Book Review
The renewal of Englishness
Journalist Jason Cowley builds a national identity from an excavation of incidents
And never the twain shall meet?
A lineup of new books tackle the thorny China problem
Weeds in the garden
A brilliant new work walks the thorny path of motherhood
Unearthly study of life and death
Yukio Mishima concealed his poignant political commentary in a run-of-the-mill science fiction novel
A bird-lover’s lament
Patrick Galbraith’s debut offers a quirkily enjoyable journey through a netherworldly Britain
Grace in the face of prejudice
Gwendolyn Brooks’s Maud Martha has been published in Britain for the first time
Raw and immersive tale of the Civil War
The siege of Basing House encompasses all of England in microcosm
Reinvention and rediscoveries
An actress turned author, a Kafkaesque fantasy and a 1960s re-release stir the imagination
Murders for June
Classic settings conceal psychological rawness and sinuously convoluted mysteries
The solipsistic siren
The sexual liberation and unrequited search of Nancy Cunard emblematises 1920s Paris
Most Read
The establishment is still living in an immigration fantasy land
It is influential left-wingers, not the broader public, who have deluded themselves on mass migration
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.
On Britain as a capitalist command economy
It is neither neoliberal nor socialist but a secret third thing
The lonely death of Henry Nowak
We must draw lessons from a horrendous and disgraceful case
It is time to cut pensions
The economic burden on younger people is unsustainable
The mirage of majesty
Royal charm cannot disguise Britain’s shrinking power in a transactional world
Tony Blair is an extremist
He should have left public life long ago
Frivolous and doomed
Classicism still has its place at the National Theatre
Literary freedom is in the gutter
The disappearance of a praiseful review for a “cancelled” writer is as disturbing as it is bizarre
These violent delights
Pagliacci made the murder the true apex of the show
Sing for victory
The days when recording a novelty single was a pre-tour duty are long gone
Leaving the ECHR would not make Britain like Russia
The case for opposing withdrawal is currently intellectually fatuous
Empire State Madrid
Can a stagnant Spain rediscover the future? Hope lies with its capital
Playing by numbers
Attacking the Space:
Inside Rugby’s Tactical and Data
Revolution by Sam Larner
An unholy war
Donald Trump is damaging America as well as Iran