Civilisation
Tartan Tales
The Invention of Scotland: Myth and History by Hugh Trevor-Roper
Revolutionary Passions
Germaine de Staël and Benjamin Constant: A Dual Biography by Renee Winegarten
Hitler’s European Union
Hitler’s Empire: Nazi Rule in Occupied Europe by Mark Mazower
Love in a Snowy Climate
Human Love by Andreï Makine
Hitting the Boundaries of Polite Society
A new play, The English Game, brings social issues alive by creating characters, not mouthpieces
Magically Surreal
Far from sending out subliminal religious messages, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is an uncomplicated adaptation of a children’s classic
Orientalism Comes Out From Under the Shadows
A thoughtful exhibition at Tate Britain this summer lifts the veil of moral theory from Orientalist painting
The Koran: Scrutinising the Inscrutable
Each new translation of Islam’s most sacred text offers fresh insights into its meaning. Yet there are still surprises in a book that is not only hard to read, but hard to know how to read, even for Muslims
The Writing on the Wall
There is much to admire about Banksy. But is he any good?
Operatic Passions
High Court Judges may not like it but The Jeremy Kyle show has a consistent underlying morality
Why Remoaners should back Boris
“Boris, ironically, now offers Remoaners the best chance of a soft Brexit, or at least a sensible one. And to those who want a second referendum—’the people’s vote’—there may even be a chance of that too.”
On the road
“In the summer of 1980, in the grip of some Kerouac-ish fantasy, I opted to hitch-hike from Laredo to New York”
Discovering the Great War of China
A third of a million Chinese labourers helped the Allies defeat the Kaiser, but their huge unsung contribution ended in betrayal