Books
A place of paranoia, secrecy, corruption, hypocrisy and guilt
‘Is he a good writer? Is he pro-regime?’ an Iranian journalist in London once asked me of Hooman Majd. Majd…
How the Romantics ruined lives
It is perhaps the most celebrated house-party in the history of literary tittle-tattle: a two-house-party to be precise. Byron and…
Andro Linklater by Robert Gray - obituary
For 24 years Andro Linklater, who died aged 68 on 3 November, reviewed books in these pages. Always an enthusiast,…
Books and Arts
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Mining magnate paradox
In many ways, Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest has become the likeable face of the Australian mining boom, a self-made billionaire without…
Two cheers for Bowen
Since I know Speccie readers like a bit of a shock, let me oblige: I think Chris Bowen is a…
Books and Arts
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Why do we pounce on Wagner's anti-Semitism, and ignore that of the Russian composers?
Philip Hensher on how an impassioned, chaotic group of amateur 19th-century composers created the first distinctively Russian music
What would Auden have deemed evil in our time? European jingoism
‘Goodbye to the Mezzogiorno’ was the first Auden poem that Alexander McCall Smith read in his youth. He discovered it…
Roman baths didn't make you clean — and other gems from Peter Jones's Veni, Vedi, Vici
Spectator readers need no introduction to Peter Jones. His Ancient and Modern column has instructed and delighted us for many…
Read any good crime fiction lately?
No Exit Press is not a large publisher but it has the knack of choosing exceptionally interesting crime fiction. Brother…
How much can you tell about E.E. Cummings from this photo?
Do you think you can tell things about writers from the way they look in a painting or photograph? A…
Mary Killen: Sandi Toksvig is wrong about the placement of the pudding fork
Sandi Toksvig, as this book’s cover declares, ‘makes Stephen Fry look like a layabout’. The broadcaster, author, comedian, actress and…
Can virgins have babies?
Mrs Christabel Russell, the heroine of Bevis Hillier’s sparkling book, was a very modern young woman. She had short blonde…
The best funny books for Christmas
Books do furnish a room, and quirky books for Christmas do furnish an enormous warehouse somewhere within easy reach of…
The abstract art full of 'breasts and bottoms'
Is there any such thing as abstract art? Narratives and coherent harmonies seem to me always to emerge from the…
The man who shared a bed with D.H. Lawrence and Dylan Thomas (though not together)
Rhys Davies was a Welsh writer in English who lived most of his life in London, that Tir na nÓg…
Is Northamptonshire not scenic enough to visit?
I don’t know whether Bruce Bailey, a proud Northamptonshire man, agrees with the late Sir Nikolaus Pevsner that no one…
The thrill of the (postmodern neo-Victorian) chase
Charles Palliser’s debut novel The Quincunx appeared as far back as 1989. Lavish and labyrinthine, this shifted nigh on a…
Portobello's market mustn't be allowed to close
After reading Portobello Voices, I feel more strongly than ever that the unique Portobello market mustn’t be allowed to close.…
Bill Bryson's 'long extraordinary' summer is too long
Hands up Spectator readers who can remember the American celebrities Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, Al Capone, Jack Dempsey, Zane Grey,…
Slow Train to Switzerland, by Diccon Bewes - review
In 1863, the pioneering travel agent Thomas Cook took a group of British tourists on the first package holiday to…
The little voice
Of all the sights of Australia’s long phase of cricket dominance, none was quite so characteristic as Ricky Ponting emerging…
Cantons and Cantonese
In 1863, the pioneering travel agent Thomas Cook took a group of British tourists on the first package holiday to…
Cantons and Cantonese
In 1863, the pioneering travel agent Thomas Cook took a group of British tourists on the first package holiday to…
