Don’t fall for the deodorant con
As summers grow hotter, the one thing that self-appointed experts seem absolutely agreed upon is the need for a blast…
A century of movie magic: how cinema has changed the way we think
David Thomson examines the industry from many different viewpoints, highlighting the remarkable influence of films on our behaviour
What lists of our greatest novels get wrong
‘Where are all my favourite parts?’ Arnold Schoenberg asked, on being presented with a severe academic analysis of the Eroica…
A deadly imitation game: the fate of the British teenager who posed as a Russian oligarch’s son
Patrick Radden Keefe investigates the mystery of Zac Brettler’s fall from the balcony of a luxury riverside apartment into the Thames one November night in 2019
A revival of Alan Bennett’s early work is long overdue
Until the archive is made available, the diaries will have to do. But some superb dramas from the past century are sadly missed
Blitz spirits: Nonesuch, by Francis Spufford, reviewed
Set in war-torn London, this fantastical novel featuring shape-shifting angels, parallel universes and a homicidal female fascist deserves to be a colossal success
The doctor will patronise you now
How a profession speaks to its subjects is always of interest to a writer, sometimes perversely so. Over the past…
Kemi Badenoch’s favourite book is the perfect choice
Occasionally, the leader of a political party will be asked to name a favourite book. For years, this has produced…
The joy of a miserable literary Christmas
A Christmas Carol is pretty well unavoidable around now, with Little Women trailing somewhat behind. There’s no shortage of alternative…
Is ‘wind drought’ the latest climate catastrophe?
In an enjoyable guide to wind-related topics, Simon Winchester reports that terrestrial wind speeds are mysteriously declining and we are now in the grip of ‘the Great Stilling’
Are Vermeer’s paintings really coded religious messages?
‘View of Delft’ is not just a representation of some buildings seen across a stretch of dullish water but a vision of the celestial city, argues Andrew Graham-Dixon
Jilly Cooper’s novels could well become classics
Dame Jilly Cooper, who has died at 88, had a remarkable career, turning herself from a sparkling writer for newspapers…
Since when did the English love to queue?
Far from being an ancient trait, the ‘irksome novelty’ dates from 1939, according to Graham Robb – whose idiosyncratic history of Britain corrects many erroneous beliefs
What has the reparations movement ever done for victims of modern slavery?
Until now it has focused on extracting trillions from European governments in compensation for historic crimes while ignoring horrors still being perpetrated today
Christopher Marlowe, the spy who changed literature for ever
The 16th-century playwright led a violent, tempestuous and clandestine short life but alone among his contemporaries he speaks to us in a familiar way
Give Eric Ravilious a rest
How do artists sustain a reputation? We’d like to think it’s on the basis of their work. In the case…
Public libraries deserve to shut – they’ve forgotten why they exist
The usual piece about public libraries runs like this. Public libraries are for ‘more than just books’. They are in…
‘Too bohemian for Bournemouth’: the young Lawrence Durrell
Begged by his mother to go somewhere his behaviour wouldn’t ‘show so much’, the future novelist, aged 19, embarked on a lifetime of travel and rarely visited Britain again
A.C. Benson enters the pantheon of great English diarists
The intimate of writers, politicians and royalty, Benson confined his waspish anecdotes to journals kept over a period of 40 years, now available in a magnificent two-volume edition
Spare us from ‘experimental’ novels
Some sorts of books and dramas have very strict rules. We like a lot of things to be absolutely predictable.…
What Mark Twain owed to Charles Dickens
It wasn’t just Dickens’s stage performances and publishing ventures that fascinated Twain, but the witty, journalistic style, which he mimicked to great effect in early travel books
Studying Dickens at university was once considered demeaning. Now it’s too demanding
Accessible, ‘relevant’ short stories are increasingly replacing the classics, as the monuments of Victorian literature defeat today’s undergraduates
Whether adored or despised, Princess Diana is never forgotten
Edward White examines the effect of the former Princess of Wales on the millions worldwide who never even laid eyes on her
Why the Japanese flock to Battersea Park
They weren’t familiar park visitors, but a couple with a specific purpose, laden down with camera equipment. They unpacked carefully,…
The banality of Hélène von Bismarck’s view of Britain is astounding
Philip Hensher 13 June 2026 9:00 am
The passionate EU supporter seems to scold Britain for taking a contrary path while barely acknowledging the rights and freedoms the British have long taken for granted