Books
What made Romans LOL?
At the beginning of The Art of Poetry, Horace tells a story that, he promises, will make anyone laugh: ‘If…
Narcotically-induced mischief in an urban wasteland
Fifteen minutes by rail from Paddington, Southall is a ‘Little India’ in the borough of Ealing. An ornate Hindu temple…
Books and arts
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
When the Rains Came
When the rains continued the rivers rebelled, the swans moved inland and even the bank was sandbagged and we saw…
Research Centre
Beyond the measured stretch of lawns and hedges are cultivated rows where snug plastic tunnels creep. Indoors, the fantastic spores…
When the Rains Came
When the rains continued the rivers rebelled, the swans moved inland and even the bank was sandbagged and we saw…
Research Centre
Beyond the measured stretch of lawns and hedges are cultivated rows where snug plastic tunnels creep. Indoors, the fantastic spores…
Baghdad's rise, fall – and rise again
Ali A. Allawi on the fluctuating fortunes of Iraq’s fabled capital
Patrick Leigh Fermor and the long, daft tradition of Brits trying to save Greece
Twenty-odd years ago, while on holiday in the deep Mani at the foot of the Peloponnese, I got into conversation…
Why is 'loo' slang? Because Simon Heffer says so!
Did Simon Heffer’s new book come out on St George’s Day? If not, it probably should have done. If we…
A Colder War, by Charles Cumming - review
The title of Charles Cumming’s seventh novel is both a nod to the comfortable polarities of Cold War and also…
Talking to the ghosts of Tiananmen Square
Twenty-five years ago, Rowena Xiaoqing He, then a schoolgirl, was participating in the Tiananmen-supporting demonstrations in Canton. Far from the…
A truth too tender for memoir
It has been 14 years since Akhil Sharma published his first, widely acclaimed novel, An Obedient Father. Though its subject…
Looking for the meaning of life? Come to Constantine Phipps' poetic theme park
A favourite game of mine is to imagine Virgil and Homer today, plying their trade among the supermarkets and office…
Original Sin
When first they ushered me into that hall To take my place on a cheap fold-out seat, My eyes clamped…
For Roger Bannister, the four-minute mile was just the start
The title of this reflective and readable memoir refers to the author’s lifetime interests in sport and medicine — tracks…
Rod Liddle reminds me of old women moaning on the bus
Books by bellicose columnists with the initials R.L. are like buses — none comes along for ages, then two come…
From Anthony Trollope to Meryl Streep: the theatre of politics on stage and screen
On 1 October 1950 the BBC broadcast a seemingly innocuous little play by Val Gielgud. A light-hearted and critically unremarkable…
Warning: the beautiful trees in this book may very soon be extinct
John Evelyn (1620–1706) was not only a diarist. He was one of the most learned men of his time: traveller,…
The American who dreamed of peace for the Arabs – but was murdered in their midst
‘Arabist’ is fast becoming an archaism. Perhaps it is already one. These days the word conjures up enchanting visions of…
The yes-no-maybe world of Harrison Birtwistle
For better or worse, we live in the age of the talking composer. Some talk well, some badly, a few…
My desert island poet
If I had to be marooned on a desert island with a stranger, that stranger would be John Burnside. Not…
Books and arts
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Original Sin
When first they ushered me into that hall To take my place on a cheap fold-out seat, My eyes clamped…
Original Sin
When first they ushered me into that hall To take my place on a cheap fold-out seat, My eyes clamped…
