Magic
Could it be magic?
Magus: The Art of Magic from Faustus to Agrippa by Anthony Grafton
Discussing Magic
Jeremy Black reviews The Decline of Magic: Britain in the Enlightenment, by Michael Hunter
Poor old Carmen
This update of a classic from the Royal Opera House is a reminder of why messing with great pieces is so risky
How the Greens blackened their name
The leadership of the Greens allowed gender fundamentalism to undermine the party
For whom the road tolls
Did turnpike roads transform travel in the 18th century? Or were they a means for rent-seeking?
Attack is the best form of defence
The right cannot always be fighting a rearguard action in the culture wars
Recasting the Crown for modern Britain
This progressive historian’s real charge against the monarchic institution is one of “complacency”
Grandmasters: a meeting of great minds
Napoleon and Goethe: Touchstone of Genius by Raymond Keene
He’ll never let the old flag fall
Lee Anderson will never stand for insult, especially the insult of never being invited round for dinner
Let there be love
Filmmakers have fallen out of love with romantic movies, but it’s time to bring back passion to the picture house
The crisis in the universities
A Critic panel brought light as well as heat to the troubled question of higher education
Why do we mourn the unborn?
Our attitudes towards children in the womb are hopelessly confused
As flies to wanton boys
Gambling with human lives is just another day in the lives of the one per cent
