Picasso and Dora: A Memoir, by James Lord (Phoenix Giant, £12.99 in UK)

Dora Maar was Picasso's mistress for a number of years until Francoise Gilot took over from her - an unenviable role, but she endured it willingly and seems to have been quite stricken when her term of office ended. Lord, an American then living in Paris who has written a readable, though slightly snide biography of Giacometti, became a kind of regular escort for her - a safe and uncomplicating one too, since he is homosexual. Though Lord himself comes over as something of a courtier and voyeur, his portrayal of Picasso is sharply lifelike and Dora herself, while enigmatic and even strange, was obviously a woman of character and great intelligence. B.F.