Romance

The rise of ‘living apart together’ – and why I’ve stopped doing it

17 January 2015 9:00 am

The rise of ‘living apart together’ – and why I’ve stopped doing it

I swam up to a beautiful girl on the beach, and my life changed

1 November 2014 9:00 am

I’m writing this from Portugal, where I’m staying with my old friend Sean Langan. His family has owned a farm…

Dear Mary: Learning to love a man who whistles through his nose

25 October 2014 9:00 am

Q. What can you do when disorganised friends say they would love to come to a concert with you but…

What’s the point in being married if I can’t feel superior to my single friends?

9 August 2014 9:00 am

I’m due to speak at an Intelligence Squared debate on Saturday and I’m worried that I might be on the…

Porn-agains: meet the middle-aged men - and women - warped by internet porn

2 August 2014 9:00 am

It’s not just the young whose expectations of sex are warped by dirty videos online

L.P. Hartley’s guide to coping with a heatwave

26 July 2014 9:00 am

Those of us who have been struggling to endure the recent heat should turn to L.P. Hartley’s classic coming-of-age novel The…

Right-wing women are sexier

19 July 2014 9:00 am

A lust that dare not speak its name

Not quite romantic fiction, or literary fiction, or commercial fiction – but still quite good

14 June 2014 8:00 am

Elements of Raffaella Barker’s new novel, her eighth for adults, suggest commercial fiction: a narrative that oscillates between the aftermath…

Why it’s time for a Cad of the Year Award

24 May 2014 9:00 am

Why it’s time for a Cad of the Year Award

The summer of love

12 April 2014 9:00 am

I spent it skipping about in tights, imagining women wanted me

The joy of less sex

22 March 2014 9:00 am

I used to think nothing would ever be more important. I was wrong

I don’t want to rate the restaurant. I want to rate the date

22 March 2014 9:00 am

Everyone’s a critic, but that doesn’t mean we want to fill in a survey every time we buy a meal

I’m nearly 60. I’m still interested in sex. Is that a problem?

15 February 2014 9:00 am

Have I become a dirty old man?

Dear Mary: How can I hide my tattoo from the in-laws?

25 January 2014 9:00 am

Q. I have a tattoo the length of my forearm and am worried it will alienate my new boyfriend’s parents…

Dear Mary: What should I do when my dinner guests dive for their iPads?

11 January 2014 9:00 am

Q. We had our son’s fiancée and her family to stay recently. After dinner, expecting conversation, we were shocked to…

Celia Walden's diary: Have I finally caught my husband in an affair?

16 November 2013 9:00 am

For a minute I just stood there with my back against the wall, staring at the credit card receipt. Then…

Nancy Dell'Olio: Englishmen can't flirt (except for Russell Brand) 

2 November 2013 9:00 am

Why can’t British men flirt? This was one of my first thoughts when I arrived in England some years ago.…

Charles Moore: Nelson has lost the battle to a fat, stupid blue cockerel

26 October 2013 9:00 am

I do not know whether the Greek gypsy couple accused of abducting a girl called Maria are guilty, but I…

One Night in Winter, by Simon Sebag Montefiore - review

28 September 2013 9:00 am

Simon Sebag Montefiore’s One Night in Winter begins in the hours immediately following the solemn victory parade that marked the…

Dear Mary: How can I stop this bore reading his novel aloud?

31 August 2013 9:00 am

Q. Is there a polite way of halting a wannabe novelist from reading his oeuvre aloud to an unwilling audience?…

Dear Mary: How will I know if he really loves me?

17 August 2013 9:00 am

Q. To ask for money in lieu of a wedding present (Dear Mary, 3 August) is ghastly, but an established…

Dear Mary: What must I do to reclaim the best poolside chair?

27 July 2013 9:00 am

Q. I know this seems petty but last year, on our villa holiday, my brother-in-law always took the best chair…

Dear Mary: How can I stop my friends giving me Christmas presents?

6 July 2013 9:00 am

Q. Over the years my close friends locally have been giving each other birthday and Christmas presents. Now, as I…