All talk and no trousers: is Oxford really to blame for Brexit?
Attacks on British elitism usually talk about Oxbridge, but Simon Kuper argues that it is specifically Oxford that is the…
The party’s finally over for Nigel Farage
Nigel Farage was never even an MP, but Michael Crick argues convincingly that he is one of the top five…
How Shane MacGowan became Ireland’s prodigal son
I once stood on a Dublin street with Shane MacGowan and watched little old ladies who can’t ever have been…
‘I’m plagued by worries of disaster’: an interview with Dominic Cummings
Dominic Cummings on asteroids, AI and leaving No. 10
Abandoned by Paul Theroux: the diary of a sad ex-wife who sadly can’t write
When I interviewed Paul Theroux 21 years ago at his home in Hawaii, there were already rumours that his ex-wife…
The sexploits of Mariella Novotny
Orgies! Gangsters! Drugs! Spies! Scandals! This biography promises much but I’m not sure it actually delivers, or not in any…
A new blossoming: David Hockney paints Normandy
In 2018 David Hockney went to Normandy to look at the Bayeux Tapestry, which he had not seen for more…
Why is buying a car such an ordeal?
Why is buying a car such an ordeal?
Tom Bower pulls his punches with his life of Boris Johnson
The Prime Minister may have lost his bounce –but perhaps that’s no bad thing, says Lynn Barber
When sexism was routine: the life of the female reporter in 1970s London
This book made me almost weep with nostalgia, but heaven knows what today’s snowflakes will make of it. Fleet Street…
Natalie Wood’s death remains a mystery
Are all children of famous parents told they must have a book in them? Since Allegra Huston’s wonderful memoir Love…
Trick or treat: the pros and cons of being hacked
The pros and cons of being hacked
Pointless but beautiful – and good for going to sleep to: Monument Valley reviewed
I was going to write about Monument Valley, and I suppose I will eventually, but first I have to write…
Splashing the cash at VIP nightclubs is now the favourite recreation of the rich
The spectacular extravagance of the VIP nightclub ‘experience’ could be the last bonfire of the vanities, says Lynn Barber
Why do they call it a game? It is servitude: Nintendo Switch’s Animal Crossing reviewed
Lynn Barber picks up a Nintendo Switch for the first time
Unspeakably prolix and petty: will anyone want to read John Bercow’s autobiography?
In his autobiography, John Bercow takes his peerage as a given. But that might be scuppered by accusations of bullying, says Lynn Barber
A lovable, impossible man: Bryan Robertson, gifted curator and Spectator critic
Andrew Lambirth claims that Bryan Robertson was ‘the greatest director the Tate Gallery never had’; but on the evidence of…
‘I’ve had two totally successful marriages’: Stanley Johnson interviewed
If anything could make me feel sorry for Boris Johnson, it’s meeting his father, Stanley. Before we met, he sent…
Burnt out at 27: the tragedy of Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin hated the word ‘star’, but she loved the trappings. As soon as she made serious money she bought…
A life apart: an interview with Frank Field
Frank Field has announced today that he is forming the ‘Birkenhead Social Justice Party’ to stand at the next election.…
‘Panto pays better than being an MEP’: Ann Widdecombe interviewed
We could all forget about Ann Widdecombe for the past nine years while she was doing Strictly Come Dancing and…
Naomi Wolf is holed below the waterline
What is it about Naomi Wolf that inspires such venom? Perhaps that she’s American, brash, media-savvy and not averse to…
Andrew Adonis, a master of social media – and a model of social mobility
The news over Easter that Lord Adonis, the counterweight to nominative determinism, was standing as a Labour Remain MEP was…
The world according to Charlotte Bingham, Spies and Stars reviewed
Charlotte Bingham has had an extraordinary writing career. She wrote her first book, Coronet Among the Weeds (newly republished by…
A life apart: An interview with Frank Field
Frank Field was given a standing ovation when he won The Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the Year award two weeks ago.…
