Tove Jansson
There was much more to the life and work of Tove Jansson than her signature creations, the Moomins
Politics, Ideas and the Arts
Old Spanish customers
Some of the Iberian treasures bought by Victorian collector John Bowes can now be seen in London
The Princess and the Poet
An inscription in an old book is the clue to a lost world of literary salons and love affairs
Heartless Hero for the Hipster Generation
It is a fact that a high proportion of unreliable narrators of novels are intelligent, arrogant, badly-behaved, young males.
Deep History Or Just Conspiracy?
Built on misreadings and deceptive elisions, Nancy MacLean's Democracy In Chains reframes the colourful tale of the American Right as a dank, dark conspiracy
Gullible Guests of the Nazis
Julia Boyd's meticulously-researched Travellers in the Third Reich shows visitors to Hitler's Germany saw only what they wanted to see
Romantic Revolutionary
James Hamilton's biography of Thomas Gainsborough offers a portrait not just of the artist but also of the worlds he moved through
Rediscovering a Roman Thought
Lucretius’s poem On the Nature of Things was written in 50 BC, yet remains as startling as ever
Hinterland of a Recluse
Jasper Johns is the J.D. Salinger of contemporary art, whose gnomic work defies easy categorisation
Flat Tax For Italy?
A flat tax and radical fiscal restructuring would transform Italy's economy and encourage taxpayers to invest in their human capital
College Daze
A university reunion offers a useful reminder that the Sixties might not be quite as we remember them
Millenials’ moment
There has always been a gap between the generations, but this year's 'youthquake' looks set only to widen it