The Bee Gees have always been a target for mockery, but by force of talent and ambition, they managed to define the age around them

Damien Hirst’s work encapsulates the sterility, isolation and obsession with death of these times, says Alys Denby

The Story of Scottish Art is not a scholarly work of art history; it gives an easy-to-read account of artists’ lives with a faintly awestruck tone

Far from progressive, Russell T Davies’ recent remarks on the suitability of straight actors playing ‘gay’ roles are conservative and reactionary

Alexander Larman on why the late, great David Bowie remains such a totemic and iconic figure in his life

Andy Friend provides a readable account of Nash’s life, but omits important detail about how the artist made others feel

Bringing back the Net Book Agreement would be a good start for badly-paid authors

Hannah Betts chooses chic alternatives to dull sweatpants

George Orwell has a gift for the unusual and the memorable that means that even his half-forgotten novels are well worth discovering once again

Highsmith was a great writer, with a moral vision bracing enough to clarify the terrors of the twentieth century