Books
The mad, mum-fixated maiden aunt of modernism
Marianne Moore’s poems are notoriously ‘difficult’ but her personality and the circumstances of her life are as fascinating today as…
Curtains for kitty! How to care for cats — and how to kill them
The New Yorker has always had a peculiar affinity with cats, perhaps because they have a lot in common —…
Hugo Rifkind's My Week reminds me why it's worth getting up on Saturdays
‘Nothing’s funny any more’ has become the daily mantra of this magazine’s cartoon editor, Michael Heath. Thanks to Leveson, political…
The book that Boris should give to all seniors, along with their Freedom Passes
The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a story for the older reader. One might go so far as to suggest…
Famous female cooks, a juicy salmon recipe from 1664 — and the only interesting thing about Mrs Beeton
In Cooking People Sophia Waugh describes, with dash and wit, the personalities of five important women cookery writers: two Hannahs…
What family life — and love — was like in East Germany
Historians still argue over whether the regime of the GDR can be called a totalitarian one. Some say that the…
In the steppes of a warlord
Joanna Kavenna is impressed by one man’s 6,000-mile ride through some of the loneliest regions on earth
Margaret Drabble tries to lose the plot
Halfway through her new novel, Margaret Drabble tells us of Anna, the pure gold baby of the title, ‘There was…
You'll probably find this book about the ruthlessness of Amazon at a sharp discount on Amazon
Do you love Amazon? I have to admit that I do, and that I buy books from it far more…
Ann Patchett's new book will win you over, in spite of yourself
Ann Patchett’s novels revel in the tightly constructed ecosystems imagined for their characters: an opera singer besieged among diplomats in…
The best children's books for Christmas
Animal stories for children are always tricky; as J.R.R. Tolkien observed in his essay on fairy stories, you can end…
What's notable about 'a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife'?
In the reminiscences of Bertie Wooster we find this: As I sat in the bathtub, soaping a meditative foot and…
Angel, by Elizabeth Taylor - review
‘She wrote fiction?’ Even today, with the admirable ladies at Virago nearly finished reissuing her dozen novels, Elizabeth Taylor remains…
A book on Art Deco that's a work of art in itself — but where's the Savoy, Claridge's and the Oxo Tower?
Over the past 45 years, there have been two distinct and divergent approaches to Art Deco. One of them —…
'God has given me a new Turkish colleague called Mustapha Kunt...'
Under normal circumstances, Simon Garfield’s chatty and informative excursion into the history of letter-writing would be a book to recommend.…
When Francis Davison made me judge — and burn — his art
In 1983, Damien Hirst saw an exhibition at the Hayward Gallery of the collages of Francis Davison which ‘blew him…
Have a crime-filled Christmas
Pity the poor novelist whom commercial pressures trap within a series, doomed with each volume to diminish the stock of…
The Last Knight, by Robert O’Byrne - review
I have to declare an interest: for many years the Knight and I were the closest of friends until a…
A book that's inspired by a movie (for a change)
Books become films every day of the week; more rarely does someone feel inspired to write a book after seeing…
Books and Arts
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
The way it was
There is a test in Canberra which applies to the quality of political commentary. It is called the ‘Blue Poles’…
Books and Arts
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
Spectator writers' Christmas book choices
More recommended reading from some of our regular reviewers
The wounded Kennedy – and the people who gave him strength
Ten years ago, a determined historian transformed our picture of John F. Kennedy. Robert Dallek had finally got his hands…
The men who demolished Victorian Britain
Anyone with a passing interest in old British buildings must get angry at the horrors inflicted on our town centres…
