biographies
The history of modern Ireland, seen through the lives of its leaders
Reading the biographies of its 16 taoisigh, we can trace Ireland’s astonishing progress from poverty-stricken backwater to thriving liberal democracy
What do Oscar Wilde, Gwen John and Evelyn Waugh have in common?
They converted to Catholicism in the past century and are among 12 notable ‘defectors to Rome’ examined by Melanie McDonagh
Saved from certain death at Auschwitz – by playing the cello
Exploring the relationship between the cello and its player, Kate Kennedy describes how Anita Lasker-Wallfisch’s musical gift enabled her to survive not just one but two Nazi death camps
An alternative way of living
It’s been a century since the heyday of the Bloomsbury group, and now Nino Strachey, a descendant of one of…
Serious entertainment
What a weird lot crime writers are. I don’t come to this conclusion lightly, since I’m a crime writer myself,…
A load of oddballs
For reasons I can’t seem to remember, I have read an awful lot of cricketing histories. The dullest, by a…
