George III
The myth of collective wisdom
After 250 years of American independence, a nation home to many of the smartest and most talented people in the…
The Madness of George III is much easier to like than King Lear
The longest interval in theatre history continues. Last week the National Theatre livestreamed a 2018 version of The Madness of…
Behind the Throne is a cracking read about a neglected subject – the royal household
Never judge a book by its cover. To look at, this is a coffee-table book with shiny pages which make…
The history of Britain’s secret war on Napoleon is astonishing, inspiring and disturbing
Laws and sausages, we know, are better not seen in the making; and neither are ‘black ops’. Waterloo may have…
A dazzling vision
There are a number of reports by his contemporaries of Thomas Gainsborough at work. They make you realise what a…
The 17th century painter who hacked her way through Suriname in search of insects
Maria Sibylla Merian was a game old bird of entrepreneurial bent, with an overwhelming obsession with insects. Born in Frankfurt…
The German devotion to high culture is quite shaming
The 300th anniversary of George I coming to the British throne on 1 August 1714 is big news in his…
