Issue: December/January 2025
In a manor of shrieking
One haunted house has an infamy above all others: McKamey Manor, in the USA
Transformation of a wasteland
Surviving buildings lend texture to the development, a sense of it having a history
An Oxford arriviste
Shades of Brideshead and Saltburn at an unconvincing “classy” Oxford restaurant
Out of Africa
You can say what you like about European empires, but they improved African cooking
Burgundy on a budget
In search of the wine lover’s holy grail
A statement flower
The most fanatical have spent fortunes to find the rarest and finest of these blooms
Dance with the devil
Should a museum be a venue for the display of works of art for sale?
Let’s start a cat flap
Why do cute predators get a pass from conservationists?
A Boxing Day treat
It’s Boxing Day — and that means it’s the King George VI Chase at Kempton
Blazing a trail
Put your neck on the line with these winter picks
Most Read
American strategy in Iran is wiser than it seems
President Trump’s intervention will leave the world safer than it was
Saint Nicola
Nicola Sturgeon wants sympathy for her husband’s crimes—but after years spent avoiding awkward questions, her latest reinvention may be the hardest sell yet.
The lonely death of Henry Nowak
We must draw lessons from a horrendous and disgraceful case
Rewatching the English
English identity has become too surreal and discomfiting to define
A failed war on fags
The black market has taken over the tobacco trade Down Under
Piano pair strike just the right note
Serendipity has delivered a double bill for the ages this month
The promises of politicians
We are surrounded by lies, euphemisms and deceit
Rich portrait of a master poet
Auden, Peter Ackroyd
Brexit was not an act of economic self-harm
Whatever you have heard, UK-EU trade is doing just fine
The shadow of the thorn tree
Christian culture must combine tradition and modernity
A step forward for academic freedom
It is time to take the fight to censoriousness in higher education
Just a Prime Minister
Keir Starmer only seems to have one answer to his critics
Hard rain in Spain
Domestic scandal has rocketed back to the forefront of Spanish politics
Beauty from the ruins of war
Painting gave artists and their viewers a temporary way out of the grim wartime reality
Middle management in the Middle East
The war against Iran has emphasised the importance of deep leadership
Eat less chicken
Industrial farming is bad for the environment but it is also cruel