rebellion
The subversive message of Paradise Lost
The great poem is mostly about revolution: how much individuals can revolt against God, father, church and king without bringing all the heavens down upon their heads
Freedom fighters of the ‘forgotten continent’
A history of South America’s native heroes includes the Peruvian rebel Tupac Amaro II, the Mapuche of Chile, the escaped slaves of north-eastern Brazil and the ‘great liberator’ Simon Bolivar
Waifs and strays: Gliff, by Ali Smith, reviewed
Two lonely, recalcitrant children, Briar and Rose, find themselves among a bunch of other rag-tag misfits resisting ‘re-education’ by the brutal regime in power
Whispers of ‘usurper’ at the Lancastrian court
When Henry Bolingbroke deposed his cousin Richard II, the populace at first united under his command. But was it a sign of divine retribution when his health dramatically deteriorated?
The holy fool
The beleaguered monarch cuts a sad figure at the opening of David Carpenter’s second volume of biography – in contrast to his brilliant arch-enemy Simon de Montfort
Fleeing paradise: eden, by Jim Crace, reviewed
Since announcing his retirement in 2013, Jim Crace has had more comebacks than Kanye West, something for which we should…
Fear and loathing in Jamaica: Caribbean slaves turn the whip on their masters
In the shadows of the British Enlightenment lurked the Caribbean sugar plantations. Masters routinely raped their slaves, punished minor wrongdoings…
