What Merkel wants
The German Chancellor has rather a lot in common with David Cameron. That's why she can't help him
The Catholic civil war
Uncertainty over how much reform the pope wants is splitting his church into factions
Ukip’s third man
The party’s economics spokesman is one of those driving Ukip towards professionalism
Old, vulnerable and hungry
In my three years as a hospital visitor, the picture hasn’t got any better
The rough end of Europe
A review of The Edge of the World: How the North Sea Made Us Who We Are, by Michael Pye. Rigour and knowledge make way for cute anecdotes
All that jazz
A review of Blue Note: An Uncompromising Expression, by Richard Havers. A birthday ode to the greatest jazz record label of all time
Dwelling in marble halls
A review of Owning the Past: Why the English Collected Antique Sculpture, 1640 - 1840, by Ruth Guilding. Treats include an illustration of a pair of cleaning ladies in the hall at Castle Howard
Living life as a fictional character
A review of Bolano: A biography in Conversations. More of a whimsical detective novel than a real biography
It was a wonderful town
Still, the pictures are nice. A review of New York Mid-Century: Post War Capital of Culture, 1945 - 1965, with contributions by Annie Cohen-Solal, Paul Goldberger and Robert Gottlieb
O Jerusalem!
A review of Unchosen: The Memoirs of a Philo-Semite, by Julie Burchill. You can sum up this memoir in a sentence: Jews are smarter than the rest of the world, so suck it up gentile losers!
Mother Courage
A review of Partisan Diary: A Woman's Life in the Italian Resistance, by Ada Gobetti, translated and edited by Jomarie Alano. This vital historical document was revered by Italo Calvino
Autumn Shades
They start to say autumnal in the forecasts, And on the Northern Line the shifting panels Look bleached already. I…
Garlands of repose
A review of A Writer's Garden: How Gardens Inspired Our Best-Loved Authors, by Jackie Bennett, with photographs by Richard Hanson. This visually appealing book includes everything from John Clare's cottage garden to Robert Burns's farm
Yesterday’s hero
A review of Havel: A Life, by Michael Zantovsky. He was one of three key players in the death of communism. But he outstayed his welcome disastrously
The greatest sitcom never made
A review of Funny Girl, by Nick Hornby. Subtle but unashamedly populist, Hornby's latest is a fan letter to the great 70s comedy writers
Short of a feast
There's a risk you'll just be left with scraps, even by the wonderful Rose Tremain. That said, several of the short stories in The American Lover, mostly re-imaginings of other writers' work, are fantastic
Angry old woman
A review of Joan Littlewood: Dreams and Realities, by Peter Rankin. Shakespeare was too politically middle-of-the-road to make the grade and the second world war was 'boring'
Title Stories: The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
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Home-grown sage
A review of Any Other Business, by Martin Vander Weyer. An ode to the latest in a fine line of Spectator City correspondents
To my father, solicitor to the landed gentry
If you were still alive You would be ninety-six tomorrow. I think of you most days. Just now, for example,…
On the waterfront
Through the centre of town, the river takes up more space than Hyde Park. And most of the proposals around it represent a huge missed opportunity
