Cumbria
Rory Stewart’s romantic view of Cumbria is wide of the mark
The former MP for Penrith and the Border prefers to ignore the depleted uplands and poisoned lakes as he rhapsodises about the landscape’s ‘improbable beauty’
An ill wind: Helm, by Sarah Hall, reviewed
Hall’s protagonist in this extraordinary novel is Britain’s only named wind, a ferocious, mischievous beast that has been hitting Cumbria’s Eden Vale from time immemorial
The awkwardness of love in middle age: You Are Here, by David Nicholls, reviewed
A man and woman, both casualties of failed marriages, are attracted to one another on a walking holiday, but are strangely overcome by shyness
The elitism lurking at the heart of the green movement
There’s a movement in the UK that is trying to block the building of essential new council housing. It is…
The making of a legend
For one week in July 2010, the aspiring spree killer Raoul Moat was the only news. ‘Aspiring’ because he didn’t…
More terrible beauty
At some point during your reading of this book the realisation might dawn, if you didn’t already know about his…
Eastern airs
On Private Passions this week the writer Amitav Ghosh gave us a refreshingly different version of what has become a…
