A pandemic diary
'My concentration seems to be shot this year for anything except work. I have entirely failed to learn a new language, finish a novel, or watch anything more demanding than repeats of
Defence against the dark arts
“There’s something enticing about a belief that great men are in command of history. It is easier, perhaps, to deal with that than to deal with the more alarming possibility that the
Emulate Australia? It’s not that easy
Many countries want to imitate Australia’s success. But its values and governance are eccentric—and may not travel
An autumn note
“For many, the end of this uneasy year cannot come quickly enough”
An ordinary killing
Ian Cobain’s book uses the killing of Millar McAllister to paint a meticulous portrait of the Troubles
Greater—not wiser
John Mullan elucidates the genius of Charles Dickens
Elizabethans transformed
There is little about our current dilemmas that our parents and grandparents have not already confronted and survived
Revisiting Nazi myths
Products of paranoid imaginations, less closely linked than might appear
The invention of Stoppard
“It appears to have been a sense that it was all becoming too easy that prompted Tom Stoppard to resolve, on his 23rd birthday, to give up journalism and write a play”
Letters: Parents first, Ancient and modern, Seeing red
Angela Ritch laments the failures of today’s parents (Education, July): they are “ill-equipped to prepare their children” for today’s education; their “engagement and responsibility . . . cannot be taken for granted.”