The dark side of creativity
In Eureka, Anthony Quinn gives us all the enjoyable froth we could hope for in a novel about making a…
Dark secrets of village life
Jon McGregor’s first novel, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, a surprise inclusion on the 2002 Booker longlist that went…
Intimations of immortality
A preoccupation with death is felt from the start of Margaret Drabble’s new novel, which opens with Francesca Stubbs, in…
Words on the street
A white van pulls up outside St Giles in the Fields, an imposing 18th century church in central London, around…
London’s lost rivers
I found my first of London’s many lost rivers when I walked across Holborn Viaduct, looked down at the sweep…
London’s lost rivers
I found my first of London’s many lost rivers when I walked across Holborn Viaduct, looked down at the sweep…
The power of music and storytelling
Madeleine Thien’s third novel, recently long-listed for the Man Booker Prize, begins in Vancouver with Marie, who, like the author,…
Holiday reading
Holidays are a welcome chance to lose ourselves between the covers of a book, especially for those of us who…
Holiday reading
Holidays are a welcome chance to lose ourselves between the covers of a book, especially for those of us who…
The bookshop and the bump
‘You are like my cat.’ So I was told when eight-and-a-half months pregnant, just before going on maternity leave from…
The bookshop and the bump
‘You are like my cat.’ So I was told when eight-and-a-half months pregnant, just before going on maternity leave from…
The freedom of the heat
Those of us who have been struggling to endure the recent heat should turn to L.P. Hartley’s classic coming-of-age novel The…
The freedom of the heat
Those of us who have been struggling to endure the recent heat should turn to L.P. Hartley’s classic coming-of-age novel The…
À la recherche du tea perdu
Every summer this magazine invites some of its (randomly selected) subscribers to tea in the garden. Every Englishman loves tea…
À la recherche du tea perdu
Every summer this magazine invites some of its (randomly selected) subscribers to tea in the garden. Every Englishman loves tea…
By the book – The perils of snooping
The continuing drip-feed of stories about governments and friendly-seeming internet giants sifting through our data has left some citizens feeling…
By the book – The perils of snooping
The continuing drip-feed of stories about governments and friendly-seeming internet giants sifting through our data has left some citizens feeling…
A far diet from Kensington
Those of you dieting your way to a svelte physique amid the flesh-exposing terrors of summer should take courage from…
A far diet from Kensington
Those of you dieting your way to a svelte physique amid the flesh-exposing terrors of summer should take courage from…
By the book: All passion rent
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, 81 per cent of British people want to own their homes within the…
By the book: All passion rent
According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, 81 per cent of British people want to own their homes within the…
A tale of HS2 cities
The route was unveiled this week for phase two of HS2 — and those who got hot under the collar…
A tale of HS2 cities
The route was unveiled this week for phase two of HS2 — and those who got hot under the collar…
Last orders
Sad news from the Campaign for Real Ale, which says that more and more young people are drinking at home…
Last orders
Sad news from the Campaign for Real Ale, which says that more and more young people are drinking at home…
