Notebooks

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Lessons for NATO from Ancient Greece’s Delian League

Following NATO's critical summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, it is timely to reflect on parallels between the ancient Greek alliance against Persia and NATO’s response to..

Matthew Godwin July 13, 2023

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Milan Kundera dreamt in Czech

The émigré Czech novelist's uneasy relationship with his homeland adds more layers to his enigmatic output.

Anna Parker July 12, 2023

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In search of William Byrd’s lighter side

William Byrd is often seen as an all-too-gloomy artist — but glimmers of levity can be found in the great composer's varied oeuvre.

Rory McCleery July 10, 2023

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The multiple mysteries of Italian wine

Italy accounts for more than a third of the world’s grape varieties, a reflection of the country’s proudly fragmented culture and geography.

Tobias Jones July 6, 2023

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The Ancients loved dogs too

Greeks and Romans took a generally unsentimental view of animals, but there is evidence that some people in antiquity were no less inclined than moderns to love their dogs.

Armand D'Angour July 4, 2023

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La Haine: jusqu’ici tout va bien?

The 1995 breakthrough film about life in troubled banlieues still holds up a mirror to France in 2023.

Muriel Zagha July 3, 2023

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What Richard Wagner can tell us about the Wagner Group

There’s something distinctly Wagnerian about Prigozhin’s rise and fall.

Elisabeth Braw June 30, 2023

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Russia: a short history of failed coups

In Russia, failed coups are usually harbingers of chaos and collapse. Three examples spring to mind: the 1991 attempted coup d’état against Mikhail Gorbachev, Lavr Kornilov’s 1917 ..

Sergey Radchenko June 28, 2023

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In search of Ararat

The slippery nature of representation is the focus of Atom Egoyan’s film about the Armenian genocide, a multi-layered work that is also a meditation on denial.

Muriel Zagha June 27, 2023