Crimes Against Fiction
Crime-writers are encouraged to fill their pages with sadistic misogyny because it sells When a female corpse appeared on the jacket of a crime-writing colleague’s new book, she pointed out to her
The Character of Englishness
Dr Johnson, the greatest writer of critical prose in the English language, was able to impart to his readers both human nature in general, and the character of Englishness in particular
Victorian Values
A "Metaphysical" dining society sets an example for today's academics
Poetic Injustice
The Arts Council is no longer subsidising poetry publishers but giving direct grants to poets instead. The result: the death of the enriching working relationship between editor and poet
Drawing A Line
How did a cartoonist who regularly draws Mohammed feel on hearing about the events in Paris?
The Greatest Man I Ever Knew?
The rich, varied, and absorbing life, and careers, of John Freeman
A Novel Way to Treat a Writer
I have been inundated with emails from GCSE and A-level students who want me to spoonfeed answers on their set texts