Books
Marred entertainment
It’s September 2017, and our still apparently United Kingdom is in the throes of a referendum campaign. The wise, charming,…
Our most popular (and hardworking) living artist
The first volume of Christopher Simon Sykes’s biography of David Hockney ended in the summer of 1975. The 38-year-old painter…
Mynheer Wouwermans
From the long ride, fresh trees licked by enough blue light to cross-patch antique trousers, we come at last past…
Keep the Booker British
Americans don’t need the cachet of our most prestigious literary prize – but we do, says Matthew Walther
Books and arts
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And one more for the road
9-12-12— See the spacer died. —Wha’ spacer? —The Sky at Night fella. —Bobby Moore. —Patrick Moore. —That’s him, yeah. Did…
Homage to Simenon
One hundred years ago an 11-year-old boy called Georges Simenon was getting accustomed to the presence of the German army…
Mynheer Wouwermans
From the long ride, fresh trees licked by enough blue light to cross-patch antique trousers, we come at last past…
Title Stories: ‘The Waste Land’ by T.S.Eliot
The post Title Stories: ‘The Waste Land’ by T.S.Eliot appeared first on The Spectator. Got something to add? Join the…
And one more for the road
9-12-12— See the spacer died. —Wha’ spacer? —The Sky at Night fella. —Bobby Moore. —Patrick Moore. —That’s him, yeah. Did…
Homage to Simenon
One hundred years ago an 11-year-old boy called Georges Simenon was getting accustomed to the presence of the German army…
Mynheer Wouwermans
From the long ride, fresh trees licked by enough blue light to cross-patch antique trousers, we come at last past…
Title Stories: ‘The Waste Land’ by T.S.Eliot
Got something to add? Join the discussion and comment below.
High rises and dashed hopes
The only thing really swinging in early Sixties Britain, says Sam Leith, was the wrecking-ball
In time of Troubles
‘The Anglo-Irish, their tribe, are dying. . . . They will go without a struggle, unlamented,’ Christopher Bland, 76, declares…
Is there honey still for tea?
The importance of biodiversity, a handy concept that embraces diversity of eco-systems, species, genes and molecules, has been promoted for…
Who knows what evil lurks?
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the world wide web, and I wonder whether its inventor, Tim Berners-Lee, would…
Out of Reach
Think of a hand-slip, a spun summit bothered by mist, the whirr and thrum of dark metals, a stranded face…
Brother against brother
Thank goodness for Game of Thrones. I think. Apparently it is inspired by the Wars of the Roses, drawing inspiration…
Doubting Thomas
Esther Freud wrote dazzlingly in the first person through the eyes of a five-year-old child in her first novel, Hideous…
He’s not joking
At first sight, J — which has beenshortlisted for the Man Booker Prize — represents a significant departure for Howard…
Dark and stormy tales
Margaret Atwood is in the first rank of literary fame and her trophy cabinet is handsomely stocked; yet she has…
Title Stories: Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
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Pass the sick bag
Charles Saatchi, the gallery owner, has created his own Chamber of Horrors in this thick, square book, ‘inspired by striking…
Sharp observation skills
Last year in Athens, rumours raced about Rachel Cusk’s creative writing classes at the British Council. Some of the (mostly…
