M.r. james
Don’t take Britain’s cathedrals for granted
Everywhere I hear voices complaining about charges being imposed on those who wish to visit our great cathedrals. Everywhere, I…
Too much and much too long: The Rouse by China Miéville, reviewed
Miéville’s new novel has taken more than a decade to write and now we can see why: it is 1,264 pages long. The initial 190 pages could have been a standalone novel but instead it continues, the style more ornate and ormolu as it goes on
The naming of cats
It took a long time for cats to gain the same serious status as dogs, but by the 18th century they were starting to have personalities, says Kathryn Hughes
Spooky stories for Halloween
It is surely significant that Ed Parnell’s first novel The Listeners was an updated examination of themes latent in Walter…
The elegiac and the exuberant
Discussions about the short story too often fall into a false dichotomy that can be characterised, in essence, by a…
Old masters
The Fitzwilliam Museum is marking its bicentenary with an exhibition that takes its title from Agatha Christie: Death on the…
Multi-fanged
Nowadays a vampire is usually a Transylvanian in need of an orthodontist. But, as Nick Rennison demonstrates in this entertaining…
The best British short stories — from Daniel Defoe to Zadie Smith
In this handsome two-volume anthology, Philip Hensher convincingly establishes himself as a world authority on the short story, says Ian Sansom
