The hellraisers of Hoxton: Art, by Peter Carty, reviewed
The pretensions of the Young British Artists are lampooned in Carty’s debut novel – but there’s still something irresistible about the 1990s London it recreates
A war reporter bravely faces death – but not from sniper fire
As a foreign correspondent for the New York Times, Rod Nordland learned to expect many dangers, but a brain tumour wasn’t one of them
A free spirit: Clairmont, by Lesley McDowell, reviewed
Even by the Villa Diodati’s standards, Claire Clairmont was unconventional, seducing Byron when she was 18, and giving birth to their child after a possible affair with Shelley
All work and no play is dulling our senses
Ancient Greek philosophers reckoned that life was all about free time, but 16th-century puritanism dealt a blow to the old festive culture from which we’ve never fully recovered
What became of Thomas Becket’s bones?
Alice Roberts’s examinations of violent deaths in the past take her to the site of Becket’s murder in Canterbury cathedral and the later destruction of his shrine by Henry VIII
Longing for oblivion: The Warm Hands of Ghosts, by Katherine Arden, reviewed
Arden’s novel spares us no details of trench warfare on the Western Front and the severely traumatised men dreaming of escape into amnesia
An Oxford spy ring is finally uncovered
Charles Beaumont’s warped group, recruited by an eccentric fellow of Jesus College, seems all too plausible. Other thrillers from Celia Walden and Matthew Blake
The remarkable Princess Gulbadan, flower of the Mughal court
Emperor Babur’s beloved daughter – whose name means ‘body like a rose’ – speaks to us across the centuries in a cliffhanging account of royal life in Hindustan
Do we really want to bring back the wolf?
The apex predator is making a startling resurgence in Europe – many say to the enrichment of the landscape. But it’ll take a lot to convince the British of that
Four months adrift in the Pacific: a couple’s extraordinary feat of endurance
When a freak occurrence wrecked the Baileys’ sloop 300 miles from the Galapagos, their chances of rescue were minimal – and one of them couldn’t even swim
Sunak pledges extremism crackdown
Rishi Sunak has just appeared on the steps of Downing Street to give a speech on the need to take…
We must face down the extremists
The Prime Minister has given the following speech tonight outside 10 Downing Street. In recent weeks and months, we have…
Communist roots to anti-nuclear sentiment in Australia
At the end of the second world war, the Chifley Labor government became involved in a joint project with Britain…
Is Amnesty right that Britain has a black mould epidemic?
Are large numbers of children in Britain being killed by black mould in their homes? That seems to be the…
A way out of Net Zero
Dear Peter Dutton, CC Ted O’Brien I’ve been badgering and ridiculing Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen in this…
Does Labour want an anti-CV revolution?
Alison McGovern, Labour’s shadow employment minister is one of those politicians who are always worth watching. She combines the ability…
‘We are not afraid’: Russians gather for Navalny’s funeral
Today is a sad day for Russia. Two weeks after his death in an Arctic penal colony, Alexei Navalny, Putin’s most vociferous…
Justin Webb has been wronged by the BBC
The BBC has upheld a ludicrous complaint against the Today programme’s Justin Webb. Back in August, Webb told listeners that…
George Galloway will be a nuisance for Keir Starmer
The return of ‘Gorgeous’ George Galloway to the House of Commons may not be Keir Starmer’s worst nightmare, but it…
China’s nickname for Macron is perfect
Alexei Navalny is being laid to rest in Moscow today, a fortnight after the Russian opposition leader was found dead…
Bad apples to rotten forests
Sifting through some British Medical Journal (BMJ) articles to further my knowledge of the methodology of scientific research, I found…
