINDSEY HILSUM