Culture
The legacy of David Bowie: five years, what a surprise
Alexander Larman on why the late, great David Bowie remains such a totemic and iconic figure in his life
The life and loves of John Nash
Andy Friend provides a readable account of Nash’s life, but omits important detail about how the artist made others feel
Six ways to make things better
Bringing back the Net Book Agreement would be a good start for badly-paid authors
Comfort zone
Hannah Betts chooses chic alternatives to dull sweatpants
The lesser-known Orwell: are his novels deserving of reappraisal?
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
Peculiar world of a singular talent
Highsmith was a great writer, with a moral vision bracing enough to clarify the terrors of the twentieth century
High priestess of a new morality
At times Portrait of a Muse feels like a Julian Fellowes soap opera where we see this woman of extraordinary vivacity making great men go weak at the knees
Dreams of dystopia past
At the end of a dismal year, consider the cult dystopias of the optimistic 1990s.
A tasty tester for a better year
The Comeback is a gutsy British response to a period of glum hardship
A question of taste
Rex Whistler’s Tate mural should be seen more as an ironic Rococo fantasy than the work of a racist