Robert Lyman
Robert Lyman is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He tweets at @robert_lyman
Master of sword and word
Field Marshal William Slim was not only Britain’s greatest military field commander, but our finest soldier-writer, too
When young men headed East
The early growth of the Empire was fuelled by spices, not slaves
The British empire, for good and ill
Colonialism: A Moral Reckoning offers the first serious counterblast against the hysterical orthodoxy
Giving Mozart a makeover
Mozart: The Salzburg Project (Warner)
The schadenfreude election
The Labour landslide is a clarifying moment, which will be good for British political debate
Back in the big time
It is tempting to explain the turnaround in two words: “Unai” and “Emery”
An election without ideas
We need intellectual substance, not just idle gossip
On Américanisation
French life is being transformed by the influence of American culture
Religious freedom is being ignored this election
The global persecution of Christians and other religious minorities will be a defining issue for the next government, but it is barely being discussed
PMQs of the Apes
You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!
The way forward for conservatives
We must have bold politicians who really believe in the things they promise
The central myth of Conservative centrism
The Conservatives are not suffering because they are too right-wing
Big Brother is talking to you
What is with London’s obsession for dystopian public address announcements?
The new Ottomans
The fall and rise of Istanbul under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan