Richard Cohen’s history of histories is a gargantuan achievement

Why not give up vegetables for Lent?

Parties and post boxes make beguiling settings for this month’s mysteries

The lesson of the Soviet-Finnish War warns us against misunderstanding a war in progress

Philip Pullman’s early resignation signals a setback for free speech in publishing

For a limited time, the wonders of Lombardy are in the National Gallery

With male allies like these, who needs male enemies?

Meet Nigel, the new type of feminist on the block

‘Peter Grimes’ labours under the weight of national anxieties

A quintessentially English spirit of wry rebellion lives on in two new films