A nightmare scenario in the city of dreaming spires
‘Dreaming spires’? Yes, but sometimes there are nightmares. Brian Martin, awarded the MBE for services to English literature, is at…
Quantum physics made fun
We all know that physics and maths can be pretty weird, but these three books tackle their mind-bending subjects in…
Frankenstein’s monster is more frightening than ever
On the wall of her tumbledown house in central Baghdad, an elderly Christian widow named Elishva has a beloved icon…
What did the Romans ever do for us when it comes to viticulture?
Taste has a well-noted ability to evoke memory, so it is curious how infrequently most wine writers mine their pasts…
Lucy Mangan has enough comic energy to power the National Grid
After three hot-water-bottle-warmed evenings of highly satisfying bedtime reading, I can confirm that, even in a world where Francis Spufford’s…
Our gallant second world war pigeons have been unjustly ridiculed
Operation Columba was one of the most secretive arms of British Intelligence during the second world war. Between April 1941…
The Maigret novels are perfect for the train. Just don’t let their cynicism blight your view of your fellow passengers
Donald E. Westlake wrote crime books that were funny, light and intricate. Help I Am Being Held Prisoner (Hard Case…
Was Ada Lovelace the true founder of Silicon Valley?
It’s more than 160 years since the death of the computer pioneer Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage’s ‘enchantress of numbers’ and…
The subtly savage world of filmmaker Ruben Ostlund
There is a culty YouTube video shot three years ago on the laptop camera of Ruben Ostlund. It shows the…
Surreal jokes and juicy strokes: Martin Gayford on the power of paint
René Magritte was fond of jokes. There are several in René Magritte (Or: The Rule of Metaphor), a small but…
Babylon Berlin is so brilliant I’d advise you not to start watching it
Babylon Berlin (Sky Atlantic), the epic German-made Euro noir detective drama set during Weimar, is so addictively brilliant that I’d…
What’s in a name
Janacek is the master of the operatic title. Think of the slippery, sleight-of-hand emphasis of Jenufa in its original Czech…
Who was the Isdal Woman? And how did she die?
‘Close your eyes and be absorbed by the storytelling,’ urged Jon Manel (the new head of podcasting at BBC World…
Rory Kinnear is less Macbeth, more a tetchy manager of an Amazon warehouse
The Best Man by Gore Vidal is set during a fictional American election in 1960. Two gifted candidates seek their…
Does Gerald Barry hate music?
Blue Gadoo is one of those cats whose face looks like it’s been bashed flat with a wok. He lives…
Original sin
This biopic of Mary Magdalene is a feminist retelling that may well be deserved but it’s so dreary and unremarkable…
Virtual currencies will be our salvation
Gstaad I never made it to Zurich but met up with Steve Bannon through the miracle of technology, thanks to…
Me, General de Gaulle and an elderly barbecued lesbian
The flight from Gatwick to France was cancelled and there was no prospect of another for three days. Paddington station…
Save me from stupid women
We live in a cynical world. One cannot simply advertise something for sale and expect people to believe what one…
Do horses really need solariums and therapeutic rugs?
In the days when it was fashionable to mock the IQ of an American President who had taken the showbiz…
Bridge
Little did I know, when I was railing at how Britain comes to a standstill at the first flurry of…
First round nerves
The three most important events in the World Chess Federation calendar are the World Championship match, the Olympiad and the…
no. 497
White to play. This position is from Kramnik-Andreikin, Tal Memorial 2018. White now finished off quickly. What did he play?…
Doing words
In Competition No. 3039, which was inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s phenomenally successful memoir Eat, Pray, Love, you were invited to…
2350: Pieces
The unclued lights, (two of two words), individually or as a pair, are of a kind and can be resolved…
