The bourgeois surrealist
René Magritte’s life, so outwardly respectable, was as full of surprises as his art, says Philip Hensher
A tantalising mystery
‘Victorian’ stuck, and ‘Edwardian’ too. But ‘Georgian’, as an adjective associated with the next monarch in line, never caught on.…
Let there be life
Philip Hensher finds this year’s Booker shortlist more concerned with serious world issues than vivid characterisation
A thankless task
The final volume of Peter Ackroyd’s History of England feels like a dutiful exercise carried out in a hurry, says Philip Hensher
A fevered mind
Philip Hensher finds Robert Burton’s perception of the world and the human condition endlessly fascinating
A fully engaged life
From Bengali schoolboy to citizen of the world – Amartya Sen’s autobiography is a joy, says Philip Hensher
Still funny after all these years
A new biography of William Hogarth pays dutiful homage to his satirical genius but does not challenge its predecessors, writes Philip Hensher
The great rule breaker
Philip Hensher describes D.H. Lawrence’s restless search of a new way of life
Less than angelic
Vicars, tea parties and village fetes were a far cry from Barbara Pym’s early enthusiasms, Philip Hensher reveals
Sense without sensibility
Philip Hensher feels he should be on Jordan Peterson’s side, but finds it a struggle
A thoroughly modern Romantic
Keats is a much stranger poet than we tend to realise – who shocked his first readers by his vulgarity and gross indecency, says Philip Hensher
The girl from Tennessee
Dolly Parton is the living embodiment of America’s best values, says Philip Hensher
You, the protagonist
When the estimable Andy Miller, the host of the Backlisted podcast, recommended a new collection of short stories on Twitter,…
Classic misconceptions
Harold Bloom devoted his life to literature – but he had little feeling for words, says Philip Hensher
A walk on the Wilde side
Philip Hensher admires a witty account of the horrors of modern film-making
Beyond Bayreuth
Wagner gripped the communal mind for decades after his death. Philip Hensher examines his enduring influence
Everyday exchanges
Conversation is a fascinating subject, says Philip Hensher – but very few people get it right
All Renaissance men now
With unlimited information just a click away, everyone can pass as a polymath today, says Philip Hensher
Surprises in store
In these circumstances there’s a temptation to reach for the longest novel imaginable. If you’re not going to read Proust…
Birds of a feather
Philip Hensher describes how Paris became a magnet for literary-minded lesbians in the early 20th century – where they soon caused quite a stir
A resounding success
Gustav Mahler was a passionate enthusiast for the colossal in music. Even so, his mighty eighth symphony stands apart, says Philip Hensher
A remarkable, common skill
Probably most of the world is bilingual, or more than bilingual. It is common in many countries to speak a…
Lydia Davis, like an inspirational teacher, tempts her readers into more reading
A good indicator of just how interesting and alluring Lydia Davis’s Essays proved might be my recent credit card statement.…
Vladimir Nabokov confesses to butterflies in the stomach
Not every novelist has opinions. Some of the greatest have a touch of the idiot savant, such as Adalbert Stifter,…
The concluding volume of Charles Moore’s life of Margaret Thatcher is – as its predecessors are – a triumph
This outstanding biography comes to an end, not in an atmosphere of triumph and achievement, but in a welter of…
