Monstrosities of a Vile Victorian
Linda Stratmann's attempt to exculpate the Marquess of Queensberry of his myriad sins is a misguided stab at rescuing a the reputation of a
Russia’s Poisoned Hinterland
The Last Man in Russia by Oliver Bullough charts the unsavoury history of alcoholism, violence, abortions and nihilism in the former USSR. For all
Transatlantic Vanity Project
Frederic Raphael and Joseph Epstein's published correspondence is a phoney exercise in literary bitchiness and mutual back-slapping
More Than a Curmudgeon
R.S. Thomas is frequently characterised as a misanthropic ogre. On the centenary of his birth, the publication of his humane Uncollected Poems belies this
Long Live the Novella
Two recently translated European novellas, by Sophie Divry and Brigit Vanderbeke, are wonderful examples of this short literary form
Painter of the Strenuous Life
Where Edward Hopper found isolation, George Bellows heard the hubbub of modern America
Moldova and Out
An overlooked consequence of Romania's admission into the EU is that a majority of citizens of Europe's poorest nation, Moldova, will be able to
Diddly Squat
The Conservative's success in making squatting a criminal offence needs to go further — all buildings, not just residences, must be protected