Marriage
Are you too cool for marriage?
The term ‘spinster’ doesn’t seem to scare young women like it once might have. In fact, it is rarely heard…
Marriage is the real rebellion
Jonathan Swift had a suitably unromantic attitude to holy matrimony. Once, when sheltering under a tree during a storm near…
The scientific case for marriage
‘Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.’ With this stern admonition, the Church has long been…
The Church of England’s muddle over sex and marriage
Whatever you think of the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, there can be no doubt about this: she firmly…
Honeymoon from hell: Venetian Vespers, by John Banville, reviewed
A fin-de-siècle hack marries the daughter of wealthy oil baron but soon begins to wonder what he’s let himself in for
Campus antics: Seduction Theory, by Emily Adrian, reviewed
Two creative writing professors in a ‘deeply rewarding’ marriage separately decide to press the self-destruct button
The tragedy of a life not lived: Slanting Towards the Sea, by Lidija Hilje reviewed
The story of a doomed love affair in turn-of-the-millennium Croatia aches from the start. But more haunting still are the missed opportunities that result from it
My son took drugs – and they were mine
The weekend before last, I came home from walking the dog at about noon to find Caroline asleep in bed.…
Marriage, motherhood and money: Show Don’t Tell, by Curtis Sittenfeld, reviewed
Funny, smart stories explore the ‘stale’ married state, the anxieties of parenthood and the sweet-sour nature of female friendship. But do they go far enough?
How to find your perfect man
My late parents perpetually promoted their marriage as the best in the history of the universe. Because this cult of…
A mild diversion for a wet afternoon: Three Days in June, by Anne Tyler, reviewed
Tyler is known for making the ordinary compelling, but this quiet tale of family relationships is subtle to the point of stupor
Why must medieval mysticism be treated as a malady?
Medieval women – they were ‘just like us’. Except that they weren’t. Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife is the first popular…
The Christian view of sex contains multitudes
Lower Than the Angels (that is the condition of man, according to the psalmist and St Paul) is a book…
I’m engaged!
I slept only between the hours of 5 and 6 a.m, thanks to self-induced terror tactics. My son Adam stayed…
An ode to the builder boyfriend
Relationships are about compromise and no wonder so many of us come a cropper in this department when we don’t…
Women beware women: Wife, by Charlotte Mendelson, reviewed
The claustrophobic bullying in this story of a lesbian marriage that sours is so well done it’s nauseating
A marriage of radical minds: the creative partnership of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson
Fanny’s influence on her husband’s work was considerable, perhaps especially in the fine late novellas, rich in ironies about imperialism and the exploitation of South Sea islanders
My father was the best of England
I always think of my father at this time of year. In particular, I go back to the summer of…
We’re serviceless, stateless – and still off grid
You need a personal public service number to get married in Ireland, but in order to get one, you need…
A sea of troubles: The Coast Road, by Alan Murrin, reviewed
The sudden return of the liberated Colette Crowley to the Donegal fishing village of Ardglas stirs fear and resentment in the closed community
Shalom Auslander vents his disgust – on his ‘grotesque, vile, foul, ignominious self’
Long derided as ‘feh’ by his Orthodox parents, the American writer admits to being his own hanging judge
The trials and tribulations of getting a plumber
‘Please, I’ll do anything,’ I told the plumber. ‘I’ll give you all the money I have if you just come…
Why am I so unlucky in love?
One of my exes is trying to get me arrested. I discovered this when I received an email from the…
I’m setting up a ‘climate crisis hub’
‘We thought the house would make the most fantastic centre for climate action,’ I heard myself telling the cat rescue…
The struggle to book my wedding in Ireland
‘How does anyone young and stupid manage to get married?’ I kept shouting at the builder boyfriend as I pummelled…
