Gandhi
‘Genius’ is a dangerously misused word
It is best applied not to individuals but to teams or milieux, says Helen Lewis. The idea that a few special people are fundamentally more gifted than their peers is not only corrosive but inaccurate
A lethal disdain for the poor
Dictating to the Estate is a piece of community theatre that explains why Grenfell Tower went up in flames on…
Separation anxiety
Theatres have taken to the internet like never before. Recorded performances are being made available over the web, many for…
Taking the rough with the smooth
In The Ambassadors, Henry James sends Lewis Lambert Strether from Boston to Paris to retrieve Chad Newsome, the wayward heir…
‘Help the British anyhow’
The sacrifices made by India on the Allies’ behalf in the second world war would profoundly affect the country’s future for better or worse, says Philip Hensher
Long life
There are already people camping outside St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, to await the birth shortly of another royal baby, the…
Building Jerusalem in Bow
This is the tale of Muriel Lester, once famous pacifist and social reformer, and Nellie Dowell, her invisible friend. Nellie…
Dirty white gold
If not for cotton, we would still be wearing wool. To equal current cotton production, we would need seven billion…
Visceral voices
You might (if you’re over a certain age) still think it pretty amazing that TV not only allows you to…
Portrait of the week
Home Theresa May, the Home Secretary, ordered a review, taking perhaps ten weeks, by Peter Wanless, the head of the…
Why I’d never be a Tory princeling
Since I was a child, pretty much everybody I have ever met has asked me if I want to be…
