modernity

Instantly captivating: the mysterious harmonies of Erik Satie

21 June 2025 9:00 am

The French composer’s aesthetic was so influential that he gave us the sound of the contemporary world, says Ian Penman

donald trump conservative

Trump’s America needs the conservative tradition

25 May 2020 1:37 am

The modern American conservative tradition – roughly dating from the dawn of the 20th century — emerged in reaction to…

Credit: duncan1890

When a reader invited me to stay with him in Exmoor estate, how could I refuse?

26 January 2019 9:00 am

My first night back in Blighty, I sat all evening at the kitchen table drinking wine with a charming, courteous…

Tenements in the Gorbals area of Glasgow — considered some of the worst slums in Britain — are replaced by high-rise flats, c. 1960

Corrie and ready-salted crisps: the years when modern Britain began

13 September 2014 9:00 am

The only thing really swinging in early Sixties Britain, says Sam Leith, was the wrecking-ball