Not one for the naive
The Undeclared War has many of the traditional signifiers of a classy thriller: the assiduous letter-by-letter captioning of every location;…
2562: Clear view but no vowels
The cryptic title of this week’s crossword leads to a five-letter representation of the theme. The unclued lights include two…
Miracle in an evening gown
When Motown first packaged up a roster of artists and songs that could be embraced by a non-black audience, no…
Diary
I made it through the airport crush to Berlin at the beginning of last week to see how Germany is…
Curtain calls
‘And now the end is here / And so I face the final curtain…’ You said it, Frank. The lights…
Sturgeon’s bluff
Nicola Sturgeon presents Scotland as a country outraged by Brexit and straining at the leash of the United Kingdom. She…
‘Zelensky hadn’t read what I said’
Henry Kissinger talks to Andrew Roberts about Russia, China and Ernest Hemingway
Portrait of the week
Home Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said that military spending had to increase. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, reacted to…
What Mayra Flores reveals about America
If you had to take a guess on which American political party would produce the first Mexican-born Congresswoman, which one…
Vive la gloire
The refurbishment of Paris’s galleries and museums continues apace, with money no object, finds Rupert Christiansen
The rise of the sex bore
You know you’re getting old when your friends start going to sex parties. In our twenties, there were parties, and…
Actor’s notebook
I’m on the road, a very proper place for an actor to be. Never mind all those jokes about some…
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. I have heard news of a forthcoming party which I would really love to attend. The problem is that…
Women’s rights and wrongs
When I awoke the other morning and switched on my radio, the airwaves were alive with the sound of furious,…
Gorgeous George
The George, Fitzrovia, was Saki’s local, and a pub for men talking about cars when Great Portland Street was called…
Distraction
Dominic Raab blamed distraction forBoris Johnson’s woes when the Tories failed in two by-elections last week. ‘Hehas track records as…
Oxford Street reborn could be the model for every British high street
Oxford Street is ‘a dinosaur district destined for extinction’, says Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Machin – whose plan to…
Wild life
Kenya As late as the 1920s, it was believed that Africa’s tropical sun would boil a European’s brains. ‘The direct…
Mountains to climb
That great Frenchman the Marquis de Sade would have been justly proud of the Tour de France had he lived…
The play’s the thing
Last week Lloyd Evans was wondering whether it was about time audiences started booing dramatic productions of which they disapproved.…
Low life
I’m looking backwards: old journals, old photographs, old notebooks. What strikes me above all is the vigour and energy I…
Letters
Strong leaders Sir: Freddy Gray states that ‘voters seemed most enthusiastic about the leaders who removed their liberties’ (‘Leaderless’, 18…
