Literature
The problem with adapting classic novels
Following the letdown of the new adaptation of The Pursuit of Love, Alexander Larman says that TV dramatisations of classic novels haven’t always been this bad
The enduring appeal of the Mitford family
As the BBC’s adaptation of The Pursuit of Love begins, Alexander Larman questions whether the new dramatisation will do justice to Nancy Mitford’s 1945 novel
Truman and Tennessee: an unlikely friendship
Michael Collins maps the relationship between two of the greatest writers of the American south
Is biography having its very own reckoning?
Blake Bailey has become the latest figure to allegedly fall foul of the uncompromising moral standards of American publishing
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
Jane Austen and BLM: an historical interrogation
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a long-dead author who is beloved by millions will, eventually, find themselves dragged into controversy
Jane Austen’s social and political world
Professor Jeremy Black talks to Graham Stewart about Jane Austen and the social and political world she inhabited
Libraries and laureates: a study in necessity
Without school libraries, boys and girls will grow up in households where the idea of owning books, or even borrowing, seems an increasingly fantastical one
The Sport of Kings
The Grand National and the culture of horseracing in art and literature
Emerging from the shadow of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
Placing the poems of Pre-Raphaelite muse Elizabeth Siddal in context