Nazis, killer dogs and weird sex: Empty Wigs, by Jonathan Meades, reviewed
Meades’s 1,000-page doorstopper is also vast in scope, containing 19 overlapping stories of a family scattered through time and space, and their role in a variety of nefarious goings-on
What Ovid in exile was missing
The poet complained bitterly of the barbarism of Tomis, on the Black Sea – but it was actually a thriving entrepot with a rich culture, like many of the Roman empire’s remoter cities
Liberty is a loaded word
Just about everyone is for it, but we mean different things by it – whether it be the freedom of independence or the absence of coercive constraint
How Cold War Czechoslovakia became a haven for terrorists
Simply to oppose and aggravate the West, the country supported a range of radical Palestinian organisations – but their violence and unpredictability became serious liabilities
Butchered for feather beds: the brutal end of the great auk
The large, flightless birds that once inhabited the North Atlantic cliffs in their millions were extinct by the 1840s, as the demand for down-filled mattresses increased
Things Fall Apart: Flesh, by David Szalay, reviewed
The fluctuating fortunes of an ambitious young Hungarian in London provide a gripping study of the choices that can make or break a life
The punishing life of a chief whip
Simon Hart describes his frustrations as he grapples with the rivalries and petty jealousies of colleagues lobbying for peerages and knighthoods as the Tory party implodes
A war of words: circulating forbidden literature behind the Iron Curtain
For decades, the CIA smuggled works by George Orwell, Hannah Arendt, Czeslaw Milosz and many others into the Soviet bloc in a battle for hearts, minds and intellects
Has the West been ruined by the absence of masculinity?
The Western world is being destroyed by an absence of masculinity. Let me explain. We find ourselves in a situation…
Labour is finally waking up to the benefits crisis
The welfare bill currently unsustainably stands at £314 billion. It is forecast to reach nearly £380 billion by the end…
Reform refer Rupert Lowe to the police
After months of leading in the polls, Reform UK is now in meltdown. This afternoon, the party chairman, Zia Yusuf,…
America has changed sides on Ukraine
Andrew Roberts gave the following speech in the House of Lords, following the publication of the report ‘Ukraine: A Wake…
Egypt’s Gaza peace plan will never work
Another week, another peace plan for a seemingly intractable conflict. This time it’s Gaza’s turn, with the launch of a…
President Yoon’s trial is tearing South Korea apart
It is now only a matter of days before the 52 million-strong population in South Korea will know the fate…
Is Labour brave enough to say the unsayable about the NHS?
Will this finally be the government which gets on top of the voracious financial monster that is the NHS and…
Tories smash Labour on latest donations
Some good news for Kemi Badenoch today. The latest donation figures for the end of 2024 are out – and…
Rupert Lowe won’t be the last to fall out with Nigel Farage
It was so predictable as to be almost inevitable: a massive row has erupted within the leadership of Reform UK.…
Watch: Trudeau’s tears after Trump tariffs
Donald Trump is intent on shaking things up in the White House and no one knows that better than neighbouring…
Why should MPs tell parents how to discipline their kids?
Is it about to become illegal for parents to discipline their child with a smack? We might have known that…
Japan and Britain are too weak to help each other
Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Business Secretary Jonathon Reynolds are in Tokyo for ‘2+2’ (two ministers for the price of…
What hope does John Healey have of influencing Trump?
In the eight months since he was appointed Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey has undertaken so many foreign…
Two-tier justice is taking over the courts
Two years ago, few had heard of the term ‘two-tier justice’. Indeed, Ministers and leaders across the criminal justice system…
Help, I’ve become a news junkie!
I’ve always been something of a news addict, but recent events in America and Ukraine have turned me into the…
Vegans shouldn’t be afraid of condemning Halal slaughter
An animal rights activist has exposed extreme cruelty at a slaughterhouse in Arley, Warwickshire. Joey Carbstrong’s secretly recorded footage shows staff slamming…
Matt Wrack will be a hardline teaching union boss
It has a whiff of the old trailer for Jaws 2, the one where viewers were disabused of the idea…
