Life after Aids
One of the most feared diseases in the world is now, for British doctors, a manageable chronic condition. It’s a triumph we’re oddly scared to talk about
Politics as Victorian melodrama
A review of The Literary Churchill: Author, Reader, Actor, by Jonathan Rose. The stopped-clock version of how Churchill got the fascists right is horribly convincing. But he still ends up the hero
‘Draw lines, young man’
A review of Edgar Degas: Drawings and Pastels, by Christopher Lloyd. Are great draughtsmen rarer than great painters? Here is one
Stirrings of mutiny
The Smoke is Rising, by Mahesh Rao, and The Strangler Vine, by M.J. Carter. A funny, angry view of contemporary India, and a Boy's Own picture of one of its past tipping points
The stain of luxury
A review of The Hotel on Place Vendôme, by Tilar J. Mazzeo. A prism on the German occupation that gathers all of the old Paris icons under one roof
A fictional country split in two
A review of A Poisonous Thorn in Our Hearts, by James Copnall. This account of the secession of South Sudan makes good on its claim to portray one of the world's most interesting places
More brickbats from the old buffer
Dearest Jane..., by Jane Torday and Roger Mortimer, shows that there's still life in one of publishing's least expected success stories
A lovable failure
A review of The Temporary Gentleman, by Sebastian Barry. The compulsive story of a lovable failure
Booked for murder
Writers' Block, by Judith Flanders, is a wicked insider satire as well as an enjoyable caper
Shadows on the wall
A review of Medieval Wall Paintings, by Roger Rosewell. An invaluable guide to the church art we've lost – and what survived
A way with the stars
A review of I Used to be in Pictures, by Austin Mutti-Mewse and Howard Mutti-Mewse. Photos and anecdotes from classic Hollywood's ultimate superfans
Glorious Veronese
He's been called the greatest colourist of all time. This show is not merely enjoyable; it's awe-inspiring
The son also rises
The actor on the advantages and drawbacks of a famous father, and on bringing back a Restoration anti-hero
Gleeful romp
Plus: Through his Teeth and The Crackle at the Linbury Studio, and Prince Igor at the Coliseum
Study in spectacle
Christopher Wheeldon's take on The Winter's Tale straddles categories, sometimes uncomfortably
Scholastic challenge
Plus: A Small Family Business may tell you a bit much of what Alan Ackbourn thinks about his audiences
