Books
An ill wind in Buenos Aires: Portrait of Unknown Lady, by María Gainza, reviewed
How to review a book that pokes fun at critics? When the protagonist of María Gainza’s Portrait of an Unknown…
A magical epic: Moon Witch, Spider King, by Marlon James, reviewed
When the first volume of Marlon James’s Dark Star trilogy appeared in 2019, it was quickly recognised as a masterly…
Graham Robb deserves to be a French national treasure
Philip Hensher is enthralled by Graham Robb’s evocative new history of France
What the Anglo-Saxons made of 1066 and all that followed
By any yardstick, the Norman Conquest was a ghastly business. Within two decades, the English aristocracy had been more than…
Sister, where are you? – Clover Stroud mourns her beloved sibling
‘CERTIFICATE IS NOT EVIDENCE OF IDENTITY,’ the freshly issued death certificate read. In the craziness and shock of grief for…
The making of a poet: Mother’s Boy, by Patrick Gale, reviewed
Charles Causley was a poet’s poet. Both Ted Hughes and Philip Larkin considered him the finest candidate for the laureateship,…
Troubles of the past: The Slowworm’s Song, by Andrew Miller, reviewed
Andrew Miller specialises in characters who are lost, often struggling to deal with the burden of failure. They don’t come…
TB is back with a vengeance
If you were a teenager before 2005, one reminder of tuberculosis in British life is that small circular scar on…
The torment of mentoring spoilt rich kids
For 20 years of my adult life, I moonlighted as a private tutor. After a full day in the office…
The fuss over Mary Seacole’s statue has obscured the real person
Mary Seacole may not have qualified as a nurse in the modern sense, but British troops benefited greatly from her healing skills, says Andrew Lycett
Howard Jacobson superbly captures the terrible cost of becoming a writer
Howard Jacobson, who turns 80 this year, published his first novel aged 40. Since then he has produced roughly a…
Margaret Atwood seems embarrassed by the sheer volume of her output
Margaret Atwood is among the major writers of English fiction of our time. This is a very boring way to…
Has the role of resistance in the second world war been exaggerated?
When in 1941 Winston Churchill famously declared that the newly formed Special Operations Executive, set up to encourage resistance movements,…
That sinking feeling: The Swimmers, by Julie Otsuka, reviewed
Julie Otsuka has good rhythm, sentences that move to a satisfying beat. Even as her tone shifts — from tender…
Truly magnificent: the splendour of Suleiman I
Suleiman I richly deserved his epithet, as this vivid account of his early years illustrates, says Jason Burke
A playful version of the universe: Pure Colour, by Sheila Heti, reviewed
Readers familiar with Sheila Heti’s work, most notably How Should a Person Be? and Motherhood, in which she examines both…
The machinations of the Dudleys make Game of Thrones look tame
This is the gripping story of the ever-fluctuating fortunes of three generations of the Dudley dynasty, servants to — and…
Masters of the opium trade: the fabulous wealth of the Sassoons
David Abulafia admires the shrewdness, generosity and panache of the Sassoons over many generations
From pirates to princes — the heroic transformation of the Normans
The Normans had an astonishingly good run. Not only did they take over England in 1066, of course, but they…
Christina Patterson overcomes family misfortunes
The journalist and broadcaster Christina Patterson’s memoir begins promisingly. She has a talent for vivid visual description, not least: ‘We…
What’s to become of Africa’s teeming youth?
Demographers are attached to their theories. The field’s most enduring is the ‘demographic transition’, whereby modernisation inexorably lowers a society’s…
Inside New India: Run and Hide, by Pankaj Mishra, reviewed
The first novel in more than 20 years from the essayist and cultural analyst Pankaj Mishra is as sharp, provocative…
Playing until her fingers bled: the dedication of the pianist Maria Yudina
The 20th century was an amazing time for Russian pianists, and the worse things got, politically and militarily, the more…
Why did Britain lock up so many innocent refugees in 1940?
Despite prostrate Germany’s need for the return of its men, in Britain we didn’t release our prisoners of war until…
Julie Burchill has found a new way to provoke: she’s turned sincere
Stephen Daisley 5 March 2022 9:00 am
The greatest ever social media spat took place before the first tweet was sent, and was conducted via fax, which…