Madcap antics: The Pentecost Papers, by Ferdinand Mount, reviewed
Hapless Dickie Pentecost is drawn into a consortium involved in short-selling scams disguised as environmental activism in the Amazon
Looking on in anger: Happiness and Love, by Zoe Dubno, reviewed
A nameless woman, joining former friends after a funeral, is left speechless with fury at their vanity and pretensions
The trials of ‘the sexiest man alive’
Johnny Depp dismissed the idea a prenup before marrying Amber Heard – only to spend the next decade embroiled in litigation
An explosion of toxic masculinity: The Fathers, by John Niven, reviewed
The lives of two men who meet in a Glasgow maternity unit soon spiral out of control, exposing heartbreaking vulnerabilities, in this wry portrait of modern fatherhood
Romantic fantasies of the French in India
A cottage industry of counterfactual history emerged in 19th-century France catering for those mourning India’s ‘loss’ after successive defeats by the British
What’s next for Taiwan?
Invasion by China – long threatened – would result in a serious global depression. But how will the US react?
Britain’s new role as a bastion of black culture
Two books take us from race riots and Teddy Boys to the current ‘Jamaicanisation’ of our cities – and the inflection now hip among white British teenagers
The insoluble link between government and crime
Taxes and prohibition invariably lead to evasion, racketeering and corruption in an endless capitalist cycle, says Mark Galeotti
The merchant as global reporter
Joad Raymond Wren explores the role played by Europe’s polyglot traders in disseminating news before the invention of the telegraph
A rebellious childhood: Lowest Common Denominator, by Pirkko Saisio, reviewed
In droll, sardonic, dialogue-driven scenes, Saisio transports us to her youth in Cold War Finland and her longing to become a writer
A global MAGA crusade against web regulation?
“Censorship is not how we do things in Western civilization”. So said Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) of the United Kingdom’s…
Green party leadership contest heats up as ballot opens
Today, Green party members can begin voting for their next party leader – or leaders – as ballots in the…
Why the Valuation Office Agency isn’t value for money
Another day, another dispiriting quangocracy revelation. This time the spotlight is on the Valuation Office Agency, whose performance has been…
J.D. Vance is right about Germany’s civilisational suicide
This week, US Vice President J.D. Vance levelled a blistering critique at Europe, accusing it of ‘committing civilisational suicide’, and…
Why Starmer is courting TikTok influencers
Some of my oldest and dearest school friends absolutely hate reading the news. One called me up nearly a week…
Rachel Reeves has crushed confidence in Britain
It doesn’t look like the Chancellor will hit her target for turning the UK into the fastest-growing economy in the…
Labour accused of ‘social engineering’ over working class internships
Well, well, well. It transpires that in plans to make Whitehall more working class, civil service internships will only be…
