Diary
Walking along the Brighton seafront, I was struck by posters advertising endless tribute acts; among them Suspiciously Elvis, the Small…
Worlds apart
Classics is a boastful subject. Even the name — classics — has an inner boast; as does the classics course…
Give us a break!
As Boris Johnson will know from his love of Greek tragedy, hubris leads to nemesis. And it is Boris’s own…
The misery of black tie
Men don’t look good in black tie. They might think that they look like Sean Connery in Dr No, but…
The misery of black tie
Men don’t look good in black tie. They might think that they look like Sean Connery in Dr No, but…
Algy Cluff on Margaret Thatcher, Robert Mugabe and Brexit
Former Spectator owner Algy Cluff on Margaret Thatcher, Robert Mugabe and Brexit
The British are leaders in graphic novels so why do we not take the art form more seriously?
Art Spiegelman, the American cartoonist behind Maus, the celebrated Holocaust cartoon, dreamt up a good definition of graphic novels: comics…
Picture books for grown-ups
Art Spiegelman, the American cartoonist behind Maus, the celebrated Holocaust cartoon, dreamt up a good definition of graphic novels: comics…
The holy relics of the Easter Rising: from hallowed flags to rebel biscuits
The reverence for those involved in the Easter Rising is evident in an exhibition devoted to its centenary, says Harry Mount
Rebel angels
This is the first exhibition I’ve been to where the Prime Minister joined the hacks at the press view. A…
Justin Trudeau has his mother’s looks – and his father’s dodgy economics
Justin Trudeau has his mother’s good looks – and his father’s dodgy economics
Boris and Dave’s schoolboy rivalry is journalistic wishful thinking
The Prime Minister is pretty angry with Boris. But the idea that they’ve competed with each other since school is…
Diary
The Prime Minister is pretty angry with Boris. But the idea that they’ve competed with each other since school is…
Why the British make a virtue of defeat
When Henry Worsley died last month attempting the first solo, unaided expedition across the Antarctic, he was 30 miles short…
The history of London through its parish churches
John Betjeman, the patron saint of English parish churches, once warned against praising British buildings too much. Be careful before…
The secret brilliance of Prince Philip’s ‘gaffes’
I’ve just been on the receiving end of a Prince Philip gaffe, of sorts, and I loved it. It was…
Corbyn's purge of the Oxbridge set
Labour was once the clever party. Under Jeremy Corbyn, its front bench is purged of Oxbridge intellectuals
Adventures on the isle that seduced Odysseus
Gozo — Malta’s tiny island neighbour — was once rather a crucial spot in the Mediterranean. The Knights of Malta…
Adventures on the isle that seduced Odysseus
Gozo — Malta’s tiny island neighbour — was once rather a crucial spot in the Mediterranean. The Knights of Malta…
Celebrating the red dawn among the Corbynistas of north London
Victory hasn’t stopped the vitriol among the lefties of north London
I was Reggie Kray's penpal
Harry Mount once idolised the Kray twins. He’s since seen the error of his ways
See no evil
When I was at university, Reggie Kray was my penpal. I wrote to him in 1991, asking for an interview…
Augustus: here was a Caesar! Or at least his great-nephew
It’s strange that tourists rarely visit the most famous site in Roman history. The spot in Pompey’s assembly hall where…
Escape Antigua’s tourists (but be ready to confront some grim secrets)
‘Tourism, tourism and tourism,’ said my Antiguan cab driver, when I asked what the country’s main industries were. Still, it’s…
Antigua
‘Tourism, tourism and tourism,’ said my Antiguan cab driver, when I asked what the country’s main industries were. Still, it’s…