Book of the dayFictionReviewInspired by the fight to change the law and social mores in Victorian England, this excellent debut dramatises physical intensity and moral dilemmas Tom Crewe’s virtuoso debut The New Life is one of the most embodied historical novels I have read. The tone is set in the extraordinary opening scene. It’s London in 1894, and John is jostled against another man in a tube carriage, “close enough to smell the hairs on the back of the man’s neck”.

Book of the dayRobert HarrisReviewThis rich and riotous novel, following the search for two of the men who signed Charles I’s death warrant, is also an important book for our own historical moment There’s a passage in Vasily Grossman’s Life and Fate in which the author imagines the parallel lives of a man and his murderer. “If one man is fated to be killed by another,” he writes, “it would be interesting to trace the gradual convergence of their paths.

Pantry remixAustralian food and drinkThis staple of hot chips, pies and sausage sizzles also works brilliantly in everything from Japanese-style pasta to Malaysian fried rice In the first of her new fortnightly cooking column, Pantry Remix, chef Rosheen Kaul explores Australia’s favourite sauceThe term “pantry staple” is so boring. How are you expected to find inspiration from a dusty cupboard of jars, spices and unidentifiable flours? Really though, the pickles and condiments hiding away in dark recesses have so much untapped potential.

Mexico This article is more than 1 month oldClash between criminal gang and villagers leaves 14 dead in central MexicoThis article is more than 1 month oldVideo of fight shows villagers with sickles and rifles chasing down suspected gang members amid gunfire A clash between gunmen from a criminal gang and residents of a small farming community in central Mexico left 14 people dead and seven injured, local authorities said on Saturday.

Killecrankie House’s A Naughty Night, roaring fire optional. Photograph: Rob Lawson/The Guardian. Drink styling: James Huertas.Killecrankie House’s A Naughty Night, roaring fire optional. Photograph: Rob Lawson/The Guardian. Drink styling: James Huertas.The good mixerCocktailsA Scottish twist on the manhattan that’s an ideal after-dinner nip for the cold months ahead Winter evenings in Perthshire can get rather chilly, and this cocktail comes into its own as the days get ever shorter and the nights longer.