The defence never rests
Famed criminal barrister and former MP Sir Ivan Lawrence on why he went up against the Justice Secretary and the duties of a defence lawyer
Pearls before swine
A review of Honeydew by the American writer Edith Pearlman suggests that while the short story may be flourishing in the States, its counterpart over here is shamefully neglected
When my enemy’s enemy is still my enemy
The Woman Who Lost Her Soul by Bob Shacochis is a furious, sprawling work of fiction exploring ‘the slippery algebra of enemies’
Peeking into the seraglio
A review of The Architect’s Apprentice by the prize-winning Turkish author promises an enthralling read from start to finish
Title stories: The moon and sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
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Dirty white gold
A review of Empire of Cotton by Sven Beckert reveals that while Britain abolished the slave trade in the early 19th century, 50 years later its cotton industry still depended on American slave-labour
A great visual sermon
In a review of Painted Glories by Nicholas Eckstein, Honor Clerk finds Florence’s intimate Brancacci chapel more thrilling than any blockbuster exhibition
Beautiful dreamer
Cressida Connolly’s reckons that to be alone in a room reading Antonia Fraser’s My History is the perfect way to start the new year
Black Knight
A few forgotten objects Dad passed on: copperplate pens with long nail nibs, still stained black, one coal-fire red, laid…
A cold coming
Ian Bostridge's guide to Schubert's Winterreise will open your eyes not only to the song cycle but to the age and place that produced it
Marx men
On the eve of a BFI season of Marx Bros films, Ian Thomson celebrates the anarchic genius of Groucho and his brothers
Easy listening
The devil is in the detail — and on his latest album Avonmore there’s more detail than you know what to do with
Double vision
The great achievement of lovers Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde is finally coming to light in this super show at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Slowly, slowly, catchy, catchy
Steve Carell’s nose alone deserves an Oscar in this taut American thriller
Beauty without brains
Plus: a play involving audience participation at the Southwark Playhouse that makes Lloyd Evans want to participate and end the show
Filling in the blanks
Plus: sense prevails in the saga over Mantel’s short story, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher
Low life
You can keep your coke at £90 a gram. All I was interested in inhaling this Christmas and New Year was a £2.50 tub of Vicks
Conquering Emperor
Few regular racegoers could name many of her horses but serious punters know she’s the one to watch
Bridge
The last tournament of the year is the hugely popular one-day Swiss Teams in the EBU’s Year End Congress in…
