Acclaimed
When the hype becomes the story
As Hilary Mantel’s The Mirror and the Light is released this week, Alexander Larman examines the over-excitement of high-profile releases
You can’t judge a book by its cover
All novels should be like this: stripped of the necessary but boring connective tissue
On the deceptive use of words
We must be very careful with redefinitions of commonly understood words
The problem with puberty blockers
Ministers must step in to prevent the NHS from experimenting on children
The spectre of the past
The “Great English Ghost Story” offers a form of comfort and is rooted in the ache of nostalgia for a more elegant era
Not everyone has a novel in them
Literature is the only art in which, it seems, every neophyte is convinced they can succeed
All in the family
Most likely, we live in a comfortable nest of light fictions
Exhibiting military history
Four new exhibitions offer vivid insights into different experiences of war
Maligning the missionaries
Should the Church of England regret the promotion of Christianity?
We must escape Subtopia
As Ian Nairn warned, British town planning has had a grim levelling effect on our urban and rural spaces