Objects of desire: The defining coffee-table books for March  

March is positioned at a transitory point in the year. Winter is giving way to summer, the air feels a little heavy, and there is that feeling of being upon a precipice. At such a point, turning inwards and observing how the beginning of the year has evolved is key. A fine accompaniment is a coffee-table book that isn’t just passive décor; for it subtly alters the atmosphere of a room. These volumes of beauty and stories invite touch and spark slow conversations. They tempt you to sit down “for a minute” and lose half an hour in the charm of hand-painted illustrations and visuals. This season, I’m drawn to volumes that feel transportive: books that carry you to Paris ateliers, lemon groves, English meadows, temple courtyards, and Olympian skies, all from the comfort of home. From reverie to page, these works of art are meant to be displayed, discussed, and returned to all season long. 

Dior Forever by Catherine Ormen, Hachette 

Few fashion houses conjure romance quite like Dior. In Dior Forever, Catherine Ormen distils decades of artistry into a volume that unfolds as a world of silhouettes, sketches, and secrets that shaped modern femininity. Lavish runway imagery, rare facsimile invitations, handwritten notes by Christian Dior, and original sketches offer glimpses into the mind of a master. Each page feels layered, like tulle and silk translated into ink and paper. The book moves gracefully through eras, tracing how the house balanced tradition with reinvention, from cinched waists and sweeping skirts to modern minimalism. Glossy pages shimmer with embroidery and organza; margins reveal the quiet discipline behind the drama. It is both spectacle and scholarship, a tactile reminder that fashion at its highest level is architecture, fantasy, and craft intertwined. Left open on a table, it reads like a love letter to couture’s enduring spell.

Amalfi by Carlos Souza, Assouline 

There are destinations that feel cinematic, and few places capture this essence quite like the Amalfi Coast, with endless vistas of mountains, the Mediterranean Sea and bougainvillaea spilling over sun-warmed walls. In this radiant volume, Carlos Souza captures the magic of that legendary stretch of Italian coastline with an insider’s intimacy. We’re taken on a cinematic journey across winding roads, cathedral domes glowing honeyed at dusk, tiled terraces overlooking waters that shift from aquamarine to indigo. Each spread hums with light and feeling. There are echoes of Jacqueline Kennedy’s glamour and Gore Vidal’s literary musings, woven into landscapes that feel eternal. Through storied villas, lemon groves heavy with fruit, and echoes of glamorous visitors past, the book evokes a life shaped by salt air and slow lunches.

Flora Indica by Henry Noltie, Roli Books 

Pressed between the pages of history lie flowers once captured in watercolour: delicate, exacting, alive. Drawing from Kew’s vast archive of Indian botanical illustrations, Henry Noltie brings together over a hundred exquisite watercolours that shimmer with detail: translucent petals, serrated leaves, roots curling like calligraphy. Yet, this is more than a botanical compendium. It is an act of restoration. The book honours twenty Indian artists whose names were long eclipsed, situating their work within the colonial histories that shaped scientific exploration. Each illustration feels intimate, almost devotional, an offering to both art and inquiry. As hibiscus, orchids, and medicinal herbs unfold across creamy pages, Flora Indica is a luminous revival of Kew’s Indian botanical drawings, celebrating forgotten artists and the fragile brilliance of painted flora, transforming archival fragments into a living garden of memory. 

A Fine Romance by Susan Branch 

Part illustrated diary, part dream voyage, Susan Branch’s hand-lettered chronicle wanders from ocean crossings to lamb-dotted meadows in a celebration of pastoral England. Rendered in her signature watercolours and looping script, A Fine Romance feels like peering into a beloved friend’s journal. The voyage from New York to Southampton is sketched in seafoam blues, before unfolding into a two-month stroll through England’s storybook villages. We wander down ancient footpaths edged with foxglove, through manor gardens once tended by literary greats, into tearooms fragrant with scones and clotted cream. Lambs frolic in fields beneath cloud-brushed skies, antique shops and cosy pubs offer pauses for reflection, and hundreds of photographs and hand-drawn illustrations make each spread feel like a sunlit story. The red ribbon bookmark is a charming old-fashioned touch, tying memory to page. It is whimsical, nostalgic, and utterly transportive: a book to leaf through on rainy afternoons with a pot of tea at hand. 

Timeless Tales of India, Hachette India 

Like opening a jewel-toned chest of marvels, Timeless Tales of India invites readers into a mesmerising world. India’s storytelling tradition is as vast as its landscapes: brimming with kings and tricksters, magical mangoes and golden pearls. This magnificent volume gathers those voices into a single, resplendent journey. From Kashmir’s snow-kissed valleys to Kerala’s lush backwaters, each state and Union Territory lends its own cadence and colour to folk-stories, resulting in a mosaic of courage, mischief, tenderness, and wit. The artwork is lush – saffron sunsets, emerald forests, indigo nights – illustrating stories shaped by centuries of oral tradition. With contributions from some of India’s most beloved storytellers, this volume becomes both archive and celebration, a reminder that folklore is the heartbeat of culture. It is a book to be read aloud and gifted generously, and offered as a reminder of our rich heritage. 

Paris Picnic Club: Recipes For Gathering, by Shaheen Peerbhai and Jennie Levitt 

What began as a simple Friday ritual blossomed into a clandestine pop-up dining affair across Paris. In Paris Picnic Club, that spirit of conviviality is poured generously onto every page. More than a cookbook, this charming volume illustrates the warmth of sharing food and the celebration of friendship beneath Parisian skies. Presented very much like a carefree picnic, small plates beckon from wicker baskets, unusual combinations like onion jam with buttery almonds make an appearance, as do rye, chocolate, and sea salt cookies waiting to be shared around the table. The prose is warm and inviting, encouraging readers to linger over preparation and conversation alike. Photographs of sun-dappled tables and chequered linens evoke laughter drifting through hidden courtyards. At its heart, this is a book about slowing down, nourishing and cooking for one another, and transforming ordinary Fridays into something ever so magical. 

Mythos by Stephen Fry 

In this richly illustrated edition of Mythos, ancient stories blaze anew. The gods love and destroy, quarrel and conspire, as vividly as ever in full, luminous colour. Athena springs fully formed from Zeus’ head, Persephone drifts into the shadowy hush of the Underworld, and Pandora lifts the lid on a forbidden jar of catastrophe. Fry’s prose crackles with wit and humanity, revealing deities who are as flawed and fervent as the mortals who worshipped them. The illustrations deepen the drama: swirls of celestial gold, midnight blues, and molten reds animating battles, seductions, and metamorphoses. Each myth feels immediate and electric, bridging antiquity and modernity with effortless charm. Mythos: The Illustrated Story becomes not merely a retelling but a spectacle; one that invites readers to lose themselves in the thunder and tenderness of the ancient world.

Lead image: Getty 

Also read: In ink and intimacy: The timeless art of writing a love letter 

Also read: The essential February book-list if reading is your love language