Book Review
The enduring power of brief encounters
A trio of novels that are connected by their surprising manner of finding their way to us
Blue bloods and brownshirts
The intricate relationship between German aristocrats and Nazi Germany
Murders for early May
From seedy sex clubs to the streets of Paris: Jeremy Black selects British Library Crime Classics to enjoy over the May Bank Holiday
Perceptive, witty and sure of himself
Beyond the embellishments of Alan Duncan’s private diaries lies a body of work making serious points about the role of parliament
Stolen glories
Alexander Adams delves into two new books that examine the art theft of occupying armies in two different ages
Temple to craft and prestige
A beautiful and unusual book can lift the spirits of even the most jaded reviewer
The questionable innocence of Pontius Pilate
Steve Morris argues that this new book about Pontius Pilate helps us understand the limits of state and law
Emerging from the shadow of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Placing the poems of Pre-Raphaelite muse Elizabeth Siddal in context
An incredible inventory
James Stevens Curl reveals how this new release provides amazing insight into the household of a well-heeled, cultured European in late eighteenth-century India
McCarthyism, Cancel Culture and the new woke agenda
J. C. D. Clark reveals how Alan Dershowitz’s book is a nostalgic defence of the ‘American dream’ and of American exceptionalism
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
Rewatching the English
English identity has become too surreal and discomfiting to define
The online life that steals your soul
Read this book and then stamp on your phone
Ban their benefits and deport them
Our interview with Zia Yusuf
The Middle Kingdom and the middle powers
China’s clash with Western power shattered its civilisational self-image. Europe is heading for a similar reckoning
Antisemitism and the Islamic connection
Antisemitic sentiments in Islamic theology cannot be overlooked or obscured
Botox, bodies and bogus feminism
What Planned Parenthood’s turn to Botox tells us about feminism today
Britain’s AI gamble reeks of desperation
The government is betting it all on AI — it could lose our trousers
In the trenches
Hannah Betts considers whether the
classic trench coat is the GOAT
We’re all living in America
For all the talk of “BRICS” and “multipolarity”, America is still number one
Wunderbar wines
The love affair between British and German wine is an ancient one
The slow vibe shift
Escaping our “post-cultural state” will not happen overnight
Whip smart
Threatening the whipping system would be alarmingly stupid