Features
Notes from a national treasure
I’ve started rehearsals for the pantomime Beauty and the Beast at Richmond Theatre: two shows a day and just 13…
What I learned at Santa School
Whenever my son’s primary school ring up, they have, very sensibly, a calming form of words: ‘It’s the school here…
What The Spectator taught Benjamin Franklin
Christmas came early this year. No, I’m not moaning about the carols that my local café started piping at the…
The otherworldly artist who made his name at The Spectator
There is something otherworldly about Rory McEwen’s paintings of plants, leaves and fruit. They are indisputably beautiful, often breathtakingly so,…
Elon Musk is wrong about the Roman Empire
I was in Washington D.C. during The Election, living halfway between the Capitol and White House. Concerned friends suggested I…
I hope nobody watches Meet the Rees-Moggs
Towards the end of last year, the production company Optomen TV contacted Jacob about the possibility of filming a documentary series…
Demonia: a short story by Lawrence Osborne
They passed into the harbour of Favignana at the beginning of spring, the island’s single small mountain heaving into view…
The lure of the spy novel
Anniversaries. Back in mid-December 1998, 26 years ago to the month, we wrapped my first (and probably only) feature film…
The end of Christendom is nigh
If you are of a traditional turn of mind, you might well go to church this Christmas, sing the carols…
A Christian revival is under way
This is my second Christmas as a Christian. As an atheist, I had dismissed the bright lights and customs of…
A year to forget: good riddance to 2024
January. When the assisted dying bill comes in, I’ll be first in the queue. Non-stop nosebleeds, Covid-esque symptoms, leg cramps,…
How my father’s bedtime stories shaped my life
It’s half an hour before lights out when my dad arrives at my bedroom door holding Roald Dahl’s Danny the…
Christmas on patrol with the Royal Navy’s submariners
This Christmas, a Royal Navy Trident submarine will be quietly prowling the seas as part of the Continuous At Sea…
How pagan is Christmas?
Many people today feel an ambivalence towards the history of the Christmas festival. They sense that it has deep pre-Christian…
What carols owe to Martin Luther
It’s 500 years since Martin Luther, along with the preacher Paul Speratus, put together the first Protestant hymn book, the…
‘Judgment is the price of being creative’: Rory Sutherland and Rick Rubin in conversation
Rick Rubin is a legendary American record producer who co-founded Def Jam records, which helped popularise hip hop. He has…
How to turn eggnog into a superfood
Recently, scientists were baffled by the discovery that ice cream is a superfood. Yes, that’s right, people who eat ice…
The Andrew problem: a short story by Andrew O’Hagan
People offended by name-dropping are absolutely no fun. I’ve experimented with this concept on five continents – OK, four: Antarctica’s…
Is Ukraine heading towards a Korean-style demilitarised zone?
It is the strangest place, the demilitarised zone (DMZ) that separates South Korea from North Korea. It is simultaneously a…
The deepening unpopularity of Zelensky
Perhaps all political careers must end, inevitably, in failure. But few politicians have had careers as meteoric, as surprising, as…
The many faces of pigs in blankets
There are not many phrases that offend me more than ‘pigs in blankets’. The correct name for this dish is,…
Chanel should be led by a woman
Since I’m considering giving a small Christmas drinks party, I’ve been reading all the festive entertainment features. There are recipes…
World war twee: the hideous triviality of our times
I remember the moment I first understood that we, the British, had a national character. It was in the mid-1970s…
Wuhan wager: the $400 ‘bio bet’ that predicted the pandemic
At the end of this month, one of the world’s most renowned scientists will send $400 to a charity to…
Macron is the author of his own despair
‘Notre-Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so,’ said the President-elect Donald J. Trump…
