The recklessness of George Mallory
Having quarrelled with his adept former fellow climber, Mallory attempted Everest in 1924 seriously ill-equipped, and taking an inexperienced 22-year-old with him instead
Women on a wind-swept island: Hagstone, by Sinéad Gleeson, reviewed
Nell, an artist, lives peacefully on an island, presumably off the west coast of Ireland. But all changes when a group of women occupy a crumbling convent overlooking the sea
Reading pulp fiction taught me how to write, said S.J. Perelman
The great humourist ascribes his success to the hours he spent deep in the adventures of Tarzan and Fu Manchu – and watching lurid B movies in afternoon cinemas
Why are the German authorities so reluctant to believe in neo-Nazi attacks?
When two fascist skinheads were seen fleeing from the murders of several Turkish shopkeepers in Nuremberg, the police continued to blame the ‘Turkish mafia’
Between the Iron Lady and the Wedding Cake: conflict in Belle Époque Paris
Two 19th-century buildings perfectly symbolised the growing friction between the capital’s progressives and traditionalists – the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre’s Sacré Coeur
Fools rush in: Mania, by Lionel Shriver, reviewed
In an alternative universe where the Mental Parity Movement holds sway, the ignorant and unqualified are deemed ‘just as good as anyone else’ – with predictable results
More Mr Pooter than Joe Orton: George Lucas’s gay life in London
Beginning in 1948, Lucas kept a diary chronicling 60 highly promiscuous years – though ‘my great desideratum has always been sympathy and affection’
Agent Zo: the Polish blonde with nerves of steel
Clare Mulley celebrates the courage of Elzbieta Zawacka, who repeatedly risked her life in the second world war liaising between London and the Polish Resistance
Home to mother: Long Island, by Colm Toibín, reviewed
The sequel to Brooklyn sees Eilis leave New York shocked and angry, and return to Enniscorthy – where everything is outwardly calmer, but much has changed
It’s hard work having fun: Wives Like Us, by Plum Sykes, reviewed
A ride with friends involves dressing to the nines and stopping at a Marie Antoinette-style ‘hameau’ for sloe-gin cocktails – served by uniformed staff and filmed for Instagram
Edwin Lutyens: the nation’s remembrancer-in-chief
Though much admired for his domestic architecture, Lutyens is perhaps most celebrated for Whitehall’s Cenotaph and the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme
The joy of hanging out with artists
Lynn Barber finds painters and sculptors easily the most congenial people to interview - despite having received a death threat from the Chapman brothers
Why students at historically black colleges aren’t protesting
Earlier this week, the New York Times asked an intriguing and surprisingly overlooked question: why aren’t black students on historically black college…
It’s already going wrong for Vaughan Gething
Plaid Cymru’s sudden decision to end its co-operation deal with Labour in Wales piles even more pressure on the First…
What we won’t learn from the Hartlepool terrorist attack
Just a week after Hamas’ deadly raid into Israel on 7 October, the conflict in the Middle East inspired a…
Labour and Unite go to war over oil
There is nothing new about battles between the unions and a Labour government. But could a Starmer government be upset…
The Biden-Trump debates won’t measure up to the past
It’s happening. Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump will debate. Of course, the Biden team is making sure the debates…
Welsh government in crisis after Plaid pull the plug
Throughout the last 25 years of devolution in the UK, one thing has remained consistent: Welsh Labour’s stranglehold on Cardiff…
Why Geert Wilders won’t be the next leader of the Netherlands
‘A new wind will blow through our country,’ said Geert Wilders, as he declared that his anti-Islam, anti-immigration Party for…
Stay-at-home parents don’t need free nursery places
Except for households blessed with rather generous incomes, most mothers these days have to work to keep a family decently…
Is Jeremy Hunt telling the truth?
A stern-looking Jeremy Hunt gave a speech in a rented office opposite the Treasury today saying he had come to…
Hunt’s tax attack on Labour is sure to backfire
It should come as no surprise that Jeremy Hunt has signalled in a speech this morning that he will try…
Putin and Xi’s anti-West alliance is strengthening
The visit by Russian president Vladimir Putin to the north-eastern Chinese city of Harbin today was no doubt designed as…
Is Putin causing trouble for Macron in New Caledonia?
Five people have now been killed and scores wounded in the New Caledonia insurgency as Emmanuel Macron struggles to restore…
The Tories have no right talking about ‘common sense’
Esther McVey is minister without portfolio in the current cabinet, but has been dubbed the ‘minister for common sense’. In…
