Greek Fire, The Story of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis, by Nicholas Gage (Pan Books, £7.99 in UK)

The dramatic love affair between Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis has long ignited the public imagination

The dramatic love affair between Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis has long ignited the public imagination. What began when the tycoon invited the diva onto his luxury yacht developed into an all-consuming passion that was finally undone by the arrival in Onassis's life of one-time US First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy.

Nicholas Gage's chronicle of the rise and demise of the tempestuous relationship between Greece's most cherished son and daughter sets about shattering the myths that have developed around this Greek tragedy. Gage's sympathetic but never sentimental portrayal of the larger-than-life protagonists marks Greek Fire as the definitive history of Callas and Onassis.