Family
The limits of nostalgia
Why I had to let go of my late sister’s house
The dangerous cult of ‘toxic parents’
Complaining about ‘toxic parents’ has been a viral hit on TikTok with videos on the topic racking up several billion…
Under a green sea
How, between 1911 and 1917, Owen became the dazzling poet we know and love is the story told in Jane Potter’s new edition of his selected letters
The root of the problem
The novelist and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo is attracted by the freedom a New York job promises, but misses the young daughter she has left behind in London
Viking invasion
How the import of Danish sperm has become big business
Why Britain needs more marriage
Hungary is something of a bête noire in the international community. Viktor Orban and his government have had much-deserved condemnation…
One to spare
Why I donated my kidney
My Icelandic holiday with Kevin and Perry
I’m currently on holiday in Iceland. I say ‘holiday’, but I’m with my three teenage sons so it’s more like…
Blood lines
Where does a mother’s history end and a daughter’s begin?
Parenting matters. It’s about time we were brave enough to say so
The Duchess of Cambridge has been out and about hosting roundtables with very important people, discussing what can be done…
The good friend I never knew
I have just read an extraordinary new book. It’s by a close and old pal whom I’d count as one…
We love you Rangers, we do
Normal families spend the Easter holidays by the seaside or in the Mediterranean. But not the Youngs. My three boys…
Low life
‘I love this old watering can,’ said my sister, sprinkling the miniature rose. ‘Though I do worry about soaking Mum.…
Sib
I never cared much for the word sibling, though I hardly knew why. The reason must be that it was…
Dear Mary: Your problems solved
Q. My husband has developed an irksome habit whenever he goes abroad without me. We have cameras outside the house…
My three straight weeks of saintliness
I’m currently standing at the top of Brownie Point Mountain, having spent the past two weeks looking after our three…
Finding a voice
Howard Jacobson, who turns 80 this year, published his first novel aged 40. Since then he has produced roughly a…
Wild life
Malindi, the Indian Ocean When I lived in Jerusalem a long time ago, I often visited the Church of the…
Small matters
The difficulties of downsizing
Mum, Dad and the migrant question
A friend, a Cambridge professor, passing my old college last week, was startled to encounter a young lady standing outside…
The stolen children
My family still bears the scars of the forced adoption scandal
In good faith
Why I’m bribing my daughter to get confirmed
The Spectator’s Notes
Rarely does a piece of journalism bring a tear to my normally cynical eye, but I did find this happening…
