As far back as reading his incredible columns in the Daily Telegraph, I have been fascinated with Boris Johnson. Throughout his media and political career, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has intrigued and amused me while often making me reflect further on the parallels between the past and the present. In that regard, his riveting and difficult-to-match biography of Winston Churchill underlies how much both statesmen share many similarities, which probably explains why Boris Johnson undertook the process of writing this biography.

That impression was rekindled while I read Sebastian Payne’s absorbing book The Fall of Boris Johnson: The Full Story (Macmillan). Even though the story it recounts was painful at times – yes, I admit, I’m a fan of Boris Johnson and reading about his downfall didn’t make me particularly joyful – it was unquestionably the best political book I have read for years.

Winston Churchill and Boris Johnson will both go down in history as unrivalled communicators of their respective eras. It must have been hard for the latter’s communications shop to provide products that met the criteria of a man who was probably his own best speechwriter.