Period Drama
The stench of Chanel No 5
Set mainly in Nazi-occupied Paris, The New Look tells the story of Coco Chanel and Christian Dior
The past speaks for itself
The problem with modern period drama
In defence of the Netflix Persuasion
It is a satire of modern vanities, not a screw-up
Murders for early December
Pass the time by these passages into times present and past: post-war to Covid-era
10 years of Downton Abbey
What insights can period dramas give us into the past?
Is public health a protected belief?
A new case will decide if prohibitionism in the name of public health constitutes a philosophical belief under the Equality Act
The love that dare not speak its name
Classical music has been tarnished with the dread word “elitism”
Operettas for the apocalypse
As we career merrily ever deeper into the end-times, what is the appropriate soundtrack for civilisational collapse?
The curious case of the “Gaylor” affair
Whatever the framing, the sexuality is the story
Let’s at least agree rape is wrong
Fundamental feminist theories are under attack from within feminism itself
A great conductor leaves the stage
No conductor from China or Japan ever commanded world orchestras before Seiji Ozawa, and none has since matched his impact
Sleepwalking towards abolishing abortion law
How can a crime be a crime if it implies no consequences?
No happy endings
Our worst sin has been to be weak, rather than merely to be wrong
Employees have the right to be gender-critical
The ICO’s gender diktats are indefensible
Do hurt people hurt people?
This popular cliché attempts to be generous but ends up implying that victims are tainted
The end of Pevsner
The monumental work of maintaining a live record of the architecture of the UK and Ireland is in danger of being abandoned
