Who was Andrew Pierce's favourite monarch and stars in their own Ladybird book?

I’m rereading the Robert Harris bestseller Conclave. Harris, who was once a political journalist like me, specialises in the corrupting effects of power. No more so than in a papal conclave, one of the oldest methods of electing a head of State (of Vatican City).

Harris understand the intrigues and deceits of powerful men having worked alongside and befriended the likes of the serpentine Lord Mandelson who is now our ambassador in Washington.

The same political ambition, conceits and vanities are deployed in this riveting book.

Harris’ cardinals, like politicians seeking our votes, have been blessed with heightened powers of rhetoric as they seek to plot and scheme to become God’s Vicar on Earth.

I’m a practising Roman Catholic. Even reading Conclave for a second time I still found the twist at the end absolutely shocking.

No contest. It would be Tolkien’s epic The Lord Of The Rings. I read it first when I was 16 and become totally immersed in the Hobbit world of Middle Earth and the dark evil empire of Mordor and Sauron. There is a strong dose of romance and more than a dash of Macbeth with walking-talking woods, magic mirrors and misleading prophecies.

The trilogy would inspire me to keep building a boat to make my escape from the desert island.

As a child I was hooked on Ladybird books about the kings and queens of England. Elizabeth I was my favourite. Is that why I was an early fan of Mrs Thatcher?

I was also a voracious reader of Enid Blyton. I was so envious of the Famous Five with those lavish picnics and lashings of ginger beer, and Timmy the dog.

Fizzy drinks growing up on our Swindon council estate were on high days and holidays. And even then we never ever had ginger beer.

I thought I’d try Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses. What a mistake. It is impenetrable. I’m amazed he had a fatwa put on his head. The Ayatollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of Iran, issued the religious decree calling for his death. But I find it hard to believe the medieval cleric got beyond the end of the first chapter.