Mr Kaplan's biography recounts, in a plodding and not wholly reliable fashion, the salient events of Mr Vidal's colourful life.

ECONOMIST: American literature: Comeback kid | The

Steinheimer believes that the decline of the studios' power, combined with Taylor's colourful personal life, created a new, more cutting, and less sycophantic style of mainstream media coverage of celebrities - moving towards today's tabloid press.

BBC: How Elizabeth Taylor redefined celebrity

As you walk down to the river banks from the temple you may catch a glimpse of local life at its colourful best.

BBC: Orchha, a living medieval town

For one of the most emblematic slices of Barranco life, take a stroll down Cajamarca street, the best place to see the full gamut of colourful houses.

BBC: Lima��s artsy enclave