How the myth of Paris liberating itself was born
When De Gaulle persuaded Eisenhower to allow the French 2nd armoured division to lead a diversion into the city on 25 August 1944, it was his own political future he was thinking of
Malice and intrigue in the shadow of Tom Tower
The eight Christ Church historians portrayed by Richard Davenport-Hines were supremely gifted as writers and talkers – but the unpleasantness of Oxford dons is not downplayed
Portrait of the artist and mother
Even the best-known female Impressionists, such as Morisot and Cassatt, were seen as mothers first and artists second – a view Hettie Judah sets out to reverse
A miracle beckons: Phantom Limb, by Chris Kohler, reviewed
When a severed hand, buried in the 17th century, is accidently unearthed, it proves to have magical powers. Will its discovery propel the local church minister to stardom?
After the Flood: There Are Rivers in the Sky, by Elif Shafak, reviewed
Water – essential to life and civilisation, but also a potentially destructive force – is the theme linking three disparate strands in Shafak’s magnificent new novel
Love it or loathe it – the umami flavour of anchovy
The anchovy is everywhere now, lacing salads, pizzas and appetizers. But in the past it was often denigrated in the West as bitter, putrid and ‘a worthless little fish’
A haunting theme: The Echoes, by Evie Wyld, reviewed
The many ghosts in Wyld’s novel include the recent occupant of a London flat, a girl in a faded photograph, and, most disturbingly, traumatised indigenous children in Australia
Absinthe and the casual fling: Ex-Wife, by Ursula Parrott, reviewed
A sensational bestseller, first published anonymously in 1929, centres around the adventures of a bright young American divorcée, seizing love wherever she can
The sad history of the Hawaiian crow
Sophie Osborn describes how this sociable, inquisitive, loud-cackling bird became extinct in the wild – and her own efforts to save the California Condor from the same fate
The rootlessness that haunts the children of immigrants
Edward Wong tries to connect with his Chinese heritage by retracing his father’s military postings before the Great Famine – but finds the country too changed to make comparisons
Small mercies: Dead-End Memories, by Banana Yoshimoto, reviewed
Rape, poisoning, child abuse and betrayal feature in Yoshimoto’s dramatic stories – but gratitude and forgiveness run alongside sadness, stitched in the same cloth
Why are stocks suffering?
Today’s stock market plunge is interesting for two main reasons. First, for those of us who have never traded on…
Is Robert Jenrick emerging as a leadership frontrunner?
Robert Jenrick chose a swelteringly hot day in sunny Newark to stage his official leadership campaign launch. ‘I’m in politics…
Joe Biden is still president, apparently
On Thursday, while delivering remarks at the eulogy for the late Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, Vice President Kamala Harris “accidentally”…
The trouble with ‘spy swaps’
Yesterday’s exchange of prisoners at Ankara airport in Turkey will have been personally ordered by President Putin. He is a…
Is Farage already sick of being an MP?
Nigel Farage was elected as MP for Clacton by a solid margin of 8,405. Four other Reform UK candidates were…
Watch: ITV snubs Truss at races
To West Sussex, where spectators are enjoying the sun at the Goodwood Racecourse. But it hasn’t necessarily been the most…
Scottish Tory leadership race ramps up
Back to Scotland, where the third official candidate in the Scottish Tory leadership contest has been announced. Meghan Gallacher, the…
