Lead book review
Imagining a future for John Keats — the novelist
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
Rescuing Elizabeth Barrett Browning from her wax-doll image
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was an ambitious, passionate, determined woman – not the sad-eyed invalid of legend, says Robert Douglas-Fairhurst
The art of the short story: what we can learn from the Russians
Viv Groskop takes a masterclass in the art of the short story
Dolly Parton represents all that’s best about America
Dolly Parton is the living embodiment of America’s best values, says Philip Hensher
The life and loves of Mary Wollstonecraft
Ruth Scurr reveals what an impulsive, life-loving individual Mary Wollstonecraft was
Will we soon see the end of conservatism as we know it?
The future of conservatism depends crucially on its ability to withstand the new hard right, says William Hague
The tug of war over the Rosetta Stone
The decipherment of the Rosetta Stone led to bitter feuding – but there was mutual curiosity and collaboration too, says Elizabeth Frood
Roy Strong’s towering egotism is really rather engaging
Stephen Bayley recalls his (mainly enjoyable) encounters with the flamboyant former museum director
Barack Obama was decidedly a man of action as well as words
Barack Obama was famous for his rhetoric, but his achievements show just what a steely political operator he was too, says Sam Leith
Harold Bloom finally betrays how little he really understood literature
Harold Bloom devoted his life to literature – but he had little feeling for words, says Philip Hensher
Books of the Year II — chosen by our regular reviewers
David Crane If nothing else, this has been a good time for catch-up. Theodor Fontane’s Effi Briest (translated by Walter…
Books of the year, chosen by our regular reviewers
Reviewers choose the books they have most enjoyed in 2020 – and a few that have disappointed them
The humble biscuit has a noble history
Prue Leith traces the biscuit’s surprisingly colourful history
Tom Bower pulls his punches with his life of Boris Johnson
The Prime Minister may have lost his bounce –but perhaps that’s no bad thing, says Lynn Barber
Behind the veil of secrecy: GCHQ emerges from the shadows
The brilliance of GCHQ can now be recognised – and about time too, says Sinclair McKay
De Profundis: the agony of filming Oscar Wilde’s last years
Philip Hensher admires a witty account of the horrors of modern film-making
Written in blood or bound in human skin: the world’s weirdest books
Dennis Duncan enjoys some of the world’s most bizarre books
Ladies’ man: Tom Stoppard’s love life revealed
Tom Stoppard is a non-stop genius of jokes – but many of them make his latest biographer uneasy, says Craig Raine
City of dazzling mosaics: the golden age of Ravenna
Ian Thomson describes Ravenna’s golden age, when classical Rome, Byzantium and Christianity met
Hitler’s admiration has severely damaged Wagner’s reputation
Wagner gripped the communal mind for decades after his death. Philip Hensher examines his enduring influence
The paradox of Graham Greene – searching for peace in the world’s warzones
Graham Greene was constantly searching for peace of mind along with escapist thrills, says Nicholas Shakespeare
Toussaint Louverture: the true hero of Haiti
Toussaint Louverture’s ‘crazy dream’ for Haiti has still to be realised, says Amy Wilentz
Sport, for the English, has always been a defiant assertion of liberty
The history of English sport reflects a defiant people determined to protect their ancient prerogatives, says Alex Massie
The Big Tech firms are dividing the world between them
Cory Doctorow on the vast, impersonal forces manipulating our lives
The heroic couple who defied Hitler
Philippe Sands on the heroic couple who defied Hitler and paid the ultimate price
